6 countries, 7 cities, 100 plus miles walked. You could say January was stacked. I spent the majority of the month abroad and living out of a suitcase. Those city guides should be hitting your news feeds and inboxes each Wednesday for the next month at least. Although you’ll be reading more in depth about all these adventures in Europe, here’s a quick roundup for the month:

1 . I returned to the homeland!

Okay, not technically, but I consider France a second home. And there just aren’t words to describe the feeling of return. As a kid, you don’t realize your home has a scent until you leave for camp or college. You can’t pinpoint what that “scent” is, but it forever means home to you. Returning to France after almost two years felt like a homecoming. Stepping off the metro in Paris, I took a large whiff and recognized the nostalgic aroma of eye-watering bakery goods, chilled river wind and cigarette smoke. If you’re surprised by this declaration, please refer to really any blog post I’ve ever written 🙂

2 . Travel is truly the best medicine

Coming back from a glamorous trip, I’m greeted mostly with How was your trip? Was it the best three weeks of your life? It looked perfect! And while I appreciate the thought, travel is by nature imperfect. We don’t know the landscape, customs, schedule, expectations, maybe the language. I took the metro the wrong way. I spent way too much on a gluten-free pastry that ended up being just okay. I was exhausted. Also my relationship status changed to “it’s complicated” with my bank account.

Travel is a treat, but that doesn’t mean we cease to be human for the trip’s duration. Not only that but also travel separates us from all sense of familiarity. I made some nice friends on my trip, but a large part of my trip was spent in reflection and processing my semester. It’s funny, the things that ping our brains constantly when we’re not distracted by routine. I spent time journaling, thinking, taking baths and reflecting on what was hard, what hurt and what helped. And I’m here to confirm that travel truly is the best medicine and will heal you in ways no parent, friend, counselor or medication can do. Through travel, we are reminded that the world is so much bigger than the worries that plague us. God is so much bigger than we usually realize in the 10-mile radius we live in 50 weeks out of the year.

Travel is a treat, but that doesn’t mean we cease to be human for the trip’s duration.

3 . Prague

I’d heard almost exclusively wonderful things about this eastern European city, and I was not disappointed. The Christmas markets still give me butterflies just thinking about them, and the culture and sights enchanted me. Planning a trip or dreaming of one there? Oh, I got you covered with this city guide.

4 . The bottom line talks

I’m convinced that most everything in this world is about money for better or for worse. This month I had two posts relating to money that you certainly don’t want to miss out on: one on saving money for travel and another on making money through your blog.

5 . Email updates

You might follow Round Trip on social media, but have you signed up for monthly emails? Not only do you get a dose of wanderlust delivered to your inbox but you also score some freebies I don’t offer through my site. And who doesn’t like free stuff? Click below to get signed up.