A great surprise to be nominated for another Liebster Award!
Many thanks to Matt and Eva from Up Up and Away for the nomination. If you haven’t yet visited their blog, then do so for some great and inspiring travel stories!
This is my 2nd nomination for the Liebster Award and this time, the rules are a little different.
A little background: “Liebster in German means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.”
Award Rules if you choose to accept
- Post about the award, thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog.
- Answer their questions about yourself.
- Nominate 5 –10 people with fewer than 1,000 followers, let them know via social media.
- Write your own set of questions for your nominees.
- Feel good about yourself for winning an award and pass it on.
Up Up and Away’s questions and my responses
1. Who is your favorite travel writer and why?
I’d have to say Michael Palin. Apart from his fame in Monty Python, he became a travel writer (also documentaries), and has been doing so for decades. You may have heard of the BBC Television series in the 1980s: Great Railway Journeys of which he was a part.
Mr Palin has a unique quality of throwing in his humour whilst writing about the most amazing places. And keeps his audience reading until the end but giving his audience a thirst for more information.
2. If a nature lover asks you for a place to go, where would you send that person?
Wow, a tough question as that depends on what type of nature the lover is into.
For stunning mountains, Zakopane Poland; for incredibly surreal salt flats where sometimes, a distinction between earth and sky does not exist then Salar de Uyuni, Boliva; for the highest (over 950 metres high) magnificent waterfall in the world then Angel Falls, Venezuela; and for fantastic diving then this has to be The Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
To be honest, there are so many stunning natural wonders in the world; too many to list and still too many to discover.



3. What is the best city you have ever traveled to and why?
I’d have to say at this stage, New York. At the risk of sounding cliché, this city really does offer the visitor an amazing experience at a 24/7 exhausting pace, if you so wish.
From the Hudson River to Central Park and Times Square, the timeless Grand Central Terminal to the awe-inspiring Statue of Liberty, this diverse city is a melting pot of cultures, food, and experiences. Have I mentioned the countless museums and galleries?

4. What is your top travel app and why?
I don’t use a travel App, should I?
Typically, WikiTravel is up-to-date so this is a great reference, which I do always refer to whilst travelling. Although not as great since the company was bought and sold a couple of times, The Lonely Planet comes in handy. However, Rough Guides is a better reference.
Guess I’m old school and hardly ever carry my mobile phone or even have it charged up, let alone being so organised as to have a Travel App uploaded on my phone!
5. What is the weirdest food you have ever eaten on the road?
Apart from enduring Frogs Legs and Snails in a French restaurant whilst learning French at school, I think the weirdest food that I’ve eaten, would have to be back in 2004, in a restaurant in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
I ordered a chicken dish but I’m sure what was on the plate was dog, as the meal did not taste anything like chicken or meat that I’ve ever eaten before.
The same thing happened in Yangon, Burma (Myanmar) in 2014. The menu listed “flesh with vegetables” but I’m not exactly sure what the “flesh” was on the plate.


My nominations
I hope you enjoy exploring these new blog sites as much as I enjoy following all of them, which provide many hours of entertaining reading!
- retratonz – Inspiring travel and photography with a purists’ philosophy
- Travel as they Grow – Jen and Jerry quit their jobs, bought a motorhome, and set off through Europe with their 18-month old. Expect great travel tips on travelling with a baby.
- Nena Baking Recipes – Nena provides delicious and simple recipes, whilst adding her artistic flair to decorating her creations.
- Life in pictures, quotes and words – Silvija offers many great insights on life and also provides many unique videos on her site, which some may find a little risqué.
- London Wlogger – Stu takes you on many great extended walks around London, providing tips and great photos from a local’s view-point.
- Changing Latitudes – With a goal to buying a sailing boat and sail the Caribbean, enjoy Dustin and Becky’s chronicle of their adventures.
- Mimosa Pudica – Patty’s passion for writing reveals itself in her beautiful poetry, whilst matching verse with gorgeous photos.
My questions for nominees
- Is travel in your DNA and if so, explain why?
- What do you like most when visiting a blog site (content, photos, poetry, or other)?
- Are you at ease writing about yourself and sharing innermost thoughts in your blog, and why?
- Do you have any advice for those that are thinking of travelling overseas but afraid?
- How long do you spend on a blog site that you follow reading posts (1, 5, 10 minutes)?
- What is your preferred device/camera to take photos with and why?
- What is your ‘pièce de résistance’ signature dish you love to make?
If travel and photography run through your veins, then check out more photos at Nilla’s Photography. I have many more amazing destinations for you at Image Earth Travel.
Thanks once again Matt and Eva from Up Up and Away for the opportunity to respond to this great award!
Cheers,
Nilla

