Month in Review: June 2022

Did June fly by for anyone else? I can’t believe we’re at the end of June already and that summer is officially here!

Highlights

One of my favourite highlights from the month was watching Hamilton in Vancouver. My mom bought us tickets ages ago as an early 30th birthday present for me (thanks again, mom!) and it was so fun to see this musical Colin and I both love so much. It was awesome to watch this cast’s interpretations of the songs and to discuss all our favourite parts on the walk home.

While the weather in June was inconsistent, we did have some fun times outside. At the beginning of the month, we headed out to Golden Ears for a family birthday party. It was so nice to see everyone, meet some of the newest babies in our family, and let Ellie run around in the woods.

Later in the month, my friend Emilie and I walked the Seawall on a beautiful day. In more nice weather, Colin and I attended a work BBQ for one of my clients and then hosted a BBQ of our own. It’s been so nice to get to use our patio!

We also booked all of our hotels and trains for our September trip to Europe. I am so excited to get back to Paris, Amsterdam and Belgium!

Lowlights

While we did get up to 29 degrees this month, we also had a ton of rainy, cold days in the first half of June. It was pretty depressing to still be putting on sweaters and rain boots in June! I kept saying that Mother Nature was punishing us for being too eagre and setting up our patio way back in March.

This month also felt really busy. Between some social obligations and lots of work projects, June flew by and I haven’t really had a chance to catch my breath. While I’d rather be busy than bored, I am looking forward to a little more down time next month. I was so busy in June, I missed a week of posting on the blog!

Best watch

It was all about the delicious travel shows this month!

Colin and I were so excited for the new season of Somebody Feed Phil and finished it in just a couple of days. We also finished up the newest season of Searching for Italy with Stanley Tucci. And lastly, we found a new (to us) show called Travel Man, which is a funny take on 48 hour travel itineraries. We only have a season or two left, so will have to start hunting for a new travel show soon!

What’s cooking?

I don’t want to say June wasn’t a tasty month, but there weren’t as many standout dishes as there usually are. But it was still a yummy time, mostly thanks to Colin! He made a great batch of butter chicken that we enjoyed as our work lunches for a week. He also fired up our BBQ for the first grill of the season, making delicious burgers and Vietnamese chicken that my mom brought over.

And, of course, I was pretty thrilled when Colin suggested we order sushi one night!

Posts from this month

This month on Teaspoon of Adventure I published:

• 7 Mistakes I Made in New York City – So You Don’t Have To
• Fast Travel VS Slow Travel: Which Is Better?

Just two posts this month as I skipped last week. But it’s about quality over quantity, right?

For my throwback post of the month, I’m going back to June 2020: Falling in Love with Seville. I was recently reminded of our Feb 2020 trip to Seville, Spain and how much I absolutely loved that city. Taking in the views from the Cathedral and Alcazar, watching a flamenco show, and just sitting in the square eating ice cream, every moment of that trip was amazing. I can’t wait to go back one day!

Reads

This month, I’ve finished reading:

How to Survive Family Holidays by Jack Whitehall, Hilary Whitehall, Michael Whitehall
Travels with My Father is a favourite travel show of mine, so of course I had to pick up the companion book by comedian Jack Whitehall and his parents, Michael and Hilary. The book was hysterical and a fun look at Whitehall family life. I especially loved listening to this one as an audiobook as Jack, Michael and Hilary read the book themselves and they even included little asides they made to each other in the recording booth.

The Temporary European by Cameron Hewitt
Cameron Hewitt works for Rick Steves’ Europe as a producer of the TV show, guidebook researcher, former tour guide and much more. With his extensive history exploring Europe and working with Rick Steves, I loved hearing his stories from life on the road. Each chapter was an essay set in a different place in Europe. I especially loved the behind the scenes look at what goes into group tours and guidebooks.

The Witness Wore Red by M. Bridget Cook, Rebecca Musser
After watching a new Netflix documentary on the FLDS and Warren Jeffs, I was inspired to read this harrowing memoir by Rebecca Musser, one of the stars of the documentary and survivors of Jeffs and his cult. It was a fascinating and devastating account of her life growing up FLDS, finding her way out, and courageously helping others do the same.

Italy Is My Boyfriend by Annette Joseph
I was really excited to read this book about a woman who spends every summer in Italy, eventually building a home there and becoming a resident. Sadly, it didn’t quite work for me. Instead of accounts of life in Italy, it was a lot of complaining about bad house guests, too-long house hunts with descriptions I couldn’t keep straight, and gossip-like accounts of her crumbling friendships.

Travels

Sadly, no travels for me this month! So let’s look back at past Junes:

Where I have travelled in June

• June 2012: June 2012 marked my very first solo trip and my very first trip to Europe. Honestly, I consider this trip the one that started it all – the trip that made me fall in love with travel and decide to share my travels on this blog. On that trip I visited London, Paris, Nice, Barcelona, Madrid and Lisbon.
• June 2018: In 2018, I visited Hawaii for the first time. My friend, Cassie, and I visited Honolulu and had an amazing time hitting the beaches, exploring Koloa Ranch and the Polynesian Cultural Center, and eating the best food!
• June 2019: June 2019 was probably our biggest trip yet: We moved to Prague! On the way we visited Paris and Munich. And then later in the month, we visited Kutna Hora and Dresden.

Gratitude

I’m so grateful we finally got some sun this month! Was it too much sun? Maybe! (And this is why I’m the worst because I complain when it’s rainy and when it’s sunny.)

Coming up next

July is going to be a big one…I’m turning 30! We’re also heading back to Pender Harbour for a quick weekend, which I’m really excited about.

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I hope June 2022 was a great month for you. Thanks so much for checking out my month in review and wishing us all a wonderful July to come!