STATS AND FAVORITES, ROUND TWO

Just like after our first year, we put together a list of our favorites and stats to give a snapshot of our experience on our second loop around the globe that lasted around 8 months. If you would like to read more about a particular experience, just click on the hyperlink, and you will be taken to the blog post covering that topic.

Countries: 15

Cities: 54

UNESCO World Heritage Sites: 21

Continents: 5 (Europe, North America, South America, Australia, Asia)

Top Experiences: 

1. Exploring the mysterious Easter Island
2. Adventures in the fjords of Norway Part 1 (Part 2)
3. Whitewater rafting through the Costa Rican jungle and gorges
4. Great Ocean Road in Australia
5. Catamaran cruise in Bora Bora with a motu picnic and swimming with sharks and rays

Favorite Countries:

1. Iceland
2. New Zealand
3. French Polynesia

Favorite Cities:

1. Copenhagen, Denmark
2. Tallinn, Estonia
3. San Sebastian, Spain
4. Luang Prabang, Laos
5. Porto, Portugal

Best Cuisine:

1. Basque Region of Spain (link)
2. Portugal (link)
3. Laos (link)

Favorite Waterfalls:

1. Iguazu Falls – Argentina
2. Sejalandsfoss – Iceland
3. Kuang Si – Laos

Best Gourmet Burgers:

1. Yacht Club – Bora Bora, French Polynesia (fried egg and foie gras on top)
2. Burgerfuel – New Zealand (truffled marscapone, aioli, bacon and fried egg on top)
3. Beast Burger – Chiang Mai, Thailand (simply amazing)

Most Memorable Meals:

1. Famous Scandinavian smörgåsbord on Baltic Sea Cruise – the proper six courses: herring and boiled potatoes, other fish dishes, salads and cold cuts, meats, cheeses, and desserts completed with wine on tap (link)
2. Boragó in Santiago with Jeff and Dhruv – Top 50 rated restaurant in the world serving a 16 course tasting menu showcasing the biodiversity of Chile (link)
3. Pintxos crawl in San Sebastian – Most notably Bar Borda-Berri and Bar Zeruko (link)
4. Traditional Asado (Argentinian barbeque) in the Pampas – Served the world’s finest free-range beef and Malbec al fresco with gauchos singing, dancing, and horse taming (link)
5. Juuri in Helsinki – Hip bistro serving sapas (suomi tapas) highlighting local, Finnish ingredients (link)

Total Distance Travelled: 48,272 miles

Pictures Taken: 11,080

Flights: 20

Train Trips: 11

Rental Cars: 6

Cruise/Ferry Transport: 3

Airbnb Rentals: 16

Hotels/Resorts: 19

Number of illnesses/injuries: 1 stress fracture in metatarsal and 1 common cold

Best Airbnb Rental: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Worst Airbnb Experience: Costa Rica (serious jiffy foot from the mopped-but-somehow-still-dirty tile floor, road construction just 10 yards from the room, melted nubbin’ of a spatula to try to cook eggs with, shower head spraying water in random directions)

Favorite hotel/resort:  Quinta de la Rosa, Douro Valley, Portugal

Worst Rental Car: Fiat Panda

Best Brunch: Terrace Kitchen, Rotorua, New Zealand

Least Favorite Traditional Dish: dried cod in Norway

Most Surprising Culinary Joy: the 365+ ways to prepare cod in Portugal