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What a Journey It’s Been, 2013!

December 23, 2013 by Jean Holy Smithereens 8 Comments

And now the time has come to make ‘that kind of blog post’. It’s the end of the year and it’s time to reflect on the events gone by for 2013.

I did a similar post last year, and if you want to see, this was how 2012 unfolded for me. I did say that 2012 was a year that’s been very kind to me.

2013 seemed to be the cooler sister of the kind and gentle 2012. Both have been very good years for me, and this is how 2013 rolled out for me:

1.) JANUARY

It feels like we only just welcomed 2013, bright-eyed and excited.

We met the New Year with a dinner at The Star in Sydney, and finished the night watching fireworks. I was so excited (just how I am every start of the new year) to face 2013. And with good reason to! 2013 has been a very cool year for me πŸ™‚

2.) FEBRUARY

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Linkin Park in Sydney

The shortest month of the year always feels action packed. I watched Linkin Park and competed in a dragon boat race.

3.) MARCH

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Holy Smithereens! I turned 32 and watched Russell Peters live too πŸ™‚

March is my birthday month and I turned 32 in 2013 πŸ™‚ This sounds strange but I’ve yet to meet someone else who feels so happy to grow older. I always look forward to growing a year older because it means I’m wiser than I was a year ago. And the older you get, the more possible it is to have your cake and eat it too. The wizened ones will agree with me on this πŸ™‚

And we got to see Russell Peters live too!! Such an awesome experience that had both Zombie and I feeling ‘ real bad hurt in our tummies’ from laughing.

4.) APRIL

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Sydney Harbour Bridge

It was a chilled out April for me, did a photoshoot around Sydney with Dexter Uy Photography.

5.) MAY

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Philippine Island hopping trip. Holy Smithereens! Style

We flew to the Philippines on my quest to find the perfect island, (if you want to know Yes, I did find it, or close to my definition of perfection anyway). Β I re-visited Boracay to asses if it really is the world’s best island? Climbed an active volcano, and fell in love with Coron, Palawan.

*View the entire Philippine travel series!*

6.) JUNE

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I ate my way around Malaysia!

Whatever fitness I gained from all the activities done in the Philippines was promptly un-done by a massive food trip in Malaysia.

I also had fun re-exploring Penang and getting lost in its quirky streets, and get enchanted with its Blue Mansion.

*View the entire Malaysian travel series!*

7.) JULY andΒ 8.) AUGUST

I have good reason to couple up 2 months together. It was an extremely busy month for us. Like running here and there kind of busy. And the 4-hour sleep days kind of busy.

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July and August – very busy indeed!

But the end result of all that, is – we finally moved out of the city, bought our own place and now live closer to the beach. (And MALL! πŸ™‚ )

9.) SEPTEMBER

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Holy Smithereens team in Singapore

We flew to Singapore end of September for a quick lay over stay. Staying at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore made it really challenging for this trip to be just under 24 hours!

*View all Singapore trip posts*

Β 10.) OCTOBER

October proved to be another busy month for travel. It needs to be divided into 3 segments.

First, Dublin:

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Hello, Dublin!

We flew to Dublin for TBEX (Travel Blog Exchange) Conference, which was also our very first travel blogging conference. This definitely won’t be our last travel or travel blogging related conference to attend. Learned a lot of things, met a lot of interesting and fun bloggers too! ( Ann of Travel Turtle,Β Alex and Bell from Wanderlust Marriage, Jessica and Hai of Notes of Nomads, Shane of The Travel Camel, Amber of With Husband in Tow, and Eugene of Traverse in Converse just among many wonderful others)

*View all Dublin and Ireland travel blog posts!*

Oh, and let’s not forget our short stint in Copenhagen too!

Β 2nd , Iceland

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Holy Smithereens! Iceland is COOL!

