I absolutely love to travel and have been doing it my whole life. My parents applied for my first passport when I was six months old, and I have been unstoppable ever since. I am not entirely sure why infants get a passport that is valid for five years- by the time I was five years and six months old I looked like a completely different person- but I digress.

As of right now, I have visited 27 different countries and have flights booked to visit three more before the end of 2025. With that being said, I have two favorite places I have traveled to. One I am a little scared to admit (in this political climate) and the other is featured in the photo. The photo is taken at Lake Bled in Slovenia.

I visited Slovenia summer of 2023 on a trip with my family. On this trip was my mom, dad, brother and myself, and even though it was just the four of us in a foreign country with no one else to talk to I had the time of my life. Most of our time spent on this trip was in the capital of Slovenia which is Ljubljana. Ljubljana is a beautiful city along a river filled with dragon statues, fascinating history, and great people watching.

During our time in Ljubljana my family and I went on walking tours, took a gondola ride up a mountain, and sat at cafés watching the world go by. My favorite activity was the walking tour, and I have typically been known to throw a fit about walking tours. I have never been fond of walking tours (frankly what kid wants to walk around a town for half a day learning about history) but this tour was like no other. I mean there were dragons for starters.

We started the tour by admiring the incredible architecture, most of which was designed by the same architect (and when it wasn’t, you could definitely tell). The buildings and bridges were some of the most beautiful I had ever seen, capturing my attention from the very beginning. Nearly the entire town was along a pedestrian-only road, lined with charming benches. Thanks to them, even though the walking tour lasted six hours, I could rest during our stops, taking in the scenery instead of just leaning against a wall. (I do fall victim to the American lean.) By the end, I was completely enchanted.