Miami to Maldives, Abu Dhabi to Hong Kong: Travel blogger’s year in review, pt 1.
Ready to ring in the New Year?
If you’ve been following my blog for some time, you’ll know it’s time for my annual Year in Review. This gives me a chance to reflect on the past 12 months, and share some bonus photos with you. So let’s head straight (or gaily forward, as my friends would say) to the first half.
My site’s focus and projects grew significantly in 2013. At this point, I’m traveling at least once a month to a far-off place, usually with my film team or a TV show. It’s my passion to report first-hand on alternative cultures around the world.
Last January, I escaped the cold at Miami Art Deco Weekend. I caught up with friends and did this retro 1920s photoshoot with Mayleen G. Enjoy the Florida posts, including a Bettie Page runway show, in this category.
I’ll never tire of going to Tokyo. I continue to be in Japan several times a year for television hosting and arranging jobs. Each time, there’s something new to experience, like the David Bowie cafe, Alphonse Mucha exhibit…
… and King of the Pirates theme restaurant. Best of all, I get to have fun with my friends. (Interested in hiring us? Learn about our TV production and consulting services.)
Next, my filmmakers and I were invited to a very special place: the Maldives. We fell in love with eco-luxury resort Gili Lankanfushi, and I got to live out my Treasure Island fantasies. Here’s our Maldives video and all the sunny photos.
We also landed in the Middle East for the first time. Dubai was a sci-fi wonderland, and I loved walking through the egg-like Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi. Discover the Arabian peninsula’s grandeur in these blog posts.
There’s no need to jet to far-off places to have an adventure. I featured my home country – Canada – in a series about Montreal’s Goth culture and Kinetik Festival. One of the highlights was bagel-tasting with Aesthetic Perfection’s Daniel Graves.
It appears a lot of people read my site for the Hong Kong travel guides, which makes me happy. This city is full of energy and pop culture oddities, like cute food and giant floating ducks. (Intrigued? Then see my Hong Kong tips.)
I leave you with an image from Shinjuku’s Hanazono Shrine. Shinto worshipers write wishes on these little wood plaques (called ema), and leave them for the kami to hopefully deliver.
On that note, do you have any New Years resolutions? What do you hope to achieve or improve in 2014?
I think we can all resolve to take care of ourselves, do meaningful work, and treat our furry companions like the kings they are! I’m shooting everything with DSLR now, so you can expect more images like the one above.
Coming up next: part II of my annual reflections.
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Italy modeling, New York fashion week & Dancing for Japan. La Carmina travel blog: 2012 year in review, part 1.
Merry Christmas, pirates! It’s hard to believe we’ve reached the end of 2012. Let’s usher in 2013 with my annual “year in review,” beginning with reminisces and outtake photos from the first six months.
I spent January in Italy with Seby. We stayed with his family in northern Italy, and then ventured to Florence for Luisaviaroma’s Firenze4Ever (the event that flies in the world’s top fashion bloggers for photoshoots and fun). One of the many highlights was modelling designer fashion with the Duomo as my backdrop. You see more images from this shoot here.
I did quite a few TV hosting and fixing gigs this year, with my First Mate Naomi. It’s a pleasure to work with her, and team up with some of my favorite shows including National Geographic Taboo, Discovery TV Oddities, Fashion TV, and more. More TV hosting clips to come in 2013.
In February, Yukiro and I attended New York Fashion Week, and even sat front row at Lincoln Center shows. We also checked out NYC’s Goth Punk shops and nightlife, such as this romantic Dances of Vice party in a church.
For the one year anniversary of the Japan Earthquake, I teamed up with Industrial dancers tank9 and Mary Nine. We made a dance video in Seattle, as part of Ridley Scott’s Japan in a Day collaborative film (watch it here.)
As you know, I host a regular travel video series published in Huffington Post. My film crew and I got the chance to shoot in gorgeous Maui, Hawaii. We explored the local fashion and over-indulged in Japanese food (check out my Hawaiian travel guide).
I’m always looking to stretch my creative wings, and do something new… and one of my favorite projects was the release of DNR’s Rock Princess music video. Do you like my red hair and Vivienne Westwood disco dress?
Don’t worry: between all the adventures, I put in plenty of Basil-snuggling time! In the next post, we’ll take a look at what happened in the second half of 2012.
Did you travel anywhere this year? Try something new, or achieve a goal? What were your favorite memories? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
LA CARMINA
