A Brit and A Southerner

Interview – Peter and Lindsay (Where Is Your Toothbrush)

Interviews

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Jul 28, 2014

Interview – Peter and Lindsay (Where Is Your Toothbrush)

Working in the travel blogging industry has many rewards, one of which is enabling us to meet a whole host of new friends around the world that share our interest in travel and wanderlust! Today we are delighted to welcome Peter Korchnak and Lindsay Sauve from the uniquely named travel site – Where Is Your Toothbrush?

Please feel free to comment, ask questions and connect with the Peter and Lindsay using their various social media fronts listed below.

We would like to give a special THANK YOU to the folks over at Where Is Your Toothbrush?for taking time to interview with us!

Name: Peter Korchnak and Lindsay Sauve

Introduction: We are Peter Korchnak, of Kosice, Slovakia, and Lindsay Sauve, of Placerville, California. When not traveling, we live in Portland, Oregon.

Website: Where Is Your Toothbrush?

Social Media:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/WhereIsYourToothbrush

What is your favorite aspect of traveling and if you are a travel blogger, why did you decide to create your website?

We love the freedom to decide what to do with our time. No one is telling us where to be and when, it’s all up to us. It has taught us to be more mindful, more deliberate (though not necessarily more planned), and more responsible about our time.

We love our little travel blog, which is just about 13 months young now. We write Where Is Your Toothbrush? for four reasons:

To document through writing and photography our travels around the world for our friends and family and any other good soul that comes along;
To provide helpful tips/advice/information for those who want to travel long-term and those who visit places we’ve visited;
To process and first-draft material for an eventual book or two about Toothbrushism, our travel philosophy (see below); and
To hone our craft as travel writers in order to break into the world of travel writing.

Travel blogging has been a lot of fun and we look forward to many more months and years of it to come.

How many continents have you visited?

Five

How many countries have you visited?

30+

What is your favorite destination in the world and why?

This is one of the most difficult questions about the trip (we’re bracing ourselves for, “How was your trip?” when we return in less than a month). Toothbrushism means that home is where our toothbrushes are. We’ve made ourselves at home in every place we’ve visited, whether the process was smooth or challenging.

Having said that, we gauge our love of a place by whether we’d like to return there. We love visiting Slovakia because it is Peter’s homeland and because we always discover new facets of it. We are definitely going back to the Greek islands because they are spectacular and we love the culture and the pace. Thailand – Bangkok and beaches. Malaysia – food. Australia – the bush. Argentina – Patagonia and asado. Bolivia – Uyuni Salt Flat.

We could go on. But then, if you can say why you love someone (or some place), do you really love them?

If money/time was no object and you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you travel to and why?

With unlimited resources, we’d travel and write about it indefinitely. We’d make sure to visit all the countries and islands of the world plus Antarctica. The next place we would visit would probably be Iceland, a country we skipped this time around due to cost and time.

Which of the following gadgets do you take on your travels?

Laptop, Phone and Camera….Do a headlamp and a water filter count?

What is your preferred method of transport?

Train.

Complete the following, “Everywhere I go, I visit….”

…a market, a cemetery, and a train station, if there is one.

Here is your chance to sell yourself and your website! Tell us some more information about yourself, what your travel philosophies & future plans are and anything else that people may find interesting to read about…

Years ago one of us said the following:

“Why don’t we quit our jobs and travel the world someday.”

While the idea, the plan, and the itinerary transformed several times over the years, in June 2013 we found ourselves boarding a plane with enough savings to travel the world for one year. We had sold our house, our car, our stuff and transformed our lives.

We changed our our idea of home. No longer is home simply a roof under which we stored our possessions. No longer is home just one location or one city or one country. Home is wherever we can get a cup of coffee, take a nap, or go on a bike ride. Home is Santorini, Greece. Home is George Town, Malaysia. Home is Bariloche, Argentina. Home is where we happen to sleep at night. Home is where our toothbrushes are!

Saturday Snaps #5 – Shrine of Remembrance Brisbane

Photographs

Chris Boothman

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Jul 26, 2014

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Saturday Snaps #5 – Shrine of Remembrance Brisbane

Location: The Shrine of Remembrance is located in the heart of Anzac Square, Brisbane Australia!

Author: Chris & Heather Boothman (A Brit & A Southerner)

In December 2012, we headed on a ‘late’ honeymoon to Australia and after a 16 hour flight from Dallas we landed in Brisbane. Taking the train from Brisbane International Airport to the downtown area, our accommodation was the Sofitel Brisbane Central located directly in front of where this image was taken.

The Shrine of Remembrance Brisbane is the focal point of Anzac Square which is a small park that locals and tourists frequently head to as a spot for relaxation. It was unveiled in November, 1930 and is a war memorial dedicated to the Australian and New Zealand army corps.

Depicting the ‘Eternal Flame’ as the only color in this image really emphasizes the remembrance that takes place every year on April 25th in Australia and New Zealand (commonly known as Anzac Day!)

Camping in Cornwall – How to Enjoy An Unforgettable Experience?

