Gosh! Another year comes to a close and another begins! 2014 was a wonderful travel year for me. I chalked up tens of thousands of miles, visiting twelve countries on five continents. In my New Year’s post at the start of 2014, I wrote:
I prefer to see each new year as a blank canvas, waiting to be filled with colour, beauty and inspiration. It’s up to me to create the best painting I can with all the tools I have. I’m very excited about the new year and I’m convinced my painting will be a stunner!
So what turned up on my “blank canvas”? Well, I didn’t exactly paint but when I gathered my travel photos from 2014 and created a collage, it turned out to be a “stunner” indeed!
For me, 2014 was a fulfilling year, full of incredible travel experiences as well as challenges, triumphs, and moments of sadness and joy. I stepped out of my comfort zone on numerous occasions to try something new, such as learning to snowboard in Quebéc; and challenged my fear of heights by going canyoning and soaring in the sky in a microlight on Reunion Island. I tested my determination and skills to successfully organise my first conference (with lots of help from my friends), the Social Travel Summit. I felt the anguish after the downing of flight MH17 in Ukraine, an incident which strengthened my resolve to make every day count. Striking a good balance between my work and my personal life was a big theme for me this year and I did my best to make it happen, spending quality time with my loved ones at home in between my travels.
To everyone – my family, friends, colleagues, mentors and my readers – I THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for your enthusiasm, encouragement and love.
2014: My year of travel
Please scroll down for a list of related posts and photos from my year of travel (the sequence reflects the photos in the collage above, from top-left to right).
Gran Canaria
The perfect winter getaway
Winter in Quebéc – Mont Tremblant and Montréal
- An awesome winter in Quebec
- An oasis in the snow
- Montréal in five restaurants
- Winter fun in Quebec – the video
- Five ways to enjoy winter in Montréal
Newscastle-upon-Tyne
Berlin, Germany
The Social Travel Summit, Leipzig, Germany
The historic Social Travel Summit
Rheingau, Germany
History and wine in Rheingau
Holland
Tulips in Holland
South Africa
- Finding paradise in Grootbos
- An awe-inspiring flight tour along the Western Cape
- Wine-blending at Middelvlei Wines
- Six Stellenbosch wineries to visit
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- The magic of Rio de Janeiro in photos
- Inspired by Rio
Puglia, Italy
The treasures of Gallipoli
KLM Dakota DC3 flight
A flight back in time on a Dakota DC3
Reunion Island
- An Instagram tour of Reunion
- A bird’s eye view of Reunion Island
- Driving the Route du Volcan
- Reunion Island video – the ultimate adventure island
Malaysia
- Chilling on the Perhentian Islands
- Plane views: Kuala Lumpur
My birthday
Airbus A380 roll-out in Hamburg, Germany
Experiencing the Etihad Airways A380 roll-out
Ecuador
Bologna and Modena, Italy
Sevilla, Spain
And in between my travels, I was home in Amsterdam, working, spending time with my family and taking pictures of my beloved city!
And that was my 2014!
Here’s wishing you a HAPPY, HEALTHY and SUCCESSFUL 2015!
What will be on your canvas in 2015?
Cheers and lots of hugs,
Keith 🙂
Hi Rishul,
No plans as yet but I’m sure I’ll get there one day… eventually! 🙂
Cheers,
Keith
You are a true traveler in real sense. Love the way you explore places.When you are going to visit India.
Hi Ulla,
It was a pleasure meeting you in Helsinki and chatting about our blogs. Thanks for dropping by!
Cheers,
Keith
Wau, amazing travel year! It was very nice to meet you today in NBE event today! 🙂
Thanks Linzi! It sure was an amazing year. 🙂
What an amazing year in travel, very jealous! Loved the collage too
Hi Elliott-Jay,
Will do! Following you on twitter. 🙂
Happy New Year!
Cheers,
Keith
This photo was taken in the tulip region north of Amsterdam – you have to return one day!
Happy New Year!
Cheers,
Keith
Happy new year…and truly inspired by all your beautiful pictures! Love love the photo of the sheep with tulips in Amsterdam. I was there in spring 2014 but never seen that view at all. It must be your keen eye for beautiful scenery.
Hi Keith I’m a young man from a marketing and IT company based in London called Brand Perceptions, I’m the blog writer for the company, would be great if you had a look at some of the content. You seem to do a lot of travelling which is so key, some of our IT management services may be of good assistance to you easy to use and mobile friendly, I do believe we should speak in the future, there may be common ground. Follow our twitters @elliottjay1 and @brandpercepti0n
Hehe, thanks Rob! Pretty cool! 🙂
…and your painting is a stunner!!!!
Love those snaps. It will definitely inspire people to travel more and more. I love to travel a lot. Don’t think much… pack my backpack, book my tickets and get ready to travel.