The Liebster Award!

Recently, I received an email informing me that the Bucket List Project was nominated for Liebster Award by Andreea of 10TravellingTips. If you don’t know Andreea, she’s a Romanian ex-flight attendant that shares her traveling experience, after visiting more than 60 countries, by adding 10 easy travel tips for each place visited.

So what is the Liebster Award?

The Liebster Award exists only on the internet, and is given to bloggers by other bloggers. Earliest cases of the award go as far back as 2011. It is a way to be discovered, but also to connect and support the blogging community.

“In German, Liebster means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.”

If you have been nominated for the Liebster Award and choose to accept it, you are required to follow these rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and post a link to their site.
2. List the rules of the award in your blog post & display an image of the award. Then write a post about your nomination on your blog.
3. Answer the questions your nominee has asked in their blog post.
4. Nominate 5-10 other deserving new bloggers for the award and ask them 10 questions of your choice.
5. Revel in the winning of the Liebster Award!

My Liebster Award Questions & Answers

Andreea of 10TravellingTips, with her nomination, asked me 11 questions and here are my responses:

1. Which country left the biggest impression on you and why?

   So far I love everything about Spain. My first trip there was to Barcelona and then to Run with the Bulls in Pamplona. Though very different in personality, both were filled with history, culture, and great food! My second trip to Spain was to walk the entire Camino de Santiago from the Pyrenees to the Atlantic Ocean. Again, I was amazed by the culture and kindness of all the people in all the northern regions of Spain. Plus the physical scenery was often breath taking!

2. Show us your most beautiful travel photo.

   

3. Do you prefer to travel alone or accompanied?

   I think Andreea of 10TravellingTips is trying to get me beat up because this is a loaded question! To be honest, I don’t know. For the majority of my life until 2012, I, like most people always traveled with others.  There wasn’t another option in my mind and I always enjoyed the company of others. However, if people couldn’t or didn’t want to travel where I wanted to go, I often missed out and never went. Then in 2013, I decided I didn’t want to wait on others and their schedules and took my first solo trip to Spain. I loved it. For the next several years, any big international trip I took was always solo. There is just something about traveling on your own schedule without having to worry about the needs or feelings or cost of another person. Plus, when you travel alone, if you want, you can always make new friends. Now with that said, I did take a major trip with Darcee to India for nearly 4 weeks and it was great. Her company reminded me of how special it can be to share experiences with someone and that even when traveling with others, you can still make friends.

4. What is your no. 1 dream destination?

   Everyone always asks me this question and it is so hard! Currently, I am enamored with Morocco, Antarctica, China, Argentina, Mongolia, and Myanmar. However, I would have to say if I had to choose one dream destination it would be to spend several weeks exploring my family heritagein Cuba.

5. Where are you planning to travel this year?

   Planning where to travel is always fun for me as seen in my 2017 Bucket List Hopes and Goals. 2017 already started off with a bang, as Darcee and I were in India racing an auto-rickshaw for several weeks and then visited the Taj Mahal. As for the rest of the year, we have a list of places. First the plan is to travel to Scotland, England, and Wales in April and May. Then we hope to explore the national parks of Northern California at the end of Spring.  Near the end of July, we will be exploring Alberta, Canada and Banff National Park. Then come the end of September, we are flying to Germany to celebrate Oktoberfest with the possibility of a side trip to Morocco!

6. What is your biggest fear while travelling?

   Tough question. I don’t know if I have any major fears while travelling because I am usually happiest being nomadic. I guess if I am travelling with Darcee, I worry about her safety since I often find myself in fun but “risky” situations.

7. What are the 3 items that always go in your suitcase?

   First and foremost, I always pack several cigars. There is just something about sitting at a café or an outdoor area in a foreign country with a cigar as I relax and ponder my day of exploration. Secondly, it may be the Eagle Scout in me, but I never travel without a pocketknife. It’s not that I always seem to need it, but as they say in the scouts, “Always Be Prepared!” Third, I would have to say, a notebook and pens. Even in this day and age of social media instant posting, I find handwriting notes, travel plans, or even memories of the day in my notebook, help me to remember things better.

