We’ve Been Nominated for the Liebster Award!

About a month ago, we received notification on Twitter that Chris from Repeat Traveller had nominated us for the Liebster Award! (Thank you Chris!) I have to admit that I was pretty excited because, well, I’m shallow that way. Then I found out that it wasn’t actually an award, but a pseudo chain letter, and I got even more excited because chain letters are always fun! (Unless they threaten to cause your death if you don’t forward them to your entire extended family.)

So anyway, the origins of the Liebster Award are a bit of an enigma because no one really knows where they came from. The word liebster means dearest in German, and its purpose is actually to connect and support new blogs in the community, which is really cool! As enigmatic as the origins of the award are its rules, so I’m just going to stick with what Chris posted since it’s pretty straightforward:

1. Answer 11 questions posted by the blogger who nominated you

2. Nominate 5 bloggers who have less than 3000 followers

3. Craft a list of 11 questions for them to answer

Here are our responses to the questions from Chris, the Repeat Traveller:

1. What kind of traveller are you? 

We’re always looking for activities and places that are off the beaten track. We like getting recommendations from the locals, and love finding local haunts that are undiscovered by tourists. We’re also huge foodies so we’re always on the lookout for yummy things to fill our tummy. 

 

2. Which destination has surprised you the most and why? 

We’re divided on this although both destinations were from our honeymoon. ET was surprised by the diversity of nature and the ever-changing landscape in Namibia. I, on the other hand, was blown away by Cape Town. Blame it on my ignorance, but I had never imagined it to be so gorgeous, developed and filled with so many amazing sushi restaurants! It has a reputation for being dangerous but everyone we met was so friendly! We both agree they made perfect honeymoon destinations.

 

 3. Where was the first place you travelled solo?

Sheena: I’ve never actually travelled solo but I’m planning to try it at the end of this year. Any recommendations?

ET: Venice – I was there for 3 days and suspect it might have been a tad too long.

4. What’s your favourite travel magazine?  

Without a doubt, the National Geographic Traveller.

5. How did you come up with your blog name?

ET and SY are actually our initials, and my brilliant husband had the idea of putting them together when we were trying to come up with a hashtag for our wedding! He had no idea ETSY (the marketplace) existed. But it stuck, and we tagged it with the word “explores” because that’s what we love doing together (:

6. Where is the one place you’re desperate to travel to?

There are too many places that we’re desperate to travel to. But I think the one place we can BOTH agree on is Cuba!

7. Where’s the first place you’ll usually go when exploring a new city? 

It would be that restaurant we’ve researched on beforehand that we’re excited to check out.

8. Pick one song you could listen to for the rest of your life.

Me Gustas Tu by Manu Chao. It’s our go-to song because it’s so happy. You’ll love it too (:

9. What’s your favourite quote and why? 

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There’s no end to the adventures we can have, if only we seek them with our eyes open.”- Nehru.

Don’t you think it’s so full of hope?

10. What do you enjoy most about blogging?

Sharing our experiences with other like-minded people and knowing that they’ve benefitted from it!

11. Are you a night owl or an early bird? 

Both – we’re teachers so we’re night owls that have to wake up early.

Our nominations for new bloggers we’d love to know more about:

Hannah @The Innocents Abroad 

Melissa  @Teabagfinds

Nicholas @The Magic Compass

David & Zena @Zig Zag the World 

Eva @Beyond Voyage

And here are our 11 questions: 

1. Which is the most underrated country you’ve been to, and why?

2. What excites you most about travel?

3. What is the strangest thing you’ve eaten?

4. What inspired you to start a blog?

5. What’s your most embarrassing moment while travelling?

6. What’s the most off the beaten track experience you’ve had?

7. How has travel changed you?

8. If you’re craving comfort food while on the road, what would you look for?

9. What’s your favourite travel hack?

10. Which is your favourite foodie destination and why?

11. What is one travel website you can’t live without?

We’re really looking forward to reading the responses from our liebster nominees! If you have new blogs to recommend, do share them with us in the comments section (: