I’ve Got That Liebster Love: My First Blogging Award!!…

Words cannot express how honored I feel right now!!…I am now a first-time nominee for the Liebster Award, thanks to the lovely, ginger Fräulein, Julia @ The Redhead Story (ich danke dir dafür)!!…

But what exactly IS the Liebster Award???…Allow me to explain!!…

In German, Liebster means “dear” or “loved”–and that’s precisely the essence of the award: Travel bloggers from around the world express their enthusiasm/appreciation for other writers and their sites by nominating them for this Internet-only prize, informing others about them in the process!!…

How does it work???…

If you are one of the honorees–and you wish to accept your nomination–you must:

Thank the blogger who nominated you…
Answer his/her 10 questions…
Create a set of 10 new questions…
Pass the award on to 10 other people…
Notify your nominees…

Not too strenuous, now is it?!?!…

O.K., so enough yammering about rules–here are my answers, Julia!!…

1) What is your overall life goal?…

Well, before I go home to be with the Lord, I want to be able to say that I ticked off as many things as I could on my “to do” list while I was on this Earth: Live for at least 2 years in London or N.Y.C., have the most beautiful daughters a person could ask for, go to a huge music festival, learn at least 2 more languages, and–of course–travel the world!!…

2) If you have a really bad day, what’s the one thing that can brighten it up?…

I always feel better by reading Scripture, chilling while the lights are down and some good folk music is in my ears, and numbing my mind with “trash” T.V. (think Maury or Inside Edition!!)…

3) When did you catch the travel bug?…

I think you can probably blame Steve Irwin for that…No, seriously–The Crocodile Hunter totally inspired me and my wanderlusting ways!!…

When I was a little girl, the illustrious Mr. Irwin always captivated me–not only because the man handled toxic snakes like they were inchworms, mind you, but also because he literally traveled the world, going to all these exotic locales (The Amazon, Malaysia, Borneo, and so forth), doing what he loved!!…Because of him, I wanted to go out and have a little adventure of my own!!…

Besides, to THIS DAY I want to travel Australia and visit The Australia Zoo!!…

4) What’s the one thing you cannot travel without?…

I love blogging and uploading pics, so I definitely have to have a computer–and therefore, Wi-Fi is a non-negotiable wherever I happen to be!!…

5) What’s the worst thing that has ever happened to you on a trip?…

O.K.–this one’s a doozy!!..Last May (the 8th, to be exact) I was in Madrid, preparing to fly out of Barajas and return to the States after studying abroad…I had arrived super-early (9 a.m.), so I was just going to chill for a few hours before my flight left at 13:50 (1:50 p.m.)–or so I THOUGHT: When I went up to the big screen that displays the departures at around 11:20–you know, to see which terminal and gate I needed to be at–I noticed that there was not one flight to New York @13:50…Freaking out, I immediately went to the Iberian Airlines baggage counter and asked them what was up, and the lady replied to me 3 things: ) Sólo hay un vuelo a las 12:20 (There’s only a flight at 12:20); 2) El embarque para este vuelo ya está cerrado (The boarding for this flight’s closed already); 3) No tienes billete (You don’t have a ticket)…None of this made sense to me, considering I had bought this ticket FIVE MONTHS AHEAD OF TIME…

So, I immediately booked it to the Iberian customer service counter…As you can imagine, I was freaking out: I had no cell, no spare 1,3-500 Euro to buy flights to get back to N.C., and I certainly didn’t have enough to buy a ticket back to Salamanca and try to regroup…Thankfully, the nice young lady called American Airlines (who Iberia is linked up with), and it was confirmed that, yes, I had a bought-and-paid-for flight with them, and that they screwed up majorly…With that in account, they offered to change my flight for free–which I accepted, of course–and therefore, I ended up on the 4:50 flight to JFK…

Yeah–that was stressful, but thank the Lord that things worked out!!…

6) Do you have a memorable (cultural) experience?…

I don’t know if I can pinpoint a specific moment, but the experience that I can’t WAIT to participate once I’m back in España is ir de tapas (hit up tapas bars)!!…

There’s just something about going to a bar and tossing back a few pinchos and chatting with your friends that’s just inherently español, :-)…

7) Have you been somewhere that turned out to be completely different to what you imagined?

…(Photo credit to the beautiful Ms. Micaela James!!)…

P a r is…Yeah, I know that seems weird, but for years I was a semi-serious Francophobe for the longest time–I thought the French language/culture was EXTREMELY overrated (I still kinda do)…

But last summer, while I was studying abroad in London, there was a long weekend towards the end of my stay there, and almost everyone was leaving the city to travel somewhere abroad…About 10 other people were planning on taking the Chunnel to the City of Lights…

I wasn’t going to go, but my Mom insisted and bought me that two-way train ticket…I didn’t think I would like it at all, and the place was a little smelly and dirty (don’t get me started on The Metro), but, surprisingly, I enjoyed myself quite a bit: The people were (shocker) all really polite, walking beside the Seine (esp. during the evening) was enchanting, and for a girl who LOVES museums, The Louvre was the shizz!!…

While I wouldn’t say I like the city better than London, I wouldn’t be against going back, either!!…

8) Is there something you do (routine etc.) when away from home that you wouldn’t do otherwise?…

Buy souvenirs–after all, you need some knicknacks to help you remember stuff (esp. as you get older and senility hits)!!…

9) Which comforts of home do you miss most when on the road?…

Funny–I don’t really miss too many things from the States, apart from the occasional hugs from loved ones…

But, I can tell you that there have been plenty of times where I miss a certain foodstuff/chain that you don’t really find abroad: Chick-Fi-La lemonade/sweet tea, Hardee’s Thickburgers, Cook-Out (look it up, non-N.C. people) milkshakes, IHOP Pancakes, Taco Bell, cranberry sauce, Velveeta-baked macaroni and cheese, Jolly Ranchers–you name it!!…

But, hey–at least there’s pinchos where I’m going, :-)!!…

10) If you could do anything to make this world a bit better, what would it be?…

Keep shining the light and love others as He did, :-)…

On that end note, here is my lists of nominees/questions!!…

Honorees:

Preguntas:

What places are you dying to see within the next five years?…
If you could live in another country/city that you haven’t before, where would it be?…
When did you first catch the wonderful illness that is wanderlust?…
What’s the one thing you cannot travel without?…
What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you while traveling?…
What are your preferred lodgings: hotel, hostel, or vacation rental?…
Have you been somewhere that turned out to be completely different to what you imagined?…
What’s the best airline you’ve ever flown with so far, and why?…
What was the best night out you ever had while traveling?…
What quote best surmises your attitude towards travel?…

Thanks again to you, Julia!!…And ladies, I hope to see your responses, :-)!!…

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