8. What do you love most about travelling?

   I recently realized I LOVE that nervous feeling in my stomach before a major adventure or experience! With traveling, I often get that feeling and it makes me feel alive. When you are exploring, you are often seeing things for the very first time and processing new information through all of your senses. To hear strange sounds, taste new flavors, see great works of art, or touch different environments offers me a great way to learn and grow that I would never have had back home.

9. Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?

   Hopefully, 46! But seriously, I don’t really make plans that far off. But I would hopefully have checked off over 100 items off my Bucket List Project and perhaps added 50 more!

10. Tell us your favourite travelling quote if you have one.

    

11. What motivated you to start your blog?

    Why post The Bucket List Project online? For 3 Reasons:

    1) I need everyone’s help…keep me accountable, help me find ways to accomplish my goals, or just cheer me on!!

    2) I want to help others with their own Bucket List Items.  #103 on my list is to Help anyone Complete an Item on their Bucket List within 1 year of them Helping me Complete one of Mine!!

    3) I want to Inspire People to Dream & then to GO OUT & COMPLETE THEIR BUCKET LIST!  If I can do this, then ANYONE CAN!  Too many people, my Friends & Family included, just go through life living a mediocre existence!

The Bucket List Project nominates the following bloggers for the Liebster Award:

1. Be|Esther – Esther give tips on how she has and continues to thrive and overcome good and bad experiences. In addition to this, she helps small business owners promote their businesses online!
2. World in Paris – World in Paris is a team of quirky explorers with a preference for the local side of Paris and its less known sights. I love how they are continuously looking for new ideas to enjoy the best of Paris.
3. Live Jennormously – Around mid-2015, Jennifer made a promise to herself to never stop having adventures or trying new things. She’s traveled overseas solo, hiked and camped in back-country, and scuba dived. I love her passion and her desire to share it with other adventurers.
4. Danay – Danay is a Latina entrepreneur, mom and wife. She loves to share stories of her family and write about her journeys, challenges, wins and some of the interesting things she discovers and divulges about being an entrepreneur, a mom, a traveler, a proud Latina and trying to be awesome.
5. Momming with Grace – Breeanna shares her story as a police wife, cancer killer, and God lover trying to make it through parenting our girl, Annabelle Grace, with a whole lot of Grace.
6. Wandering with MI – A CPA by profession, on Maria’s free time she’s a traveler, foodie, chef (to her family and friends, haha), adventure seeker and just now, a blogger. I love reading about places she’s been to, the food that she’s tried, her lifestyle, and her personal experiences and thoughts on everything.
7. A Baby Abroad – Dani is raising a baby while living abroad and making the most of it by travelling near and far. A Baby Abroad is about our journey into parenting, family life, and family travel because the world is too interesting and marvellous to miss out on it… even with a baby in tow. 
8. A Touch of Bliss – Mikaela is a lover of all things beauty, fashion and lifestyle! Her blog is filled with everything but you may also find some more personal posts. Here she talks about her struggles with body image, self esteem, anxiety and other ‘normal’ daily struggles and my quest to combat them.
9. Leave the Couch and Go – Anya and George created Leave The Couch And Go, because they’re passionate about happy and healthy living, and it’s high time they share their knowledge, talents and experiences with you.
10. Ivy & Sprig – Ivy and Sprig is meant to depict moms who are still growing themselves in their interests and passions while raising little sprigs too.  Stephanie seeks to encourage your faith, give you practical ideas for your family and give you a laugh sometimes.

Look who The Bucket List Project nominated for the #Liebster Award! #blogger Click To Tweet

Questions for my Nominees:

1. Of these four Wizard of OZ characters, which do you most resemble in your own life & why?
   • The Protagonist (Problems just happen when you’re around.): Dorothy
   • The Brains (You think of ways to avoid/escape problems.): Scarecrow
   • The Heart (Everyone loves your spirit when problems occur.): Tin Woodman
   • The Hero (“Who’s a coward now that your problem just got REAL?”): Cowardly Lion
2. What is a scary moment you’ll never forget?
3. What is a Bucket List item you have already completed and why was it on your list?
4. What is the #1 travel destination item on your Bucket List and why?
5. What is the #1 Non-travel item on your Bucket list and why?
6. Pick one photo with a good story and tell it!
7. How do you find inspiration and get new ideas for your blog?
8. What is your favorite post that you’ve written?
9. What is the Craziest or most Extreme thing you have ever done?
10. What is your favorite and least favorite candy bar?

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