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Interview – John Falcon (Round The World Journeys)

Chris Boothman
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Interview – John Falcon (Round The World Journeys)

Today, we would like to introduce our most recent interviewee, John Falcon, who has graciously taken time out of his day and ‘global travels’ to discuss his travel thoughts and motivation behind his website – Round The World Journeys.

Please feel free to comment, ask questions and connect with John using his various social media fronts listed below.

We would like to give a special THANK YOU to John for taking time to interview with us!

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Name: John Falcon

Hometown: Originally from UK, now a global ‘nomadic’ traveler

Website: Round The World Journeys

Social Media: 

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

For me, travelling is escaping the normal and trying to get a sense of the variety of life, to expand ones horizons both physically but also its only when you do this that you realise that people however different are in reality very similar.

I wanted to encourage people to take the step out of their normal lives and that it is in reality totally achievable.

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 like choosing between your children. I have places that I love, but for different reasons. For example for outstanding beauty Australia and Canada are phenomenal, for culture; the highlands of Peru are an undiscovered jewel; for food, well Malaysia is one big melting pot.

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

Antarctica, just for the outstanding beauty, somewhere when you can see first hand how fragile this little rock in space really is, somewhere to appreciate what a beautiful world we live in.

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

Camera, Phone, Laptop and Notebook as I prefer to write things on pen and paper, preferably with sketches too.

What is your preferred method of transport? 

Walk

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

To prescribe a formula for where to visit, for me is too rigid. I would rather just say everywhere I go I try to get lost. It’s down the back alleys, the small dead ends that you find the jewels of a city, the small bakeries, families and the stories behind the glamour of a place.

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… 

The way I see my website is a place, that is a step further down to road than just a place to dream, a place with beautiful photos. It for me is a brainstorm of ways to travel, how to make the crucial leap from “I would love to do this” to “I know how I’m going to do this”.

The next plan is to cycle from Australia to the UK, I will probably take about 2 years or so fingers crossed.

Interview – Susie and Jan (Dabble in Travel)

Chris Boothman
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Interview – Susie and Jan (Dabble in Travel)

Our interview feature is proving to be a great way to meet new travelers and today we are delighted to introduce Susie and Jan from the wonderfully named site, Dabble in Travel.

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

We would like to give a special THANK YOU to the folks from Dabble in Travel for taking time to interview with us!

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Name: Susie and Jan

Hometown: Cleveland, OH (Susie) & New Jersey (Jan), currently living in Chicago, IL, but leaving on our Round the World trip at the end of August!

Website: Dabble in Travel

Social Media: 

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

Our favorite aspect of traveling is learning about other cultures, their traditions, and way of life. We decided to start our website to keep in touch with friends and families while on the road. We want to share our experiences, good and bad, along with tips and tricks we discover. We hope to entertain, inform, and most importantly inspire readers to travel – whether that’s to the next town over, a Round the World trip, or somewhere in the vast spectrum in between.

How many continents have you visited?

Six

How many countries have you visited?

30+

What is your favorite destination in the world and why? 

Tough to pick an overall winner, but here are a few favorites by category:

  • Nature – South Island of New Zealand…you go from rolling green hills, to fjords and glaciers, to beaches and sprawling vineyards all in one island!
  • Food & History – Italy…no need to explain this one. Susie worked in Rome for 5 months so it will always have a special place in her heart!
  • Wine – South Africa…we absolutely loved the wine tasting experience there. Everything was sit-down, full service with lots of attention and the wine was SUCH a steal to boot! Plus, our day of wine tasting ended in a proposal, so you can’t beat that!

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

Antarctica is at the top of our list, but it’s very expensive to travel to. We seriously debated going there on our honeymoon to somehow justify the cost, but the timing was no good and we opted for using our well-earned points and miles to fund our honeymoon to Thailand and Tokyo instead. It was the smarter financial decision, but Jan really wanted bragging rights of going to Antarctica on our honeymoon!

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

Camera, Phone, Tablet(iPad,Kindle etc.) and Laptop

What is your preferred method of transport? 

Walk

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

The local market or grocery store. We could spend hours looking at and trying all the food!

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… 

Dabbleintravel.com will follow us along our Round the World trip we’re embarking on at the end of August. We’re heading to Asia for about 4 months, coming home to the States for the holidays, then making our way through Central and South America. If we have money left over after that, we’ll continue our journey in Europe! We enjoy learning about new cultures and languages, trying new foods, taking photos, and sharing what we pick up along the way!

