Finding the universe

Travel blogging tips from the experts: Leave your daily hell

2012-05-30T11:22:00.001+02:00

In today’s travel blogging tips article I’m delighted to be able to share with you the thoughts of Robert Schrader, the creative talent behind Leave Your Daily Hell.

Robert believes that travel should be something that everyone is able to experience, regardless of income, and his site focuses on how folk can travel more for less. Robert also manages to generate around half his income from his travel blog. Let’s find out more about his approach to travel blogging, and his tips for success!

Hello Robert! Tell us a bit about yourself!

I'm a writer and photographer, and I've been lucky enough to spend most of the past three years traveling. Well, not just lucky -- there was a lot of hard work involved. I'm currently writing you from Medellín, Colombia.

Why did you first start writing a travel blog?

I started Leave Your Daily Hell in January 2010; but I maintained small travel blogs for previous trips as early as 2005!

What are your dreams for your blog?

That it continues to become a go-to resource for travellers who need information, advice and/or inspiration; and that it becomes profitable enough that I can compensate others for sharing their experiences. I would like to eventually build a team of like-minded travel writers.

What has been the best thing about having a travel blog?

It makes a great ice breaker with other travellers. It also allows me to create a living, breathing document of my life, which is priceless.

Do you follow any metrics in terms of traffic analysis / site ranking, and how important do you think these are?

I use Google Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics. These are important because they allow me to set prices for advertisers and make money on my blog. I don't use or go by Alexa; I think it's a complete scam.

Which social networks are you active on, and what tips would you give for success on these?

I am active on Facebook, Twitter and, increasingly, Pinterest. No matter which social network you use, the key to success is to post frequently, post high-quality content, share others' content if it interests you, thank others for sharing and, most importantly, interact with your fans.

What other techniques have you used to improve your traffic, and how successful have these been?

I'm pretty big into search engine optimization, or SEO. I also frequently guest post for other peoples' blogs; and do interviews like this.

What have you found to be the hardest thing about running a travel blog, and how do you overcome this?

The fact that I am never truly "on vacation." I only rarely "lose myself," because every travel experience has the potential to become a new article. I am in many ways the eyes and ears of my readers, so I sometimes have to sacrifice being completely present in the moment in order to take my blog to where it needs to be.

If you started your blog today, what would you differently?

Nothing, probably. The most valuable part about starting a travel blog from scratch, without any idea of what the future might bring, is having to figure it out as I go along. The reward is that I've acquired priceless skills and countless connections along the way.

Does your blog generate any form of income, and if so, how did you achieve this?

Yes. I allow businesses and organizations to advertise in the form of sponsored guest posts and sidebar widgets. I also sell contextual links. I earn about 50% of my monthly income from my blog, with the rest coming from freelance writing for commercial clients.

If you have questions or problems with your site, where do you go to find answers?

Google and, if it's really severe, my web hosting company. But generally, I have learned to solve all technical problems with my site; I am a bit of a control freak.

Travel blogging is becoming more and more popular. How do you differentiate yourself in such a crowded market?

The quality of my writing, photography and design. Many of the most popular travel blogs are terribly designed and written; their photos are embarrassing.

I go to great lengths only to put out "filet mignon" content; many of the rest of the travel blogs I read are more comparable to Big Macs.

And finally, what key advice would you give to people running, or thinking about setting up, their own travel blog?

If you want to be a successful travel blogger, you need to travel a lot and blog even more. This will necessitate a huge amount of work; it will detract significantly from your social life; and it might even drive you temporarily crazy. If you're OK with this, go for it and go hard; and persist: Becoming successful literally takes years.

Oh, and don't buy e-books certain bloggers sell that "teach" you how to become a travel blogger; these are pyramid schemes. Chart your own course and write about it. Aim to inspire others, but don't assume you can or need to instruct them.

Thanks very much to Robert for taking the time to answer all my questions. You can read more from Robert on his site, Leave Your Daily Hell, as well as find him on both Twitter and Facebook.

Got any thoughts on this interview? Hit up the comments below!

Celebrating two years of blogging! (and some things I’ve learnt on the way)

2012-05-26T12:30:00.001+02:00

Cheers! My blog has just turned two, which as far as I can tell, means it’s about ready to walk and talk on its own. Kindergarten is probably just around the corner.

To mark the occasion, I’ve written this shamelessly self congratulatory post (the 331st post of the site!), to celebrate the fact that my blog and I have successfully orbited a giant nuclear furnace twice.

Normally at around this point in the speech, one would turn outward and thank all the people who made this possible. Luckily that’s very easy for me, because you are right there.

It is very nice to write, but even nicer to be read, and so thanks very much for all your eyeball time, and your comments, and your general love on my facebook page. (If you’re not on my facebook page you still have time to get over there and like it by the end of the post. I have a habit of self indulgent rambling, so I’ll probably not notice you’re gone.)

Luckily this post isn’t all take and no give. I thought I may as well share some of the things I’ve figured out in this two year journey. In no particular order, here are:

Some things I’ve learnt in two years of blogging…

If you’re going to write a blog, you have to love it, first and foremost. Don’t do it for the money (there isn’t very much) or the glory (there’s not much of that either), or really, for any reason other than because you really want to. Glory and riches might come, but both are unlikely, and even if they come, they will take their time about it.
Use lots of good quality photographs. I’ve gradually been increasing the number and size of photos I use in my posts, and I’d like to think the end result is far nicer for you.
Be yourself on your blog, and well, everywhere you can.
Finding your voice is important. If you haven’t found it yet, don’t panic. It’ll come.
Decide what you want from your blog. (I’m still not exactly sure what I want, but I’m working towards figuring it out, and I’m certain that having fun with it is way at the top of my list).
Talk to other bloggers, and take the time to build up relationships with them, both in your niche and across the (horrible word alert) “blogosphere”. Do some guest posting. Share content beyond your own. If you have problems, you’d be amazed how likely it is that others have already faced and overcome them! Plus you’ll likely make some friends as you go.
If you want your blog to be a business, run it like a business. If you don’t, don’t.
Listen to the advice of others. Feel free to ignore it, because what is right for you is not what is always right for everyone else.
If you’re going to use social media, do it right. I’m not really sure what that actually means, but I think there’s something about being yourself and using it as a place to be social that should be in the rulebook somewhere. Oh, and if you have a tweet button on your site, please include your twitter handle in the code. That’s a personal pet peeve.
Write well. If you want people to be able to read your stuff that is. Paragraphs, headers, bullet points, grammar (eek!). I’m awesome at ignoring all the above and waffling on, but well. Doesn’t mean I can’t advise you not to.
Turn off for a while. It’s unlikely the internet will care. Staring at your stats isn’t going to make more people visit. Experiencing awesome things to write about, and then writing about them, is.
Stop writing the post when you’ve run out of things to say.

..and that’s it for today folks. As always, comments welcome!

Australia–a land of contrast

2012-05-22T15:26:00.001+02:00

I spent a year traversing the vast nation of Australia by four wheel drive, and in that time I took in some absolutely spectacular sights.

I was asked to put together a guest photo post by the wonderful Samuel of travel blog Nomadic Samuel, on a theme of my choice, and I thought I’d share some of my favourite shots from Australia with his readers.

So, if you want to grab an eyeful of fifteen of my favourite shots from Australia, including that one of Uluru above, check out the post here!

That time I was shipwrecked

2012-05-19T13:41:00.001+02:00

I recently undertook a 3000km round trip across Europe for entirely unexciting reasons. Unless sorting out stuff in a loft you’ve not been in for four years counts as interesting. This trip allowed me two things. One, lots of time to listen to Abba, as my Mum was in charge of the music selection. Two, lots of time to think of adventures to relate. And it occurred to me that you might like this story, about a slightly unfortunate boat ride I once took…

I was rather lucky at one point in my life to be able to call a tiny island in the Seychelles my home. The island really was tiny – far too small for such conveniences as a runway. Or a port for that matter.

Were I the owner of the island, or a proper hotel guest, or anything other than a dishevelled student, my mode of transport to the island would have been the rather glamorous helicopter charter.

Sadly, I didn’t quite qualify for the helicopter option in the eyes of whoever was in charge of these things, so my usual way of getting to this island was a boat.

On the particular occasion of this story, I was accompanied by a friend from University, who wasn’t what I would term a strong swimmer. Not in the sort of water that goes up and down and doesn’t have a nice tiled floor anyway.

The tale starts off with us in a little boat, not much bigger than a bathtub really, puttering across the magnificent turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean. Sea birds drifted lazily by. Fingertips trailed in the sea. Nina Simone was probably singing in the background. I’m sure you get the picture.

On the way over, the boat driver chatted to us about the fishing, and said it hadn’t been so good of late what with the giant hammerhead shark that had been seen off the island. (That was the end of the fingertip trailing). Not the sort of thing you really want to hear about when you’re bobbing across the ocean in what is essentially a bathtub with an outboard, but there we were. Nina Simone was quickly replaced by the Jaws theme tune at around this point.

As it was, we arrived at our destination entirely uneaten and landed safely on the shore. Palm trees fringed the pure white sands. Waves gently molested the beach. Hopefully I am setting the scene for you as this being a nice place to be, with solid, non shark-infested ground underfoot.

As soon as we arrived, the island manager popped down to the beach, and mentioned that there was a large buoy that needed placing on the other side of the island, and would we be interested in helping take it round in the boat and putting it in place?

Having just arrived on nice safe shark-free terra firma, the correct response would probably have been “no, thanks, we’ll be in the bar, let us know when you’re done”. As it was, it sounded like a fun and exciting adventure, so we loaded a gigantic buoy into the (did I mention it was bathtub sized?) boat, squeezed four of us around it, and set off to the far side of the island.

This other side of the island was a far less inviting place. Barnacle coated granite cliffs rose out of the water, and the sea pounded them mercilessly. There were no palm trees to be seen. Just deep, grey, angry water, hammering itself against the rocks. Not a place for a nice swim.

We reached the location where the buoy was to be put, where an anchor had already been put in place with a smaller buoy as a marker.

At this point it became apparent that not much planning had gone into the operation. Getting the enormous buoy into the boat on the land had not been an easy operation. Getting it out again on a squishy unstable surface was going to be even less so.

We peered at the problem facing us for a brief while, before someone had the brilliant idea to attach the buoy to the anchor whilst it was still in the boat. This seemed like an exciting option, so we did that.

What this resulted in was that our boat was now attached to the sea bed by some rather hefty bit of cabling, designed to moor rather larger oil bearing vessels. A sticky situation quickly arose.

The motion of the waves was attempting to move us away from the mooring (towards the cliffs), whilst the cable we were attached to was attempting to keep us (or at least the buoy) firmly anchored to the surface of the sea.

The result of this was that the boat attempted to make both parties happy, with the back of the boat which was where the buoy was going down to sea level so the buoy could float, and the nose going happily skywards, following the waves. Large quantities of water entered the boat over its stern.

In fact, we took on rather more water than was strictly necessary to enable floatation.

All this water inside the boat started getting quite excitable. As the waves rocked the boat, the water inside the boat started to slosh from side to side. Clearly, it wanted to be reunited with the rest of the sea, not cooped up in a wooden shell. Within seconds, the boat was rocking from side to side to a tremendous degree, and the boat man uttered the words:

“Get ready to go over the side.”

At this point, my friend looked at me in a sort of nervous terror and said

“What does he mean, go over the side?”

I was wondering a wise response to this, when the boat answered for me, and turned turtle.

As a brief aside, I should point out that I have a background in dinghy, or small boat, sailing. One of the drills that you practice when sailing a dinghy is known as a dry capsize. The idea is that when a boat capsizes, you are fast enough to realise this, and as it rolls over, you pull yourself up over the side and onto the bottom.

If you practice this properly, you can actually climb around the boat as it rolls over, and remain entirely dry. With a small sailing dinghy, you can then reverse the process, using the keel to righten the boat, and get back in it. It’s a neat party trick, and one I practiced a fair amount back in the day.

This similar process was possible with the boat we were in. As it went over, the two of us with a background in this sort of thing ended up sitting, still dry, on the upturned bottom of the boat, whilst the boat driver (also not a strong swimmer) and my friend, who had less experience with this sort of thing, got rather more thoroughly dunked.

It was at this point that our only real stroke of luck occurred. The boat had flipped entirely and trapped the buoy underneath it, which meant that it was still floating, and even better, still anchored. The buoy was very neatly jammed in the boat, so that wasn’t going anywhere. Even more excitingly, the boat had lifejackets on board (which, admittedly, none of us had been wearing). I fished some out of the sea and put them on everyone.

Then, the decision of course, what to do. There were no other boats on the island at this point, and even if there were, no-one was likely to notice we hadn’t returned for some time. There was no easy way to flip the boat back over, and even if we had been able to, the outboard motor was unlikely to burst into life after sitting upended in the sea for a while.

There was, really, only one choice. Someone was going to have to swim the couple of kilometres back around the island to get help. It wasn’t going to be the boat man or my friend, who were clearly much happier sitting on the keel of the boat than splooshing around. The island manager and I looked at each other, and figured that we’d have to go for it, sharks or not.

