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Celebrating The Travelista’s 1st Birthday!

17/03/14 ᛫ Add a Comment

Today is a very special day for  me as it’s The Travelista’s first birthday! Exactly one year ago on the 17th March 2013, I published my first ever post on The Travelista. At this point, it was your average start up WordPress blog with next to no traffic or following and my posts received very of little engagement. One year on from starting The Travelista, I have reached over 50,000 unique hits, 500 comments and 1958 followers. I’ve also been had some amazing experiences that have come purely though starting my blog. So here is a recap of my proudest moments and a thank you to my readers and to all the brands that have worked with me through The Travelista.

Photo on 08-07-2013 at 21.33

1. I was shortlisted for a Cosmo Blog Award 

Without a doubt, this has been the biggest acheivment of my first year of blogging. The Cosmo Blog Awards is a hugely prestigious accolade in the blogosphere and for my little blog to be recognised by the amazing publication that is Cosmopolitan quite simply blew my mind. At the time the blog was shortlisted, The Travelista was only 5 months old and was up against blogs that had been established for over 5 years. The blog was shortlisted from 43,000 blog nominations, and I made the final 6 in the Travel category.

And strike a pose! Me on arrival at the Cosmo Blog Awards

And strike a pose! Me on arrival at the Cosmo Blog Awards

2. I took on the World Duty Free Blogger Challenge 

It’s not every day you get an email asking if you’d be interested in a luxury-goods ‘super market sweep’ around World Duty Free with £250 to burn. But this is exactly what I did when I took on the World Duty Free Blogger Challenge. The idea was to pick up all of my Christmas gifts in one place with just an hour or so to spare. I took on the challenge and picked up some pretty awesome travel goodies along the way. Click on the link and check them out!

3. I jetted off for a Christmas weekend away in Paris

In December I was offered a weekend city break to a destination of my choice courtesy of World Duty Free. Having only visited as a teen, I chose the city of lights and love, Paris. With only a weekend to play with, I thought the short flight would buy me more time whilst I was over there. I spent a blissful weekend taking in the festive atmosphere of Paris and met up with my old french Pen Pal Emeline, who I hadn’t seen for 10 years!

The Travelista in Paris!

The Travelista in Paris!

4. I was taken on a helicopter ride over the skyscrapers of London

This experience was thanks to The London Helicopter, the first ever helicopter-charter company to welcome tourists and visitors, offering them an entirely new way to see the sights of London. As you can imagine, I jumped at the chance to experience this and spent an unforgettable 30 minutes above London’s stunning skyline, seeing all of the most famous sights. It was fascinating to be looking down on London. Click the link to read about my experience!

travelista-london-helicopter7

5. I’ve been treated to a Michelin Star champagne-filled lunch

Since moving to London, I’ve featured a few restaurant reviews on the blog. One of which was at Brasserie Chavot, after a lovely PR company invited me to go and experience their client’s food. I thought it may have been a quick ‘hi’ and a main course, but low and behold, I was treated to champagne, a DELICIOUS 3 course dinner and a meet and greet from Michelin Star chef Eric Chavot himself. I’m still dreaming of the cod, bacon and puy lentils dish I ordered and can’t wait to go back again! Read about my full dining experience in the link above.

6. I worked with LastMinute.com on their #BeSpontaneous campaign

LastMinute.com’s #BeSpontaneous competition was a huge campaign that took social media and the travel industry by storm. When they approached me to write an advice post about blogging to support their campaign, I was more than honored and took them up on the offer immediately. It was so great to be involved in such  high profile and intelligent social campaign and a great feeling to hear that travel giants LastMinute.com valued my advice.

Here I am in the beautiful greek island of Kalamos this June during my sailing tour of the Greek islands.

Last Minute pink!

With all these awesome experiences happening in just the first year of my blog being on the web, I am so excited to grow The Travelista further and to see where else in the world my travel blogging hobby can take me. Blogging is now a huge part of my life that has enriched my life socially, professionally and financially and I can’t imagine being without it. Here’s to the next year!

If you enjoyed this post (or just fancy wishing The Travelista a Happy 1st Birthday!) please leave a comment in the box below

Add a Comment

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Comments

  1. Lauren Meshkin @BonVoyageLauren says

    20th March 2014 at 7:43 am

    Congrats! Looking forward to more posts. Oh, and Happy Birthday 😉

    Happy travels 🙂

    Reply
  2. Little Miss Notting Hill says

    17th March 2014 at 5:44 pm

    Congrats lovely! Happy blog birthday 🙂 x
    http://littlemissnottinghill.com/

    Reply
    • thetravelistablog says

      19th March 2014 at 9:34 pm

      Thank you sweetie, going to check out your blog now ! 🙂 x

      Reply
  3. denimfish says

    17th March 2014 at 3:56 pm

    Very Happy Blogbirthday! Well done, love reading of your adventures.

