My Top 5 Favorite Cities to Visit

Hello everyone!

First of all I just want to say thank you so, so much for all of the sweet messages I received from my first home decor post!!! It meant so much to me because I truly love it so much and I’m so passionate about it.

I have had an insane travel bug lately and Justin and I have been trying to think of where we want to go on our next vacation! Traveling is so important to me. I truly want to see every inch of this world. I have been incredibly blessed to have already traveled to so many beautiful places and seen so many cultures. So far, I have been to 7 countries and DYING to go to more. Seriously, it is killing me. If I could hop on a plane tomorrow and travel for a year, I would! Right now, Germany, Sweden and Ireland are at the top of my list to visit next!

To fix my travel bug a bit, I thought it would be fun to count down my top 5 favorite cities to visit!

5. Kansas City, Missouri

I’m keeping this one in the US! It may seem like a random selection, but Kansas City is my home town! It is where I grew up and spent the first 20 years of my life. Kansas City is a hidden gem of the United States. It has so much to offer and it is ALWAYS evolving. The music, the art, the restaurants, I love it all. The thing I love most about Kansas City is the community feel it has throughout the entire city. I absolutely love going back to visit and I wish I could more. My parents have the most wonderful groups of friends surrounding them and it warms my heart so much when they all get together, it feels like family. My favorite part of Kansas City has to be The Plaza and Loose Park. My dad’s house was located right at the edge of Loose Park and I absolutely loved walking over to the pond and feeding the ducks. The Plaza has so many amazing shops, restaurants, etc… Every year in the Fall, there is an art festival and I can just remember walking through in the rain with a hot chocolate. There is absolutely no place like Kansas City and although I want it to stay a hidden gem, I want everyone to see how amazing the city is!

4. Oslo, Norway

I went to Norway for the first time 10 years ago. By the end of the first day there, it was already one of my favorite cities in the world. I am half Norwegian and we have some family on my dad’s side that lives in Norway. When we went to Norway, my grandma had just passed away and she always wanted us to travel there. It was amazing to meet all of our family and explore this beautiful country. The first thing I love about Norway is the kindness from the locals. Everyone is so incredibly nice and welcoming there, I never felt like people were judging me because I wasn’t from there. There is so much culture in Norway and I couldn’t get enough of learning about it. Oslo has a very city vibe to it and is pretty modern. There are so many restaurants and shops, there is truly something for everyone. When we went to Norway the second time about 5 years ago, I fell even more in love with it. Now that I was a little older, I appreciated the culture so much more. Norway is such a special place to me and I hope to go back very soon. Seeing the Northern Lights in Norway is HIGH on my bucket list…so, hopefully soon! I encourage everyone to take a trip to Norway at least once in your life. Not only is it one of the most beautiful countries, it has the nicest people and will quickly be high on your favorites list, too!

3. Paris, France

Okay, you all knew this was coming! My dad took me and my sisters to Paris 10 years ago and that’s when my love affair with Paris began… I became obsessed with the romantic architecture, the dreamy streets of cafes and shops, the Seine River, and of course the twinkling Eiffel Tower. Ever since that trip, I pretty much dream about Paris every day. Midnight in Paris is one of my favorite movies that I watch about twice a week (not kidding, ask my husband!). When we were planning our Honeymoon, Justin knew Paris was where I wanted to go. I adore the Parisian culture and I appreciate everything about it. From eating macarons at Laduree to roaming every beautiful museum, I love everything. I don’t think I need to convince anyone to go to Paris, it speaks for itself! It truly is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

2. Lake Como, Italy

This is a city that I dream about literally every day. I went to Italy about 4 years ago with my family and we went to Venice, Florence and Lake Como. I, of course, had heard of Venice and Florence, but I honestly didn’t know anything about Lake Como! I was so excited because I truly didn’t know what to expect. After Venice, we drove to Lake Como for a few days. As we were driving in, I started to see the water and mountains in the background and it kept getting more and more beautiful by each mile. We stayed in this absolutely gorgeous villa that was a little up the mountain. The entire house was covered in vines and had the most beautiful Italian charm to it. Our first night there, we had a chef come to the villa to make a real, authentic Italian dinner. He made the most incredible lasagne and tiramisu I have ever tasted. It is still to this day one of the most amazing meals I have ever had. The next day, we had a boat and we went on the water to explore each of the little cities in Lake Como. Bellagio is this adorable town right on the water that has some of the most magnificent views I have ever seen. I always wanted to go to Italy, but I didn’t expect to fall in love with it as much as I did. The locals were so sweet and so welcoming. If I said “buongiorno” at the wrong time of day, they wouldn’t get angry, instead they would help me say it correctly in the nicest way. I can’t wait to be back on a terrace in Lake Como, eating gnocchi and sipping on an Aperol Spritz, which has become my favorite drink.

1. London, England

Oh man, this is a special one. I went to London for the first time about 5 years ago with my family. I had always dreamt of going to London (and meeting Prince Harry, obviously…) and I immediately fell in love with everything there. I loved how lovely the locals were and I just loved the entire British culture. London was the first stop on our Honeymoon and I fell even more in love with London the second time. I LOVED exploring the city with Justin and he quickly fell in love with it too. Justin is a huge history buff, so we went to every war museum and he was so happy. Not only did we love everything from the culture to the food, we loved the way we felt in London. Even though it was his first time there, he felt like he had been there a dozen times and was surprised how comfortable he felt there only after a few days. I know it sounds absolutely crazy, but it felt like we were home and like we belonged there. When we got home from our honeymoon, we were having serious London withdrawals. We came back wanting to move to London immediately and we were actually very serious about it. After doing more research and realizing we couldn’t just pick up and move to London, it’s now just something fun to dream about. We already want to go back and be in that beautiful city again. Maybe one day we will live there for a couple years, but for now I will just dream about afternoon tea and walking through Kensington Palace gardens.

There are so many amazing cities I could mention, but these are the 5 that are truly special to me. I wish I could pick up tomorrow and travel the world and see everything. It is my dream that one day Justin and I can go to all of the places on our bucket list.

What cities/countries are on your bucket list??