Best Of The Rest – The Weekly Roundup

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Kash leads Ali and Heather in a toast to Umbria

After a ridiculous 8 days in Umbria, Italy, most of which was spent learning, eating, and drinking at the Travel Bloggers Unite (TBU) conference, we are finally recovering. We met some tremendous people who taught us a great deal and inspired us even more.

So while my belly, liver, and brain are in full detox mode, let me introduce you to a few excellent articles written by some of the extraordinary people we met while at TBU:

• Kate gets first mention because she emphatically told us to go to TBU way back in Boston before we had even left to start our adventure. She also introduced us to Cinemagram on her iPhone… which just might be the gateway app that finally forces us to buy one. Check out how closely she listens to her readers as she visits Madrid for a day based on the outcry by her earlier comments saying she wouldn’t have time.
• Jodi is a former Canadian lawyer that has been traveling for 4 years. Have you ever met a Canadian you didn’t like? Neither have I and Jodi was no exception. She was just lucky that I had yet to read about her interview with Scott Jordan, a co-founder of ScotteVest, when we met. I am a ridiculous fan and am usually wearing my ScotteVest pants and Jacket around like a uniform. This guy is a genius and the pants are pickpocket proof!
• Brooke is fantastic, although possibly a little too sympathetic towards Meg for having to deal with my ridiculousness, and so is Pat, who has just the right amount of ridiculousness in my opinion. She had the perfect article for us NOT to share with my parents who are meeting us in Istanbul in June… something to do with bad weather, bad driving, and hoping to stay alive.
• Kash from BudgetTraveller is enormously fun and always making sure times are good. He is also at the start of a fantastic project trying to chronicle the top luxury hostels, something that is beyond perfect for a couple traveling together.
• Akila is endlessly enthusiastic about travel and dogs… how could we not like her? Just check out this mind-bendingly good article on Truffles and the truffle hunt she went on. Did you know truffle hunting dogs eat up to 5 grams of truffle a day? Put a collar on me and sign me up!
• I love Elin, I love the name of her blog, and I love everything she is about. Traveling slow and eating slow food. If working in a food safety lab all day didn’t make Elin fearful of germs and wary of food, nothing will! Check out her awesome recipe for Thai Lentil Balls.
• As someone who studied entrepreneurism in college and dreams of having my own business, Janice is beyond inspirational. Having already started, grown, and sold a previous business, Janice is now following her passion for travel and sharing it beautifully with others. You have heard me say it many times before, but travel now because you never know what later might bring. Read how Janice dealt with her stay or go-travel decision and why she has no regrets.
• Kirsten is the iPhone queen and someone that just kicks ass. Check out her awesome iPhoneography and beautiful writing on her website where she is able to do things like turn one little quote that caught her eye, “someday this pain will be useful to you,” into something super inspirational.
• What about Ali? No big deal… just someone that looks at one of her fears and decides to do exactly that! She has a fear of the open ocean and the things that live in it, but that did not stop her from swimming with Whale Sharks. That just got added to my travel to-do list!