Every year since I moved to Scotland (2003), I have celebrated by going away on holiday. I don’t like the pressure of having a birthday in town, plus a birthday is a great excuse to travel anyway! However, this year, we are taking a break from travelling on my birthday, so we can spend my husband’s birthday in New York in July! Here is a list of all my birthday trips – my favourite tradition:
2004 Birthday – Canada
March 2004 was Canada – to visit with my Mum, brother and his family. I visited Anne of Green Gables country (Prince Edward Island) and the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park. It was the first time I’d seen my new niece, so it was a bit special.
2005 Birthday – New Zealand
March 2005 was back to New Zealand for a month. It turned out to be my only trip back to NZ until 2015. I remember that I had mucked up my pay before departing and had about £1000 less than I thought for this trip. Needless to say, it was a frugal month!
2006 Birthday – New York & Las Vegas
March 2006 was a cheeky wee jaunt to New York and Las Vegas! Thanks to my step-sister, who worked for an airline, and was able to fly me stand-by from Edinburgh to Las Vegas and back via New York for a measly sum. Due to a delay, I missed one of my connections and had to call my Mum to pay for a Howard Johnson airport hotel in Jersey as I’d run out of money. There was definitely a lot to learn about my finances back then!
2007 Birthday – Malta
March 2007 was a visit to the beautiful island of Malta. We especially liked Valletta, with its amazing museums and restaurants.
Birthday 2008 – Amsterdam
April 2008 was a late birthday present from a friend, my first trip to Amsterdam! This first taste of Amsterdam made me keep coming back in the winter, summer and many more times over the years.
Birthday 2009 – Paris
March 2009 was a trip to Paris with my friend Kat – we drank absinthe and went disco-bowling with cute French boys!
Birthday 2010 – Paris
March 2010 was a solo trip to Paris (a thing I’ve done a lot – it’s a great city for solo travel). Paris is not only the ‘city of love‘, it is also my ‘soul city’!
Birthday 2011 – Venice
April 2011 was a late birthday present from my flatmate to the wonderful city of Venice for a weekend! We spent hours walking around the winding streets, drinking bellini’s at Harry’s bar, and going on the ferries between islands. Our favourite place was the island of Torcello.
Birthday 2012 – Paris
March 2012 was another solo trip to Paris – I read Bukowski and drank pastis for 4 days – it was the bohemian dream! Spring is a great time to visit Paris – it is bright, less crowded than summer, and the blooms are lovely!
Birthday 2013 – Paris
March 2013 was Paris again (can you see a theme forming here?). I can’t get enough of that city. It fills my cup.
Birthday 2014 – Copenhagen
March 2014 was my first birthday trip with my now husband – to the marvellous Danish city of Copenhagen. We had beautiful spring weather and walked for 10 miles each day (much to the detriment of my feet). It is an expensive city to visit, but for a short break Copenhagen is great.
Birthday 2015 – Lyon, Sète & Montpellier
March 2015 took us down to Lyon, and then to Sète and Montpellier in the South of France to visit with friends.
Birthday 2016 – Madrid
March 2016 was one of my favourites – our first trip to Madrid – a city of fabulous museums, food, and gin! A highlight was the Reina Sofia Art Centre – seeing Picasso’s Guernica was incredibly moving. I really can’t wait to visit Madrid again, 3 days wasn’t nearly enough to see this vibrant city.
I missed a birthday trip in 2017, but went to London in 2018, Toulouse in 2019, Paris in 2020, and Perigueux in 2022!
Have you been on any birthday trips away? Let me know about your adventures (past or in plan for the future) in the comments below! Bon voyage!
All photos & content © Hannah Henderson and may not be used without permission (sharing this blog post is fine, though!). Images shot with a Canon DSLR T3i Rebel + Canon EF Lens 50mm 1:1.8 STM; and an iPhone6s.