We flew to Reykjavik after Dublin. And this was one crazily action-packed trip to Iceland, and I wouldn’t have it any other way πŸ™‚

I experienced Iceland as the very cool adventure capital of Europe as I scuba dived in freezing temperature, snowmobiledΒ and climbed a glacier, dipped into the famous Blue Lagoon, triedΒ caving at night, and went dog-sledding, just to name a few!

*View All Iceland adventures here!*

3rd, Paris

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Paris will always be a good idea for me

After all the action in Iceland, we headed to Paris for some much needed pampering. Here we reviewed some of the city’s top luxury hotels, and were not disappointed at all.

Paris is by far the most beautiful capital city I’ve been to. Every street you turn into not only looks grand but has several hundred years’ worth of history beneath it.

*Click here to view all Paris travel posts*

11.) NOVEMBER

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Back in Europe! Solo this time

I suddenly found myself back in Europe in November (happy-crazy 2 months its been!)

This time I travelled alone, and I explored Europe by train. Went to London (my favourite city in Europe so far), Brussels (chocolates are amazing!), Stuttgart (hello, Mercedes Benz!) and Paris once again πŸ™‚ I also got to try business class on the A380, which I have to say is a whole new level of comfort and design.

12.) DECEMBER

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New Years Eve in Brisbane

I’m spending Christmas in Sydney, and for my ultimate LAST travel for the year 2013, Zombie and I are flying to Brisbane for New Years.

—–

WHEW! What a wonderful, busy and blessed 2013 was for me. No year goes without its downtimes too but I choose to recall the good times- which far outweigh the not-so-good times anyway!

Here’s to more happiness and travels for 2014. Bring it on!! πŸ™‚

—

How was the year 2013 for you?

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Adventure, Australia, Brisbane, Copenhagen, Europe, Ireland, London, Luxury Travel, Malaysia, Paris, Philippines, Sydney, Travel Updates

About Jean Holy Smithereens

Jean is a lover of luxury travel and adventure, always looking for that "Holy Smithereens"-inducing moment on her travels. Follow the blog and other social media pages of Holy Smithereens to get the ultimate travel ideas for the luxurious adventurer!

Comments

  1. Shane Dallas (The Travel Camel) says

    December 29, 2013 at 3:58 am

    It was lovely meeting you in Dublin and to discover your lovely website. Pity that we didn’t have too much time to talk amongst the frenetic activity of TBEX – but that is usual for such a well-attended event. Hope to meet you again somewhere in the world in 2014!

    Reply
    • Jean Holy Smithereens says

      December 30, 2013 at 7:07 am

      Hi Shane, likewise! i enjoyed your talk and the short snippets of conversation we had. I hope to see you again in 2014- wherever it may be πŸ™‚

      Reply
  2. Sam @ Travellingking.com says

    December 29, 2013 at 1:11 pm

    Oh wow – what a wonderful year!! Just reading that made me exhausted!!

    Reply
    • Jean Holy Smithereens says

      December 30, 2013 at 7:06 am

      Sam im also glad I got to “know” you before 2013 ended! Thanks for being part of it πŸ™‚

      Reply
  3. Alex | Wanderlust Marriage says

    December 31, 2013 at 6:03 pm

    What a year it’s been for you, Jean! It was awesome meeting you guys this year and following along on your incredible adventures. They really are Holy Smithereens! And we absolutely love your photos, they are so inspiring to go to these fantastic places. Have a wonderful New Year from Bell and I!!! πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Jean Holy Smithereens says

      January 1, 2014 at 3:51 am

      Thank you Alex, happy new year to you and Bell too! It was really a pleasure to meet you both. Hope our paths cross again next year wherever it will be πŸ™‚

      Reply
  4. Ann says

    January 5, 2014 at 2:36 pm

    Happy New Year! 2013 looked like way too much fun and I can’t wait to see what (or where) 2014 brings you!

    Reply
    • Jean Holy Smithereens says

      January 6, 2014 at 12:50 pm

      Thanks Ann, Happy new Year to you and your family too! Likewise I look forward to your 2014. I hope to get lucky and see you again πŸ™‚

      Reply

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