Leaving my friend and the boat driver sitting on the keel, carefully wrapped up in life jackets, we set off. The topic of conversation largely revolved around what sort of swimming action was least likely to attract a large shark. I believe the conclusion was splash free.

After a good period of swimming, which we achieved without being nibbled on by anything other than some seaweed, we made it to shore, and headed to summon help. The nearest boat which we could find that was available to help out was a few hours away, so that was summoned.

Help arranged, I decided that I would walk over to the other side to signal to the shipwreckees that help was on the way. I picked up a soft drink as I walked. On the other side of the island, I attempted to signal that help was coming, whilst supping from my beverage.

The response I got was less than enthusiastic. To this day, in fact, my friend believes that the only reason for my coming over was to point out that I had a chilled beverage and was on dry land, whilst he was bobbing up and down in shark infested waters, getting, as we discovered later, quite seriously sun burnt.

Still. All is well that ends well. Eventually help did turn up, and towed the survivors back to land. The next three days were spent sitting in the bar, me talking about the exciting adventure, my friend quietly dying of sunburn. No further boat trips were undertaken. Until it came time to leave….

Travel blogging tips from the experts: Travel yourself

2012-05-11T08:00:00.000+02:00

In today’s travel blogging tips interview I’ve been able to grab hold of Cailin O’Neil, the writing and video talent behind no less than three travel blogs covering her life, her travel stories and food. There was me thinking one site was hard enough to run!

Cailin is the first person I’ve interviewed in this series to focus heavily on video as part of her work, and her dream is to have and host her own travel series. A dream that is quickly becoming a reality! Read on to find out more about what motivates Cailin to do what she does, and how she finds time to fit everything in.

Why did you first start writing a travel blog?

After finishing University with a major in Film I started traveling a fair bit and the blog just came naturally, originally as a way to keep friends and family updated back home.

After a few trips I thought to myself why not start making travel videos and my first time filming was in Spain in 2009 with my own camera man who followed me around for a week making the first episode of my own travel TV show and from there Travel Yourself was born.

At last count you were running at least three separate sites. What's that all about?

Sometimes I ask myself that same question :) Travel Yourself was originally meant to be a travel video specific niche site to create a following for my own travel TV show / webseries.

Cailin Travels was set up to be a more personal blog about my travels outside of Travel Yourself and the newly launched The Taste Of Travel was an idea I had over a year ago and finally just put in motion this January.

Food is such a big part of the way I travel and who doesn't like food? I thought it would be great way to put two of my favourite things together food and travel just like Travel Yourself put two of my favourite things together film and travel.

One of your passions is video. What tips do you have for travel bloggers looking to include video on their blogs?

My number one tip is don't force it. Video isn't for everyone, if you don't feel comfortable in front of the camera or can't afford the proper equipment then maybe it isn't for you.

My other tips are, 1. Use a tripod as often as possible. 2. Get a good microphone to record your audio. 3. Have good copyright free background music. 4. Have fun with it and make sure your personality shines, don't be dull and don't forget to smile.

How do you define success in terms of your blogs?

I think the success that I have had for my sites is far from what others might think success is but honestly as long as you are doing something that makes you happy and you can stick with it and sometimes other people read it too then you are pretty successful in my books.

What are your dreams for your blogs?

I think this might be an obvious answer from some of my previous answers but of course my long term goal is to hopefully (fingers crossed) get my own travel TV series out of this and to essentially get paid to travel the world for the rest of my life.

(Since sending this interview over, Cailin has announced a partnership with Ocean Entertainment to bring a new travel series to life. Way to go Cailin!)

Do you follow any metrics in terms of traffic analysis / site ranking, and how important do you think these are?

I check Google Analytics from time to time but I try to not get my head wrapped up in it all. I think they are important if you are wanting to make a business out of this but if you spend too much time worrying about it or putting yourself up against other people you are most likely going to make yourself crazy.

Everything is important for its own reason but try to not make it something you are going to lose sleep over.

Which social networks are you active on, and what tips would you give for success on these?

I use Twitter and Facebook the most and my only tips might be are stay consistent, be yourself, share other peoples posts/links just as much as your share your own and don't post too much.

What other techniques have you used to improve your traffic, and how successful have these been?

I link to my sites on my videos on YouTube and I use StumbleUpon. Also commenting on various other blogs gets your name out there as well.

What sort of time commitment do you put in to your travel blogs on a weekly basis, and how do you manage your time between your various ventures?

This isn't anything that I have actually thought about to measure. I put as much time into it as it requires to post about 7-8 posts a week amongst the 3 sites combined with more time being put into it when I have a new video being put out.

What have you found to be the hardest thing about running a travel blog, and how do you overcome this?

Often finding time to maintain the sites while traveling. I would much rather want to be out exploring a new place rather then sitting indoors hunched over a computer and sometimes it’s hard to find a nice balance between the two.

As I sit here and write this I am actually in Sydney, Australia but thankfully the weather hasn't been the greatest so I don't mind being inside instead of exploring.

If you started your blogs today, what would you differently?

I probably would have kept Travel Yourself and Cailin Travels as the same site. I also would have started making videos earlier than I have, aside from that I'm not sure what else I might of done differently.

Do your blogs generate any form of income, and if so, how did you achieve this?

I have made a small amount of money from links on one of them but aside from that they are not currently generating income. I am working towards changing that in various different ways through partnerships, sponsorships and more.

If you have questions or problems with your sites, where do you go to find answers?

Two words, Chris Richardson. I'm sure this is the answer many people give to this question. (It is!) Chris runs the site The Aussie Nomad and is a long time friend of mine that I have travelled with a couple times, once in Copenhagen and more recently to Cardiff, Wales. He actually just recently quit his job and created a website called RTWLabs to give technical support to travel blogs.

Travel blogging is becoming more and more popular. How do you differentiate yourself in such a crowded market?

I think I have the benefit that I have been doing this a lot longer than others and would like to think that I have a "known" name in the biz. Aside from that I just keep making videos and doing what I'm doing and try not to worry about things like that. Just being myself will hopefully be enough to keep me different from the others.

And finally, what advice would you give to people running, or thinking about setting up, their own travel or video blog?

Good luck. Hahaha :)

Tremendous thanks to Cailin for taking the time to answer my questions! You can find Cailin at her above linked blogs, as well as on Twitter as @TravelYourself, @Cailinoneil and @tasteoftravel or over on facebook at The Taste of Travel and Travel Yourself! Get following!

How to get an awesome view of Barcelona - for free!

2012-05-08T05:55:00.000+02:00

When I arrive in a new city, I have a bit of a thing for finding the highest point around. This is for two reasons: first, because I like a good view, and second, in an attempt to orientate myself.

The orientation part only vaguely helped on my recent trip to Barcelona. The city is seriously maze like, particularly the old pedestriansed parts of the city centre. However, since wandering around maze like alleys getting lost is another thing I enjoy about a city, that wasn’t really a terrible issue.

If you’re heading to Barcelona, and like me have a tendency to head for the high points of a city like a fly that’s been taken over by a brain controlling fungus, here’s a quick run down of my four favourite places to get a great view of the city for free!

Parc Güell

I have mentioned the influence that Gaudí has had on Barcelona already. Parc Güell is one of the highlights of his legacy, and a UNESCO world heritage site to boot. It has incredible features, from raised balconies, to enormous sculptures, to weird and wacky houses.

What it also has is one of the finest views of Barcelona, available from a number of locations in the park. The most popular is up by the cross above the main entrance, but you’ll be able to get a fabulous view from pretty much everywhere in the park, what with it being up on a hill, without fighting for the perfect spot to take a photo.

If you go to Barcelona, you will visit Parc Güell. You may as well enjoy the view whilst you’re there!

Castell de Montjuic

If you have a convenient hill with a cliff situated next to a large harbour, it makes sense to build a nice big castle on top of it complete with guns to guard said harbour.

Montjuic Hill, rising to just over 180 metres above Barcelona harbour, is just such a hill, and features a rather splendid bit of fortification at the top, complete with rather large bits of defunct weaponry.

From here you are able to get a commanding view across the city of Barcelona as well as the harbour. The reverse view, in fact, that you can see from the photo taken from Parc Güell above.

You can also explore the Castle for free, although it isn’t really a castle so much as a large pile of walls designed to keep people safe, coupled with incredible views.

As an historical aside, Castell de Montjuic was also the place that the calculations that defined the measurement of the metre took place. In case you weren’t already aware, a metre is defined as being one ten millionth of the distance between the north pole and the equator. Which seems a marginally less arbitrary measure than the length of some blokes foot. A great view and a bit of metric history. What a combination!

Tibidabo

As you wander around the city of Barcelona and explore the other high bits that I’ve mentioned here, you will notice in the distance a large hill with a big church sitting on the top.

This is Tibidabo, the largest hill that looks over Barcelona, rising to a rather impressive half a kilometre above sea level.

Perched atop this hill are all kinds of things, including the Temple de Sagrat Cor, an amusement park, and an absolutely enormous telecommunications tower. You can go up the latter for even more staggering views, but that’s not free.

Getting to the top of the Tibidabo can be achieved on foot, making it free, but if you’re short on time, or not feeling up to it, you can drive, take the bus, or hop on the funicular railway. You can see the communications tower and church in the next photo which is taken from the:

Roof of Las Arenas

We stumbled across this location quite by accident when heading to Barcelona’s Magic Fountain. A city with a magic fountain! What’s not to love? Anyway, Las Arenas is a large circular shopping mall just near the Magic Fountain.

This probably doesn’t sound too exciting, until you realise that it has been transformed from what was once Barcelona’s famous bull fighting stadium, also known as Las Arenas.

When bull fighting fell out of favour in this corner of Spain, the building became somewhat derelict, until its recent revival as a shopping mall.

Its entire roof is a circular promenade, upon which you can wander to your hearts content, gazing across such sights as Montjuic Hill, the Magic Fountain, the nearby Parc Joan Miro and the wonderful skyline of Barcelona. Not bad for free!

Have you been to Barcelona? Any other places you’d recommend for a great view? Do let me know in the comments below!

A storm time lapsed

2012-05-05T15:38:00.000+02:00

We had a huge storm go past recently. That’s it coming in the photo above. I thought I’d use it to try out some time lapse photography, which I’ve never really done before. The video of that attempt is embedded below.

Note.. you’ll probably want to click the little cog wheel at the bottom right corner of the videos and switch to 720p, for some reason the embed won’t let me force it to HD. Sigh.

Then, flush with excitement about this new found technology, and post storm.. I did the below. It’s a learning curve, I hope you’ll indulge me ;)

Dear future technology: a travellers wishlist

2012-05-04T16:12:00.001+02:00

Today, I’m going to do one of my rare technology themed posts. I’m writing about what I’d like to see from my technology in the coming years. Don’t worry. I’ll be back to talking about the rest of the world’s awesomeness soon enough.

I’m not one to complain. I already have the equivalent of a 1970’s supercomputer available to me in my pocket (there’s a joke there somewhere), with a great percentage of the worlds knowledge available a mere few screen taps away.

I can call friends around the world for free, with video. I can control my bank accounts, book flights, find my way, get restaurant recommendations, look up the weather, and learn how to build a fire with nothing but a bucket of water.

Ok, that last one I made up. Hopefully my point is made. We live in an incredible time. But there’s nothing wrong with a bit of dreaming. So. If I was in charge of a giant tech company, with billions of dollars sitting around, wondering how to make a travellers life easier, this is the sort of thing I might be thinking of doing. As well as driverless cars that is. And clean drinking water and free healthcare for all. You know, the little things...

Near-instant wireless charging

When travelling, you can’t escape the need to take some devices with you. Be they cameras, phones, laptops, e-readers or music players (or one device that does all of the above properly, come on world... let’s get moving on this convergence thing!), they all have the same thing in common, a requirement for power.

One thing that doesn’t appear to have kept up with the pace of technological change is the humble battery.

Firstly, there is no universally accepted charging solution, which means taking a mass of wires with you when you travel. Second, devices take time to charge. Promises of “fast charge” batteries have been around for a while, but as yet not delivered.

The future, therefore, should fix both of these complaints. First, I want to be able to charge my devices wirelessly. This technology exists, but it’s not exactly a common standard as yet, plus it’s darn slow. I want charging to happen very quickly, ideally in less than a minute.

I hope for a future where power charging pads are like vending machines, available all over the place. You take your fading device, pop a credit in the unit, hold your device against the charge pad, and moments later, you are ready to rock, all charged up. With a charge that lasts more than a day. Can’t be that hard. Right?

Real-time translation

Communication is important. It would be so nice to have a little yellow fish I pop in my ear that automatically translated everything I heard, but that’s somewhat unlikely to happen. What is more likely, is that a smartphone app evolves to let this happen.

Currently, Google translate works to a point. And Microsoft are working on this one too. Both options currently require a connection to the internet, which isn’t generally available in all the places you want to translate things. (That is another point, but I’m ok if the technology folks roll out clean drinking water for all before free internet for all.)

