One Year of Tasted & Traveled: A Sunset, a Milestone, and a Look Ahead

One year ago today, I clicked Publish on the very first post on Tasted & Traveled. At the time, I didn’t know exactly where this journey would lead. I simply knew I loved traveling, discovering local food, and sharing those experiences with others. It felt exciting…and a little intimidating.

When I started Tasted & Traveled, my goal was simple. I wanted a place to preserve memories from the incredible places I was fortunate enough to visit. One day, when life slows down a little, I want to look back and relive those experiences. What I never expected were the friendships, opportunities, and unexpected adventures that would grow from sharing those stories.

Fast forward one year, and I’m writing this from Greece after spending the evening watching the sunset over the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion. I honestly couldn’t have imagined a more meaningful place to celebrate this milestone.

Over the past year, Tasted & Traveled has taken me to incredible places, introduced me to wonderful people, and challenged me to think differently about the way I travel. Somewhere along the way, I realized I wasn’t just collecting destinations anymore; I was collecting stories.

That same love of stories and shared experiences also led to one of this year’s biggest unexpected turns: launching Cork and Copper with Jerome. A private wine and whiskey tasting business wasn’t part of the plan when I started Tasted & Traveled, but maybe that’s the point. Sometimes following one passion opens the door to another.

This trip feels like the perfect example of that. It also feels like the beginning of a new chapter for Tasted & Traveled. I came to Greece to celebrate the wedding of someone I’ve known for nearly a decade. Over the next two weeks, I’ll continue on to Croatia before spending a week living and working from Dublin, collecting stories, slowing down, and experiencing each destination a little differently than I have in the past.

This first year has taught me more than I ever expected. I’ve learned that readers don’t just want lists of places to visit; they want to know how those places made someone feel. They want the hidden coffee shop, the unexpected conversation, the meal they’ll still be thinking about months later, and the quiet moments that never make it into a guidebook.

Those are the stories I want Tasted & Traveled to tell. As I begin Year Two, I’m excited to continue exploring beautiful destinations, grow the travel guide side of Tasted & Traveled, and see where a few exciting new opportunities lead. If this first year taught me anything, it’s that some of the best experiences are the ones you never planned.

Some of you have been here since the beginning. Others have discovered Tasted & Traveled more recently. I’m grateful you’ve chosen to come along for the journey.

Here’s to Year Two, and to many more stories still waiting to be discovered.

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A note to my future self:

Tonight, standing above the Aegean Sea watching the sun disappear below the horizon, I realized something. Starting Tasted & Traveled was never just about visiting more places.

It was about paying closer attention to the places I visited… and to the people I met along the way.
Those stories have become the greatest souvenir of all.