Interview – Nita Gulati (Spilling The Beans)

Chris Boothman
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Interview – Nita Gulati (Spilling The Beans)

We have received such wonderful feedback to our new feature on interviews and we are delighted today to provide another great interviewee, Nita Gulati from Spilling The Beans

Please feel free to comment, ask questions and connect with Nita using her various social media fronts listed below.

We would like to give a special THANK YOU to Nita for taking time to interview with us!

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Name: Nita Gulati

Hometown: Pattaya, Thailand

Website: Spilling The Beans

Social Media: 

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

What I love about travel is the way it changes you – makes you happier, kinder, more alert, inspired, grateful and also respectful and tolerant of differences in cultures or lifestyles.

I’ve always been fascinated with travel and discovering new places, plus I have a passion for writing so I decided to create a blog where I can share my stories, photos and experiences, and I try to add a little humor to everything too!

How many continents have you visited?

Four

How many countries have you visited?

21-30

What is your favorite destination in the world and why? 

Wow, tough one but I’m going with Cappadocia, Turkey. I was there last December and it was a winter wonderland; snow everywhere and just breathtaking. Plus the hot air balloon ride during sunrise was incredible and unforgettable.

Apart from that, gotta say my home country, Thailand is pretty awesome too! Good weather, great people and gorgeous beaches.

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

I think I can handle an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora. Because.. C’mon, Bora Bora!! That is the destination and the reason.

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

iPhone – camera, phone and everything in one!

What is your preferred method of transport? 

Walk

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

Everywhere I go, I visit their scenic spots. Always love a good view!

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… 

I blog about food and travel. I believe the journey is important but even more is who you’re sharing it with. And you can love any destination if you have the right attitude and an open mind. I always want to visit more places so I can learn more, see more and eat more.

Close Calls on Connecting Flights

Chris Boothman
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Close Calls on Connecting Flights

If you are frequent travelers you will likely have experienced what we just went through when flying from Memphis to Buffalo. Our scheduled route from Memphis to Atlanta and then on to Buffalo should have seen us have a 20-minute layover at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Of course, life is never that simple and as soon as arrived at our gate in Memphis, we knew there was going to be an issue. Scheduled to depart at 6:04PM, we had about 20 minutes to wait, or so we thought, but seeing as our plane was not even at the gate the likelihood of us leaving on time was slim to none! Added to this, reports of severe weather delays en route to Atlanta saw us pushed back even further and the estimated departure time of 6:30PM was going to cause us a serious problem in catching our connection to Buffalo.  Arriving into Atlanta at 8:50PM and departing at 8:50PM really doesn’t give you much hope of making it from one gate to another.

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The Air Tran customer service rep in Memphis gave us a couple of options, though neither was particularly appealing:
  • We could stay in Memphis overnight and then catch a flight to Buffalo tomorrow via Atlanta. Oh and by the way, the next scheduled flight tomorrow was apparently 3:30PM in the afternoon.
  • We could fly to Atlanta and either risk trying to catch our connection, with the backup plan of Air Tran willing to provide a discounted rate at a hotel. They were not willing to pay for the hotel but a discount was all they could offer given the missed connection was ‘weather related’ and not their fault!

Which option would you choose here? It was pretty much a no-brainer as we opted to head to Atlanta in the desperate hope we could catch our flight! The minutes kept ticking by as we appeared to take forever taxiing along the runway in Memphis before we eventually got airborne and on our way. We asked the flight attendant about the chances of catching our next flight and she warned us it was highly unlikely.  By this point pretty much everyone told us we were going to miss our flight, so combining this with our own existing negativity was not a good combination to try and raise our optimism!

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We landed in Atlanta at 8:37PM and with our flight still scheduled as being ‘on-time’ our hopes were fading fast! I am sure folks around us were getting a little agitated as I jumped up to grab our carry-ons, but we knew we had to get off that plane ASAP if we stood any chance of catching our next flight! Another obstacle was going to be where was our arrival gate in relation to our departure gate. We were really lucky here because we arrived at gate C6 and our flight was leaving from gate C1.

I don’t think either of us have ever run that fast as we dashed through the terminal to the gate, fully expecting to arrive to a closed door and a customer service representative apologizing to us that we just missed our flight!

