The Everywhere blog

With so many great adventurers on Everywhere right now, we thought it would be nice to make a few introductions. Here on the blog we'll be featuring some of our intrepid Everywhere members.

And what better place to start than with the wonderful Frans & Claire van der Lee? These lucky travelers are on a year-long journey, having already visited Thailand, Bali, Laos, & Vietnam.

Frans was nice enough to take a minute to respond to a few of our prying questions, most likely right before a quick jaunt to a New Zealand beach or some other envy-inducing activity:

How did you get involved in the travel-writing scene? I love to travel and am an avid photographer, so I jumped at the chance of being published. I don’t have travel writing or reporting experience, but my wife used to edit an academic journal, so she is a great asset. We are currently on a year-long trip around Asia and my wife takes care of all of the itineraries and planning. We are hoping she has time to contribute some stories as well!

Could you share your favorite article? My favorite posting is the first travel article I ever wrote, Pho(tolicious)!, about a cooking class in Hoi An, Vietnam. Most people just take in a city’s sights and forget about the hands-on experiences. It would be a great feeling if just one reader takes that same cooking class and has as wonderful an experience as I did.

What's your dream trip? The one dream place... is tracing the Silk Road through western China. It is still relatively unvisited and boasts amazing scenery and cultural diversity. It would be a true adventure!

Dream Gadget? One gadget I have been dreaming about since I first read about it a year ago is the soon to be released Zink Polaroid Mobile Printer. It is a pocket-sized printer that works without ink. When I was trekking in Bhutan I met four generations of women who let me take their photographs - I only wish I was able to give them prints on the spot. Don’t know if you can convince Polaroid to give me one so I can write about it!

What has your experience with Everywhere been like? One amazing result of this community of Everywhere is the connections made with fellow travelers. In planning an upcoming trip to New Zealand I searched the site and commented on a contributor’s photo. A few hours later I got an email from the photographer and we have exchanged a series of travel tips as he is planning a trip to Vietnam!

There you have it! Here are a few highlights from Frans & Claire van der Lee's travelogue. Be sure to stop by their profile and say hello. Sounds like you might be able to squeeze some free travel advice out of them too...

"The Taj Exotica Maldives ensures privacy from any passing fish by conveniently mirroring your bathroom window. If you want to intrude on their underwater domain however, you can just slip into the warm water from your dock before returning to your very own over water plunge pool."-On Maldives

"Enjoying the peace of sunset on Halong Bay before the Vietnamese love of Karaoke rocks the once tranquil night! Disclosure...we joined in!." -On the Halong Bay

"One nice thing about the heat of April is that it keeps the tourist numbers unbelievably low and the scourge of travel - the tour bus - is almost non-existent. In fact, we only saw one tour bus the entire time and they were local tourists from the capital. Instead we ran into the same independent travelers we had seen in Mandalay and Yangon, providing dinner companions to exchange our day’s adventures with." -On Bagan

Thanks to everyone who contributed to Everywhere Issue 03. We're now pouring over all the submissions and laying out the issue. It's starting to look amazing, and we're excited to announce the features for Issue 04! In addition to all the recurring themes and features, each issue of Everywhere Magazine includes sections focused on two particular places and themes. Here are the picks for Everywhere Magazine Issue 04.

FEATURED PLACES:

Barcelona: It’s been called the cultural “Capital of Spain.” The architecture, the parks, the street art, the food, the music; Barcelona combines urban sophistication and vibrant nightlife with a cosmopolitan blend of cultural influences.

The Jersey Shore: The Hamptons? Fugghetaboutit! Just minutes from Manhattan, the New Jersey coast is one of America’s best-kept summer secrets, with a unique local culture and attractions that range from honky-tonk boardwalks to pristine natural beaches.

FEATURED THEMES:

Festival: When the weather gets warm, festival season gets underway. Whether you gather for music, art, dance, theater, food—or any combination of these—tell us about your experiences at festivals around the world.

