Hi, I’m Alyssa, and welcome to Tray Tables Locked!
I believe that travel is for everyone, and it doesn’t have to mean flying to some exotic destination. It can be as simple as venturing to the next town over and discovering something new there. Travel, quite simply, is about new experiences in new locations.
I grew up with a love for visiting new places. I took my first overseas trip at age three, flying to Korea to meet my grandparents for the first time. My dad loved to drive, so road trips across the U.S. and multiple visits to Niagara Falls defined my childhood.
At 16, I went to Europe for the first time on a life-changing high school-organized trip to Scotland and England. London in particular blew me away. It was my first time exploring a city of that size, and seeing its famous landmarks in person left me in awe. After that trip, I vowed to return to London on a study abroad program.
I kept that promise and studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies in Russell Square, London during my junior year of college. Between my studies and part-time barista shifts at a Notting Hill Starbucks, I got to visit Amsterdam, Rome, Vienna, and Seville. My hunger for travel grew, as did my love for solo travel.
My 20s featured solo vacations to Europe and work trips around the U.S. while exploring everything the five boroughs of New York City had to offer. I met my now-husband Steve there, and fortunately he enjoyed traveling as much as I did. We moved to Seattle in 2014 and then returned to the East Coast with a move to Boston in late 2015. We embarked on cross-country road trips during those two moves.
In 2017, we seized an opportunity to move to Dublin, Ireland. We explored all corners of the Emerald Isle and much of Europe. We marveled at the Northern Lights in Norway, dined at Osteria Francescana in Italy, and sipped gluhwein at German Christmas markets. A work trip also gave us the chance to explore Sydney, Australia and New Zealand’s South Island. (Long story short, if you ever have the chance to live and work abroad, DO IT.)
In late 2019, we moved back to Boston, and in November 2020, during the height of COVID, we welcomed our son, Rowan. Travel looks very different now; we choose destinations that are toddler-friendly, and our vacation days are slower-paced and full of trips to playgrounds, kids’ museums, and anything else to keep the little man happy.
There’s so much of the world to discover and so little time. Through my posts, I hope to inspire you to take off and explore!