While planning a winter getaway to Chicago seems a little risky, don't let the threat of freezing temps and high winds scare you. I recently spent a long weekend visiting friends in Chicago and the city did not disappoint.

My childhood (and adult) best friend Ashley has family in the city and when she and her husband decided to make a trip after the holidays, I knew I had to tag along. Luckily, they agreed to let me and our friend Pam join the fun.

The weekend was heavily focused around food, drink and family and I was definitely on board with the plan.

We had a delayed flight and started off the trip with some late-night burgers at Kumas Corner. It's a heavy metal kind of place with crazy toppings stacked high between pretzel buns. And luckily for me, you can substitute any beef patty with grilled chicken or a garden burger. I don't have a picture because it was so dark, but the restaurant definitely deserves a mention.

Saturday morning brunch at Cindy's Rooftop may have been my favorite part of the weekend. The family-style menu including chilaquiles and Nutella pancakes was everything I could've hoped for. Aside from good food, the main attraction of Cindy's is the rooftop view of Millennium Park and Lake Michigan.

And possibly the most important part of visiting Chicago is the pizza. After some debate, we decided to go to Pequod's to fulfill our deep dish cravings. The sauce was tangy and the cheese was plenty, but the real winner was the caramelized corn-meal crust. There's no doubt that I will be dreaming of this pizza until I can make it back to Chicago.

During the last 10 years, I've lived in 12 homes in eight cities in four different countries. I've held numerous jobs to pay the bills and fund my travels. But 2016 was different.

2016 was the first year within the last decade that I lived in one place for the entire year. And the first whole year that I held a full-time career (not a filler job or working abroad). It was also the first year that I was able to replenish my bank account from the damage of years of traveling and working abroad.

So in 2016, I made an attempt to keep travel a priority while living a more settled lifestyle. I've realized that I am much happier when I have a trip (big or small) to look forward to. For the most part, I spent 2016 completing one adventure only to plan for the next. And when there were no weekend getaways on the calendar, I explored closer to home.

11. Echentive Beach, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain


I will be honest with you. I am spilling more beans here than in my own La Palma blog post where I did not tell where this heavenly spot was located in the first place. Therefore, and as such post went viral, I got a bunch of mails from readers asking me how to reach these natural hot springs they were looking at in the pictures. Well, just if you promise to keep the secret, they are in Echentive beach, a few steps from the sea in the Southern part of the island (which is everything but warm as this pristine pool).

Therefore, next time in the Canary Islands, look forward to pay a visit to La Palma and go find these turquoise waters. Thank me later!

Inma was invited by La Palma Tourism to explore the island last Spring. Follow her adventures and misadventures on her blog A World to Travel.


12. Hells Gate Geothermal Park, Rotorua, New Zealand


Have you visited the geothermal parks in Rotorua, New Zealand? Do you ever wonder what it would be like to bathe in hot geothermal pools? Offering a unique geothermal experience, Hells Gate Geothermal Park not only gives you the chance to walk along hot boiling pools and sulphur lakes, it also offers a personal retreat in a mud bath or a sulphur spa.

Overlooking the rest of the park, the mud bath and sulphur spas give you an authentic bath experience, just like the European settlers and Maori did it hundreds of years ago. I really enjoyed the mud bath, which is made of geothermal mud mixed with warm sulphur water from the geothermal pools. You will definitely feel the benefits on your skin. After a long day of sightseeing in Rotorua, a dip in the mud bath was definitely a perfect way to end to our trip.

Jon and Gia are a New Zealander-Filipina couple on a journey around the world. Follow their travels at Mismatched Passports. 


13. Tabacon Hot Springs, Arenal, Costa Rica


The area surrounding the Arenal Volcano in central Costa Rica is highly volcanic, so there are dozens of hot spring sites to choose from. We went to Tabacon Natural Hot Springs, which is a completely natural volcanic spring, which has been beautifully landscaped and sympathetically sculpted into various different pools, rivers and massaging waterfalls. This is some of the healthiest water in the world, full of salts and minerals, gently massaging tired, aching muscles and rejuvenating your whole body. At only a couple of minutes’ drive from the volcano itself, you can bathe of the steaming hot waters with a view of the volcano that created them towering over you in the distance.