2023 was a year of remarkable exploration and growth as a person, Ph.D. student, and avid traveler. In this blog post, I recap the wonderful opportunities I’ve had to explore our great big earth this year.

January

I started off the year in Rome, Italy with a 10k race. This race was the ignitor to start my blog for the 2023 year. I spent the rest of the night waiting for fireworks at the Coliseum with some new and old friends.

Then, I headed off to Germany to visit family in Stuttgart, a day trip to Strasbourg, meet friends in Munich, and explore the amazing city of Berlin.

February

In February, I celebrated Chinese New Year with the International Student Union in Prato, Italy.

I also took a day trip to Pisa with new friends for some pictures next to the famous tower and to try gelato for the first time.

March

In March, I went to Barcelona to unite two friends from different parts of my life. One from college and the other from my PhD program.

We also went on a day trip to the Game of Thrones city of Girona!

April

Believe it or not, I stayed the majority of April in Lucca. I explored the hills between Lucca and Pisa as well as the Serchio River.

May

Soon at the beginning of May, I went to Turkey to celebrate a friend’s wedding. Our group first explored the capital city of Istanbul before taking refuge in Ankara, where the wedding was held.

We also had another ISU event held in Livorno, where we had a swing dancing session.

June

In June, I went to an aesthetic conference in Bergamo, Lombardia. This city reminds me of a Lombardic version of Lucca with medieval walls and greenery.

From Bergamo, I took a train to Milan and spent a few hours in the metropolitan city.

In June, I also spent a significant amount of time in Pisa executing my experiment and spending time with friends during Luminara.

July

At the end of July, I went to a summer school in Turin, Italy.

There, I tried a special kind of pizza in Turin.

August

In August, I had my mother visiting me in Italy. During this time, we explored Lucca, Florence, Pisa, and Rome.

At the end of August, I went to Elba Island for a day trip. Other activities during the summer period are recorded in my other blog post.

September

At the beginning of September, we took another ISU trip. This time, we went to Cinque Terre!

Then, I went to an academic conference in Ghent, Belgium. In between keynotes, I had the chance to explore the Flemish town.

After the conference, I took a train to Brussels to visit my boyfriend and some friends. We also went on a day trip to Bruges, a town made famous by the movie “In Bruges.”

October

In October, I didn’t go anywhere. But, I did see a double rainbow in Lucca!

November

In November, I went to Turin again for a conference. The most notable thing about this trip was the cat in my Airbnb.

I also made a second trip to Belgium to visit my boyfriend and my best friend. My boyfriend visited Leuven for the first time where we had Tibetan food.

December

In December, I went to Oslo, Norway for a research trip. I noted down some of my highlights in a previous post but I enjoyed a splendid time in the Norwegian winter.

I also went to Genova for the first time for an academic conference. Though the conference was in Genova, we stayed in a small city called Sori. This beautiful beach town was 40 minutes away from the big city and Genova was a layered town with a lot of history and even more focaccia!

Now, I am writing this blog from the United States. I was able to visit my family on the East Coast for the Christmas and New Year break. Together, we went to New York, Washington DC, and plan to go to Boston for the New Years Celebration.

2023 has been a great balanced year for exploration, relaxation, and work. Through research trips, planned vacations, and holiday breaks, I had the chance to visit family, friends, and new destinations. I am grateful for all the places I’ve traveled to this year and all the memories that are held in these photos.