Posts for Guest Posts Category

Travelling Is Sweet… But So Is My Bed

Guest Posts - Ross French - September 24, 2011

margyle_beer

By: Margyle

Have you ever loved what you are doing but can’t wait for it to end?

I love travelling. It is probably my favourite hobby and from it I have learned more about the world and myself than I dare say I have in almost any other pursuit in my short life. I plan out all the details, save the money and look forward to it so much it’s scary, and before I even depart I start thinking about later adventures. With so much to see out there, I have to act soon and often if I hope to see and do as much as the world has to offer.

margyle_campingWhich is why it probably comes as a surprise to many that it exhausts me rather quickly. Sometimes I have to stay somewhere nice at the airport for a night before coming home or I might die. To me, it’s worth the money to stay places like the The Courtyard by Marriott at Gatwick Airport or the Bewley’s Hotel Manchester Airport on my way home from Europe. Yes, after all the time, expense and attention put towards this venture, I would want nothing more than to go home. It’s messed up, I know.

Take my latest adventure, for example. Paris, Rome, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Florence, Venice, Edinburgh, Highlands, London. Six months of planning and a few thousand dollars later, I found myself in Scotland – 2 weeks into my Euro-trip – and I felt something snap inside me. I wanted to go home… but I still had a week to go. I don’t know if it was the length of time (25 days) or the weather (mid 30’s and humid to low teens and wet) or the irksome nature of my travel companions coupled with maintaining a positive and adventuresome attitude (I was pretty testy to some) for said duration, but I just wanted it to end.

margyle_beerIn all likelihood, it was the pace. We had a rather fixed itinerary and were trying to cram many things into a relatively short period of time. I saw a butt load of things while living in Australia and Japan, but in between the adventures I got to go home and chill out – sleep in, have some alone time, eat regular food and not always being a tourist. Hogga and I have discussed this before: go go go drives us nuts and you will be dealing with a very cranky Margyle if that is the agenda… and if you think I’m bad, try dealing with a grumpy pants Hogga. Note: She does not like to be poked.

I had a great time on the trip but I think in the future, either a shorter trip is in store or the same duration but at a more relaxed pace. The only problem you run across, which is undoubtedly everyone’s major issue, is cost. Getting to and from your destination is pricey and everyone tries to make the most of their time, particularly if crossing an ocean is involved. There just comes a time where less is more and doing nothing is better than something.

But man oh man I can’t wait for next time!

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I Can’t Travel, I Have A Game

Guest Posts - Ross French - September 22, 2011

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By: Maria Climent Huguet
Maria Climent is a 26-year-old Catalan lady. After studying translation, she decided her life was odd enough to became a humor scriptwriter and by default, a blogger. This is how she’s now a mother of no one and a better person. She also likes to cook!

The topic of how being in a relationship can keep you from doing things such as travelling is a very debated one. But there are other types of commitments that can keep you from doing such things. Have you ever played a team sport?
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For the majority of my life I played basketball and I can remember a few instances where this came in the way of going on a trip, for example staying in apartments in Venice with a couple of old friends from school or my cousin’s wedding.
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If you play a team sport with a high level of commitment, then you will understand your relationship with the team can come as close as the one you have to a partner. Has anyone seen the movie Love and Basketball? – If so, I would have been the chick going to prom with Spalding. (In case you haven’t seen the movie and don’t understand the reference: Spalding is a basketball brand, so my date would have been the ball).

Anytime during the basketball season (September until May) if I want to go somewhere and my answer would be, “I can’t I have a game…”  It sucks that you can’t go on what could possibly be a really fun trip with friends, but the look on your friends‘ faces, especially the ones that never have or played any intense sports, you can tell it is difficult for them to relate.
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Presently, having a real job and only playing for fun is a much less serious, but my love for the game is still there. Most recent example: Tomorrow there is a free (!!!) concert, a singer that I really like and I can’t go because I have a game.

Now friends will and trips with me in the off-season. I want to be perfectly clear:  I do not mean to paint my experience in negative way, because of my basketball I may have not been able to stay in Venice apartments a couple of years ago, but the sport has taken me to a lot of great places and I have met many great people with whom I made great memories. My bottom line is that you will always get into situations where you have to choose between one thing or the other, what is important, is that you don’t have any regrets.

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Should You Go Back To A Destination You Loved?

Guest Posts - Ross French - September 15, 2011

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By: Maria Climent Huguet
Maria Climent is a 26-year-old Catalan lady. After studying translation, she decided her life was odd enough to became a humor scriptwriter and by default, a blogger. This is how she’s now a mother of no one and a better person. She also likes to cook!

Let’s say you see a comedy movie with someone you like, you’ve had a great day and you are in a good mood. The film makes you laugh a lot, then a few months later someone asks you if you’ve seen the movie. You will undoubtedly reply, “Yes! It’s great. So funny”, because you have a nice memory of that time and the movie. But it may happen that you see the same movie on another day in which you are not in a good mood, or maybe you watch it alone, and do not laugh as much as that first time you saw it.
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This is the reason great Spanish singer-songwriter Joaquín Sabina warns in one of his songs that donde fueras feliz, no debieras tratar de volver (wherever you were happy, you should not try to go back). This happened to a friend of mine who had the time of her life when she was living for a year in one of the Budapest apartments. Four or five years later she wanted to go back to visit the city and old friends. Most of her friends were still there, the city had not suffered many changes, even her favourite bar was still run by the same guy. The only difference was herself; she was not in the same mindset that she was before when she lives there, not the same motivation, not the same objectives, not the same emotions.