Of all my future dreams, I think this one may come true first. Then I’ll be able to order beer everywhere I go, and even understand how much I’m supposed to pay for it! Hurrah!

A single universally accepted payment option

In every science fiction novel ever, there is a universally accepted payment option, usually known as a credit. A single world currency would be a utopian solution, but even just one form of payment that is accepted everywhere would be nice.

And yes, I’d like it to be something electronic too. Because nice though sacks of beans or gigantic triangular rubber coins are, they do have some impracticalities when it comes to ease of packing. Google Credits. Apple iCredits. I can almost taste their electronic goodness.

Electronic paperwork

One thing you can’t escape when travelling is the need for documentation. A passport is the most important bit of paperwork, but you probably also carry all kinds of other bits of paper with you. From insurance receipts to booking confirmations to other forms of ID, it all adds up.

I’d like all this to be replaced by something less tangible. Various attempts at biometric ID have come and gone. For a while you could sign up to enter and leave the UK using a retinal scanner. The future was here!

Sadly, technology revolutions don’t seem to happen entirely overnight. Or for free. That system is being canned, presumably because passports are still what everyone in the world uses. So whilst my passport has a chip in it, and is terribly Passport 2.0 in that sense, I’d really like to not have it at all. Because if I lose it, for some reason I am no longer me to the border authorities. Which just seems wrong. So yes. I want to be my own document. Surely there is some part of me unique enough that I can be identified by it…

Virtual addresses

When you travel long term, not having an address or permanent base can start to become a serious hindrance. The world does not seem to be entirely set up for people who don’t have some form of postal address. The common solution is to use a friends address… or that classic fallback, a parents address. (Also useful for long term storage of all those things you couldn’t bring yourself to throw away.)

This does seem rather ridiculous though, as you’re not actually living there. It’s a loophole in a flawed system. If only there was some way to have an address that large institutions actually recognised as being linked to you, without the need for actual bricks and mortar. Like.. an electronic mail address, to which “electronic” versions of documents could be sent. It could be called.. “e”mail. Patent pending on that one folks.

Well, that’s what I’m hoping the not too far off future may hold from a travellers technology viewpoint. As well as flying cars of course. And teleporters. And space flight.

Got a wish for some future technology that would make your travels or life easier? Do share below!

Win stuff with Roomorama! (And why you would want to!)

2012-04-30T14:53:00.001+02:00

I recently had the absolute pleasure of visiting Barcelona for a week. I’ve got a number of posts up already, including one on what I learnt and one stuffed full of photos of Gaudi’s masterpieces. More posts will be coming on the Barcelona theme – this is one awesome city!

Today’s post is all about where I stayed in Barcelona. I went for an apartment rather than a hostel or hotel for the trip - it’s an accommodation option I’ve mentioned before as being highly practical for the independent traveller. They offer a great deal of flexibility married to that other thing folks get excited about: namely a good price.

I was therefore delighted to partner with Roomorama for my trip to Barcelona. They helped out with the cost of my accommodation, and I get to share my experiences with you. But first:

Win Stuff!

If reading my prose wasn’t enough for you, I’m also happy to say that Roomorama are offering three of my readers (that’s you!) the chance to try out their service, and are giving away three Roomorama credits worth 50 USD each, or equivalent in your currency.

Even more excitingly, this prize is open to you wherever you are in the world, none of those annoying geographical restrictions on my watch. The only thing you need to do is use the credits within six months of winning them. Easy!

You can enter right now using the rafflecopter entry below. It’s pretty straightforward – the more tasks you complete, the more entries you get. Then, why not check out the search widget on the right hand side of the blog page to start planning where you’ll go if you win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The contest will be running until the 11th May to give everyone a chance to enter, and I'll contact the winners once they’ve been chosen with all the details of their winnings!

What is Roomorama?

But wait, Laurence, you say. Sure, I’m all up for winning fifty dollars worth of free accommodation anywhere in the world that Roomorama operates. In fact, I’ve already entered. But.. what am I entering to win? Who are these Roomorama’s, and what can I do with their credits?

This questions is nice and easy to answer. Roomorama is a service that puts people who have property available for short term lets in touch with people who want to stay in property for a short period of time. It’s the classic consumer to consumer model of business that you will know from your marketing 101 class. (You did take marketing 101, right?)

Roomorama’s website lets you search for properties in locations all around the world. It then lets you filter your search by all kinds of options, including price, number of bedrooms and even amenities such as internet access or whether or not the property comes with a pool.

Properties available run from the simple “I have a room to spare in my house and you can come live with me if you like” right up to some seriously luxurious penthouse style apartments. Those didn’t fall inside my budget for this trip. Maybe next time…

Once you’ve found a property you like, with a price range, location and amenities list that matches your needs, you fire off an inquiry to the host, who will get back to you to confirm (or deny) availability and the overall price. If you’re both happy, then you just go right ahead and confirm. You then pay your money to Roomorama, who give you a code to present to your host.

What’s good about it?

The best thing about the Roomorama service, in my opinion, is the way it keeps your payment secure. You don’t pay the host directly, and they can’t get at your money until they get your code, which you give in person when you meet them at the property. This is the main advantage of using a third party system over something like a classified ad.

The rest of the service is also well polished. The site is easy to use and navigate and there are loads of ways to filter the results to get exactly what you want. You can also read reviews on the properties and on the hosts prior to making a decision, to make sure the nice description matches what people found.

The overall benefits of an apartment compared to other types of accommodation are also myriad. You have the place to yourself, to come and go as you please. You can save money by cooking for yourself, you can pop to the markets, and you feel like you have your own little house in your destination. Perfect if you’re over hostel life.. but aren’t quite ready for the impersonal practicality of a hotel room.

What could be improved?

You know, I’m racking my brains here. All the things that you could complain about with a service like this are common to this type of operation, where a site is operating as a third party go-between rather than directly offering a product.

So yes, you may end up with a turkey of an apartment. There is a review system in place, but if no-one has stayed in the apartment with Roomorama, or left a review, then you could be the first to discover a disaster. And there are plenty of properties without reviews at the time of writing this article.

There is what is called a “certified host” program, but this just means that the host has had three positive reviews from other clients – better than none, although you need to rely on your travelling peers.

Roomorama could of course inspect all the apartments that are advertised, but this would probably add such a cost to the operation that it would no longer offer good value. Maybe they could offer hosts the option to pay to have their property “validated”, for peace of mind.

There is also the potential issue of time lag between enquiry and booking, although again, this isn’t specifically a Roomorama problem. When you are travelling independently and booking a variety of things at the same time, it can be vexing to have to wait for a reply to confirm availability on accommodation prior to booking your transport, particularly as good deals have a habit of vanishing quickly.

As communication between you and the host is handled through the Roomorama system, you have to wait for your host to check their mail and get back to you. If the host is away from their e-mail, this could cause you a problem, although there are usually enough properties available that you could have backup options on hand easily.

This is a very minor niggle, and I can’t think of a way of improving it whilst keeping the site as safe as it currently is, so I’ll stop blabbing on, and tell you about our actual experience.

Our experience

Our experience was very positive. The booking process was easy and smooth, with a friendly host confirming availability very quickly.

After making our booking, our host enquired as to how we were arriving in Barcelona, and we agreed on an apartment check in time. The only hitch was that I misread the map, and we ended up standing outside the wrong apartment – a quick exchange of texts later and he came and rescued us. Totally my fault that one.

The apartment itself was everything we wanted. It had two nice rooms – a bedroom, plus a lounge / kitchen area. There was a nice big flat screen TV that we never turned on, a compact bathroom with shower, and funky Japanese inspired decor throughout. We even had our very own balcony with washing line.

When we arrived, our host gave us a run down of the facilities, issued us with the wireless code (internet included!), and then gave us a whole bunch of information about what to see, where to go, and what to eat when in Barcelona.

He also gave us some tips on staying safe in a city that is notorious for pick pockets. Then, after letting us know that we could call him should we have any problems, we were left to our own devices.

The apartment came with a variety of cooking utensils and cups, as well as a stove top espresso maker, which meant I was pretty much sold. These did need a bit of a clean - It wasn’t that they were particularly dirty.. just that they didn’t seem to have been used in a while. Maybe not everyone was as cooking minded as I am.

One other minor niggle was that some light bulbs were out, but this wasn’t exactly a deal breaker. Otherwise everything was exactly as advertised.

As I said above, this really was the perfect option for us. We felt like locals with our own place. We weren’t disturbing anyone if we came home late, or inconveniencing the cleaning staff if we had a lie in. The place was secure, quiet, and we could leave our stuff without worry.

We were surrounded by all kinds of tiny bars and tapas places, there was a supermarket within two hundred metres, and we never had to take public transport anywhere. Absolutely brilliant.

Was it worth it?

The apartment we chose cost €60 per night, plus Roomorama’s 12% booking fee (8% for stays longer than 30 nights) and a €25 cleaning fee. Not all hosts charge a cleaning fee, and the rate varies – but the good news is that the fees are all displayed up front on the apartment booking page – no hidden fees just before you put your credit card details in like some low cost airlines I could rant about.

Overall, without Roomorama’s help, the price would have been €35.50 each per night. For a city centre location, in a major European city, within minutes from both the beach and a whole host of attractions, including wireless internet and even linen, we considered this to be a seriously great deal.

We’ll definitely be using Roomorama again for trips like this in the future. The feeling of independence and value for money were an unbeatable combination for the traveller looking for a slightly different, more immersive experience. Highly recommended!

In Photos: Gaudi’s Barcelona

2012-04-27T10:26:00.001+02:00

Gaudí. It’s kind of hard to visit Barcelona without spending your time gaping in awe at the architectural and artistic genius that he left behind all over the city.

A great deal of my week in Barcelona was therefore spent, gaping in awe, at his many truly incredible constructions. As well as gaping, I was also taking the odd photograph, which I’m sharing with you today. I wasn’t able to visit every bit of work he did, but I’d like to think that I took in the serious highlights.

In a future post I’ll be going more into the details of what to see and do in Barcelona. For now though, less detail: more eye candy.

Lets start with…

The Sagrada Familia.

We might as well start at the top. The Sagrada Familia is Gaudí’s masterpiece, the building that obsessed him in the later years of his life, and which is still under construction. It’s an ever evolving masterpiece, an easily visible part of the Barcelona skyline, and one of the most incredible buildings I’ve ever visited. You cannot go to Barcelona without visiting it.

Parc Güell

Parc Güell was Gaudí's attempt at creating a garden city development. I say attempt, because of the 60 buildings planned, only two were built, neither of which was actually designed by the man himself.

Instead, Gaudí spent his time focusing on the little details, like the enormous terrace. Gaudí also lived in the Parc for 20 years. These days, the garden is open to all, and is well worth the visit.

Casa Batlló

Casa Batlló, also known as the House of Bones, is one of the finer examples of a town house designed and built by Gaudí for a rich Catalan family. It is most well known for it’s striking exterior wall, made up of balconies which to my mind looked rather like the masks one would wear at a ball. Should one be invited to a masked ball that is.

My favourite bit of the house was up on the roof, where what appeared to be the spine of a dragon was laid out as the roofline. I’m not sure it was a dragon, but given Barcelona’s close connection to St. George, I have hope.

Casa Mila, also known as La Pedrera

Not far from Casa Battlo is Gaudi’s other famous Barcelonian town house, the Casa Mila, which is known by pretty much everyone as La Pedrera, which translates as the Quarry. The locals at the time not being entirely enamoured of Gaudi’s style choice with the building.

As with the Casa Battlo, this was built for a wealthy family, and broke pretty much every planning rule in the book when it was put up. The price of great art in this case coming with plenty of building regulation fines, and rather irate owners.

Cascada in Parc de la Ciutadella

This fountain, in the pretty Parc de la Ciutadella, near Barcelona’s parliament building, was mostly erected by Josep Fontsere. It is understood that Gaudí did work on it, during his early student years. It’s nowhere near as organic as some of his later works, but is still a great looking bit of building! When we visited, it wasn’t in operation, and had a wonderful air of decay going on.

So there you have it. Five of my favourite bits of Gaudí work in photos. Obviously Gaudí left behind more than these pieces, and Barcelona is just stuffed with incredible architecture from people other than this great man. But for sheer madness, it’s hard to beat what he got up to! Let me know what you think of the photos, of Barcelona, or of life in general, in the comments below!

Also... don’t forget to check out my site’s facebook page, where I share lots more of my photos!

Things I didn’t know about Barcelona!

2012-04-24T10:32:00.001+02:00

I’ve just spent a week visiting Barcelona. I’d like to say that I did a whole bunch of research before setting off, but to be honest, I’m not that great at research. For example, I managed to get through an entire University degree without stepping inside a University library.

Plus, I like a place to surprise me. I asked you guys for your tips, and you supplied them in plentiful fashion. Barcelona’s tourist board, who hosted me so splendidly on this trip, sent me over a whole bunch of stuff too.

