{"id":8869,"date":"2020-01-11T11:31:49","date_gmt":"2020-01-11T11:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/?p=8869"},"modified":"2020-02-20T16:35:53","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T16:35:53","slug":"monthly-travel-journal-december-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/monthly-travel-journal-december-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Monthly Travel Journal – December 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

And another year is almost gone. December is one of my favorite months. I love everything about Christmas – the markets, the food, the decorations, the time spent with family. I spent the last Christmas in Bali and I missed terribly all these things. <\/p>\n

This year I decided to make the most out of the holidays. Here is a summary of what December looked like for me.<\/p>\n

If you want to read about what 2019 meant for me, check out my year in review<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

1. Travel<\/h2>\n

A road trip to Sibiu, Romania<\/h3>\n
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Sibiu, Romania<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dan and I started the month with a short celebration. We celebrated 7 years of being together by going on a road trip. I can’t believe that 7 years have passed since I met this wonderful guy, with whom I share so many incredible memories. I never dreamed of finding someone who loves and supports me as much as Dan does. <\/p>\n

To celebrate these wonderful 7 years of our lives, we booked one night in Sibiu, one of the most beautiful cities in Romania. I haven’t been to Sibiu since I was in high school so I was really excited about this trip.<\/p>\n

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Clay Castle of the Valley of Fairies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On our way to Sibiu we made a quick detour to the Clay Castle of the Valley of Fairies. This incredible castle built by a Romanian couple is situated at the base of the Carpathian Mountains. Its unique architecture attracts hundreds of tourists each day. We had a lot of fun taking pictures and then we continued our journey to Sibiu.<\/p>\n

After arriving in Sibiu, the first thing we did was heading to the Christmas Market<\/strong><\/a>. Walking on the city’s narrow streets I couldn’t help but notice how interesting the rooftops were.<\/p>\n

Here, in Sibiu, houses have high rooftops with small windows that resemble the human eyes. It was like all the houses were watching us. I haven’t seen this type of architecture anywhere around Romania until now.<\/p>\n

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I can see you!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Christmas Market of Sibiu<\/strong><\/a> takes place in the Grand Square. There are hundreds of wooden shops, a skating rink, a big wheel, and many other attractions. There were so many people that we could barely move.<\/p>\n

\"Sibiu<\/p>\n

We bought a few souvenirs and then we queued for about 20 minutes to buy one of my favorite desserts – Kurtos Kalaks, also known as Chimney Cake. <\/p>\n

We came back to the market in the evening when all the lights were turned on and there were even more people. I loved the Christmasy vibe and after drinking some delicious cinnamon wine, we headed to our accommodation. <\/p>\n

\"Sibiu<\/p>\n

The next day in the morning we decided to visit the famous Brukenthal Museum. Unfortunately, we only had time to visit the history & national treasure section. Next time when we’ll be back in Sibiu we’ll save one day only for visiting all the Brukenthal Museums.<\/p>\n

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Brukenthal History Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We had lunch at the oldest restaurant in Romania, Butoiul de Aur, the place where the famous ruler Mihai Viteazul dinned a long time ago. The restaurant was quite small, but it had nice decor. We ordered papanasi, my favorite Romanian dessert. They were good but not great. <\/p>\n

It was time to hop in our car and head back to Bucharest. It was a short trip but it was enough to relax and explore the city.<\/p>\n

Christmas time!<\/h3>\n

We spent the Christmas holidays with our family. We first visited Dan’s parents in Targu Mures and then we visited my parents in Brasov. <\/p>\n

One of the things that really brings the Christmas vibe into my heart is snow. Unfortunately, this year there was no snow in Brasov. However, we did a day trip to Bran and Predeal (Dracula Castle and the surrounding villages) and it snowed. It was finally Christmas!<\/p>\n

We spent our time eating lots of traditional food and sweets. I get hungry only when I think about it.<\/p>\n

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Bran<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Predeal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. Travel plans<\/h2>\n

We have no specific travel plans for January but we want to go skiing in Bansko, Bulgaria. Also, at the beginning of February we planned an awesome trip to Portugal.<\/p>\n

I’ve been dreaming about visiting Portugal for such a long time and I can’t believe it’s finally happening. We will spend a few days in Lisbon and a few days in Porto and I’m really excited about the food and the sights we’re going to see. Stay tuned for some awesome photos and detailed guides about Portugal.<\/p>\n

3. Daily life updates<\/h2>\n

I’ve been struggling  with some allergies for quite a long time and it doesn’t seem to get better. I’ve seen a couple of doctors but nobody seems to figure out what’s wrong with me. My allergies are probably the ones that are causing my cough too.<\/p>\n

I still have a few tests to do and hopefully, I will get the right treatment.<\/p>\n

One a happier note, I’ve started a new TV series – The Vikings. I LOVE IT! The characters are well-built and the story is very entertaining. <\/p>\n

4. Blog updates<\/h2>\n

The Google gods have turned their faces back on me! After experiencing a dip in traffic at the beginning of November, my traffic is almost back to normal. With more than 110k monthly page views, my blog is growing again.<\/p>\n

I have also invested a lot of time in publishing new content. Here are the blog posts published in December:<\/p>\n