My 7 Links – a delve into the archives at Heather on her travels

Tag – I’m it! My blogging friend Barbara over at Hole in the Donut just passed on the challenge of a little rummage in the treasure chest (or should it be dusty attic?) that is my travel blog at Heatheronhertravels. For your delectation and delight I have come up with a few of my older posts that are noteworthy in one way or another. So without too much navel gazing I spent, oh about 5 seconds and came up with some of these past posts. Do let me know what you think!

Your most Beautiful post

In this category I nominate;

A Turtle spotting Boat trip on Zante – in Greece

Of course, like my children, I like to think that all my posts are beautiful in one way or another – with the amount of time I take shooting many colourful photos to bring my posts alive and crafting the words to try and be both inspirational and informative I hope you’d think so too.

But there’s something about the natural beauty of Greece (if you ignore the souvenir shops, the dusty broken pavements) that holds a special place in my heart. My sister lives on the Greek island of Zakynthos and so we get the chance to visit her every year there, normally in May when the flowers are still fresh on the hillside or in October when the cyclamen are flowering in the olive groves and the scent of woodsmoke from the olive prunings is in the air.

This Greek Turtle post and video bring back for me the gorgeous turquoise sea, the hot sun, and the pleasures of jumping off the boat and swimming into a sea cave to cool off. And if you’re lucky you might just see a turtle.

A Turtle spotting Boat trip on Zante – in Greece

Your most popular post

After I’d been blogging a while I started to gather a ton on information about how to do things better, especially after I moved the blog from its old home at Blogger to the current WordPress installation. I decided to share all that knowledge I gained along the way in a new area called My Blogging Journey and was surprised at how popular some of the articles became. Clearly there were other people tearing their hair out trying to work out how to set up their featured content gallery or changing their header and finding my articles helpful.

One of that series of articles that has been particularly popular has been;

How to set up and optimise your Youtube Channel

Because I wanted to continue to share the things that I’d learned but didn’t want to dilute the Travel inspiration articles, I decided to move all the “How To” articles to a new home of their own and now you’ll find them over at my new website

My Blogging Journey

Feel free to  go on over and take a look – you might find a useful article or two to help you improve your own travel blog.

Your most controversial post

To be absolutely honest I don’t really court controversy here at Heather on her travels. You’ll never find an article here on how to have sex in a hostel or the top 10 places not to visit. I prefer to see the positive in each situation and look at travel as a pleasure rather than a challenge. But occasionally an article has provoked an unexpectedly adverse reaction, such as the one where the owners of a restaurant I’d reviewed took issue with what I’d written. If you read through the comments you’ll see what I mean. It made me stop and wonder at the reach of our blogging opinions and how we have a responsibility to try and be fair and balanced in what we write that might impact the businesses and reputations of others.

A lacklustre lunch at Pepe’s Byblos Fishing Club – in Lebanon

Another example of unexpected controversy coming to me was the article I wrote in a fit of frustration after having a poor experience with a car hire company. Although I felt my article was balanced in tone, it seemed to open up a succession of similar unhappy tales from other customers who had experienced poor service – again read the comments to see what I mean.

Beware of hidden charges at Hertz Car Hire

Your most helpful post

In this category I nominate;

Don’t throw paper in the toilet in Greece

Much as I love visiting Greece, it’s always something of a relief to come home and be able to throw paper down the toilet again. This little article I wrote was prompted by the humorous signs I saw in the bathrooms of numerous bars in Greece whose owners clearly don’t enjoy having to unblock the toilet. If you’re visiting Greece I hope you’ll find it helpful!

A post whose success suprised you

A friend of ours from Bristol has decamped to enjoy his semi-retirement in Chiang Mai and I used his photos and stories to write this article about one of the many elephant sanctuaries in Thailand that are now a major tourist attraction.

Elephant Encounters at Chiang Mai in Thailand

Subsequently it’s become a very popular article on the blog that people are finding by searching for the term ‘Elephants’ – there must be something about these animals that attracts people.

