My first trip of 2019 was to Oman and what a way to break in the New Year. The minute we landed in Oman we were greeted with cardamom laced coffee and dates, and from that moment, I knew I would love this country. We started our road trip in Muscat and spent the next ten days rock climbing in the mountains, swimming in natural oases, sleeping in the desert, exploring ancient forts, eating our way through souks and relaxing at an infinity pool in the mountains. This was my first trip to the Middle East as an adult and it opened up an intrigue into this corner of the earth. Little did I know, that I would go onto visit four more Middle Eastern countries this year.

At the beginning of April, I found myself between apartments in London so instead of finding accommodation in London for a week, I took myself to Malta. It was much colder and rainier than I had anticipated which hindered my plans of exploring the whole island. Instead, I spent much of my time wandering the timeworn backstreets of Valetta and soaking up the harbour views (when the sun eventually came out!)

I have always wanted to take my mum away for her birthday and as I had recently moved back to the UK, this seemed like the right year to do so. My mum has long wanted to visit Tallinn, so I knew exactly where I was going to book. We had such an amazing time in each other's company and spent the whole time laughing and exploring together. Estonia took us both by surprise; it's an eclectic mix of Scandinavian charm, Estonian edginess and Russian opulence and is totally unique. For her birthday, we took a day trip to the summer city, which was by far my biggest travel surprise of the year. Thanks to a local's recommendation and with zero expectations, we found ourselves in the most idyllic spa town with verdant parks, forest walks, cycle paths that follow the coastline and charming restaurants. Back in Tallinn, we wandered the cobblestone backstreets, climbed the bell tower, had picnics in the park, cycled everywhere and enjoyed vegan brunches, Scandinavian salads, rooftop drinks and craft beer. It was a wonderful long weekend and has inspired me to take her away again next year.

As part of my mum's birthday surprise, I booked the ferry to Helsinki to visit Finland for the day. I do love Scandinavian cities, they are always so trendy, clean and just ooze that Scandinavian charm. We ate overpriced avocado on toast for breakfast, enjoyed oat milk flat whites, explored the harbour, marvelled at the cathedral, meandered the food markets and enjoyed the beautiful parks. Of course, you can only see so much in a day, but sometimes one day is better than no time at all and it was a good introduction to this tiny capital.

San Marino had long been on my bucket list as Europe's tiniest countries intrigue me immensely. This mountainous microstate was just as beautiful as I had imaged with cobblestone streets and a historical centre. It doesn't feel much different from Italy, but it's quite funny when your phone notifies you that you've arrived in a foreign country. If there is one thing to do in San Marino it's to walk to the old city walls and climb to the top of the towers for breathtaking views over the mountainous region. Afterwards, head back to the quaint square for a delicious lunch of freshly made pasta.

I try to visit Italy every year because it's one of my favourite countries and because every region is so different, it always offers something new. This time I went to visit a friend who had recently moved from New Zealand to Florence and we embarked on a road trip around Tuscany in search of sunflower fields and vineyards – luckily we found both. We started our trip in Bologna and celebrated seeing each other over a lovely dinner of homemade pasta and tiramisu and actually ended our trip at the exact same restaurant. From Bologna we drove through yellow fields of sunflowers to Tuscany where we drank wine mid-morning, explored medieval towns and watched the sunset over rolling hills studded with Cypress trees. We both fell hard for Tuscany's charm, but how can you not?

Israel is one of those countries that I never dreamed I would visit, not for a lack of wanting, but because it just seemed too farfetched. I'm not sure why I felt that way because it's actually very easy to visit from the UK and so much safer than I anticipated. Tel Aviv is an incredible city with a beautiful beach, vibrant nightlife and enviable food scene and can easily suck you in. In direct contrast to Tel Aviv's liberalism, we travelled to the holy city of Jerusalem where we were separated into two hotel rooms as an unmarried couple. Highlights of our road trip around Israel included seeing Jerusalem bathed in golden light at sunset, swimming in secret wadis all by ourselves, hiking to the ancient Masada fortress at sunrise, floating in the Dead Sea, devouring shakshuka for breakfast and driving through the moonlike landscape of the Negev desert. Israel is a fascinating land; the tension is palpable but the country so beautiful.

We travelled across the border from Israel into Jordan, picked up a 4x4 and continued road tripping across the Middle East. The Jordanians welcomed us with friendly faces and kind hearts and went above and beyond to help us during our time in their country. We self-drove our rental 4x4 into the desert, which ended up being quite the adventure. With no GPS or landmarks, it's easy to get lost and we did just that. Thankfully, a local guide stopped to rescue us and kindly let us join his tour and later guided us out of the desert. From the desert, we travelled north to the Pink City of Petra where we arrived each morning before sunrise and explored every corner of this ancient city.

We had booked a family holiday to Cyprus with a villa in the mountains for some relaxation, sunshine and quality time together. However, my family's flights were cancelled due to the airline going into liquidation and after much deliberation they decided it wasn't meant to be and I decided to go on my own. I only spent a couple of days in Cyprus as I used it as a stopover to visit Lebanon instead – a country that intrigued me more and seemed more fitting for a solo trip. Cyprus didn't captivate me, but then again I can't comment as I didn't see much of the country.

I fell hard for Lebanon and despite only spending five days there; it ended up being my favourite trip of 2019. Beirut is crazy and chaotic, but its energy is intoxicating, as is its nightlife. I went to Lebanon with an open mind and open attitude and some amazing things happened as a consequence. Before boarding the flight, I promised myself to say yes more and be open to new experiences and consequently I had more fun than I'd had in a long time. I felt like I was 21 again, throwing responsibility to the wind and partying until sunrise, day drinking at rooftop pools and throwing my itinerary out the window to spend time with perfect strangers. This trip made me contemplate life and realise how young I am and how much fun saying yes can be.

At the beginning of December I gate crashed my boyfriend's business trip to St Petersburg and we spent a long weekend together with his colleague exploring the Venice of the North. St Petersburg is much more beautiful than I could ever have imagined with its pastel-hued buildings built around picturesque canals. We arrived just on the cusp of winter when the first snow fell and the canals were starting to freeze over. It really was a magical winter wonderland setting and we had to keep stepping in from the snow to warm up with fluffy dumplings and hearty borscht.