Followthe good, the bad and the ugly
ooo lala – kick off party at the castle
here we are. another Travel Bloggers Exchange aka TBEX has come and gone and all the “lessons learned and friends made” posts are coming out. i can say i did learn a thing or two and made a few new friends. yeah, it was THE BOMB.
BUT that’s not what you wanna hear now is it? you want the juice, the scoop, the dirt, the scuttlebutt. well, you came to the right blog. ‘where in the world is lola?’ has the gossip AND it’s completely ridiculous how many bloggers got accosted by this one crazy blogger. YEP, i’m talking about ME!
if you recall, last TBEX conference i claimed to have stage fright. well you no longer have to wonder how i made out! (AND NOT LITERALLY perverts) i’d say this TBEX lola jumped right past that stage fright, much to some fellow travel bloggers dismay. here’s the breakdown:
GOOD
cava was overflowing at the castle
learning, networking, partying. it was all that and more compared to my last TBEX in Colorado. i truly enjoyed the sessions and got more out of this TBEX that i will now apply to marketing my brand & making my blog better. i also enjoyed the networking. many, many of my favorite European bloggers were in attendance and i was beyond *thrilled* to finally actually meet them. NOW let’s discuss the parties. yeah, those were GRRREAT. lola managed to suck down plenty o cava at the castle, convince the bar to let buy my own G&Ts at the beach soiree and drink everything under the sun on Saturday night between the Cathedral beer to The River sangria to more G&Ts out at La Planeta – the club we ended up every night.
BAD
naughty lola buying drinks at the bar because the free ones weren’t good enough
flying in on Thursday and hitting the ground running with the kick off party. lola should really remember that cava (Spanish champagne) is not my friend. always gives me a terrible hangover. despite that and the jet lag, i managed to make it to all the sessions of day 1 of TBEX. cannot say the same for day 2. the exhaustion of everything FINALLY caught up with me. needless to say, this nearly killed lola and ruined my time.
flying in and rushing from one thing to the next also didn’t allow time to actually tour Girona. it’s a shame because i cannot share any stories about what is supposed to be a lovely city. (Girona’s auditorium is FAB) thank goodness i stayed on an extra couple of days and was able to visit a bit of Costa Brava. otherwise, i could have been anywhere for this conference! lesson learned: build in time on both sides of the conference to actually experience the location you are in. that’s my job & i like doing it. i felt a little short-changed from my time in Spain.
UGLY
one of the gabillion gin & tonics i enjoyed in Spain. it really should have been BIGGER!!
this is what you really came here to read. i have no one is to blame but myself. i didn’t exercise much self-control in department of drinking. free booze = it’s hard to limit yourself. and, given that i’m really not a shy wall flower, the booze just further emboldened me to say more than a hello to a few of those “blogging heroes” i mentioned from the last TBEX. all i can say is LO SIENTO. yep, i introduced myself to the infamous Gary Arndt by referring to his blog all wrong. and when i had my first run-in with Nomadic Matt…let’s just say i feel badly for his ear. Johnny Jet, you are lucky you were on your honeymoon of a lifetime because you would have gotten #lolafied too.
lola loves LiveShareTravel!
thankfully, i don’t think i was offensive to most. two of my favorite things said to me were from Terry Lee of LiveShareTravel. 1) he said lola was like Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous. 100% correct. you get my character completely 2) Terry also said “Sarah and I agree that if you didn’t exist we’d have to invent you.” BEST COMPLIMENT EVER!
oh Will i heart you too!
then there was Will Peach. you know the dude i love to hate or whatever that phrase is. yes, this TBEX he didn’t have 5 things he’d rather be doing. he came, he saw, he kicked ass. BUT when it came to meeting me, well…i think there may still have been at least 5 things he’d rather be doing.
hobo lola
AND a heart-felt thank you to Stephen Otto of Walks of Italy. you’re a friend & a gentleman for scooping me up and sending me off in a cab. too bad i was locked out of my lovely flipkey apartment for over an hour “resting” on the stoop like a hobo. i’d like to say that my roommates slept through me buzzing them but we all know the truth is i was probably buzzing the wrong buzzer. bad lola!
i often say that i don’t need a babysitter but this visit to Spain may suggest otherwise. i’m happily accepting applications should you wish to accompany me in my crazy traveling escapades.