A post you feel didn’t get the attention it deserved

I don’t really put too much store by whether an article is popular or not – I tend to write for my own pleasure as much as yours and put out there whatever catches my attention. So it was tough for me to think of anything in this category. However, I’d like to nominate;

Christmas shopping in Quito

This was my very first post back in December 2007 and I think it that it could deserve another airing, if only to see how far I’ve come in over 3 years of blogging.

The post that you are most proud of

It would be hard to single any one post out as I try to make all my articles as good as they can be, but I do enjoy making and listening to my Travel Podcasts. Although there are a handful of excellent travel podcasters out there, podcasting doesn’t seem to be a media that has been fully exploited in the travel niche. I’m proud that I have built up the expertise to make podcasts about the places I’ve travelled that I hope will inspire you and give a real flavour of the place with music, interviews and soundscenes. For my most recent example of a travel podcast, I hope you enjoy the sounds of Salzburg and Wolfgangsee;

16 Podcast – Salzburg and Wolfgangsee in Austria

If you enjoy listening to my travel podcasts you can download the audio files from my blog or Subscribe through iTunes

And now that I’ve cleared out that dusty attic, all that remains is for me to nominate a few more bloggers to share their 7 links with you – I nominate;

Sunee sees the world
Mother of all trips
Travel Rat

The 7 links idea was started by Tripbase – you can find more information here

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

A round-up of Heather on her Travels around the web

I try to do a regular round-up of places my articles have been published around the web, but I must confess that my concentration has lapsed a bit recently – I guess I’ve been so busy doing the writing that I just didn’t quite get round to telling you about them all. Shame on me! So here’s a rather longer than usual round-up of where else you can find Heather on her Travels in November through to February.

Hotel Reviews

If you got the feeling that I was staying in some fabulous hotels recently – the type of places that I’d normally only aspire to before booking something more budget friendly for the family, then you’d be right.

I was invited to do a hotel review of the luxury boutique hotel Heritage Av Liberdade in Lisbon, a mixture of Modern-luxe design and Heritage - read my review of Heritage Av Liberdade for Mr and Mrs Smith Hotels here and my guest post on Platefuls of Portugal: Lisbon’s tasty treats here.

I also took my teenage daughter for a night at the gorgeous Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park in London where we were treated like princesses and enjoyed every minute of living in luxury – read my review for Kiwi Collection of the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park here.

Blog Mentions

I was thrilled in January to find that Lastminute.com mentioned me as one of their top 50 blogs about good stuff - in fact I was number 4 on their list – and what great company I’m keeping!

And that came on top of my nomination around the same time as best European blog in the 2010 Bloggies which brought me loads of extra readers and I hope some of you have stayed to hear more of my travel tales.

Thanks to Louise Brown who featured me as Site of the day at Travelblogsites.com, the blog about the best travel blogs around.  I also appeared in the Top 100 list which is published regularly on the site and am in the top 40 worldwide on the latest count. Although rankings aren’t everything, the list is a useful way to find some other great travel blogs out there to enjoy.

Although it’s a while ago now, thanks to Liz at Travelogged for including my Cedars of Lebanon post and video in her Blog Carnival along with some other great stuff worth reading.

And also to Mary Jo for her mention of my review of Fawsley hall among her travel favourites in this post.

And to Mindaugas at Abroadening who featured my travel photo from Lebanon in his post about photos that encapsulate enspiring moments in travel – mine was the free cakes I was offered outside the mosque in the souk at Sidon in Lebanon.

Europe a la Carte

As usual I’ve been posting weekly on a Thursday over at Europe a la Carte where you’ll find heaps of great Europe travel tips and ideas on things to do and see around Europe.

A boat trip to the Islands off Brittany in France – exploring some the islands that you can visit close the Vannes and the gulf of Morhiban where I visited a friend in July last year.

Visiting the sights of Belem in Lisbon, Portugal – A neighbourhood of Lisbon that has more than it’s fair share of great things to see and is worth a day on it’s own.