But none of this meant that I really knew the following things. I was ignorant… now I am less so. Yay for travel!

Barcelonés, or Barcelonians, aren’t exactly Spanish

Ooh, I’ll start off with the contentious one first then. Sure, Barcelona is *in* Spain. But it is in the Catalan region of Spain, a region which has its own language, own culture and… if the local population had its way... its own borders.

A basic study of Spanish history probably would have helped me out here, but I was never that great at history, particularly after spending two very dry years of my teenage life studying in great depth the Russian revolution of 1917. Something about reading the account of peasants being tyrannised in a frozen wasteland just turned me off history.

So, whilst officially Barcelona is a part of Spain, there are hints everywhere, from flags to language, even to domain names ending in .cat rather than .es, that really, the locals consider themselves somewhat separate. I’m sure there’s a whole world of politics and history here that I could get bogged down in. Instead, let’s move onto other, less contentious and more tasty subjects.

Lunch is a somewhat lengthy affair

I’ve never really travelled in a country which has that Spanish themed approach to lunchtime. I thought the French took lunch breaks seriously, but they really can’t hold a candle to the Spanish.

Lunch time starts a bit later than I was used to (turning up before 1pm raised eyebrows.. try that in France and you’ll be lucky if they still have a plat du jour left), and runs.. well.. until dinner time as far as I could see.

The other thing is that the traditional concept of starters and main courses isn’t the standard here. Possibly because tapas is so popular. Instead, meals consist of two slightly smaller main courses, followed by dessert and coffee.

Food is also incredibly cheap, by Western European standards anyway. It’s not hard to find a meal that includes first and second dishes, dessert, coffee and a beverage, for under 10 euros. No wonder everyone eats out all the time!

Barcelona is a seriously popular destination

I had a vague hope, when planning my trip for early April, that i would be able to miss the peak visitor months of the summer, when visiting European cities is… well... a bit of a chore.

And, when we blearily stumbled off the train at 8am on a Saturday morning, the wonderfully deserted narrowly winding streets of the Gothic Quarter were reassuringly empty. We had Barcelona to ourselves!

Of course, the reality wasn’t entirely in line with this first impression. Pretty much any city is largely deserted at 8am on a Saturday morning. As the day wound on, and people started to wake up, it became rapidly apparent that Barcelona is an incredibly popular destination. The major sights were always crowded, as were the streets, restaurants and even the parks!

It wasn’t really a problem – a city is a place of people after all. It was just a little busier than I had imagined for April. Good news for the tourism economy though. I’ll be writing a post on my tips for surviving a European city in summer soon, although in the case of Barcelona, the tips will probably apply year round…

Barcelona is eminently walk-able!

One thing that really stood out about Barcelona, which isn’t always the case with large cities, is how easy it is to walk around.

Sure, there is an awesome public transport infrastructure, with all modes of transport offered, from trams to buses to a metro and even bicycles. But for me, the best way to experience a city is on foot, and Barcelona is a city that is just so wonderful to experience from the pavement.

It has distinctly separate districts, all of which have their own character and beauty. The aforementioned Gothic Quarter is all tiny maze like passageways framed by looming buildings.

There’s the gorgeous beach fronted Barceloneta. There’s the Eixample... full of beautiful art nouveau buildings in a modernist style. Something for everyone, and all just so easy to get between! A walkers haven.

St George is not an exclusively English Saint

For most of my life, being English, I have been living under the misguided impression that St. George was this English chap who slayed a dragon, saved a princess, and gave us a national day that we largely ignore.

Then I visited Barcelona, and discovered that St George is also the patron Saint of Catalonia. Some further research has indicated that he also happens to be the patron Saint of nine other countries, including Portugal and Germany, as well as four cities including Venice. This was a chap whose dragon slaying abilities clearly travelled well. He was also Turkish.

Unlike the English, for whom the St. George flag only really appears when we want to celebrate our football team being dire, the Catalonians really revere this guy. He appears all over the city in statues and artwork, and his national day is a seriously big deal. Poor old St. Valentine doesn’t get his own day in Catalonia – rather, St George’s day is the day to celebrate love. After all, what’s more romantic than a day celebrating a bit of princess saving and dragon slaying.

On St. George’s day, it is popular tradition for men to give women a red rose, which symbolises the blood of the poor slain dragon, and for women to give men a book, which symbolises knowledge. These days, what with women being allowed to read and everything, the exchange is more balanced, with everyone getting everything. Which seems fairer.

So that was some of what I learnt in Barcelona! More posts will be following on the subject of this wonderful city. In the meantime, if you’ve got stories to share about what you’ve learnt on your travels, or any feedback on this post, do hit up the comments below!

Angouleme–wanders around the ramparts

2012-04-20T09:00:00.000+02:00

This is my third post on Angoulême! Who would have thought one French town could hold so much appeal? Admittedly, Angoulême cheated slightly, by seducing me with awesome street art. That’s a good way for any city to get my attention, and more than one post. See Berlin’s street art for example.

So I have now thoroughly covered the paintings on the walls of Angouleme in this post and this post.

There is, I am pleased to tell you, more to Angouleme than just great street art. Although, if you ask me, that’s enough to make a city worth a visit anyway.

Angoulême is the capital of France’s Charente department, in the Poitou-Charentes region. Charente is also notable for being home to the town of Cognac, for the drinkers amongst you.

The Charente department is named for the river Charente, above which the main centre of the town of Angoulême perches. The rocky outcrop upon which the old town sits was, back in the day, splendidly defendable, and this is a town which has seen its fair share of sieges and plunders, with a history of invasions dating back to the 5th century.

These days the fortifications that surrounded the old town have been turned into boulevards which sit upon the old city walls, and afford the visitor a rather jolly set of views across the valley surrounding. A valley which is, admittedly, rather full of industry, but still. The thought is there.

The old centre of Angoulême is rather more interesting than its surrounding industrial area, being home as it is to a fine pedestrianised and cobbled town centre, which is just stuffed full of restaurants and quirky little streets to explore.

It also has its fair share of interesting looking buildings, including a fine cathedral (as seen in the photo above), and the “hotel de Ville” (first photo), which incorporates into its design the old chateau of Angoulême.

Angoulême is a very vibrant town, made so perhaps by its large student population. There is a really positive buzz in the city centre, with lots of people wandering and plenty to see down the twisty alleys.

When wandering, if you’re in the mood, there are a number of museums that could while away a rainy afternoon. These include the Fine Arts and Archaeology Museums, as well as the Paper Museum and Comic Book Museum. The latter sounding more interesting to me, although to be honest, museums have to be pretty damn amazing (or featuring Dali) to get me excited.

If you’re like me, and wandering aimlessly peering at street art or sculptures is more your thing, then you should swing into the tourist office and pick up the map of the notable street art in Angouleme, which will guide you past the main highlights.

If you’re more into formalised art with a side of greenery, then there is a lovely park under the ramparts to the west of the city, which features sculptures and fountains. A nice way to round off a bit of exploration.

Finally, Angoulême is also notable for its events and festivals. As well as the yearly international comic book festival, held every January, there is a classic car race which takes place around the roads of Angoulême , held every September since 1939. There are also music, food and animation festivals. Something to suit every taste!

If you’re in the area, I can really recommend taking a bit of time out to explore Angoulême. It’s a fascinating town with loads to see and do, and no shortage of excellent restaurants to fill up on fine French food!

As always, I’d love your feedback on this post! Is Angoulême somewhere you’ve been, or somewhere you’d want to visit? Never heard of it before now? Hit up the comments below, and let me know!

Travel blogging tips from the experts: Travel Rinse Repeat

2012-04-17T09:06:00.000+02:00

Today I’m interviewing a relative newcomer to the travel blogging scene – John of Travel Rinse Repeat.

Unlike many of the folk I have interviewed in this series, John’s travels come about as a result of his work as a management consultant – a world I am more than familiar with from my past life! This means he has less control over his destinations, and gives his site an interesting twist.

Today John talks about the challenges he has faced starting up a travel blog, the direction he hopes to go in, and what he might have done differently with hind sight. Lets get going with the interview!

Tell us a little bit about John!
I travel for work every week – I’m a management consultant who criss-crosses the country as part of my job. This comes with a lot of benefits (free flights, hotel rooms, and rental cars and the elite perks that come along with these) but also has some drawbacks (I have to spend the majority of my time at work when I travel and I have no control of what destinations I’m sent to).

I’ve logged way too many frequent flyer miles and spend more nights in hotels than in my own bed. In addition to business trips, I try to take at least two personal weekend trips a month, which leaves very little time back at home.

Why did you first start writing a travel blog?
Over time, I started to become a bit jaded by all the travel. I had one-too-many ‘where am I right now?’ moments and that scared me a bit – I didn’t want travel to lose its sense of adventure.

Starting my Travel Rinse Repeat Travel Blog was not only a way for me to keep a record of my travels, but also a way to bring the excitement back to it. Now, producing content based on my travels is an incredible motivator for me and it has added another element of excitement to my daily routine.

How do you define success in terms of your blog?
I would define success as the amount of positive impact I can have on others traveling. My travel motto (and the philosophy of my blog) is ‘make the most of every travel opportunity.’ Most of my travel comes in the form of business trips. I don’t necessarily get to choose the destinations, but I try and make sure I make the most of the opportunity wherever I am.

To me, success would be inspiring others to make the most out of their travel experiences, whether they’re traveling for work, leisure, or any other reason.

What are your dreams for your blog?
I’d love to take it international at some point. Of course, that means scheduling some personal vacation since there is almost zero chance of that happening with work. I have some plans in the works for international trips this summer, but the details aren't finalized just yet. I expect to be announcing it really soon though!

Do you follow any metrics in terms of traffic analysis / site ranking, and how important do you think these are?
I use both Google Analytics and Alexa frequently. Knowing where my traffic is coming from is extremely important in determining future traffic generating strategies. Alexa isn’t as tactically useful for me, but it’s a fun way to track my progress as Travel Rinse Repeat grows.

Which social networks are you active on, and what tips would you give for success on these?
I am active on twitter, facebook, Stumble Upon, Flickr, and YouTube, though it depends what your definition of ‘active’ is. To be honest, I kind of detested the whole social media side of this when I started and saw it as much more of a chore than anything else.

Over the months, I have (slowly) come to embrace it. I really love Stumble Upon and use it all the time. I feel like I’m starting to get into a twitter routine (thanks to Hootsuite!), but I’m still having trouble turning the corner on Facebook.

I have used facebook personally for almost eight years now but using it for a website is a whole different animal. I’ve been learning a lot but still have a long way to go. I currently have a whopping 10 fans, so if you feel like showing me some facebook love, make sure you stop by and ‘like’ my page!  

My best tip for social media? Don't waste too much time on it. I think making real connections through emails, phone calls, and face-to-face meetings has yielded much greater results for me. It can't be ignored, but I don't think spending hours on twitter or facebook yields a healthy ROI.

What other techniques have you used to improve your traffic, and how successful have these been?
Interestingly enough, Reddit has been extremely helpful in improving my traffic. I never even considered using it until someone else submitted one of my posts without me knowing it. My traffic skyrocketed that day and I’ve been using it since.

Many of your travels come about as a result of your job. How do you balance the time between work, life and blogging?
On the road, it is easy to maintain a balance. I generally have a quiet hour or two back at the hotel each night where I can respond to emails, edit photos, and write new content.

When I’m back at home, it’s a little more difficult. With all the distractions present in my house, I tend to hunker down in my neighbourhood coffee shops on the weekends. I spend a lot of my time on Saturdays working on the blog but as a rule I always keep my weekend evenings free.

 You are fairly new to travel blogging. What have been your biggest challenges to date?
The biggest challenge for me was learning how to build a website in the first place. I knew I wanted a customized website that didn’t look like anything else, but I didn’t really have any web design skills and I didn’t want to pay someone else to do it.

I spent over a month figuring it all out; I read a lot, experimented even more, turned out some truly atrocious designs and finally settled on what I have today. I still tweak elements of the design and functionality every week and I still have a lot to learn, but I feel much more comfortable.

 If you started your blog today, what would you differently?
I would have spent more time reading other travel blogs. I read three or four pretty religiously before I started – now my list of travel blogs I read is well over 50.

I have realized since then that the handful of blogs I read weren’t especially representative of the entire community. I think it would have been better if I had a wider view of the travel blog spectrum when first getting started.

If you have questions or problems with your site, where do you go to find answers?
I have been extremely impressed by the helpful nature of the travel blog community. I’ve reached out to other travel bloggers with both general and specific questions. I’ve yet to receive anything but helpful advice. I’ve been extremely impressed with the community as a whole – everyone seems incredibly positive and willing to help out.

Other travel bloggers are likely to be reading this interview. What questions do you have for them?
Will I see you at TBEX? It’s in my home state of Colorado, so I’m hoping to see a lot of you there! I have only met one other travel blogger in person thus far; I’m excited to meet many more.

