It’s maybe a sign of just how busy my 2024 was that I’m only publishing my annual “Year in Review” recap in… February of 2025!
2024 started with a bang, with the second half of our two-week visit to Asia, and kept going from there. There was barely a month when I wasn’t travelling, and if I was staying local, I was “travelling” in the sense that I was trying new restaurants, going to new exhibits, or doing all the fun “only in New York” tourist experiences with visiting friends and family.
I wasn’t the only one who had a big travel year, either; according to UN Tourism, 2024 was the year that tourism returned to pre-pandemic levels. For me, from international adventures to local weekends away, 2024 was one of my busiest travel years yet. Here’s a look back at what 2024 looked like in travel here at Stories My Suitcase Could Tell…
January: Taiwan
2024 began with fireworks over the geometric skyscraper that is Taipei 101, in the Taiwanese capital (after a few espresso martinis to keep the jet lag at bay and help me make it to midnight!). After spending the last week of 2023 in Taipei, we headed south to Tainan – the old capital, and where my grandfather-in-law grew up – for the first week of 2024.
Asia will always be a special part of the world for me (I lived in China for a year in my early twenties, met my husband there, and we got engaged in Japan a few years later), so returning after a gap of more than 10 years was exhilarating and nostalgic and exciting all at once. (Returning to the food was undoubtedly another highlight!)
February: Scotland and England
In February, I headed back to Scotland for a winter break, and it was just what the doctor ordered: wintery walks on Bayble Beach in Lewis, lots of Easter chocolate (I was thankful it was on sale so early!), and plenty of home-cooked food and time spent watching all my favourite UK quiz shows with my parents. (Is it just me, or does Tipping Point drive anyone else crazy?!)
I also visited a new-to-me part of England, with a quick 24-hour trip to Northumberland for a wedding with my brother. The wedding was a lot of fun (cue us dancing the night away to ABBA classics), but it was fun, too, to see a new part of the UK.
The rain limited some of our explorations, but we strolled around the historic market town of Alnwick and took in the sea views from Bamburgh Castle and Berwick-upon-Tweed, and I was also very excited about our quick browse in Barter Books, one of the largest second-hand bookshops in the country. There was a quick pit-stop in Edinburgh too before I had to leave, for dinner and drinks with one of my oldest friends, and of course, I couldn’t visit Edinburgh without a scoop of my favourite Alanda’s ice cream!
March: NYC and The Catskills
March was an only-in-New-York kind of month, with Mr. S surprising me for my birthday with tickets to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway (the special effects were incredible!) and dinner at Crown Shy, one of the city’s top restaurants.
We also escaped for a weekend getaway to the Catskills region of New York State, thanks to a competition I won via The Catskills Girl on Instagram for a two-night stay at the charming Hotel Lilien in Tannersville. Our weekend mostly consisted of relaxing at the hotel, but we did venture out for one hike, to the impressive Kaaterskill Falls, which even in late March was partially frozen, and very dramatic.
April: New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania
April began with a whirlwind, aka NYC Tartan Week, where I danced at a ceilidh, enjoyed some whisky with the NTS USA, and – the highlight of the celebrations – walked up 6th Avenue in the Tartan Day Parade with the Isle of Harris Distillery.
Not long after that, my parents arrived for a visit, and we saw (and did) a lot in and around the city, from strolling through Little Italy in the Bronx and Chinatown in Lower Manhattan, to crossing the Brooklyn Bridge over the east river and spending an evening at Broadway. We also spent a day in Philadelphia, stopping off at the very American White Rose Diner in New Jersey on the way.
May: Greece
Although I’d technically been to Greece in my early teens (an overnight stay in Rhodes in 2001, and a day trip to Samos in 2003, both during family summer holidays in Turkey), I’d wanted to visit Athens since I was about 10 years old, when I did what we called a “personal project” about it in primary school. So when we got an invite to a wedding in Greece in May, we jumped at the chance.
Well, let’s just say I finally understand why people go back to Greece for their summer holidays time and time again! I adored everything about Greece, from the history around every corner in Athens (I almost cried the first time I saw the Parthenon in real life), to the quiet idyll of car-free Hyrda, and the incredible food we ate every day. I loved our time there so much that I’m trying to work out when we can visit again, and soon – and I almost never want to return to a destination so quickly.