London attractions: Things to do in Hyde Park – When I visited London for a weekend recently I stayed at the wonderful Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and realised that there were some great things to do in Hyde Park nearby - can’t wait to explore more as the weather warms up.

Explore the history of Zakynthos in Greece – Some interesting sights that will give you a taste for the historic past of Zakynthos, and an antedote to the package holiday image of the island.

Climbing St Peter’s church tower in Munich – It was certainly chilly as we climbed this tower to peer down at the Christmas markets below, but there are towers like this in many European cities to give you a different perspective on a city.

Stay in a bunkhouse in Wales and enjoy the great outdoors – A way of travelling that’s half way between B & B and camping, and great for those who enjoy the great outdoors but like to sleep with a roof over their head.

Visit the Pergamon Museum in Berlin – One of the must-see museums of Berlin with practically entire ancient buildings transported into the museum and a good audio-tour.

The Christmas lights of Lisbon and a Happy New Year – in which I advocate trying some Southern European destinations for a Christmas or New Year break – you can see the Christmas lights and still catch a bit of sun if you’re lucky!

Will Easyjet fly to Zakynthos in 2010? – And I was right, as soon after this article was published, Easyjet did announce they would start flights to Zakynthos.

Visit the Christmas Markets in Munich – Taking you through the different Christmas markets we visited in Munich just before Christmas including some that aren’t the obvious choice for the tourist.

The Painted Hall and Chapel at Greenwich, London – One of the beautifully painted historic buildings in Greenwich and it’s free.

A winter break at the Christmas Market in Bath – trying out the Christmas markets closer to home in anticipation of our visit to see the German version in Munich, as well as some other things to see in Bath that you may enjoy on a winter break.

Chill out at Kunsthaus Tacheles in Berlin – It’s grungy, it’s street-art, it’s hip and it’s the authentic side of Berlin, but not the place to take your granny for tea.

The murals of Orgosolo in Sardinia – The wonderful murals that you’ll find in the village of Orgosolo in the heart of mountainous Sardinia, formerly better known for it’s bandits.

Free things to see on London’s South Bank – a walk along the South Bank where you’ll find many great things to see and most of them free.

Battlefield Tours for Remembrance Sunday – Battlefield Tours you might like to make if you’re interested in military history or have an old soldier in the family.

Silent nights for Christmas at the Dennis Severs House in London – One of my most favourite atmospheric places in London to step back in time and see how a prosporous weaving family lived in the 17th century – best seen by candle-light.

A treat for the family at l’Oceanographic sea world in Valencia – A treat for the families, as my kids loved seeing the dolphin show at the Oceanarium in Valencia.

Well – what a relief to get all that off my chest! I hope it won’t be quite so long before the next round up of what I’ve been up to elsewhere on the web.

Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

Heather on her travels is finalist for Best European blog in the 2010 Bloggies

I’ve just come back from a weekend in London to find that Heather on her travels has been nominated as a Best European blog finalist in the Bloggies 2010 awards – what an honour! Thank you so much to those who nominated me and I do hope you’ll take a few minutes to go to the Bloggies 2010 website here and cast your vote for me.

In the Travel Category, there are some other great travel blogs – last year’s winner, Camels and Chocolate as well as Go Backpacking, Everything Everywhere, The Vacation Gals and a Traveler’s Library . Do vote for your favourites and for those travel blogs in some of the other country or region categories – some of my favourites are there such as My Marrakesh for Best African Blog and Susie’s Big Adventure for Best Asian Blog. If you’d like to vote for me for Best European Blog to go to the Bloggies 2010 website here and cast your vote.

I’ve also recently been featured as Travel site of the day on TravelBlogsites.com and in their weekly updated list top 100 travel blogs (Number 37 to be precise). This ranking is based on a combinationg of Alexa and Complete.com rankings for each blog. Of course there are many different rankings out there and you can check my sidebar for the rankings from some of the other Blog Directories I’m registered with – I seem to be in the top 30 of most of them and heading on up!

So just one more time! If you’d like to vote for me for Best European Blog to go to the Bloggies 2010 website here and cast your vote. Thankyou.

Next Page »