I am fairly new to blogging; I mostly do it to document my experiences, lest I forget them! However, a very kind fellow blogger travelonamission nominated me for the ‘Liebster award’.

The concept is a bit of a blogging chain to raise awareness on fellow bloggers and encourage them to do the same. With this you are tasked to answer questions as chosen by your nominee. Mine are:

Do you have a camera? What type?

A Nikon D5100 is my poison of choice. For years I resisted getting a camera because I felt taking pictures took you out of just simply enjoying the moment. While I still think this is true, I regrettably do not have many photos from my earlier years of traveling for this reason. I finally broke down and purchased a fancy camera after moving to Europe in 2012.

Which function of the camera would you like to master?

I took a photography class when I first purchased my DSLR camera to try and master shutter speed, aperture and so forth. It gave me a good foundation for photography, but I have yet to master taking night photos, especially those of the evening sky. We went to Iceland to see the north lights about a year ago; my novice shooting skills   did little to capture the beauty in the evening sky.

How often do you cook at home?

Does wine and olives count as cooking? Fortunately, I am spoiled with a husband who cooks which saves me from eating wine for dinner every evening, but to answer the question, I only cook when I am hosting guests – so a few times a year :).

Which food/dish did you taste and know you will never put in your mouth again?

Oh this ones easy – silk warms. One of the first weekends in Korea I went to grab a beer at a local pub/bar. As is typical in Europe, Koreans will typically provide a little bar snack with your drink. Well, instead of nuts, Koreans give kimchi or boiled silk warms. Yum. Not to let an experience pass me by – I promptly ate one of those suckers (with metal chopsticks might I add) and immediately regretted it. If your curious, they boiled the silk warms in a spicy red sauce so they have a bit of a kick to them, but that combined with a bitter crunchy sensation left me wondering how people snack on these recreationally whilst sipping their beer.

Which do you prefer: steak of your choice or a piling of something sweet?

Steak. Medium rare. With a strong red wine.

When was the last time you cooked something you never cooked before?

Wednesday actually. I cooked gumbo for an office Mardi Gras party 🙂

When was the last time you got lost?

MMMmm…name a trip. IF you don’t get a little lost, you’re not having an adventure.

Which is more beautiful, midnight sun or the northern lights?

I cannot say that I have seen midnight sun, so I will go with an everyday sunset.

Which place have you visited that you liked the best?

You know when I get this question, it is very difficult for me to answer. I usually say every place is interesting and wonderful for different reasons, but if I had to pick the best combination of interesting, and wonderful it would be my trip to Southeast Asia I took in 2008. I spent the most of my time in Loa PDR, but that whole region of the world is simply stunning. Emerging as the #1 backpacker traveling location, it is easy to see why this place has such a draw. Full of natural beauty, kind people and inexpensive, amazing food it is worth the visit.

Which place would you visit if you had unlimited time/money?

Well, if I had unlimited time and money I would probably do a number of things, but as far as travel goes, I would go to the amazon, spend time with the indigenous people there and set out to discover at least one new species before ending the adventure.

And the nominees are:

One glass at a time

My Kings Court

Booze for Babes

Pursuit of Life

Fly like a Bee

Questions for the nominees:

1. What is your most memorable experience?
2. Why do you blog?
3. Top 10 experiences/places traveled?
4. City vs. Country. Go.
5. Life goal.

Reminder: The Liebster Award Rules

• Thank and link the person who nominated you.
• Answer the questions given by the nominator.
• Nominate 11 other bloggers, who have less than 100 followers and link them.(I broke a few rules here)
• Create 11 new questions for the nominees to answer. ( I cut it to 5)
• Notify all nominees via social media/blogs.