June and July: New York City
Summer in the city! We actually joke that summer can be the best time to be in New York City, despite the heat and humidity, because so many people are either on holiday abroad or at their summer houses and rentals in Long Island and New Jersey, which frees up everything else for the rest of us.
With our home renovations beginning in earnest, we simply made the most of the city: highlights included a Beatrix Potter exhibit at The Morgan Library, afternoon tea at British restaraunt Tea & Sympathy in the West Village, and author Katherine Oremerod’s book launch at Rixo in Soho.
August: Scotland
Our summer visit to Scotland was filled with what felt like winter weather, but like I always say, you don’t visit Scotland for the weather! We were based mostly in Lewis as usual, but we also spent two days down in Uist, so that Mr. S could go golfing at Askernish Golf Course. While he made the most of the Outer Hebrides’ golf courses, I spent my time relaxing and catching up with family and friends, and finally got to try out the popular Salt Box Sauna by the beach in Harris, which I loved – having somewhere to warm up in after going for a dip in the sea is glorious!
September: Scotland and New York
We technically started September in Scotland, with the first day of the month coinciding with our last full day there, which we spent in Fife (where I went for that wonderful cold-water swim in Cellardyke) and Edinburgh, where we enjoyed the decadent Sunday Roast at Gleneagles Townhouse in Edinburgh before flying back to NYC the next day.
Back in the USA, most of the month involved house renovations, until Mr. S surprised me with a last-minute weekend away to the Catskills, to Eastwind Hotel Oliverea. We’d been before in the snowy depths of winter, but visiting in early autumn was beautiful – definitely the time to go! Before checking in, we also spent a morning in quirky Woodstock, New York, famous for the iconic 1969 music festival that was named after it.
October: New York City
With my brother visiting for two weeks, October was all about those “only in NYC” experiences, with the two of us exploring the Lower East Side, seeing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway again, sipping rooftop cocktails, and checking out the city’s inventive Halloween decorations (the Upper East Side and West Village go all out!). We also spent an afternoon in the New York town of Sleepy Hollow, described as “the home of Halloween,” which was fun but very, very crowded.
November: Washington and Oregon
We headed to Seattle to spend Thanksgiving with family, and drove down to the Oregon coast for 2-and-a-bit days while we were there. The coast was beautiful and peaceful and I was in my absolute element on the beach (as was Winston!). Our very quick pitstop in Portland also saw me make a very quick visit to the famous Powell’s Books. (I cannot resist the lure of a new bookshop!)
(As an aside: it was while packing for this holiday that I realised not only was this my 8th visit to Seattle and Washington, but that I have never written about the city on the blog, other than one story about our day trip to Mount Rainier. I adore Seattle, a city of great food and interesting shops and neighbourhoods, surrounded by mountains, forests, lakes, and the ocean. Time to write some Seattle blog posts, I think…!)
December: New York City
December was a mix of relaxing at home and eating lots of Christmas food, and seeing everything New York City has to offer at the holidays: elaborate window displays, the famous Rockefeller Plaza tree, the ice rink at Central Park. After literally missing Christmas Day in 2023 (we were asleep in a plane over the Pacific!), it was nice to go all out with family for 2024.
And there you have it: 2024 in travel on the blog, and out in the world.
To recap, 2024 saw me visit four countries (the USA, the UK, Taiwan, and Greece), eight major cities, and five US states (including one new-to-me state, Oregon).
As well as all the travelling, I also published 4 blog posts, read 73 books, renovated the living area of our house (with Mr. S and a whole crew of builders!), and worked my day job in publishing. Phew! 2024 was definitely one for the memory books, in all sorts of ways, but most of all, I’m glad that I got to spend so much time with friends and family, near and far.
2025 has got off to a busy start, as you’ll already know if you’re signed up to my newsletter, Inside the Suitcase, but overall, I think it’s going to be a slightly quieter year. It will still be full of travel – you wouldn’t expect anything less from me! – but there will likely be more down time at home with Mr. S and the puppy in between the grand adventures.
But where will be heading next? You’ll have to follow along to see…!
Leave a Reply