Liebster Award Recipient: April Vera Lynn Travels

April Vera Lynn Travels Receives the Liebster Award!

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I’m so excited to share with you all that the Just Leaving Footprints blog just received the Liebster Award by the wonderful Kerry from The Petite Wanderer. The Petite Wanderer is a fun and creative travel blog where Kerry shares about her adventures through her eyes as an artist. A USA native, Kerry has just come back from studying abroad in Spain and has lots of tips on visiting Europe.

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So What is the Liebster Award?

The Liebster Award is an award given to bloggers by bloggers to create a community of recognition among new bloggers. (Psst say bloggers ten times fast). The award is designed specifically for “new blogs” or blogs that don’t yet have many followers. Most blogs that get nominated have around 200 active followers or less.

Interesting side note for all you language nerds: Liebster in German means sweetheart, darling or beloved person. It’s true I just looked it up. (Awwww) 

My Questions Answered

One of my absolute favorite photos ever, taken in the Atacama Desert by my friend Rebecca Olsho.

Below are the set of questions that Kerry from The Petite Wanderer gave to me for my nomination.

What is your earliest memory?

My earliest memory is of me sitting on grey carpeted stairs feeling extremely confused and frustrated. I remember my dad saying, “It must seem weird having all these people moving things out of the house, huh?” We were in the process of moving to a different house and little did I know I would soon begin to love those first exciting feelings of uncertainty before going to a new place.

What is your favorite drink (alcoholic and non-alcoholic)?

My favorite alcoholic drink is the piña-colada and my favorite non-alcoholic drink is tea. I order piña-coladas whenever they are available to me. They remind me of white sand beaches, sun-kissed skin, and crystal clear waters. As for tea, I drink tea almost 24/7. I worked at Teavana for over a year and so I am always fully stocked.

What is your dream career?

This one is really difficult actually. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and I mostly took Linguistic Anthropology courses. I’m not really sure what I want to do yet, but I think teaching English or freelance writing would both be amazing career options for me.

What are your passions?

My main passions in life are travel, culture, language and sustainability. I love learning about cultures and how people from different places think about and experience life differently. I love learning languages (I speak English, Spanish, and a little French) and I also enjoy exploring how languages affect culture and vice versa.

What is the best trip you’ve ever been on?

I don’t want to totally cop out of this question but it is literally impossible for me to pick a single trip that I would consider to be the best. I’ve been very privileged to have been able to visit so many beautiful countries and experience so many amazing things. I know it’s the biggest cop-out ever but I have tried to pick and I really can’t! However, I do have a list of some of the best experiences I have had on a variety of trips. Here are some of the best ones:

• Visiting Victoria Falls (Zambia)
• Sandboarding in the Atacama Desert (Chile)
• Seeing penguins on Isla Magdalena (Chile)
• Attending the Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai (Thailand)
• Kayaking down Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River (USA)
• Visiting Teotihuacán for the first time (Mexico)
• Getting ENGAGED in Chapultepec Park(Mexico)
• Volunteering in Oaxaca with Niños Palabra (Mexico)

Here are my Nominees!

Unless Someone Like Us

This blog is by Sarah. Sarah is a lover of travel and all things outdoors. Her blog is all about taking care of the environment. It is really a call to action to all of us to take responsibility for our actions while home or traveling abroad. I especially found her article about the harmful effects that chemical sunscreens have on coral reefs super interesting. Go check out her blog to find out how you can make your life and future travels more eco-friendly.

Naturally Nomadic

Jess is a yoga teacher and digital nomad and is working on living a more natural lifestyle. Her blog is full of trip inspiration and natural living tips. I really love this article she wrote about the benefits of cold water swimming.  Visit Jess’ blog for yoga and plant-based inspiration.

Same Same But Different

Ryan and Janine run the blog, ‘Same Same but Different’. The couple has been roaming the globe since 2015. Their travels originally began when they left to teach English in Vietnam. ‘Same same but different’ is a phrase commonly heard in South East Asia for various reasons. Check out their trip guides and stories and don’t forget to read more about the phrase, ‘same same but different’.

Trailing Abroad

Trailing Abroad is a blog by Meghna and Pushkaraj. Meghna is the writer and Pushkaraj is the photographer of this wanderlust infused travel blog. The couple have been together for over ten years and have tons of travel experience. You can read about their many trips from India to Greece to Tanzania and more. My favorite article of theirs is about an underwater hotel room they visited in Tanzania! They even included a beautiful video of the experience. I have definitely added this to my personal bucket list as well.

The Ambling Adventurer

Claire really enjoys finding her way through the unique cultures of different cities and countries. Her blog is all about slow travel. She enjoys taking her time exploring and in doing so really getting to know different places well. Claire has a dynamic and engaging writing style and her posts are super fun to read. I especially loved her post about what she learned when visiting Croatia. It’s light-hearted, funny, and basically describes why Croatia is at the top of my own personal bucket list right now.

Here are some instructions for my Nominees:

1. Give the person who nominated you a shout out (April from ‘April Vera Lynn Travels‘)
2. Answer the questions below 
3. Nominate 5 other bloggers with less than 200 followers 
4. Write your own set of questions for your nominees

Questions for my Nominees:

1. What is the best eco-friendly or nature-focused activity you have participated in abroad?
2. Which country is at the top of your bucket list and why?
3. What is a food that you tasted abroad that you often crave when you’re back home?
4. Who is someone in your life that you would love to go on a trip with but haven’t gotten the chance to yet?
5. What have you enjoyed most about blogging so far?

Thank you!

Thanks again to the wonderful Kerry from The Petite Wanderer for nominating me! Don’t forget to go check out her inspiring, artsy, travel blog.

Thank you also to everyone reading this as readership is what keeps my blog alive! I am looking forward to reading everyone else’s responses so much! Thanks again!

Happy travels!

Other posts you may like:

• Naming a Blog: How I Came Up with a Travel Blog Name & How to Name Yours
• Blog Promotion: 13 Facebook Groups to Promote Your Travel Blog In
• Blogger Recognition Award Recipient: Just Leaving Footprints

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