May Update and Links

Posted on 27. May, 2010 by Steph in Links

Spring is finally here- hopefully to stay this time and it seems like after eons of waiting, so many things in my life are finally being set in motion.

My efforts at trip planning have picked up (thanks to your helpful advice) and I am headed in to get my shots tomorrow. I’m beginning to gear up for the Travel Blog Exchange Conference at the end of June in New York.

I’m also very excited about the contest we are running on the site this week with HotelsCombined.com. Be sure to enter here if you haven’t already.

Here is a rundown of what has been going on this month:

Early this month a blog post of mine was featured on the front page of the BBC, thanks to my affiliation with Lonely Planet. That was a really exciting day for me as you all know what an anglophile I am. Fame was fleeting but I took pictures:

I wrote what might be my favorite guest post I’ve ever done, for the terrific new blog C’est Christine. Please stop by and read my piece: How Not to Meet Creeps in London.

I was interviewed twice this month. Once for Nile Guide for their Nile Guide 5 series. The second was for my samuri internship master Andy at Sharing Experiences.

In a really sweet gesture, Simon and Erin of Never Ending Voyage named me one of the Next Generation of Travel Bloggers and posted a big ol picture of me. There are some really awesome blogs on that list so be sure to check it out.

Remember a few months ago when I shared my top 3 travel secrets? Well TripBase has compiled an e-book featuring a slew of these secrets from around the web. It’s free, full of juicy tidbits and for each download Tripbase will donate $1 to provide clean water to developing nations.

Earlier this month I received a lovely package of vegemite samples from Chris, the Aussie Nomad. Vegemite, if you didn’t know, is a creepy yeasty spread destested by everyone not born in Australia. Fearlessly, I invited my friend Eddie over for an experimental taste testing. I think Chris is going to post the video on his site as well, but you can see our reactions here:

Finally, here are my top picks from around the web this month:

Mike Barish visits one of my favorite places in the US and writes about Remembering the Magic of Domestic Travel for Gadling.

I know not all of us can quit their jobs and travel with reckless abandon. For everyone else Vagabondish offers 8 Ways to Stretch Your Short Vacation Time.

For the rest of us who are tired of not being taken seriously, Lillie from Around the World L talks about Why RTW Travel must NOT be Seen as a Vacation.

Travel CAN be really stressful, so this list of 10 Ways to Stop Stress When you Travel from As We Travel is really useful.

And along the same vein of emotional well being, the very insightful Suzy Guese talks about Taking the Road Toward Emotional Travel Preperation.

And to go even one step FURTHER, awesome Tom Gates talks about the stress of coming home in his piece Notes from a Round the World Come Down in Matadors Traveler’s Notebook.

On a more practical note, Dave from What’s Dave Doing has a great list of 50 Handy Hints for the First Time Traveler.

You can supplement that with the ever helpful Anil at Foxnomad and his list of 10 Pieces of Practical Advice for Backpacking Novices.

Not all advice is good advice. Christine from Almost Fearless polls the web for Terrible Travel Advice-That I Never Took.

Also on Almost Fearless is a really neat and helpful guest post by Bethany, a professional photographer on Shooting Vivid Photography in Well-Traveled Places. A lot of really helpful advice here.

That’s all for this month. In late June I’ll be up in NYC for TBEX with 300 hundred other travel bloggers. In between now and then be on the look out for articles about immunizations, puppies and how to be a good host.

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26 Responses to “May Update and Links”

Andy Hayes | Sharing Travel Experiences

27. May, 2010

So, just for the record: vegemite does not taste like whisky.

If nothing else, it’s a bit salty.

And its awesome. Keep trying
.-= Andy Hayes | Sharing Travel Experiences´s last blog ..Behind the Bar with Jetside Johnny =-.

Reply to this comment
- Steph
  
  27. May, 2010
  
  I think I need to try some marmite for comparison.
  
  Reply to this comment
  - Poi
    
    29. May, 2010
    
    You need to try Marmite! or you could just take my word for it……amazing stuff.
    
    Reply to this comment
    - Caz Makepeace
      
      29. May, 2010
      
      Marmite is so second rate!! Vegemite is undoubtedly the food of the Gods. My parents are coming to visit in 2 weeks and are bringing buckets of it for us as we are in the throes of Vegemite withdrawals
      .-= Caz Makepeace´s last blog ..To Cruise or not to Cruise? Tips to Help You Decide… =-.
      
