Today’s morning became much better when I found out that the lovely Ilana from Ilana On The Road has nominated me for a Liebster Award. You may be wondering what is this all about. The award aims to put in the spotlight travel bloggers who, in your opinion, should be getting more recognition (liebster means “dearest” or “beloved” in German). It’s also a great way for your followers to find out more about you, as well as build relationships with some of your favorite bloggers.

Here are the rules: once you’re nominated, you must answer 10 questions, then nominate 10 other travel bloggers and ask them 10 questions of your own.

Before I answer my questions, I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to Ilana!

 

1. What’s your earliest travel memory ?

I can’t pinpoint it exactly, but it’s about the trips in the country I used to take with my parents. I think the first ones were at the sea, then as I grew up a little, we started to explore other parts of the country. Mom will read this, she’ll correct me if I’m wrong 😉

2. What’s your top 3 list of travel recommendations?

• Just because a city or sight in a city is popular, it doesn’t mean it’s overrated and it must be avoided. They’re popular for a reason and you should see them with your own eyes and make your own opinion. Except the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, I’ll never understand the hype.
• On the other side, you should go off beaten paths, as cliche as this may sound, your favorite place in Barcelona could be hidden well within the Barri Gòtic quarter.
• Have fun! Seriously, forget about what you should or shouldn’t do, if you’re having a good time, then it’s all that matters. (well, try keeping it within the laws of the country you’re in, though….)

3. What would you say to a person who never travelled?

What are you waiting for? There will always be excuses for not travelling, but there will never be a better time to do it than now! I’ve read about families travelling with children, I know people who have retired and now travel around the world. There internet is full of helpful tips, so dive in! After your first successful trip, I guarantee you’ll be hooked!

4. What are your travel plans for the next 6 months?

I’m going to Paris and Oslo next month, then a road trip in Portugal, then……maybe a trip for New Year’s Eve, but I haven’t made any plans yet.

5. What’s your favourite winter destination?

Hmm….I haven’t been travelling much during the winter, but I’ll have to go with Budapest on this one. I think Budapest is a great travel destination no matter the season.

6. What’s the most important advice you ever received?

To be less pessimistic and although I’m trying, sometimes it can still overshadow the way I feel or act during a trip.

7. How would your life be without travel?

Honestly, it would be rather boring, because when I’m not travelling, I’m thinking or researching the next destination.

8. What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to travel?

Lately, the most difficult thing is finding the best plane tickets, it seems like their prices have increased significantly. Also, planning a trip so that everyone in the group is happy can be a tricky task as well.

9. What are the 6 countries one should not miss in a round the world trip?

Just six? Okay, well as a fan of Portugal I’d say one can start there (and forget the rest of the world, this is the best place to be!) and then visit Spain, France, The Netherlands, and although I haven’t been there myself (yet!), I wouldn’t miss Italy and Greece.

10. Let the readers know your 2 recommendations for becoming a better blog writer!

• I’m my own worst enemy, I never write a post that I’m 100% happy with. But it’s alright to be like this, as long as you see where you might have gone wrong and how you can make it better in the next post.
• Keep the posts at a reasonable length (no one is going to read an 100000 word essay) and remember that a picture is worth a thousand words, so it’s important to have an equitable number of photos accompanying the text.

I have come up with 10 questions of my own and I can’t wait for my nominees to answer them. Here they are…

1. How did you decide to start your blog?
2. Think fast: your top three favorite destinations.
3. What country have you always dreamed of visiting and why?
4. If you’ve visited it, what was it like? If you haven’t, are you planning on going anytime soon?
5. How would you describe your travel style?
6. What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you while travelling?
7. Do you have any regrets when it comes to previous trips?
8. What are the best and the worst things that have happened to you while flying?
9. How do you prepare for a trip?
10. What’s the one thing you didn’t foresee when you first started your blog?

Lastly, it wasn’t an easy task, but I wrote a list of my dearest travel bloggers that I would like to nominate:

Kavitha from Red Bohemia

Anna from Home & Away

John from Continental Breakfast Travel

David and Le from Wise Monkeys Abroad

Aggy from Dream Explore Wander

Clare from Need Another Holiday

Kimberly from The Paris Itinerary

Josh from Engineer On The Road

Allane from Packing My Suitcase

Gail from Gail At Large

Thank you once again Ilana, I cannot wait to read the answers of my fellow travel bloggers. 🙂