Apparently someone was looking over us tonight because to our delight, folks were still checking in and walking along the gangway to board the plane. We weren’t even the last ones to board!!! We boarded at 8:47PM and our flight actually didn’t leave Atlanta until 9:30PM so clearly we were not the only ones trying to catch a connection.

So what did we learn from this experience? Well, I still maintain that I prefer to have a long connection in between flights. I know that many travelers don’t like the idea of waiting around in an airport but let’s be honest, it’s better to be stuck in an airport knowing that you are there in plenty of time to catch your next flight! Airlines probably get a lot of stick because of their recommendation to be at the airport well in advance, at least a hour prior to departure time but I am all in favor of this!

What are your experiences on connecting flights?

What is your preferred layover time in between flights?

Interview – Anthony (The Travel Tart – Offbeat Tales From A Travel Addict )

Chris Boothman
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Interview – Anthony (The Travel Tart – Offbeat Tales From A Travel Addict )

We are delighted to have a real coup in our interview series today with Anthony from The Travel Tart – Offbeat Tales From A Travel Addict who has kindly taken time out of his hectic travel schedule to speak with us about his philosophies and inspirations behind traveling! Plus you may also get a laugh or too from his wonderful sense of humor!

Please feel free to comment, ask questions and connect with Anthony using his various social media fronts listed below. We would like to give a special THANK YOU to Anthony from The Travel Tart – Offbeat Tales From A Travel Addict for taking time to interview with us!

TheTravelTart

Name: Anthony

Hometown: I write about the funny, offbeat and downright weird aspects of world travel today. I’m based in Brisbane today and I like hunting out the more unusual side of travel.

Website: The Travel Tart – Offbeat Tales From A Travel Addict

Social Media: 

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

My favourite aspect of travel is the exciting new stimulus that comes along with something new. This could be the cultural, food or other experience aspects that prevents me from becoming bored! Also, I only travel so I don’t run out of dinner party conversations! I started The Travel Tart in 2009 because I saw the enormous potential of how blogging can lead to some fantastic experiences based on talking to others who were running blogs.

How many continents have you visited?

Six

How many countries have you visited?

30+

What is your favorite destination in the world and why? 

All of the places I’ve been to and all of the places I haven’t been to yet. It’s impossible to compare places because they all offer something different, so I’ve enjoyed every single destination that I’ve been to.

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

Space! One of my life goals is to score a junket on Virgin Galactic and have a Space Beer (yes, such a thing exists) with Richard Branson in space.

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

Camera, Phone, Laptop and sometimes, a remote controlled fart machine. Fart jokes are universal, and every culture understands them!

What is your preferred method of transport? 

Car and Suicidal Cairo Cabs

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

Learn the following 5 words in the local language – hello, goodbye, please, thank you, beer and combinations of those!

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… 

If you’re bored at work and you want to waste your time on something else besides telling your Facebook friends what you had for breakfast, check out my site – http://www.thetraveltart.com.

There are a lot of silly travel photos, videos, tips and advice (if you can call it that!). There are also interviews there with travel personalities who have been silly enough to grant me a quick chat!

Interview – Anne-Sophie Redisch (Sophie’s World)

Chris Boothman
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Interview – Anne-Sophie Redisch (Sophie’s World)

This week’s travel interview is with Anne-Sophie Redisch who has kindly taken time out of her day to speak with us about her travels and in particular her great travel site, Sophie’s World

Please feel free to comment, ask questions and connect with Anne-Sophie using her various social media fronts listed below.

We would like to give a special THANK YOU to Anne-Sophie from Sophie’s World for taking time to interview with us!

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Name: Anne-Sophie Redisch

Website: Sophie’s World

Social Media: 

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

Fave aspect of travelling is exploring new places. The blog is about curious travel, and started as a place to share our travels, as well as inspire.

How many continents have you visited?

Six

How many countries have you visited?

30+

What is your favorite destination in the world and why? 

London and Paris are both faves. I’m also quite fond of the Middle East and Africa.

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

I’d take the Royal Mail ship to St Helena, and if I’m lucky with the weather, also to Tristan da Cunha. Forever fascinated with remote, slightly windblown islands.

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

Camera, Phone and Laptop.

What is your preferred method of transport? 

Boat and Train.

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

I like to get up to the highest point, to get a feel for the lay of the land.