I wrote a post about “Woman’s day”, if you like, come to read it.
have a nice day
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Thanks for letting me know. I just did – beautiful words Antonio!
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thanks to you, dear Nilla, you’re very kind 🙂
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Reblogged this on TRAVEL TO INSPIRE.
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Many thanks for the reblog and stopping by my site. 🙂
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Fantastic, congratulations on this award, you deserve it so much x
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Thank you! x
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Congratulations for this award!
Now we’ll see you to Hollywood for next award? 🙂
bye, dearest Nilla…
have a nice day
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Thank you Antonio!
Ha, ha you jest 😉 Have a great week!
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First of all, congratulations on this well deserved award. You made a wonderful post around it 🙂
Thank you for nominating me! Much appreciated. XxX
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Thank you!
I was humbled receiving the award from a fellow blogger. You deserve the award also as you have a great site. 🙂
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Beautiful photos especially the cheeky one of yourself as the last photo. Congratulations on the award
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Thank you!
I could have included more photos as I literally have thousands, but didn’t want to bore people.
The last photo is a rare one as I really don’t like having my photo taken at all and the reason I was striking a pose to prove a point! 😉
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It is a lovely picture of you. I understand the no photo of self view. I am the same way.
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Thank you for your kind words.
It’s a hard thing for me to ‘pose’ in front of a camera and much prefer being behind the lens.
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Love this and all the photos that went along with it. And now you’ve inspired me even more for new places to go. The Salar de Uyuní is something we missed during our South America travels, and I do want to go back some day. I had to laugh about your “flesh with vegetables” comment! In Ecuador, I had a conversation with the waitress about something I ordered because there was one word I didn’t know, and she ensured me it was not “carne” (meat). It sure was quite chewy, and I stopped eating it, and when I later looked it up, it was tripe. Yum. I should have ordered a veggie dish! 😂 Keep on blogging! All the best, Eva
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Only a short response as I’m busy building my new photography site. Thank you for the nomination Eva and glad I’ve inspired you further as this is my aim with my blog. I really want people to get out there and explore everything they can before it’s too late.
Shame, you must go back as the Salar is incredible. I remember we waited 11 days in Salta (Argentina) to cross the border and travel to the Atacama Dessert. Sadly, there was ‘fictitious metre-deep’ snow right at the border and authorities were not letting buses through. We did take a bus to go to the border and about a kilometre out of the Chilean border (Argentinian side) authorities turned our bus back. There were a lot of angry locals as the 6-hour trip was fruitless.
Yuk tripe! I used to get fed that and brains, liver, kidney, etc. as a child…makes my stomach churn just thinking of you eating it!
I look forward to reading more of your excellent posts also! 🙂
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You were fed brain as a child? Tell me more! And yes, we definitely need to go back and explore the Salar. So many places to go! Can’t wait!!! Cheers from Boston!
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Yes, beef or veal brains: crumbed, sautéed in butter, pan fried, and other recipes – I was not a fan.
As my parents were European, it was nothing to come home after school and have unusual aromas wafting through mum’s kitchen whilst she was creating ‘something’. A pot on the stove would be bubbling away madly. I’d lift the lid only to find a full pig’s head with eyes staring back at me – quite disconcerting! My parents made their own sausages, blood pudding, preserved stuff, and so much more.
Oh and I forgot, it was believed back then that eating brains would promote more brains! I think it was a myth fed to us to eat more brains. 😉
Last time I was in Boston I saw The Patriots win. 🙂
Cheers from Italy!
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You really made me laugh with this comment! Brains promoting brains! Priceless!!! I grew up on a farm in Germany myself but I refused to eat some of the weird stuff. Maybe that made me a picky eater. Who knows? Nice chatting with you and reading your thoughts. Looking forward to more posts! Cheers, Eva
PS: Being in Boston when the Pats win: also priceless!
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Glad I made you laugh – some things you never forget. I guess parents tell their children anything to make them eat stuff (or used to anyway)! Yes, I totally empathise with you.
Lovely to chat with you also and will check your site for more posts. Thanks again for stopping by, Nilla 🙂
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So true. Looking forward to more posts from you as well. I’ll be on a hiatus for a little while until our next trip in the spring but maybe I’ll be inspired to write about something else in the meantime. 🙂
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I’m in Venice for 9 days and back to Cosenza on the 2nd, so not much writing these past couple of weeks.
Look forward to reading more of your posts also and will keep checking your site. 🙂
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Have so much fun! Ah, Venice. 🙂 I have only been to the fake one. Need to go to the real one some day. Happy traveling! Eva
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Of course! 🙂
I’m sure you’ll get there but if you don’t like crowds, don’t go in the summer or at Carnivale. As my Italian friend put it to me: “The world is in Venice!”
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Congratulations for the award!! Your comment about chicken dish you had in Cambodia made me chuckle.. it reminded me about one chicken dish I had in some airplane few years ago.. My daughter and I always laughed since then saying that was actually kangaroo:) Who knows, maybe they were the same “type” of chicken LOL
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Thank you!
I’ve heard that dog meat is white. I’ve definitely had Kangaroo, which is not too dissimilar to beef in colour but leaner, has a gamier taste, and healthier for you, apparently. I’m sure it wasn’t chicken. 😉
That’s dodgy for an airline, which airline was it? I’d never expect that on a flight and I always travel cattle class.
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I don’t remember the airline, it was some years ago. These days they pump the chickens with so much stuff to grow them faster and bigger, I no wonder if one day they will taste like gum LOL But we still have our own insight joke about Kangaroo meal, even though I’m sure it was not! I’ve never tried Kangaroo meat, but I will, some day, I promise:)
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Very true about the chickens and all the growth hormones used. My father (farmer and a big meat eater) refused to eat chicken and would drive 3 hours one-way just to buy his meat from a trusted butcher. There’s a lot to be said for buying a piece of land somewhere and becoming totally self-sufficient.
Ha, ha I’m not holding you to the Kangaroo meat. 🙂
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