May 2015: Showing your the best travel inspiration from travel blogs around the world. Let's get active, eat well, learn something and see the best art & design. Let's Go!
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Did we just miss April & May? 

Is it just me, or did April and May also rush by and left you spinning? I was doing so well sending you an update with highlights at the beginning of each month, but then life happened... and here we are, almost starting the month of June! Ah! 

But, I have been far from standing still, so let's not be sad for too long and get into some of the cool stuff for you that I've been working on these past weeks. And let me know what you've been up to as well!

-Nienke
 

Webdesign Update

Maybe you've already noticed, but we did a bit of a Spring-clean on the blog.

I felt the homepage especially was getting a bit clogged and it was hard to find your way through all those categories and buttons and what not. So, we narrowed it down to four main categories, to let you pick your own favourite travel style and find directly those experiences that are interesting to YOU. 

We really want to focus more on the self-development side of travel, so keep an eye out for articles that make you enjoy your travels even more! 
 

   
 

Then we picked a few additional topics that we regularly write about - and added a whole section on reviews that we write (we're showing just accommodation here, but of course we have many different topics that we cover here, from transport to gear):

   
 

Another thing that has changed is that Nick, my boyfriend, has gotten a bit more prominent spot on the website (go Nick!). Not only do we usually travel together these days (except for some campaigns that I do on my own), he has already written a couple of guest blogs & takes a lot of video and photos on our trips.

And don't forget that he has only ever sent 1 Tweet in life and it got shared more than all the Tweets that I ever sent. Yeah. Thanks, Nick.

Now he is keen to share even more of his expertise on history, art, design and architecture with you, so if you have any questions for him, or anything specific you want him to write about, let us know!

Blogging Conferences

Part of my job as a blogger is to attend travel blogging conferences to network with other travel writers, destinations and brands -and explore a new destination at the same time. In April, I attended the Social Travel Summit in Hamburg, Germany (in the video on this page, you can spot me briefly at 1:05 with the grey/black stripey top) and also TBEX (click for everyone's recaps) in Lloret de Mar, Catalunya, Spain, where I got to speak about using Pinterest for business. All my slides and information can be found here: http://bit.ly/tbexpin. In May, I got to speak at Travel Massive in Manchester, UK about -again- the use of Pinterest. All tips from that session in the link as well.

For the next months, you can meet me at the following events: I'll be speaking in June at for the BGTW (British Guild of Travel Writers) about the use of (yes) Pinterest. I'll also be in a panel in June at the HMA (Hotel Marketing Association), talking about how to work with bloggers. And I'll then be again speaking about Pinterest at Meet the Blogger, a great conference for creatives in all blogging niches.

You can still get tickets here for that last one, hope to see you there!

The Ripple Movement

After months of preparation, we’re now ready to tell the world what we’re hoping to achieve as The Ripple Movement. This travel blogging collaboration will be highlighting and raising awareness about various social issues – and share all that with you through transformative storytelling.

My individual project will be about the psychology behind travel. I will be investigating why people travel, how travel can add to personal development, the power of place and how travel could even work as therapy. 

Check out our amazing trailer video now and let me know:

Then keep an eye out on theripplemovement.com, because our final website will be released beginning of June as well. 

Global Mappin

I am beyond excited to announce another partnership, this time with Katja Presnal of Skimbaco Lifestyle. We founded "Global Mappin", a new Pinterest concept where we invite YOU to participate in weekly themed Pinterest Events. 

We will start Monday June 1st with our first theme "World in your Pocket" and will be sharing the best content on (i)Phone travel, travel apps, phone photography, even Instagram. Do you have a board that has pins from this topic? We would love to see it and possibly pin from it or feature it in our party!

Sign up for our Newsletter now to hear all about the upcoming Pinterest Party and practical Pinterest tips, as well as more information on how to participate and share links to your own boards and Pins with us!

Best Around The Web

Every day, I browse through about 500+ travel blogs in my newsreader.

Yes, I know, that is a LOT!

There is so much travel-related content pushed out there, that sometimes it's hard to keep up with it all. Even if you don't follow as many travel blogs as me, I'm sure you can relate. That's why I've selected the best travel blogs for you out there, so you can save time ánd can dream away with the most inspiring travel stories from the last two months. Let me know if you like to see more of this and I will include it in every upcoming newsletter as well.

Sit back, click, and enjoy:

Let's Get Active

Let's Eat Well

Let's Learn Something

Let's See Art & Design

Apologies for the massive email, but we hope all these tips and links to other articles will keep you inspired for the next month (and make up a bit for not talking to you for the last two months) Have a fantastic June!!

Love,
Nienke & Nick


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