England

Chris Boothman

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Jul 25, 2014

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Camping in Cornwall – How to Enjoy An Unforgettable Experience?

What is the first thing that springs to mind when you hear the word ‘camping’? We probably all interpret the word very differently but in layman’s terms it is ‘the activity spending a vacation living in a camp, tent, or camper’. So what do folks around the world stereotype when they hear the word camping? Regardless of your definition or opinion of this concept, we want to enlighten you with our experience of camping in Cornwall, England and hopefully convince you that this should be something you consider in the near future.

From an American perspective, you probably associate campsites or RV parks as they are commonly known, as just an off the beaten path location that is a much cheaper option than staying in a hotel. But from a British standpoint, I can safely tell you that our experiences have been like 5-star luxury!

Camping in Cornwall

“Camping in Cornwall – An Unforgettable Experience”…The title of this post truly sums up the feeling I have about camping around England. I will go out on a limb and say that 9 times out of 10, camping in England will ultimately lead to a positive experience! Now that’s a bold statement to make you are probably thinking, especially given the beautiful (NOT!) climate that everyone associates with this part of the world.

But camping in England is much more than just pitching a tent on a patch of grass, it is an unforgettable experience with a variety of incentives that make your stay all the more enjoyable. All of this makes up for the wet and wintry conditions you can expect to experience during the Summer months! After all, it wouldn’t be England without the odd rain shower!

Many of you British citizens will also argue that camping in England doesn’t necessarily mean you are staying in a tent. Whether you have a touring caravan, RV/camper van, rent a static caravan or you have the good old tent and sleeping bag combination, there is a campsite (or caravan site as we Brits refer to them!) waiting to welcome you.

Throughout my childhood years, my parents would take me to a variety of caravan sites in Cornwall, Devon, Isle of Wight and even the Fylde Coast in North-West England. We stayed in our own touring caravan which pretty much felt like our very own house on wheels that we would pull behind our car and stay for 1-2 weeks before returning home. Memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life and certainly put me in good stead to appreciate English caravan sites!

Where to Camp in Cornwall?

Spending time along the Cornish coastline was high on our bucket list and after much research we decided to stay at Trevella Caravan Park which we honestly didn’t know much about but because it received rave reviews online and it was in a perfect location to explore the rest of Cornwall we opted to pitch our tent there.

Everything about Trevella was positive. The on-site bathrooms were in pristine condition – the experience enhanced even more because they were individual rooms with a shower, sink, and toilet! A crazy golf course, TV and game room and on-site restaurant provided plenty of activities to ensure that you didn’t have to go far to enjoy your holiday break.

Rain or Shine?

As I mentioned earlier, the key aspect about camping in England is that you have to forget about the British climate and just enjoy yourselves, in many ways embrace the conditions otherwise you will likely get very depressed! Unfortunately, we followed this same philosophy or so we thought until the heavens opened one night and we faced the dreaded reality that our tent was leaking.

Imagine being stuck on a Cornish campsite in the middle of the night with thunder and lightning and water starts seeping into your sleeping bag.

Needless to say, the following day was spent shopping in St. Austell to purchase a new, upgraded version of our tent which hopefully would prove to be a little more watertight.

Be prepared for any weather and you will have an amazing camping experience around England. The beauty of camping in Cornwall is that you can enjoy the very best of this gorgeous county.

Whether you are intrigued by the thought of taking a stroll around the charming village of Mevagissey or perhaps you are an expert surfer that wants to hit the waves off the coast of Newquay or St. Ives, you can be assured that Cornwall has plenty of attractions to keep you occupied. Of course, what better way to end your day than by heading to a gorgeous campsite and relaxing in your luxury tent!

Summary

My tip for you whenever you consider backpacking around England, make sure you grab your tent and sample some of the best British caravan sites especially those in Cornwall because I am convinced you will not regret it.

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Philadelphia in Pictures – A Guide to the City of Brotherly Love

Heather Boothman

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Jul 23, 2014

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Philadelphia in Pictures – A Guide to the City of Brotherly Love

If you are interested in American history, there is no better place to visit than Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Chris and I were fortunate enough to visit here during the winter months which provided an added bonus of snow covered streets which from an Arkansan perspective was really cool to see given that we rarely get much snow in our part of the States.

So what makes Philadelphia such an attractive location for travelers? Well, whether it’s raining, snowing or the sun is shining there is always something to do in “The City of Brotherly Love”. The beauty of Philadelphia is that everything downtown is very accessible by foot or if you prefer to use the public transportation system, the SEPTA is easy to navigate and convenient.

Whether you are interested in learning about the moment America earned their independence at Independence Hall or recreating Rocky’s infamous training routine on the steps outside the Philadelphia Art Museum, there is surely something here that will interest you. Rather than using words to describe our trip here, we want to share some of our favorite images that really depict our experience more than any words could!

Hopefully this will inspire you to check out one of the most historic cities throughout USA. If you are like us, you won’t regret taking a trip to The City of Brotherly Love and of course, you have to sample one of the most famous American delicacies there – “The Philly Cheesesteak!”