Having fun in Lloret de Mar was somehow against the odds. First, the weather was not as warm as I expected. Although I don’t mind cold, I did mind in this case because of the clothes I took (summer like dresses and sandals). Second, my phone broke down. I know! First world problems! It all confirms Murphy laws being in force, but it made me angry. Not only I had no internet connection, which was the least problem, but I also was left with no camera and no alarm clock. Suddenly, because of one little thing broke down I found myself in an awkward position of being late in the morning and not having pictures.
One of few pictures I have from Lloret de Mar. Spain.
But I had fun! And why is that? It’s because of people I met!
People
People is definitely the best part of Tbex community and I had a pleasure to rediscover it. Although my closest blogger friends could not come I found some new ones. I was having an interesting series of discussions, sharing the knowledge and also giving back, as I went for Tbex as a speaker for the first time. It was funny because I met another Tbex participant already on the place from Munich to Barcelona. She asked me if I was going for Tbex just because of the book I was reading (btw a fantastic one, soon to be reviewed here!). So I had this opportunity to give a few advice to a blogger who participated Tbex for the first time. It was also great to meeting my co-presenters, Lanora and Pola, and to discuss further our theme of multilingualism in blogging.
Tbex Team
My huge congratulations to Tbex team with exceptional MaryJo on board. My transfer from the airport to the hotel was as smooth as a walk to the corner shop. I was taken to the hotel in no time, and checked-in likewise. I had a lovely large room in a hotel where the conference was held, which is always the most convenient way of enjoying full freedom of movement. Also, my technical problems with using my computer for the presentation was resolved in a blink of an eye, and the cable was found in less than a minute. The information about trips and activities was always easy to find making my stay on Tbex stressless.
Thank you Tbex Team!
This year, Tbex team made an effort of inviting very attractive keynote speakers. Although I enjoyed immensely Robert Reid in Athens and missed him among the speakers very much, they did an excellent job. Michael Collins performed the best talk of the conference on the very last day. It was super interesting to listen to his point of view, especially that his comments also included a large part of language focused issues. The Internet is much more than English, he said, and I couldn’t agree more! It takes me straight to my presentation titled: ‘Building community when English is not your first language‘.
Presentation
Together with Lanora and Pola, we’ve been discussing this issue for months. It took us a considerable time and effort to make a thorough research, small scale survey, analyze the results and draw a conclusion. The biggest satisfaction was watching a room full of bloggers who run their blogs in their mother tongues, and also those who decided to publish in English and are struggling with a quality challenge, just like me. The discussion after our presentation was rich and lively, which makes me sure on the importance of the issue. Bloggers are not only English native speakers, and I consider this group large enough to make an effort to meeting their needs. There is a window of opportunity in the global blogosphere at the moment, on publishing in native languages rather than in English. The trend is visible and will be developing further in coming years.
Lesson learned
Never again, I will go for a conference or a journey with no camera or separate alarm clock. As long as the alarm clock is easy to replace it was much less so in case of the camera. I have only a few photos from Lloret de Mar taken on the second day so my sincere apologies for this post and only a few pictures.
Sailing is always fun!
This is the reason I would like you to visit the sites of my friends and co-speakers so you could look for yourself how beautiful Lloret is! Karen published this post on Lloret and I think it is wonderful! Also Heather did a great job, summarizing highlights of our stay in Lloret de Mar. If I had a camera, I would love to walk some of the trekking paths along the coast. The little part I saw was just marvelous! Rocky mountains just above the crystal-clear water looked fantastic! I don’t blame the British, who walk it every year spending their retirement in this part of the world.
Lloret de Mar
The moment I’ve known that Tbex 2015 takes place in Lloret I didn’t expect any fireworks. The location seemed to me dull and predictable: another summer destination, full of beaches I don’t like and crowds I hate. Instead of a dull place full of tourists I found an exciting city, very well kept (with impressive sidewalks, banks and trash cans everywhere), and tourists’ friendly place. I was delighted to see a huge sandy place in the city center for petanque (bulle or boccia) players, full of retired people spending their late mornings on this play. A few building in the center were beautiful and made me think about the history of the place. Also, this is an ordinary city with many locals living there, with schools, shops, post offices etc. One thing that I can’t stand is an artificial village for tourist purpose only. Well, this is definitely NOT the care of Lloret de Mar. Think about above-the-sea trekking trail and renaissance like gardens of St. Clotilde and crystal-clear water wherever you are, and you will get a very attractive holiday destination.
All pictures were taken during a few hours sail from Lloret de Mar with Catamaran Sensation. This was a very pleasant experience most of all because I love sailing but also because these guys know how to prepare a tasty food on board and how to make the passengers dancing! I had fun spending time with Dale and Franca from AngloItalian as we got in touch years ago, and this was the first time we met! They are both vegans and what I absolutely love about them is the fact that they prefer slow traveling over just running like mad. It looks like we are soul mates!
Franca from Anglo-Italian
Dale from Anglo-Italian
