As a seasoned travel writer Im blessed with over-the-top opportunities that often seem dream-like when I return to the reality of deadlines and my otherwise normal life. To solidify the best memories, each January I look back on the past year and write down my most extraordinary travel experiences. This year was filled with contenders but I narrowed them down to the six I dont want to ever forget. I hope that by noting my favorites, you too get inspired to live your dream however, whenever and wherever.

Walking Among the Moai of Easter Island

Early in the winter of 2014, our ship traveling from Chile to French Polynesia docked at Easter Island for two nights. Theres something about those mysterious stone-faced Moai (not Maui, not Mooie theyre pronounced Moe-eye.) Some things are over-hyped and then disappoint. But like the Taj Mahal and the Egyptian Pyramids. Easter Island lived up to its rep. Hundreds of statues, some lined up in a stone chorus line, some toppled like the fabled statue of Ozymandius, compelled me to wonder about how and why and more. And wild horses more of them on this green island it seemed than people added to the stark drama.

meet the moai on Easter Island (photo: Lea Lane)

Seeing Paris Through a 10-Year-Olds Eyes

I took a darling girl to Paris for her 10th birthday this summer, hoping that the beauty of the city would enthrall her and shed a new perspective on my somewhat jaded eye about that city. It did, in small ways I didnt expect. She loved the sweets in the cafes, and the waiters who lavished her with whipped cream, almond croissants and macarons, and she loved walking among the creamy buildings, and the shopkeepers who presented her with trinkets. She discovered that saying bon jour gets a smiling response. At the Eiffel Tower she waited patiently on line to see the view from the top. And she had her ears pierced, just because she could say they were pierced in Paris.

on the bridge covered in locks of love, gazing at Notre Dame. Doesnt get much more Parisian than this {photo: Lea Lane)

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My Six Most Unforgettable Travel Experiences of 2014