Woo hoo! The time has come. I’m hitting the road skies soon for Europe! I’ll be away for a few weeks, and visiting 3 different places that offer different adventures. I’m stoked to visit Europe at this time of the year. For one, the tourist crowds that summer attracts has probably died down (or so I hope!), and also, the weather would be quite temperate (except for one of the places I’m going to!).

Here’s where I’ll be and a rough draft of what I’ll be up to.

WEEK 1: DUBLIN

Land of grey skies and colourful people! I will be in Dublin for the TBEX Conference (TBEX is the world’s largest gathering of travel bloggers, writers, and new media content creators.) This is a super duper long-awaited trip! I am always looking for ways to improve my skills as a travel blogger, and for Zombie to improve as a photoblogger for Holy Smithereens. The conference is power-packed with sessions and talks that relates to everything related to the wonders of media travel.

This is our first time both in Dublin, and to attend TBex. We don’t have any expectations but to learn and have lots of fun meeting new people, exploring new places and gaining new skills.

2013 is also the year of The Gathering in Ireland, and this is what we are gathering there for:

WEEK 2: ICELAND

BRRRrrrr! This is me living the famous saying that goes ‘do one thing everyday that scares you’. Well, I’ll let you in on a secret: I’m scared of the cold!!!

So I think me spending a week in Iceland, where the coldest will be close to 0 degrees, will be enough for me to not do any other scary thing for the rest of my life!

I have prepared myself to the max by having a power packing list for Iceland, which I will write about soon.

However, I’m excited and looking forward to all the activities we’re going to get up to in this cold island nation. Glacier hiking, ice climbing, scuba diving in between continental drifts, riding those cute Icelandic horses–are just a Few of the Many, MANY things we will be doing.

A lot, if not most of the activities are weather dependent, so I don’t want to reveal too much of it, lest we all be disappointed with the weather turnout.

All I can say is : I’m fulfilling a handful of  life-long DREAMS in this trip 🙂

WEEK 3: PARIS

As always, I like to mix pleasure with adventure. So after a week of action in Iceland, we scoot off to Paris for a bit of pampering.

We won’t have time to explore the regional and out of town areas so as first timers in Paris, we will explore the city, the icons, the classic stuff that Paris is made of (and the not so usual either)

The Short Stops: Singapore & Copenhagen

Transits and stopovers need not be a pain. So we’re going to try and see what we can do in the short breaks we have in these cities. We’re not going to cram things just to fulfill a ‘100 things you can do in 24 hours” kind of list. I do plan to make it leisurely so that stopovers can now be looked forward to, instead of something to dread!

What to Expect:

As with all my trips, this one is no exception to the rule: finding the best ways to travel as a luxurious adventurer. For this trip, I have carefully chosen and researched brands and activities which I think are a best fit to my travel style and to Holy Smithereens readers- those who love a good pampering, but will be up at the first call of a good adventure! 

So expect a whole lot of reviews, features, roadtests and honest feedbacks which I hope will ultimately help you find that Holy Smithereens moment whenever you travel!

How to Get Updates:

I will still be blogging while on the road, but in order to get the most up-to-date happenings, I will be micro-blogging and  posting regularly on the following:

INSTAGRAM – jeanholysmithereens

FACEBOOK – HolySmithereens

TWITTER- @holysmithereens

If you’ve been to any of the places I will be hitting, I’d love to hear what are the must-do’s and must-see’s that you recommend.

As I end this post, I’d like to thank all who’ve followed Holy Smithereens from way back. You must agree, it’s been quite a ride, huh?

And if you are new here, well come on over and join me on my travels! It’s always good adventure and indulgence over here 😉

Now let me leave you with a few words that perfectly sums up WHY we travel.

Have an awesome week ahead!