National Parks: Where nature provides a spectacular view, countries around the world have established national parks to preserve the beauty. From Canada to Costa Rica and Mongolia to Madagascar, we invite you to take us on a tour of the world’s best national parks.

GET PUBLISHED!

Here on the Everywhere Blog, we've run a couple of posts with tips on how to get published in Everywhere Magazine. Check out these two posts for advice on improving your travel writing and photography.

Tips to Improve Your Travel Writing: A few weeks back, Editor Todd Lappin posted his advice on how to write for a travel publication. Check out his five tips for getting your travel writing selected!

Seven Ways to Improve Your Travel Photography: Publisher Paul Cloutier weighed in with his tips for improving your travel photography. Check out his tips on what kind of pictures work best for travel magazine publication.

So there you go! Want to submit? The links above will take you right to the theme pages. Create your favorite places, add your photos (with detailed captions, please), and submit your articles and stories. And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask: Your editor is standing by. You can email him using this Interweb address: todd*at*8020publishing.com.

Top photo: Lucky Leo's..., Seaside Heights Boardwalk, the Jersey Shore. Photo by Everywhere member Chris Piazza.)

Bottom photo: Making Tapas at Quimet i Quimet, Barcelona, Spain. Photo by Everywhere member Jordi Atal.

The Iditarod, Alaska's famous annual sled dog race, is currently underway. Billed as "The Last Great Race on Earth," mushers and their dogs make the 1000+ mile journey from Willow to Nome, Alaska, crossing the Alaska range, riding alongside the Bering Sea, and traversing the frozen Norton Sound.

Fortunately for us, Everywhere member Leigh Leveen is on a team and has been posting from the race! In addition to some great photos from the driver's seat, Leigh has been diligently answering some of our burning Iditarod questions, such as:

• -How does one pack for a fifteen-day jaunt into the Alaskan wild?
• -Is it possible to avoid the dangers of sled-dog poop at high-speeds?
• -How about those Iditarod groupies?

For all this and more, check out Leigh's travelogue.

Also up in Alaska documenting the race is Everywhere member Melissa Josue. And honestly, if her photo of Iditarod fashionistas doesn't convince you to start planning a trip to next year's race, well, I'm just not sure what would.

Your submissions are streaming in, and your friendly conductors of the
deadline is barreling towards its final destination.  But we still
need your help before our March 13, 2008 contributor's deadline.

Right now, we could really use more photographs of Miami, Florida and
Copenhagen. Denmark.  Been there?  Did you discover any interesting
attractions? Find any great restaurants? Stay in any nice hotels?
Share some photos of your favorite places in Miami and Copenhagen
before our March 13 deadline.

Remember: Your photo captions are just as important as the photos
themselves.  A little goes a very long way. Just a two-sentence
description attached to your photo adds a whole world of meaning to
your photograph. What was so great about that hotel in Copenhagen? Or
that delicious dinner South Beach? Contribute your Miami and Copenhagen
photos before March 13, and you could get published in Issue 03.

PS: Want photo submission tips? We've got 'em! They're at your fingertips here.

What makes a city perfect for a visiting traveler? What gives a place that special magic that makes it so memorable? I'd never thought of that before, but Everywhere contributor Becky Timbers most certainly has. Becky just posted a clever article about the elements of a city that combine to make it perfect. Her Top 10 list of Perfect City attributes includes:

1) No cars

2) Farmers markets galore

3) A hip and trendy central area with no motorized vehicles

4) Trees, flower, shrubs, and more

5) Policemen on horseback

6) No trash

7) Theater or a cultural center

8) Good eats

9) Close proximity to a natural playground

10) Chill, but mellow nightlife

Becky explains all this in more detail in her article, and she's also opened the subject for debate. What do you think makes a city perfect? And what Perfect Cities have you visited? Tell us about your favorites in the comments for The Perfect City.

PS: I couldn't help but notice that Peter Barnes just submitted an article about a little-known town outside Barcelona that has many of Becky's Perfect City qualities (although no word about the cops on horseback). Check out Peter's story about Girona, Spain
.

(Image above: The town center in Girona Spain, photo by Peter Barnes)