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… 

Sophie’s World is about the world’s curious corners – and also about travelling with children. Unusually for a travel blog, the kids often share their take on things, too.

Keeping your Travel Website and Social Media Updated

Chris Boothman
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Keeping your Travel Website and Social Media Updated

The ultimate, million dollar question for any aspiring travel website developer or blogger is how on earth do you keep your website and everything associated with it updated with the most recent material? In reality, there is just not enough time in a day to achieve what you probably want to. So how do you solve this potentially serious problem that could be detrimental to your website? It takes a lot of serious planning, organization and dedication that unfortunately we have not yet found given that we are relative newbies to this.

Website

Let’s start with the website. Ok, so you have decided that you want to document all of your travels and share your experiences with fellow travelers and the best way to achieve this is through a dedicated travel website. There are so many WYSIWYG sites and development partners out there to assist you with the development and then combining this with a free blogging software application such as WordPress or Blogger will help you achieve your goals. Or will it? Well, setting up your initial page is only the very beginning and this in reality is the easy part. I for one fell into the trap of thinking that whenever you have setup your pages how you want them, everything else will fall into place. You probably have a myriad of ideas out there of different pages and features you want to add to your site.

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The problem is, you may not know how to convey this information to your readers in the most aesthetically pleasing way. The best example of this was our “Photo of the Day Contest” that we released earlier this year. Our intentions were great and we felt that we had sufficient materials to publish a different photo every day of the year and each month we would give a prize away to a lucky winner. The problem was, we found it very difficult to allocate enough time to both locate, edit and publish our favorite pictures on a daily basis. This fell away and up to this point we have not yet figured out how we want to re-open this particular aspect of our site.

Essentially your website will have different features but the most common feature that most travel blogs have is the blogs themselves. How do you ensure that you post enough material to keep your readers interested and willing to come back to read more? At the beginning, you will have plenty of materials and you probably have a feeling that you will never run out of articles to publish. The simple response to this is that you may have a lot of material, but it is either going to be repetitive, uninteresting to the majority of readers or you will get that dreaded writers block that prevents you from communicating what you want to in your articles.

I always tell people that it is not for the lack of trying or the desire to achieve what you are intending on doing. Whenever you are working a full-time job, have a home to look after and everything else that goes into the day-to-day living of a human being, it is sometimes near impossible to find those vital minutes to write about something your readers will love and make them want to come back.

Social Media

The next aspect which is equally as important in today’s modern era of technology is the wonderful world of social media. Wherever you look today, you will see the infamous Twitter logo or Facebook sign. Did you LIKE this page? Did you FOLLOW me on Twitter? Will you RE-PIN on Pinterest? All these are examples of questions we are asked every day about social media outlets that we all love to hate. This love/hate relationship between traveler and social media makes it essential that we keep on top of our social media.

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There is nothing easy about time-management.

Time Management is the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity.

If only I could achieve Wikipedia’s definition on organizing my time devoted to A Brit and A Southerner. Over the next few weeks, I am wanting to get Heather more involved on this website. Heather will be the first to admit that she has great ideas but sometimes finds it a little more difficult to convey her thoughts on paper. I want to take advantage of her skills to enhance our website and social media.

In addition, I want to get a better pre-defined schedule in place so that our followers will have better expectations on when blogs will be released, social media updated more frequently and the creation of a better environment to enhance interactions from everyone associated with A Brit and A Southerner.

How do you achieve your time management goals when thinking about your travel site and social media? I am sure it is much easier for those folks out there that can devote all their time but those are the minority given that the majority of us are traveling purely for pleasure and have to fit this into our time schedules with work and family.

We are certainly intrigued to hear about all of your thoughts and are always open to suggestions on how to improve our site and be better prepared to attract more frequent visitors!

A Hidden Gem in the English Channel

Chris Boothman
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A Hidden Gem in the English Channel

For anyone who has traveled to England before, I am sure you are all aware of the stereotypical tourist spots such as London, Manchester, Cambridge, Oxford, The Cotswolds and Stonehenge. However, one of the lesser well known spots is located just off the south coastline of England and this really is a true ‘hidden gem in the English Channel’ for anyone wanting to just get away, relax and enjoy some beautiful scenery yet still have plenty of things to do.