      Reply to this comment
Mike Barish

27. May, 2010

Thanks for including me! Glad you enjoyed the post. So much to love about Yellowstone and so incredibly inspiring.

Reply to this comment
- Steph
  
  27. May, 2010
  
  sure thing mike!
  
  Reply to this comment
Eduardo

28. May, 2010

XOXOXO, love you, STEPH.

Reply to this comment
- Steph
  
  28. May, 2010
  
  Thanks for being my guinea pig!
  
  Reply to this comment
Matt

28. May, 2010

Comparing Vegemite to whiskey is an insult to whiskey!

Sounds like you had a busy month. Thanks for sharing the links, some gems there I missed.
.-= Matt´s last blog ..An Update & Travel Question =-.

Reply to this comment
- Steph
  
  28. May, 2010
  
  I didn’t realize how busy it was til I summed it up here! Someday I will slow down, I swear.
  
  Reply to this comment
Andrea

28. May, 2010

Hahahaha my favorite part of this video is the long pause while I wait in suspense for you guys to put into words what vegemite really tastes like.

Great links.

Reply to this comment
- Steph
  
  28. May, 2010
  
  I feel like I missed an oppurtunity to be more descriptive. I was just so overcome with flavor!
  
  Reply to this comment
Anil

28. May, 2010

You took the challenge well! Has me even more curious to try it now…

Reply to this comment
Suzy

28. May, 2010

Thanks for the mention here Stephanie! Glad you enjoyed the post. I am in good company.
.-= Suzy´s last blog ..Traveling With Full Passion, Easier Said Than Done =-.

Reply to this comment
Andrew

28. May, 2010

Wow you have a lot going on Steph. Glad to see your blog doing so well in such a short amount of time. Looking forward to seeing updates from your RTW trip later this year. See you at TBEX!

Reply to this comment
- Steph
  
  29. May, 2010
  
  Thanks Andrew! I owe it all to the great help I’ve gotten along the way . See you in June!
  
  Reply to this comment
Dave

29. May, 2010

Hey thanks heaps for the mention! Like Suzy, I feel that I’m in esteemed company…

PS: Great work on the Vegemite challenge – you def. seemed to enjoy it more than Candice did!
.-= Dave´s last blog ..Q&A with author Patrick O’Neil =-.

Reply to this comment
- Steph
  
  29. May, 2010
  
  Well I DO try to see the best in everything!
  
  You’re welcome on the mention.
  
  Reply to this comment
Everywhereist

29. May, 2010

Vegemite has always fascinated me – someone told me it’s created during the process of beer-making. Someone looked at the sludge in the vat and said, “Let’s put that on toast!”

Congrats on the love from the BBC and the guest posts!

Reply to this comment
- Steph
  
  29. May, 2010
  
  Thanks! I am definitely curious on the origins of vegemite….
  
  Reply to this comment
  - Dave
    
    29. May, 2010
    
    Pretty sure that story is true.
    
    I just drove past the factory where they make Vegemite here in Melbourne (“The Home of Vegemite”, according to the 10 foot high billboard on the side). You can always tell when they’re brewing it up – the smell of my breakfast is wafting across 10 lanes of motorway!
    .-= Dave´s last blog ..Q&A with author Patrick O’Neil =-.
    
    Reply to this comment
    - Steph
      
      30. May, 2010
      
      Ooh do they do tours? I may have to add that to my itinerary.
      
      Reply to this comment
ehalvey

29. May, 2010

Thank you for the stress article in the round up! My parents are flying to Europe for the first time (in about 2 weeks!), and I have to admit that flying with my husband can be stressful. I’m in the George Clooney in Up in the Air school of thought, lol.
.-= ehalvey´s last blog ..Pantone Hotel!!! =-.

Reply to this comment
- Steph
  
  30. May, 2010
  
  I get really stressed traveling with my family as well, I much prefer to fly alone.
  
  Reply to this comment
Candice

31. May, 2010

Wooot! See you in just a few weeks!
.-= Candice´s last blog ..Sometimes Growing Up in a Bilingual Country Sucks =-.

Reply to this comment
Tina Hill

19. Jun, 2010

I enjoyed my trip a lot with my hubby it was really cool. Really great site….

Reply to this comment

May Update and Links

Here is a rundown of what has been going on this month:

Finally, here are my top picks from around the web this month:

26 Responses to “May Update and Links”

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