This is the same reason why people prefer the book over the movie, because most people normally read the book before they watch the film (amongst other reasons because when a novel is great, then it is adapted to cinema). According to research, if a story is good, the impact that it causes on our brain the first time we have access to it is so strong that it’s impossible to create such a strong impact  the second time, resulting in dissapointment.

So, hey, travellers, don’t end up like my friend who was upset because she went back to the apartments in Budapest. If you find a destination you love, don’t let this hold you back from  visiting it a second time. Just be aware, it will not be the same as the first time you went. Make new memories and emotions in that destination.

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Barcelona’s “La Mercè” And My First Blind Date

Guest Posts - Ross French - September 8, 2011

By: Maria Climent Huguet
Maria Climent is a 26-year-old Catalan lady. After studying translation, she decided her life was odd enough to became a humor scriptwriter and by default, a blogger. This is how she’s now a mother of no one and a better person. She also likes to cook!

At the end of September, Barcelona celebrates La Mercè festivities in honor of the patron of the city. The actual holiday is on Sept 24th and the celebrations in city are planned for the days around this date. 2011’s date for the festivities is the 22nd until the 25th of September.


It’s one of the biggest celebrations in Barcelona and it will always have a special meaning to me, because two years ago I arrived in Barcelona at the start of these festivities.

I was still in limbo about where to live, stuck on a few apartments in Barcelona, I made my final decision after a few days and had the most amazing time going to concerts, performances and all sorts of other events during La Mercè 2009. The most memorable concert wasThe Hives.

Unfortunately during the exciing festivities I also thought it was a grand idea (despite all my better judgement) to go on a date with a stranger.

Before I start telling you about this mishap of mine, I must inform you that I’ve never been on a date like this before. I’ve only been on dates with people I was in some sort of relationship with or already knew somehwhat well.

Anyways, I was at a concert with my roomate and a group of guys stopped us. I couldn’t really tell who, but one of them asked for my number. I’m usually very hesitant to give out my number and at that point I didn’t even have one yet, but I thought to myself “You are new in this city, just give it a try and see.” I was all about being more outgoing, so I decided to give him my email address. After having exchanged a couple of emails we decided to meet up for dinner and drinks the following week.

I was the first to arrive at the resturant, so I was nervous. I had no idea what this guy looked like. He eventually arrived and we ended up spending a really nice evening together, but I knew pretty fast that I wasn’t into him. This whole experience just confirms my thoughts about dating. It is one of the most awkward and unnatural social situations for me.  It makes me so uncomfortable, but I guess it’s a good thing that I know what I want.

Thus, the morals of my story are: If you’re not convinced about doing something don’t do it and when you happen to stay in  Barcelona apartments make sure you go to La Mercè if the dates match up, because it’s one of the coolest celebrations I’ve ever been to.

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Pros, Cons and Tips For Travelling With Your Family

Guest Posts - Ross French - August 25, 2011

By: Maria Climent Huguet
Maria Climent is a 26-year-old Catalan lady. After studying translation, she decided her life was odd enough to became a humor scriptwriter and by default, a blogger. This is how she’s now a mother of no one and a better person. She also likes to cook!

I would like to share a personal travel story. Two weeks ago I made a trip to Berlin with the women of my family. This includes my mother and her two sisters and my younger sister. I can tell you that the experience was… ehm… uproarious -in the good and the bad sense of the word. Actually, it was not the first time we travelled together; two years ago we went to Dublin and we had such a good time that we decided to establish family women trips regularly.

After my second family women trip I’ve gained enough experience to tell you the pros and the cons of it:

I’ll start with the cons.

I assume your family speak English, mine don’t. This was the main reason why the idea of travelling together emerged: my mother and my aunties thought it was a good idea to get us (well get me, as I’m the eldest sister) as a 24-hour translator and guide –even if I had never been to the place before.
Traveling with the women in my family also meant me having tons of patience and no nightlife fun, unless you understand fun by having an ice-cream in the city centre.
Of course, we didn’t have the same biological clock, this meant that, despite staying in one of the Berlin apartments and not sleeping in the same room, at 7 am one of them would knock on my door to ask what we should do that day.
Listen to me well now guys: don’t let them get so used to being guided they shut their own brains down! When you detect the first symptoms of this occurring, curb it immediately!

Pros:

My mother always says: after a trip you will not remember how much money you spent, you will just remember the good moments of that trip.
Perhaps I am immensely lucky to have an extremely funny family, they laugh all the time and of course have an infectious laugh. In a matter of seconds we’re  all laughing our asses off. I love these awkward moments in the middle of the Berlin underground, cracking up under the astonished look of the other passengers.
Keeping good relationships with your direct family is more important than we think. When we grow old we tend not to give them the importance they deserve. Sharing experiences and good times with them will undoubtedly increase you happiness levels.

Some tips for traveling with your family:

If you know that you’ll be responsible for guiding the others around, don’t expect anything in exchange, that’s not love.
If you’re a group it’s always cheaper to stay in apartments in Berlin rather than in a hotel, also, you will have more flexibility.
Under no circumstances take a trip for more than 5 days.
Whatever happens, look on the bright side of things: enjoy your time with your family; travelling with them is a good way of getting spiritually closer and creating memories and emotional links you wouldn’t have otherwise.

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