The Isle of Wight is actually classified as a county of England and is located about 10 miles from the famous sea port of Southampton. The island is easily accessible with car ferries leaving on the hour 24 hours a day from three different locations, namely Southampton, Portsmouth and Lymington and they all dock at different spots on the island including Cowes, Ryde and Yarmouth. Depending on where you are located prior to heading to the island will likely determine which of these ports you set sail from but each one is very similar in terms of distance. DSC_0710

The ferry crossing across “The Solent” takes about 45 minutes and is for the most part pleasant though the weather can get a little rough sometimes causing people to stay under cover rather than venture upstairs onto the top deck to take in the beautiful Hampshire scenery in the background as you head away from the mainland. The Isle of Wight has quite a lot of history and heritage with the famous poet Tennyson residing here and also Queen Victoria who built her beloved Osborne House here which became her final residence.

The island is famous for their “Isle of Wight Festival” that takes place on an annual basis and has played host to many leading performers including Chicago, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Miles Davis and The Doors. There are a variety of great little seaside towns worth visiting on the island but here are our top 5 spots to visit if you are given the chance to explore this beautiful island:

Newport

Newport is the capital of the Isle of Wight and subsequently is located in the heart of the island with easy access to all parts of the island from this hub. If shopping is your thing, the main street here is packed full of leading British shops plus you can always find a bargain along the way by visiting some local “junk” shops! There is a myriad of dining options available for all taste buds so I am sure you will find something that you will enjoy! Newport combines a rich sense of history with modern architecture and this is very typically seen in the array of buildings available. At one extreme is the “Roman Villa” settlements that are still visible while the modern era is identified by the new bus station that are clearly pursuing the eco-friendly approach of public transportation.

Shanklin

I have visited the Isle of Wight many times growing up as a youngster and I will always remember Shanklin as being one of my favourite towns to visit. I am not really sure why because in reality there is very little to do there, but it is such a quaint village situated on the coastline but also the main street feels like it is on the side of a hill as you start at the top and work your way down into the valley.

One place that we would both highly recommend visiting is “The Crab Inn” which is a great little English pub situated in the bottom of Shanklin and offers wonderful food and drink. The beer garden is substantial in size and is a great way to spend a summer’s evening relaxing with a cold beer. If beach life is more your thing, well Shanklin beach offers a stretch of glorious golden sand well worth a visit. As I mentioned earlier, Shanklin is situated on a hill and while the beach is at the very bottom of the hill, there is a lift available to take locals and tourists from the town to the beach and back.

Sandown

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Situated just down the road from Shanklin, Sandown is a similarly sized seaside resort which has a healthy tourist population due to the sea front hotels and accommodations on offer. One of the highlights in Sandown is “Brown’s” which is a family park offering 18 hole pitch and putt courses, crazy golf and a cafe. Sandown offers an assortment of pubs and restaurants in addition to this. If you have the time, why not venture along the seafront from Brown’s and walk all the way to Shanklin. It is about 5-6 miles but it really is a pleasant walk!

Ryde

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In the north-east corner of the island is the town of Ryde which is the most populous town on the island. Ryde is home to a large esplanade area which has always been an attraction for tourists, especially those day-tripping from the mainland, as the amenities are all available by walking from the pier. A swimming pool, bowls club, ice rink, bowling alley, and boating lake are among the attractions here. Probably our favourite highlight in Ryde was the “Waltzing Waters” which is a spectacular indoor water display in tandem with music.

The world’s most elaborate water, light & music productions!

Visitors are overwhelmed by thousands of dazzling patterns

of moving water synchronised with music!

Alum Bay

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One of the most beautiful spots on the Isle of Wight is located at Alum Bay. The Needles is a row of three distinctive stacks of chalk that rise out of the sea off the western extremity of the island and is a must see for all visitors. Alum Bay hosts a variety of attractions including a miniature theme park with rides for the kids, glass blowing activities, creating ornaments filled with different colours of sand and also a ski lift which takes you down to the bottom where you can hop on a fishing boat to tour around the chalk cliffs!

FedEx St. Jude Classic 2013

Chris Boothman
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FedEx St. Jude Classic 2013

As an avid golfer, every year I anxiously await the PGA Tour schedule to be released so that I can plot which tournaments I can visit. This year was no different and after visiting the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial CC in Fort Worth, TX which unfortunately had a rather disappointing field, I hoped that my second tournament of the year would be a little more attractive. Over recent years, the FedEx St. Jude Classic has played host to several leading golfers though it’s timing on the schedule the week prior to the US Open usually makes less of the leading players in the world wanting to play this event.