  Travel blogging is becoming more and more popular. How do you differentiate yourself in such a crowded market?
I think taking on the business travel angle has given me quite a different niche in the market. Unlike most of the other travel bloggers, I don’t get to choose the destinations I go to – my employer does. For me, this adds a unique variable in the formula.

I’d love to be writing about a beach in Thailand, but the reality is work is sending me to Wichita, Kansas next. I have no idea what I’m going to write about when I get there, but you better believe I’ll do my damnedest to seek out the interesting, unique, beautiful, and delicious to keep the posts interesting.

And finally, what advice would you give to people running, or thinking about setting up, their own travel blog?
Find your voice. This is definitely something I'm still 0working on; it's important to let your personality shine in your writing. My favourite travel bloggers do an amazing job of this, and it is something I'm still practicing each and every day.

Thanks to John for taking the time to answer all my questions! Don’t forget to check out John’s travel blog, Travel Rinse Repeat, follow him on twitter, and like his facebook page. And if you’ve got any questions for John – pop them in the comments below!

My favourite bits of Venice

2012-04-13T08:30:00.000+02:00

Venice recently won the battle for my favourite city in Europe, after a tense battle between four other serious contenders.

So far, though, it has been seriously lacking its very own personalised post about it, treatment that cities like Rome and Paris have already received. Poor old Venice. Fear not – I haven’t forgotten you!

Venice is a city that just captures my imagination in a way that few other cities are capable of. It’s a maze of tiny streets, a collection of islands linked by bridges and waterways, and the whole thing is possibly going to sink one day. There is art, music, architecture and food.

Most importantly of all, perhaps, the whole place is pedestrianized, what with there being no roads capable of fitting a car on. Seriously awesome for someone who loves to get to know a place by foot, like me.

So. When I’m in Venice… what do I get up to?

Visit St. Mark’s Square

St. Mark’s square, or Piazza San Marco, is an absolute must for any visit to Venice. In fact, one of my most enduring travel memories is having the whole square to myself during an immense thunderstorm, when everyone (including the pigeons!) scurried for cover, and I didn’t. I ended up somewhat wet, but happy.

The Square is home to a number of sights that are worth taking some time to look at. First, I’d highly recommend getting your legs into shape with a quick scoot up the Campanile di San Marco – the large bell tower at the corner of the square.

This will afford you with quite splendid views across Venice, and the surrounding lagoon and islands. The orientation probably won’t save you from getting hopelessly lost down the many back streets, but it’s great for taking some panoramic photos all the same.

Back down at ground level, you’ll want to take in the Basilica di San Marco. This is one of the most famous churches in Venice, and it’s also handily free, which is a rarity in this town.

Around the Piazza there are also a great number of museums and other churches. Entry to these is not normally free, although you can save money by buying a ticket that gets you access to multiple venues, if that is your thing.

Otherwise, the square is also home to a number of cafes, many of which have live orchestral music. You’ll pay handsomely for the privilege, but sitting in this square listening to classic music and enjoying a cup of fine Italian coffee is an experience that everyone should have at least once in their life. Apologise to your wallet later!

Explore the innumerable back streets

Venice has a lot going for it, with churches, museums and incredible bits of architecture literally jumping out at you on every corner.

The other thing that Venice has is a lot of people. The funny thing though, is that most visitors seem to stick to the main street that takes you on a big loop past all the main highlights.

If you duck off the main streets, as I usually do, you will find yourself in a maze of back alleys. I’d advise abandoning the map and just giving up on trying to maintain any sense of direction – just wander freely and lost. Venice is, after all, an island, and you won’t be lost forever.

You will, however, be rewarded with a side of Venice that is often overlooked and far less busy than the main thoroughfares. And then you will realise why Venice is my favourite city in Europe.

Head out to the other islands

The most well known part of Venice is the central area made up 118 islands. But there are more parts of Venice that are worth a visit. The four islands of Burano are well worth a visit, a fact that is corroborated with wonderful pictures by Ayngelina of Bacon is Magic on her blog post on Burano.

There are many more islands, including Murano and Torcello. My point is – don’t forget that Venice extends beyond the central area that you will first come upon, and has plenty of opportunities for exploring! Don’t be afraid to jump on a boat and get out there… which brings me to my next point…

Take a boat ride

Now then. Venice is a city of waterways, and no visit to Venice is really complete without a trip on some form of water borne transportation.

If you’re travelling with your significant other, and your idea of heaven is a gentle meander down the back waterways of Venice, just the two of you, luxuriating on some pillows while a muscle bound man serenades you.. well.. you’ll sure be able to find an experience approximating that.

Although, as with the coffee in St. Mark’s Square, it’s an experience you best keep secret from your savings account.

If you’re not overly romantic, and you just want to experience Venice from the water, singing be damned, then you have no shortage of options. If your heart is set on a gondola, then you can take a gondola taxi from one side of the river to the other. It’ll be over quickly, but as least you can tick the gondola box.

Alternatively, there are water taxis, water buses, and water sight seeing tours. Take everything you would normally find on a road, imagine it on the water, and you will find it in Venice. Whichever one you do, you’ll be sure to enjoy it!

When to go and other practicalities

Venice gets very warm (and very crowded!) in the summer months, although you can escape the crowds by hitting the back streets. My preferred time to visit would be the quieter shoulder months, when it is a little cooler and likely to be less busy. Although this is a tourist town, so don’t expect to be on your own whichever time of year you choose to visit.

If you want to visit the churches, remember that it’s common practice for there to be a dress code, which usually means no short skirts or bare shoulders. You don’t want to be turned away after queuing for a long time, so make sure you are dressed appropriately!

If you are planning a trip to Venice, don’t forget to check out Teletext Holidays for deals. I remember their TV campaign well.. you wouldn’t want to miss a bargain. There are regular flights to Venice airport from all over Europe, and you can also get here by train, bus.. or car!

So - have I sold you on Venice? Do you think it belongs up there as my favourite European city? Or are you firmly entrenched in the camp of people who believe that it’s a tacky, overpriced, overflowing tourist trap that just smells awful in summer? Hit up the comments below and let me know!

In Photos: Street Art of Angoulême (Part 2)

2012-04-10T10:54:00.001+02:00

In my previous post I shared with you the rather fabulous trompe l'oeil that can be found on one of the walls in Angoulême’s old town centre, where two chaps do their best to break into reality.

Today’s post is about some of the rest of the street art that Vera and I found and photographed as we wandered around the lovely old town of Angoulême on a recent trip. Enjoy!

So what do you think? Does Angouleme have sufficient street art to tempt you.. or do you need more from a city than just pretty paintings on the walls?

Let me know in the comments, and keep an eye out for the next post in my Angoulême trilogy, where I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the other attractions!

In Photos: Street Art of Angoulême (Part 1)

2012-04-08T10:53:00.001+02:00

The town of Angoulême, capital of France’s Charente department, is notable for many things. It boasts an impressive location, high up on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Charente river. It has a rather fabulous collection of old buildings, from churches to castle ruins. And it has a wonderful old town that is just ripe for exploration.

And I’m going to save all that for another post, because over the next couple of posts I just want to share with you the other thing that Angoulême is famous for, that being it’s yearly international comic festival.

This has resulted in the walls of Angoulême being coated in a myriad of wonderful street art, from small pieces through to huge trompe l'oeils, or eye deceivers.

The first part of this two part series focuses on six images which take up a whole section of the street wall. Which, despite appearances, is entirely flat. Enjoy!

Escaping reality

Shout if you need a translation! Keep an eye out for the next couple of posts on Angouleme, which will cover the remainder of the street art.. and then some thoughts on the city itself.

Two weeks in the UK–my perfect itinerary

2012-04-05T11:52:00.001+02:00

I was recently asked for my recommendations for a two to three week trip to the UK, starting in London, and using a rental car as the transportation method. Further interests included castles, haunted things, and long walks on the beach (ok, I made the last one up).

This sounded like the sort of challenge I could get my teeth into. I have, after all, spent a great deal of time living in the UK. Putting together my favourite bits to travel around in itinerary form should be no problem at all.

Then, after accepting this challenge, I was struck by a moment of doubt. Sure, I’ve lived in the UK. But what do I know of the things a foreigner would find interesting about this little island? When you live in the UK, you spent most of your time forming an escape plan, not planning how to see it.

And then I remembered that I’m only half English, and that I spend most of my life wandering around goggle eyed at the world around me wherever I am, and figured I could probably handle this mission. Read on, and see if you agree.

Days 1 & 2 - London

The UK’s capital is one of my favourite cities in the world. It’s been hanging around for over 2000 years on the banks of the Thames, and there is just an incredible wealth of things to see, from historical sights, to amazing museums, to crazy street markets.

It’s a wonderfully walk-able capital, and you can easily take in the major central sights in a day or so, leaving you the second day to explore museums, art galleries, or go a little further afield and take in some of the other sights, from crumbling cemeteries to massive parks. And if all else fails, you will never be short on an incredible pub to while away some time before heading on.

Days 3 & 4 – Oxford & the Cotswolds

One of the stipulations of the original question was the wish to avoid feeling too much like a tourist. Unfortunately, this is nearly impossible in Oxford, as nearly everyone there is either a tourist or a student. I lived in and around Oxford for a number of years, and generally felt like a tourist most of that time too.

Part of the reason for that is that this tiny city is absolutely jam packed with incredible buildings, largely in the form of the Oxford Colleges. These are seriously wealthy establishments, who clearly had no problem flaunting that wealth in an architectural fashion back in the day.

This means that yes, it is full of people wandering around, mouths agape, at quite how pretty the whole thing is. Yes, it’s jam packed with tourists. But for good reason! So strap that camera on and snap away. Then go for a punt on the river, and enjoy some Pimms or a cream tea.

From Oxford you are also well located to take in the incredibly picturesque Cotswolds area – all quaint villages and rolling countryside. The England that everyone imagines England to be like, with country pubs, village greens and cricket ovals. Lovely stuff.

Days 5 & 6 – Peak District and Manchester

From Oxford I’m going to suggest heading “up north”, towards the Peak District national park. Think rolling hills, quaint villages, and beautiful walks. There are also some fabulous country houses to visit, not to mention that on the way from Oxford you can stop off at Warwick Castle – one of the UK’s best preserved castles.

Part of the request I was posed asked about the yarn industry in the UK – and Manchester is certainly no stranger to the fibre industry – in the 19th century she earned the nickname Cottonopolis. Plenty here for the yarn enthusiast in you.

Of course, if fibre isn’t your thing there are plenty of other reasons to visit Manchester, including excellent retail therapy and a variety of architectural highlights. Not to mention the music scene!

Day 7 – York

Not that far from Manchester (England is so quaintly explorable!), the city of York is another of my favourite UK cities. From the incredible Gothic York Minster (a climb to the top is highly recommended) to the winding, tumbled down alleyways of the shambles, to the Viking history - this is a city that just cries out for exploration.

It’s also an awesome place if you’re into ghost stories. There are a whole number of ghost walks that take in the spooky past of York, so if you want an evening of entertainment and intrigue, likely accompanied with a number of fine drinking establishments, an evening ghost walk is a great bit of fun. I’m not a great believer in this sort of thing usually, but I took a tour and thoroughly enjoyed it!

Days 8 & 9 - Edinburgh via Northumberland

From York we’re going to wave farewell to England, and head up to Scotland’s capital city. On the way though, you’ll be passing through some of England’s least travelled, yet stunningly beautiful, landscapes.

I am of course talking about Northumbria. From miles of deserted beach, to crumbling castles, to the Roman equivalent of the great wall of China, Northumbria really has a lot to offer someone looking for a slightly off the beaten track England experience. The rolling landscapes are breath-taking and you’ll find yourself alone much of the time. Worth taking a bit of time to explore, in my opinion.

Then of course, it’s up to Edinburgh, where you’ll not be short of amazing things to look at. From Edinburgh castle, to Arthurs Seat, from fine whiskeys, to Princes Street, there really is enough here for a number of days of entertainment. And if you visit during the Fringe festival.. well.. plan on being entertained for a good many weeks!

Days 10 to 13 - An Irish adventure!

Because the UK is an easily explorable place with decent roads and relatively short distances to drive, it is totally possible to include Ireland in a trip like this if you’re up for it. Alternatively, you could take in the west coast of the UK, including Glasgow, the Lake District, and Liverpool, as well as popping into Wales for the stunning Snowdonia national park. The choice is yours!

If it is Ireland you want though, it’s a short ferry ride from Scotland (Cairnryan to be precise, 2-3 hours drive from Edinburgh) across to Belfast, from where you can spend a few days exploring the Emerald Isle.

I’ve only really explored Dublin and her surroundings, but I certainly saw enough to know that this is a wonderful country for exploring. There’s the Guinness, of course, as a main highlight, but also oodles of Gaelic history and culture to get excited about.

There are also of course the Irish people, well known for their love of a good time! Personally, I’d head on down the coast from Belfast, through Dublin and down to the port of Rosslare, where after three exciting days in Ireland another ferry service will whisk you across to the last of the four countries to make up the UK.. Wales!

