As 2019 comes to a close, and a new year begins, it’s time for my annual round-up of my favourite five photos of the year that feature me jumping for joy in various locations. Regular readers will know that I use this post as a way of looking back on my travels throughout the year. And this year, I visited nine countries, including three that were new to me — Estonia (new), USA, Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia (new), Malaysia (new), Singapore, Spain and France. 

For my 40th country, I decided to pay a long-overdue visit to Slovenia, spending three nights in the capital, Ljubljana. With a population of just under 300,000, Ljubljana is the largest city in Slovenia, but its compact, mainly pedestrianised city centre makes it an ideal long-weekend destination. It's also very pretty, with pastel-coloured buildings located alongside a vibrant green river, and a plethora of parks. 

I've also published a guide to spending a long weekend in Ljubljana; check it out!