    Reply
    • thetravelistablog says

      19th March 2014 at 9:34 pm

      Thanks DenimFish, I always appreciate your support 🙂

      Reply
  4. Fliss says

    17th March 2014 at 3:50 pm

    Happy Blog Birthday! x

    Reply
    • thetravelistablog says

      19th March 2014 at 9:34 pm

      Thanks Fliss 🙂

      Reply
  5. lruthnum says

    17th March 2014 at 1:49 pm

    Happy birthday! And wow! Such a rollercoaster of a year – it sounds amazing! Your blog is such an inspiration to the rest of us 🙂 xx

    Reply
    • thetravelistablog says

      19th March 2014 at 9:35 pm

      Such sweet words, thank you Lucy! It certainly has been a roller coaster year. Thank you for always stopping by and commenting. So nice to know people like you are reading x

      Reply
  6. Helen Birley (@hellsbels79) says

    17th March 2014 at 1:32 pm

    Happy BLOG Birthday xx

    Reply
    • thetravelistablog says

      19th March 2014 at 9:35 pm

      Thanks Helen 🙂 xx

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The Travelista Shortlisted to Win Best Travel Blog in the Cosmo Blog Awards 2014 | The Travelista says:
    13th July 2014 at 7:24 pm

    […] Last year, my blog was shortlisted in the Cosmo Blog Awards at just 3 months old. I was utterly astounded to see my blog’s name on the Cosmo website last year next to some of the UK’s top bloggers. Attending the Cosmo Blog Awards last year gave me a taste of things to come and gave me even more determination to grow my blog even further into the lime light. The Travelista had it’s first Birthday back in March 2014, and in 1 small year, I was amazed at how many incredible opportunities having the blog has created (so much so that I wrote a post about it here). […]

    Reply

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Jess is an an award-winning UK travel blogger based in North Yorkshire, providing you with inspiration for both local and global adventures.

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I have my friend @naomipsychotherapy to thank for I have my friend @naomipsychotherapy to thank for introducing me to wild swimming. She lives here in the Lakes and is an all-seasons pro. At first I was intrigued by her new hobby but equally I thought she was totally mad.

With 8 wild swims under my belt now I’ve definitely grown in confidence and really crave the rush of endorphins it brings. It’s such a visceral experience that pushes your body and then rewards it. There are also so many mental health benefits to wild swimming too. 

Here are Naomi’s 6 top tips if you are a beginner and want to give wild swimming a try:

1. Make sure you have a safe entry and exit point
2. Be mindful of any currents or tides. Lakes are safest as they have neither. 
3. Never swim alone. Always go with someone else.
4. Wear swim booties to protect your feet from rough ground. 
5. Remember mindfulness - try to be present in the moment, noticing what you can hear, smell, see, feel. You can’t get closer to nature than this. 
6. Make sure you have a towel and warm, dry clothing to put on immediately after swimming. 

Would you ever try wild / cold water swimming? Or are you already converted? 💬 

#wildswimming #wonderfulwildwomen #coldwaterswimming #lakeswim #lakeswimming #wearetravelgirls
I would have been getting married next month. Inst I would have been getting married next month. Instead, next month I’m re-launching my business after winning a small business grant, I’m travelling the world again and growing in confidence as a single parent. 

I thought my life was falling apart but now I realise it was falling into place, just as it should be. 💫
NYC on my mind 💫 So grateful to reach 20k on In NYC on my mind 💫 So grateful to reach 20k on Insta today. It’s not easy to grow organically on this app but I have always believed in quality over quantity and you lot are the best, most engaged and supportive community I could ever wish for. If you’re new around here, you’re very welcome, and thanks for taking an interest in my rollercoaster of a life. ♥️
If you’re planning a trip to the big apple you a If you’re planning a trip to the big apple you absolutely have to try this New York institution! Only $4 a slice 🍕 Save this reel as a reminder. 🇺🇸 

Where else can you find amazing pizza in NYC? Add your faves in the comments. 

📍 Joe’s Pizza, 7 Carmine Street, West Village NYC 

#newyorkeats #newyorkpizza #newyorkpizzaslice #joespizza #joespizzanyc #newyorkfood #newyorkfoodie
Home! 🥰 But the grid shall remain in NYC for th Home! 🥰 But the grid shall remain in NYC for the next few days to ensure all outfits have been sufficiently documented. This was one of my faves. 

(Jeans are Bershka via @asos but currently sold out. Most of my stuff is old season so I’d make a terrible fashion blogger)
Let me give you a tour of the penthouse suite at t Let me give you a tour of the penthouse suite at the @editionnewyork - where we just stayed for 5 nights.

The penthouse currently sells at an eye watering $10,084 a night, which we absolutely did not pay. 

For full disclosure, this was not a PR / press stay. My friend booked a loft suite and the penthouse upgrade was a surprise as the lovely reception staff noticed it was her birthday during our stay. We did not mention our social media accounts or my blog so this stroke of luck was 100% organic! 

Before booking the Edition NYC we saw online that the hotel regularly upgrades its guests whenever possible. We were hopeful but never ever expected they’d upgrade us to the penthouse! 

Insider tip: the generous upgrades are definitely a reason to stay at The Edition when you’re next in NYC.

What’s your favourite part of the Penthouse? 🗽 

📍 5 Madison Avenue, Manhattan, NYC

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