Day 14 - South Wales & Cardiff

In Wales you will arrive either at Fishguard or Pembroke – both excellent places to explore the Pembrokeshire Coast national park. Here you will find beautiful beaches, rugged cliffs, and fabulous opportunities for walking.

You’re also not too far a drive from Cardiff, the Welsh capital. Four capitals in a fortnight – not bad going! Here you’ll find castles, sporting venues and more Welsh based culture than you can shake a stick at. Plus, arrive at the right time of year and you’ll find the Great British Cheese festival in full swing. What’s not to be excited about?

Day 15 Bristol & Bath

From Cardiff you’ll cross the enormous Severn estuary over the impress Severn road bridge and be back in the UK, or Bristol to be precise. Here you’ll find all sorts of interesting items of historical interest, largely running on a nautical theme.

For over a thousand years Bristol has been an important English port. From early explorers and traders, to the dark years of the African slave vessels, to filling Australia with immigrants, it is hard to understate the role that Bristol has played in Britain’s sea faring history. There is, after all, a reason for the expression “ship-shape and Bristol fashion” having a place in the English language.

I can highly recommend taking a trip round the SS Great Britain when you’re in Bristol. Built in 1843, and designed by the engineering genius who was Isambard Kingdom Brunel – the man who almost single-handedly revolutionised both engineering and public transport in the UK.

The SS Great Britain is notable as being the first steamer to cross the Atlantic – setting a record pace for the time of 14 days. An amazing bit of history.

From Bristol it’s on to the Roman spa city of Bath, a world heritage site. Like Oxford, this is a difficult place to be anything other than a tourist, but it is so worth it all the same!

Day 16 – back to London, via Stonehenge!

Our last day of our just over two week whistle stop tour of the UK takes us back to London. No trip to the UK though would really be complete without taking in perhaps our most famous monument – the circle of rocks known as Stonehenge.

Yes – it has a motorway going past it. And yes, you can’t really get up close and personal with the rocks. (They’re just rocks. It’s not hard to imagine touching them). And yes… you’re not going to be having a deeply personal experience.. what with this being one of the UK’s most famous monuments.

But there is something about the place that makes all these complaints just fade away. A circle of rocks, built by a people who had nothing but their hands and some bits of wood to help them out, in the middle of the Wiltshire countryside, hundreds of miles from an actual quarry, is just mind blowing.

Add in the pagan ritualism, the relationship between the rocks and the sun, and the sheer mystery of the place, and you have somewhere that is capable of really capturing the imagination. Worth your time to visit. Plus, while you’re there you can pop into Salisbury and enjoy the cathedral, which boasts the highest cathedral spire of any church in the UK.

And then.. back to London, where this tour finishes!

…and a map of the route for perusal:

View Larger Map

So those were my thoughts for taking in a slightly longer than two week trip in the UK. I’ve obviously missed out a great number of places, as no two week trip can possibly hope to see everything, but I’d like to think I covered a great many highlights of this truly fascinating country.

Whilst you are there, don’t forget to sample some classic English dishes – as summed up in my post on Essential English Food. In the meantime.. if you’ve got any thoughts on this post, do hit up the comments below!

Travel photography tips: Post Processing

2012-04-02T10:46:00.001+02:00

Regular readers of the site will know that I am fairly passionate about photography. I’m fascinated about the whole process, from image composition right through to the final processed product.

Back in the day, when I was a youngster, i was privileged enough to attend a school which had its own dark room.

I think I was the only person in the school who was really excited about this fact, and I would spend happy hours under the glow of a red lamp playing around with awful smelling chemicals, and happily going through terribly expensive photography paper in my quest for knowledge.

These days you can do some pretty awesome stuff to your photos without the need for a special room or any chemicals, thanks to the onset of digital photography. Although I find that strong black coffee helps. I believe that post processing is an integral part of any photographers workflow, and can help you get the best from your photos.

I thought I would share some of my thoughts on digital processing, with a number of easy tips based on my experiences, to help you get the most from your shots. These are in addition to the ideas I have already shared on this site in my photography tips articles.

You can find these tips in the form of a guest post over at the excellent yTravelBlog. Enjoy!

Staying in touch with home when travelling

2012-03-31T10:18:00.001+02:00

You can’t beat a good one-on-one with friends and family. In fact, one of the main downsides of travel is being far away from and out of touch with all those loved ones (well, mostly).

When I’m travelling, I find the sound of a voice is the best way to connect with friends and loved ones. There are other options of course, from the ancient art of the letter, through to the wondrous time sink that is facebook, but I find that quality time really needs to stimulate aurally.

If you’re reading this in the future, where teleportation has been invented, you can skip this post and use the teleportation option. For the rest of us, here are the various options you have for calling home when you are on the road. If you’ve got any more to share, or general opinions on staying in touch, do feel free to hit up the comments at the end!

Over the Internet

If you can persuade your friends and family to standardise on one bit of software, then you can save a fortune by using it to call them over the internet.

Personally, I’m a big fan of Skype, which these days has clients for computers and smartphones, so you don’t even need to lug a laptop with you. I’ve found it to be the option that most of my friends and family are likely to already have installed, which means less hassle in terms of asking people to install yet more software. It’s also future enabled, with video calls an option. Great for those just out of the shower moments.

It does have its limitations, though. Most folk at home have it on their computers, and these aren’t necessarily on all the time. To guarantee a conversation, it’s usually best to pre-arrange a time. Not ideal for spontaneity.

Also, it can be bandwidth intensive, especially if you throw video into the mix. Not ideal if you are in a country where the internet is a carefully doled out resource. Still… free is a tough price to beat, so if you can get around the issues, this is a great option.

Best for: Long, pre-arranged chats in an internet rich environment
Worst for: Your grandma not quite understanding what this newfangled doohickey is.

Using your mobile

There was a time, not so long ago, when using a mobile abroad was expensive. There was a time, not much before that, when just using a mobile was expensive, and required you to carry what looked like a generator with you everywhere you went. The pace of technology evolution is brilliant. Bring on the teleporters.

These days, mobile network operators are growing wise to the fact that there is competition out there, in the form of free internet calls and other such consumer friendly nonsense.

As such, calling home on your mobile is probably not as astronomically expensive as it once might have been. That said, it is most likely going to be cheaper to put a SIM card into your phone from the country you are travelling in, rather than using your home operator abroad.

You will need an unlocked phone (you can pick incredibly basic phones up for almost nothing these days), and you will need to buy a SIM card that offers a good deal for wherever you want to call. If the country you are travelling in has good operators and wide coverage, this is a great option.

Best for: You can be reached wherever you happen to be, and vice versa
Worst for: Ever tried to get signal in the Australian outback?

Satellite phone

Mobile phones and landlines are so like.. terrestrial, man. If you want to get your communication on, in a truly earth spanning space powered way, then a satellite phone is the way forward. Almost as good as a teleporter in fact.

As the name implies, these chaps use a network of orbiting satellites to relay your voice. So no worrying about pesky mountains or remoteness causing you problems in making a call. These work everywhere.

More recent models are also far more portable than their forebears, with the latest models being not much different to recent smartphones. Yay technology!

There is of course a price to pay for this incredible go-anywhere call-anyone flexibility, and it’s a price you pay with money. The handsets themselves aren’t exactly cheap, and neither is the cost of making a call. Still, putting objects into space is a costly exercise, and that money has to come from somewhere.

If you know you are heading out into the middle of nowhere, and most of the above options aren’t going to do it for you, then satellite technology may be the way forward if staying in touch is a priority.

Best for: Feeling James Bond like in your ability to contact anyone from anywhere.
Worst for: Needing to rob a bank every time you want to use it.

Calling cards

When I was travelling in Australia and New Zealand, internet access wasn’t quite as easily obtainable as I would have hoped for in a first world country. And don’t get me started on mobile network coverage. With satellite being out of my price range, international calling cards were my personal saviour.

A number of providers offered these cards, and they were available from a whole variety of different retailers, from corner stores to hostels. Depending on which country you are calling, there will be different cards offering better or worse rates.

You need to do a bit of research and compare the options before settling on a card, and check the fine print for things like “connection fees” before parting with your cash. Additionally, some tack on a fee if you’re calling from a payphone, so you need to factor that in.

For convenience and cheapness, calling cards are a decent option. We even found a solar powered payphone once in the middle of the Australian outback, hundreds of kilometres from anywhere, which made for a memorable call home.

Best for: Being able to call home at reasonable rates on a real phone
Worst for: Not reading the fine print and realising that advertised “1c a minute” rate comes with a $2 connection fee. Also, payphones are becoming an endangered breed.

In photos: Australian beaches

2012-03-27T16:50:00.001+02:00

Australia has over 30,000km of coastline. By any standards, that is a fair amount. With all that coastline comes a lot of beach front – in fact, with over 10,000 to choose from, Australia has more beaches than any other country in the world!

In this post I thought I’d share some of the variety that this massive coastline has to offer, from moody clouds, to giant sand dunes to classic surfer beaches. Enjoy!

Oz has a lot of coastline. I think I mentioned that already. There are so many beaches in fact, that the people who started naming them clearly lost enthusiasm, and just started naming them based on their length. Like the ninety mile beach. Or the eighty mile beach. You get the idea.

This isn’t actually one of those beaches, instead, it’s a beach in the Newland Head Conservation Park in South Australia. i can’t remember its name, but I’m sure it’s something imaginative like “beach with fifty miles of epic cliff."

I did have remarkably good weather for most of my time in Tasmania, but I quite liked this moody picture of a storm brewing over the bay of fires, so that is the shot that is in this post. Don’t be put off though – Tassie has beaches to rival the rest of Australia.. even if the water can be a tad on the Antarctic side of cool.

This post wouldn’t be complete without including Australia’s most famous beach – that being Bondi in Sydney. This beach is great for learning to surf, as well as being so close to Sydney that it’s almost a crime not to visit if you’re in town. Good fish and chips too!

Fraser Island is, frankly, a stunning place to visit. Just off the Queensland coast, it is home to spectacular lakes, incredible beaches, and the endless pounding ocean. The beach here is all the more remarkable for also being the road.. and the runway. As the picture below shows. Heathrow, eat your heart out.

These granitic boulders are found at the Elephant Rocks beach in Western Australia, near the town of Denmark. Apparently part of the rock formations here look like a herd of elephants. Personally, I never saw it. Still stunning though.

Cape Le Grand National Park, way down at the bottom of Western Australia, is home to beaches that would rival any tropical paradise. Turquoise waters, pure white sands... you get the idea. There are also a whole number of walks that take you between the coves, across the plains, and up the funky looking hills in the area. Splendid stuff!

Did you know that Australia has the largest mobile sand dunes in the southern hemisphere? Well, I didn’t until I visited, giant sand dunes not previously having been something I associated with the land down under. Turns out, they are pretty big and pretty mobile. You’ll find them not too far from the town of Port Stephens on the New South Wales coast!

Oh, Byron Bay. What a town. This is a mecca for hippies, surfers and party animals. I have to admit, I was less than impressed on my first arrival (well, it was raining), but then ended up falling in love, both with the place, and with my girl, and stayed for nearly two months. You just can’t beat living by a beach and nice long walks to get a romance going.

Go, but be prepared to be captivated. Or appalled. One of the two.

You know when a place is famous as being the most something of something, rather than just for being a wonderfully pretty place where you can camp and enjoy life? Well, West Cape Howe National Park falls into that category, being as it is, home to the most southern point in Western Australia.

Admittedly, this totally worked on me, as it was the main reason for visiting (most southern point! Of an Australia state!), but it is also worth visiting for views and beaches like this. And yes, that bit in the lower right is the campsite. That was a good spot!

If you’re visiting Australia, chances are you might take a road trip. Victoria’s great ocean road is one bit of road that you should really consider adding to your itinerary, mostly because it features views like this. Not convinced? It’s also full of funky surfer towns, stretches of coastal rainforest, and all sorts of other delights. If you are planning a trip to Oz, this needs to be on your shortlist!

Last, but by no means least, in my post of photos of Australian beaches, comes this shot of Wilsons Prom National Park. A mere stones throw (by Australian standards at least) from Melbourne, this is a wonderful national park chock full of walking and beach based activities. It was also home to the only campsite I stayed at in Australia which had an outdoor cinema. What is not to love!

Well, those were some of my photos of Australia beaches. Have you visited any of these? Got a favourite beach in Australia that I left off the list? Get all excitable in the comments below!

Travel blogging tips from the experts: Hecktic Travels

2012-03-23T20:11:00.001+01:00

Today I am delighted to be interviewing an awesome travel blogging couple, Pete and Dalene Heck of Hecktic Travels. See what they did there?

Pete and Dalene came up with the plan of travelling the world way back in 2007, but it wasn’t until they managed to sell their house (and everything else!) in 2009 that they finally hit the road.

They have a very leisurely approach to travel, which often involves spending long periods of time house sitting in different countries. This lets them really experience an area quite deeply, whilst living for free.