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This year saw the likes of Phil Mickelson, Brandt Snedeker, Davis Love III, Padraig Harrington, Ian Poulter and defending champion Dustin Johnson in a field that certainly attracted a lot of attention from the Memphis locals. I was fortunate enough to visit the tournament for three of the four days and saw an abundance of quality golf from some of the world’s leading players.

Day 1 (Friday)

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An early start at 6:00AM and a 1 ¼ drive to Memphis, TN to be there around 8:00AM to watch the opening groups plot their way around a perfectly manicured TPC Southwind course. I decided to head out to the 1st hole to follow the trio of Dustin Johnson, Brandt Snedeker and Davis Love III who had started on the 10th tee and were just making the turn when I started following them. Love III and Johnson were both in contention towards the top of the leaderboard but Snedeker was clearly struggling to find his game as he was lingering the wrong side of the cut mark. Just watching how these guys plot their way around a 7400+ yard course is on its own a great tip for any aspiring golfer. Love III appeared to be hitting the ball the best out of the trio, but his inability to hole any putts outside of a couple of feet was causing to be a real hindrance for his scorecard.

This also gave me the opportunity to scope out the front nine at Southwind and I have to admit that this is one of the better courses around for spectator viewing. The tournament organizers clearly went to great depths in setting up the walk ways in ideal locations.

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My afternoon grouping was my fellow Brit, Ian Poulter, Boo Weekley and David Toms. I enjoyed watching ‘Mr. Ryder Cup’ (Poulter) but there is just always part of me that feels he concentrates too much on his charismatic dress sense (of course marketing his IJP Design clothing range) rather than focusing solely on his individual career. Needless to say, the three of them all played solid rounds of golf, though they will all probably feel that they let ‘great’ rounds slip away.

The highlights have to be seeing Poulter lip-out for a hole in one on hole 8 and then on number 12 after seeing his approach shot fail to clear the water, he took off his shoes and socks before clambering into the water and hitting a great recovery shot onto the green.

Day 2 (Saturday)

Moving day as all golfers know is Saturday when the leaderboard really begins to take shape and players want to put themselves into position heading into Sunday.

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I decided to follow Padraig Harrington and Kevin Stadler in the morning and again we were treated to an excellent array of golf. Watching the ‘lesser’ known names at PGA Tour events is a great way to get closer to the action because the crowds are all focused on Mickelson, Woods etc.

Day 3 (Sunday)

The final round proved to be a real closely fought encounter with a host of names popping up with a real fighting chance of winning the tournament. We spent the day watching a mixture of Harrington, Poulter, Mickelson and the lesser known quantities of Scott Stallings, Shawn Stefani and the eventual winner, Harris English.

We also had the opportunity to wine and dine in the FedEx Corporate Cabana which was a great way to cool down.

Standing by the 18th green at the end watching Mickelson almost hole out from the middle of the fairway (he literally knocked it over the edge of the hole to within less than 2 ft) and then seeing English hold his nerve to capture his maiden PGA Tour title was a worthwhile experience.

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For anyone that has never encountered a PGA Tour event, it really is money well spent. Even if you are not the most avid of golf fans, it is a great way to get out and enjoy the sunshine. You can go either alone or with your family and enjoy a day great out on the course.

Have you ever been to a golf tournament?  

Do you play golf yourself?

Travel Blogger Interviews – New Feature

Chris Boothman
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Travel Blogger Interviews – New Feature

Rather than focusing solely on our thoughts, we want to involve fellow travel bloggers and one of our new features to achieve this will include interviews with some of our blogging friends.

We want to create a community where everyone can share their ideas and what better way to do this than to learn about the best travel bloggers out there.

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Are you interested in being part of our new feature? 

If the answer is YES and of course that should be your response, please complete our following survey which we will use to create our travel blogger interviews.

TRAVEL BLOGGER QUESTIONNAIRE

What are the benefits?

This is a great way to market your site and also share your travel experiences and thoughts with other bloggers!

What are the questions about?

Pretty much everything about travel! There are only 10 questions, the majority of which are open-ended and allow you to express your personal opinions.

Will there be pictures?

You can send through the image of your choice either of yourself, your website or anything that you want displayed on your interview post. You can send them directly by e-mail to [email protected] after you have completed the survey!

Complete your questionnaire ASAP by clicking this link here!!!

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