By now, they are regarded as being fairly expert on the topic of house sitting, and if you ever wanted to know how to travel the world and score free accommodation while you were at it, then you should check out their House Sitting 101 guide.

As if travelling full time, living in amazing locations and seeing the world at their own pace wasn’t enough, they also feature some truly incredible photography on their site. You really need to check that out. After you’ve read this interview of course! Enough of my waffle.. let’s meet the Hecks!

Tell us a little bit about Pete and Dalene and your site, hecktictravels.com

We are a Canadian couple who sold all our belongings in the spring of 2009 and started traveling. We are currently in Turkey, our 26th country together as a couple, and we see no end in sight to our traveling ways!

Our website started just over one year ago and is almost entirely a chronological narrative of our ongoing journey punctuated with our passion for photography. It is as much about our personal story as it is about the places we travel to.

Why did you start writing a travel blog?

When we first left home for South America, we fired up a blogspot page just to keep our family and friends posted on what we were up to. At that point we had no idea that this whole other world of travel blogging existed!

About a year and a half later, just as we settled into a six month housesit in Honduras, we started to discover the massive community, and some of the potential opportunities that went along with it. It was then that we decided to switch to our own domain and make a concerted effort to improve our offering.

Also, while six months on a tiny island in the Caribbean may sound like paradise, it can actually be quite dull. The new blog was largely born out of boredom. :)

How do you define success in terms of your travel blog?

We consider ourselves very successful for a number of reasons: the great friendships we've made from it, and for the places seen and things done that we probably wouldn't have experienced otherwise.

We enjoy the encouraging emails we get from readers and when people tell us that we have influenced them in even the smallest of ways. We truly love our little blog - it is the best job either of us has ever had, even if it doesn't pay all the bills.

I love your photos! Any quick tips for travel bloggers wanting to take great shots?

Thanks Laurence! First and foremost, learn your camera. Learn all the settings, and practice, practice, practice how to use it when off the "auto" button.

Also, understand that post processing is just as important as the capture - there are many pieces of software available that can turn good captures into amazing photos.

Where do you want your travel blog to be in the next year?

That's a tough question, because we are not typically goal setters or planners. We don't know what we're doing in two months, let alone in a year, so our blog will just be wherever we are!

The universe has taken very good care of us thus far - opening doors and providing opportunities out of the blue. We will just continue to put out the effort that we have been, and are confident that our good fortune will continue.

Do you follow any metrics in terms of traffic analysis / site ranking, and how important do you think these are?

Of course we follow all the usual analytics and metrics, but we really don't pay much heed to them. We don't get bent out of shape when we have our down days and instead try to focus on the overall picture which has been extremely positive since the start.

We believe strongly in what we are doing and work hard to put out our best effort and continuously improve - strong traffic and rankings will come naturally. Wherever we are meant to be, there we are.

Which social networks are you active on, and what tips would you give for success on these?

We use Twitter, Facebook and Stumble-upon quite diligently, and are dabbling in Pinterest.

One of the things that has worked well for us on Facebook is to post on various destination pages - for example, to get more exposure while we were in New York, we posted photos and popular posts on any tourism page that had the words "New York" in it.

Pete handles Stumble-Upon, and even though it has been frustratingly up and down as of late, it is also just a great tool to keep up on other travel blog posts. With Twitter, well, we could use some tips from others on that. We find it hard to invest the time needed to cultivate strong relationships on that platform, and so are sure that we're not using it to it's fullest potential.

What other techniques have you used to improve your traffic, and how successful have these been?

Guest posting. A lot, and a lot, of guest posting, outside of the travel blogging world as well. This is so important, especially at the start. Lately we've been trying to restrict it to one a month for better time management, but in the past couple of months we've also had too many good opportunities to turn down (including yours)! :)

What sort of time commitment do you put in to your travel blog on a weekly basis?

Roughly 20-30 hours a week each (not including actual research/travel time).

What have you found to be the hardest thing about running a travel blog, and how do you overcome this?

The hardest thing is definitely time management. Right now we are settled for three months so it is easier, but when we are traveling faster, it is so difficult and we find ourselves easily burnt out.

At the end of last year we did a stint of 40 days of constant movement, working with tourism boards and other entities along the way. By the end of it, we were completely wasted. We learned a lot about ourselves and capabilities on that trip, and will be very careful not to overcommit again in the future.

If you started your blog today, what would you differently?

We really don't think we'd do anything differently. Sure, we've made mistakes along the way, but we learned from them and most things have been easily adjustable.

Does your blog generate any form of income, and if so, how did you achieve this?

We have made some money with text advertising, our partnership with Eurail.com, and small amounts from affiliate sales and freelance work. We don't expect this to be our sole income stream (we have other projects in the works), so anything we make from our blog really is gravy.

If you have questions or problems with your site, where do you go to find answers?

From knowing absolutely nothing about Wordpress a year ago, we've come a long way in being able to handle things ourselves. There are also plenty of resources online and other bloggers that we have turned to with questions.

And finally there is our new best friend Chris Richardson (@theaussienomad), who did a great job updating the look of our site and is now our first call if there are issues we can't handle.

Travel blogging is becoming more and more popular. How do you differentiate yourself in such a crowded market?

This is something that we give zero thought to. Pete has a great analogy for travel blogging in that he compares it to the PGA: a pro golfer shouldn't be concerned with what the others are doing - his biggest competition is the course, club choice, and his own abilities and mental game.

It is the same thing with travel blogging, bloggers should be less concerned with what others are doing and focus on how to improve their own game. The internet is infinite and there is room for us all, we can only beat ourselves by not giving our very best efforts.

And finally, what advice would you give to people running, or thinking about setting up, their own travel blog?

A travel blog is very likely not going to make you rich. Therefore it has to be, first and foremost, a labour of love. It can easily become frustrating, fill you with self-doubt, and feel like a gigantic waste of time if you let it. The only thing that will keep you plugging at it every day is the fact that you love every aspect of it.

Thanks again to Pete and Dalene for taking the time to answer my questions! You can keep up with their adventures on their travel blog, hecktic travels, follow them on twitter, and find them on facebook!

If you enjoyed this post, why not check out the rest of the series, featuring a whole host of excellent travel bloggers. Or, if you’re a travel blogger keen to feature, head on over to my contact page and get in touch.

In the meantime, if you’ve got any questions or comments, do share them in the comments below!

Six weeks in Australia – an itinerary from Sydney

2012-03-21T12:14:00.001+01:00

In this post, the second on travelling to Australia for around six weeks, I propose an itinerary for travellers starting their adventure in Sydney.

This is partly to answer a question posed to me recently by some friends who are doing this very thing, and secondly because I think it’s a fairly common trip to take.

If you missed the first post, that one covers things to consider like transport options and the climate. This one focuses on the nitty gritty of the actual trip, in weekly itinerary form, for a six week trip, highlighting some of the most amazing parts that this country has to offer. Enjoy!

A six week road trip from Sydney to the Red Centre

I’m going to go with a road trip for this itinerary because I think it’s the best way to see the country over a six week period. Normally I’d advise saving money by buying a vehicle and then selling it at the end of the trip - but this might be a bit much hassle for a trip lasting only six weeks. If you’re confident in your salesmanship though, then go for it. It should work out cheaper!

My favourite part of Australia has to be the vast and incredible nothing that is the outback.The endless open road, the scorched earth look – there is nothing like it. So a road trip to the middle to visit the world’s most famous rock would be my perfect trip

But that’s not to say in your six weeks you couldn’t do a bit more than see the outback. Here’s what I’d do over that six weeks:

Week one – Sydney, Blue Mountains, Canberra.

Sydney is one of Australia’s most iconic cities, so any trip to Australia that starts in Sydney needs to include some time in this place. You’ll want an absolute minimum of two days – partly because there is so much to see, and partly because you’ll probably be recovering from jet lag!

After some time spent exploring Sydney, you’ll want to head out into the country side. So saddle up your ride, pack the tent (or book a hostel / hotel, whichever works for you!), and head east. First stop, the Blue Mountains.

Located just about 100km west of Sydney, the Blue Mountains are a really incredible collection of mountain mesa’s and deep forested valleys, with great views and excellent hiking opportunities. The town of Katoomba is an excellent base from which to explore the area.

From here I’m going to recommend finishing off the first week or so with a trip down to Australia’s capital, just to take in the weirdness that is Canberra. Here you can wander perplexed around the highly designed city, pop into parliament, and wonder quite why anyone would want to visit.

Distance covered, aprox 450km. Total trip distance, aprox. 450km.

Weeks two and three – Canberra to Port Fairy

From Canberra I’d head south down to the coast via the wonderful alpine scenery of the Kosciuszko National Park. This is home to Australia’s highest mountain, and keen hikers might want to head deeper into the park for more exploration, either of this park or the neighbouring Snowy River National Park. Then it’s time to hit Australia’s southern coastline.

Along the coast to Melbourne there is stunning coastal scenery, including the gorgeous ninety mile beach. Of particular interest on this route is the Wilsoms Promontory National Park, home to some really quite fabulous white sandy beaches, scenery and hiking. Worth a couple of days of your time, at least.

From here it’s a quick trip up to Melbourne, Victoria’s capital city and a rival with Sydney for coolest Australian city. Here you’ll find great food, great bars, and a relaxed laid back style.

If you can tear yourself away from Melbourne, it’s time to take in one of the world’s greatest road trips: the Great Ocean Road. This runs along the Victorian coastline from just outside Melbourne to Port Campbell.

Here you will find funky surfer seaside towns, incredible coastal views such as the twelve apostles, lighthouses and magnificent coastal rainforest. Little wonder that this stretch of road regularly makes top ten lists of the worlds greatest road trips.

Distance covered, aprox 1200km. Total trip distance, aprox 1650km)

Week four – Port Fairy to Broken Hill

Done with the great ocean road, it is time to turn your nose back inland and head for the outback town of Broken Hill. On the way, I’d recommend stopping off in the Grampians National Park for some rather fine bush walking and scenery.

North of Halls Gap you’ll head up towards the town of Mildura, where a great deal of Victoria’s fruit production takes place. It also used to be home to the longest bar in the world, but that is long gone. You will also pass the Murray Sunset National Park, where you will start getting used to seeing the kind of sunsets that only outback Australia can produce. Enjoy!

The stretch of road north of Mildura to Broken Hill will introduce you to properly arid outback scenery. We’re talking brown / red dirt, dried out lake beds and endlessly blue skies. This is also mining country, so the odd giant mining pit will loom.

The city of Broken Hill was a real frontier environment back in the day, and it is Australia’s oldest lived-in mining city. Mining is really big here, which you’ll notice very quickly – even the street names are all mineral themed.

Since you’re at Broken Hill already, you should take a side trip to the ghost town of Silverton, about 25km away. Here you’ll find a small artistic community, and the remains of what was once a thriving mining village, now long abandoned. You’ll also find an excellent pub, which happened to be the filming location of Mad Max 2. Totally worth the trip.

Distance covered, aprox 900km. Total trip distance, aprox 2550km)

Week five – Broken Hill to Coober Pedy

The last couple of weeks of this trip require quite a bit more driving. At this point in the adventure, the scale and vastness of Australia’s outback become apparent, as the highlights along the route become further and further apart.

Still, a road trip in Australia is always going to involve some driving, right? Practice your outback wave (one finger raised off the wheel will suffice), watch out for kangaroos, and pop some tunes on the stereo. Life, you will realise, doesn’t get much better than this.

From Broken Hill you have a couple of options, depending on how adventurous you are feeling, to get to Coober Pedy. You can head across to Port Augusta and then up the nice and safe Stuart Highway, or you can go properly outback, read the terrifying warning signs, and take on the Oodnadatta Track.

If you and your vehicle are up to it, then I can highly recommend the latter option. This is a classic bit of outback driving which will give you an unforgettable adventure. On the way you will be able to experience the beautiful Flinders Ranges, take a side trip to the Mars like terrain of Arkaroola, and stop off at the vast dried out lake bed of Lake Eyre. You’ll even see the weirdness of Planehenge at the Mutonia Sculpture Park. Totally worth it.

Finally, after covering a whole lot of road, you’ll pull in to Coober Pedy, the opal mining town where everyone lives underground. This has to be seen to be believed. It’s also close to some seriously funky local attractions, including the Moon Plain, and the Painted Desert, both of which are worth the extra bit of driving.

Distance covered, aprox 1150km. Total trip distance, aprox 3700km)

Week six – Coober Pedy to Alice Springs

From Coober Pedy you can either head back on to the Oodnadatta Track and keep on experiencing the wonder of outback dirt road driving, or you can plough on up the Stewart Highway. This section of the road trip really just requires a lot of driving, so the Stewart Highway may be the best option at this point.

The highlights along this section of road become few and far between – you are basically aiming for Uluru, and you need to cover ground to get there. I can recommend stopping off at a roadhouse for a night, though, to experience true outback hospitality with a whole host of characters, from cowboys to truckers. You’ll likely have a night you’ll never forget… if you can remember it that is.

A great deal (seriously great) of driving later, and you will arrive at the world’s most amazing rock, where you will suddenly find yourself surrounded by people, which will come as a bit of a shock after a couple of weeks of driving and barely seeing another soul.

Uluru is an incredible place, although you will not be experiencing it alone. I can recommend quelling the urge to run screaming from the hordes of tourists, of which you are one, and just take it all in. Do the sunset watching thing, walk around the rock (or up it, if you don’t mind ignoring 40,000 years of aboriginal tradition), and enjoy yourself. Just make sure you also head over to the Olgas too, the other, less well known rock formation in the area.

Then, once you’re all rocked out, it’s back onto the highway for the final stretch of driving to Alice Springs. On the way up, you really should take the time to stop off at Kings Canyon, which is another spectacular bit of outback geology. Then, arrive into Alice, from where you can explore the amazing MacDonnell ranges, and this road trip ends.

Distance covered, aprox 1250km. Total trip distance, aprox 4950km)

Some notes

This trip describes an ideal scenario where you can hire a vehicle in Sydney, finish your trip in Alice Springs and fly home. It should be pointed out that one way rentals usually carry a supplement over a return trip, as someone has to return the vehicle to where it started from.

If you go for the purchasing option, you may be better off continuing up to Darwin or even across to Cairns and trying to sell there, although for the distances involved, this may not be worth the added expense. Maybe you can find someone looking to do something similar in reverse, and sell the car to them. Or, find a very dear friend willing to lend you a car ;)

A trip of this magnitude is always going to need some planning and forethought. However, I believe that this route really showcases some of Australia’s most magnificent scenery, from rainforest to beaches to outback, in a slightly compressed timescale. If you have the funds and will, then it’s totally worth doing!

Finally, here’s a Google Map of this route for your to peruse:

View Larger Map

As always, I’d love you to share your thoughts on this post in the comments below? Have you been to Australia, or are you planning a trip like this? Would you consider driving 5000km in six weeks? Share away! Otherwise, don’t forget to check out my whole section of posts on travelling in Australia to give you some more inspiration!

Planning a trip to Australia - things to consider

2012-03-19T13:06:00.001+01:00

I’ve had the privilege to have two quite amazing Australian holidays in my life – the first being a two week road trip around the state of Victoria, the second being a year long adventure that took in 60,000kms of this magnificent country.

But what if I had less than the luxury of a year, and more than just two weeks? What, if like some friends of mine soon will, I had about six weeks, and I happened to be flying into Sydney? Then what would I do?

Since this was the question that some friends of mine recently posed me, I decided to run a couple of blog posts on the subject. This post will deal with the things you need to think about when planning a trip, including the size of the place, the transport options and the weather.

The next post (which you can read here) will propose an itinerary, starting from Sydney, that I believe is worth considering for a six week adventure. I may follow up with further itinerary ideas in subsequent posts if you like the idea. For now though… lets tackle the things to consider!

Things to consider – size, cost, weather

Size!

Firstly, Australia is big. One of my favourite novels of all time, written by the late Douglas Adams, tries to explain how big space is. Replace “space” with “Australia” in the following quote, and you get roughly the same effect:

“Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”

So whilst I have heard of people who have successfully circumnavigated Australia in around six weeks, what that meant was they spent a lot of time having an incredibly long car journey. Trying to fit everything in in six weeks is really not a reasonable idea. This was what my 60,000km trip ended up looking like.. and see how much I still didn’t manage to do in a year!

Cost!

Budget is a definite consideration. Australia is not a cheap destination by any stretch of the imagination, made even less so by, at the time of writing, the very strong Australia dollar.

My year long trip cost me in the region of £12,000 – at today’s exchange rate that same trip would have cost me closer to £18,000. Of course, budget is a personal consideration, but it needs to be considered all the same!

Weather (or when to go)!

Because Australia is so big that it is both tropical and temperate, the weather can play a serious factor in any trip. The southern half of the country has an essentially European climate, with four seasons. Summer take place around January and Winter in July.

The northern half of the country on the other hand has two main seasons, known as the Wet and the Dry. These last about six months each. The Wet runs from around October through to March, and is, you guessed it, characterised by a lot of rain. It is also, oddly, hotter than the dry, with uncomfortably high levels of humidity.

The Dry is a better time to visit, mostly because there is less water everywhere and things like roads are likely to be actually open. This runs through from March to October. The later on in the dry, the hotter and drier it becomes, before the whole things bursts and you get the Wet again.

Transport options

So now we know that Australia is big, the weather is varied, and it isn’t necessarily that cheap. How should you get around?

Self drive!

My preferred option for seeing a country is to get a vehicle and use it to get around. This allows for so much more flexibility than any other options, in that I can make everything up as I go along without having to worry about timetables or pick up points.

The downside of course is that renting (or buying) a vehicle is often one of the more expensive options available to the traveller, particularly once you factor in the distances in Australia and the cost of fuel. Personally though, I think it is worth it, particularly if you are travelling in a group and can split the costs.

Bus / Train!

Australia is fairly well served by long distance bus networks that will get you around the country and between the major cities and destinations. Trains are also available to take you through the middle, up the east coast, or across the Nullarbor Plain from Adelaide to Perth, on routes that are steeped in history.

These two options are not terribly cheap, and you can’t just stop when you feel like it to check out an interesting tree. But if you are in a hurry and want to see and lot of landscape flashing by, at a price which is likely cheaper than a car and fuel, then they are pretty good options.

Plane!

For a short term holiday in Australia, or if you are just keen on visiting “the rock” without the endless outback drive, then the internal flight network is decent, and remarkably affordable due to the rise in low cost carriers.

However, obviously, you have even less flexibility in terms of stopping off in funky little places than with any of the other options, so unless you really need to get from one side of the country to the other in a hurry (maybe at the end of a one way trip), then it’s not an option I’d generally recommend if you want to actually see much of Australia.

Dangers

Australia is a safe country to visit for the most part, although it does seem to have somewhat more than its fair share of deadly creatures. It is unlikely that you will encounter any of these when you are there, but being up to speed on things like treating snake bites, and which beaches are home to jellyfish or sharks is a good idea to avoid unnecessary risk.

Also, stay away from places likely to be inhabited by salt water crocs when in the northern regions, as they don’t make for great swimming partners.

It is far more likely that you are affected by more common travellers maladies when in Australia than being attacked by one of their deadly creatures. Things like dehydration and sunburn are key to watch out for – particularly given the thinness of the ozone layer in this part of the world. Wear hats, apply sunscreen, and drink lots of water.

Other than that, Australia is no more dangerous than anywhere else in the world, with common sense precautions keeping you safe. The remoteness of some areas means that you might want to plan ahead thoroughly before setting off, with plenty of emergency supplies should something untoward leave you stranded.

Don’t forget to check out the next post in this series, which suggests a six week itinerary departing from Sydney! In the meantime, if you’ve got any thoughts on travelling in Australia, do share them in the comments below – or head on over to my Australia Tips section for more ideas!

Today’s article featured a quote from the incredible Douglas Adams novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and is reproduced here under fair use. If you haven’t read the novel, I cannot recommend you putting your life on hold and reading it enough!

To Barcelona! (Your input required!)

2012-03-14T19:27:00.001+01:00

Remember back at the beginning of the year I said I had some places I really wanted to see in 2012?

Well, one of the places that made my list was the city of Barcelona, which has never cropped up in my travel itinerary before. I’m pleased to say however, that that is about to change!

At the beginning of April we’re going to take the overnight sleeper train from France down to Barcelona, where we’ll be staying for a week. We’ll be taking in everything that the Catalan capital has to offer, from beaches to food to architecture… and more!

What I’m about excited about

There are a whole number of things that I am already really excited about seeing. For example, Barcelona is home to no less than eight UNESCO listed world heritage sites, including the frankly bonkers looking Casa Batlló – just one of the many structures and places in Barcelona that Gaudi had a hand in designing.

The architecture is going to be one major highlight, and I’m really excited about taking a lot of photos of the wackiness. (I’m not sure wackiness is how you are supposed to describe serious architecture, but there we go. It looks wacky to me!)

I’m also really excited about the opportunity for some random exploration. The thrill of a new place is part of what drives me to keep travelling, and a city as interesting looking as Barcelona is certainly going to have a lot of exploration to do.

From the old Roman centre of the gothic quarter to Gaudi’s Park Guell, I have no doubt that even a week isn’t going to be enough to fill my need to wander!

Where we’ll be staying

I have mentioned before on the site that an apartment is a decent option when visiting a new city, as I believe it gives you so many awesome benefits compared to say a hostel or hotel.

I was therefore absolutely delighted when the kind folks over at Roomorama offered to help us out with our accommodation for our stay in Barcelona.

Roomorama are an apartment booking service which puts people who have apartments available for short term rental in touch with people who need short terms accommodation. Like me! Their website lets you filter your search by price point, location and the sort of amenities you want, and then it comes back with a whole list of options.

After a bit of site perusal, and much excitement, we finally settled on a place which comes with everything we need to really enjoy ourselves (check: beach view, fridge and inclusive wireless? Everything a travel blogger needs!).

We’ll be able to come and go as we please, and even cook our own meals if we feel like it. Although I am hoping that won’t be that necessary, what with all the great food options we plan to find. Which is partly where you can help out!

How you can help!

As I said above, we’ve never been to Barcelona before. Sure, we could read the guide books, and do our internet research. And, as I’m going to be helped out by the Barcelona tourist board while I’m there, I should be well covered on finding the big sights!

But guide books and internet research only go so far. What I’d really love to hear are your thoughts and ideas for what to do, what to see, and of course, most importantly, what and where to eat!

I want to know what you loved, what excites you about the city, and the stuff that is perhaps not so well known about. Even those things that are hugely touristy but still deserve to be experienced – tell me about those, too!

So if you have been to Barcelona, I’d really love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Maybe you’ve even written a blog post or three on your experiences! Share away – I’ll really appreciate it!

Photo credit today goes to MorBCN for the first image. The other images were sourced from Wikimedia Commons.

Nontron – French town of the knife

2012-03-11T17:13:00.001+01:00

Were I a knife aficionado, (of the pen knife, rather than the Crocodile Dundee variety), then I could not have picked a better place to locate myself in France than where I am now, near the town of Nontron.

Because as it turns out, Nontron is home to France’s original folding knife creators, a cutlery making tradition which dates all the way back to 1653.

I’m not exactly a knife aficionado, but sharp pointy objects kindle the inner cave man in me, plus I’m on a roll with seeing traditional French stuff of late, so a visit to the Nontron knife centre, along with a wander around the town streets with my camera, was long overdue.

Nontron is a very pretty French town, although that does seem to be the rule rather than the exception, as explorations of both Brantome and Perigueux have revealed. It is perched on a rocky promontory overlooking the valley of the river Bandiat, and is dotted with churches, bits of castle, crumbly old beam laden properties and a number of rather splendid looking viaducts.

These were all observed carefully. However, the main aim of the day was to find out more about the Nontron knife, and to do that we had to go to the knife centre in town. Of the 39 knife manufacturers active in the region three hundred years ago, this is the sole survivor, and is where today over 65,000 Nontron knives are manufactured annually.

This is a working factory rather than a museum, and it’s a working factory for fairly dangerous pointy things, so there isn’t much getting opportunity for getting up close and personal. Rather, there is a sort of knife makers zoo in operation.

The building, which is free to visit, is on two levels, with the workers busily creating knives on the lower level, and you, the happy watching public, safely ensconced behind thick glass on the level above, able to gaze down at the whole operation.

It’s fascinating stuff, watching these knives being put together by skilled craftsman and naturally it is all accompanied by information panels that tell you a great deal about the process and history of knife making.

From time to time the knife crafters will look up from their work and give you a smile and a nod, making you feel that perhaps you are the ones on display, sent to entertain. Whichever way round it is, it’s a fun experience. And did I mention it’s free to boot?

Nontron also holds an an annual knife festival (who needs bulls eh), where people come from all over the world to peer at shiny pointy things. You don’t hold the title of French knife capital for nothing!

The knife makers go a bit bonkers for this festival, with all kinds of twists on the traditional folding knife being created for display, from the much-larger-than-you-could-fit-in-your-pocket version, right down to the so-small-it-is-made-out-of-a-cherry-stone version. I guess making 65,000 knives a year under the close inspection of the travelling public means that you want to break out of the mould every once in a while.

Beyond knives, as mentioned above, Nontron is lovely for a wander. There is the Jardin des arts, overlooking the Bandiat valley, which combines landscaped garden with artistic creations and a marvellous view of the town. There is the centre for arts and crafts, which displays, you guessed it, both traditional and modern arts and crafts from the region and France as a whole. This being France, there is also a local weekly market, held every Saturday.

And if you’re all crafted out after that, well, as with any French town, there is no shortage of excellent places to stop and grab something to eat or drink! Which was how we finished our tour.

If you’re visiting Nontron, then I can highly recommend a visit to the knife museum, which is open pretty much year round. And for more information about Nontron and attractions in the area, head to the town’s own website, nontron.fr. Enjoy!