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. 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. 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. 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...

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Tbex conference is always packed with events. But there is always one of two days off to enjoy the place where the conference is held. This year we were very lucky to find ourselves in Athens – the capital of Greece. Although the weather was summer like only for 2 days we were still having fun laughing, drinking and dancing together. Once in a year it is great meeting all bloggers in the same place at the same time. Bike tour After one day trip with Jenny to Marathon I took part in cycling tour around Athens. No surprises here: I have always considered bikes the best transportation in big cities and also the best way to actually see the city. So when a company Travelncycle invited me and Susan decided to join them we didn’t have a second thought! Security first! We were a jolly group! Twins from Slow Spirit Blog, Franziska from Coconut Sports, Susan from VibrantIreland and Roni from TravelGuru were all invited to join Yorgo and Villy – locals from Athens who wanted to show us their city. Each of us got a helmet, highly visible vest and a bike. Now, I tried quite a few bicycles during my travels. If you remember my adventure on the Aran Islands you will surely know how hard and uncomfortable it was. Thus, I was shocked how easy this bike tour was! Even if we biked up and down the bikes provided by TravelnCycle were brilliant! Guys from this company also published few really nice pictures taken throughout the day: click here to watch them all. Around the city We started from main city site: Acropolis. The weather was perfect for a bike ride: no sun was shining and it was chilly enough to ride a bike without sweating. We biked through the main districts including famous Plaka and Psirri, less known Gazi with revitalized post industrial buildings, Greek Parliment to watch changing of the guard, Public Gardens and epic stadium called Panathenaic Stadium. The Stadium was pretty impressive especially because a finish line of every classic Marathon run in Athens each year is right there. Here are few pictures taken along our itinerary.         Fish Market One of the most fascinating attractions seen and experienced with all 5 senses was a fish market. What a place! Guys from TravlnCycle did great job taking us there so we could – at least for a short moment – see how locals live and do their daily shopping. This place was smelly and very very loud. Every seller shouted in Greek things we didn’t understand but surely they tried to catch the attention of the buyers, and they were very successful in that! I’m not a big fan of seafood but I loved this place! For its vibrant and unpretentious character. It gave us a grip on where and how Athenians buy their food. Chill Out The tour took us more than 4 hours so eventually, after seeing all beautiful byzantine churches, ruins of Hadrian Library, Temple of Zeus and million other sites, we headed towards an exceptional place called: Kerameio Cafe. All of us were tired and needed some regeneration before going back to a hotel so Yorgo and Villy took us to a brilliant place. The music, interior design and food was exceptional. I felt warm and peaceful in a minute. We sat around a table and started trying traditional greek food and drinks.  The tour around Athens by bike was fantastic. I had a great time not only visiting the famous sites but also interacting with our guides and other bloggers. I can tell you this: biking IS the best way to visit the city and with guys from TravelnCycle you can be sure to be well taken care of! Highly recommended! Tbex 2014 from Null & Full on Vimeo.  

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Ladies and gentlemen! From now on I am officially a marathon runner! I made it. I completed the full distance of 42 km 195 meters. Running (sort of). And here is how I did it. Good Start As you well remember I completed a half – marathon last June. I continued the training throughout the summer and was pretty well prepared before the main run. On Sunday, October 12, I was at the starting line of the 15th Poznań Marathon. The excitement just before the start was all over the place. Over 7,000 runners were squeezed in one of the main streets of the city. Every participant had a number on his T-shirt and smile on his face. Some runners were already running well before the official beginning, warming up, laying down, drinking water, covering their body with a plastic bag (I was told it was a good way to warm up), listening to the music, discussing strategy with a stranger: it looked like a huge and very busy crowd. Finally, the race began. It took me almost 5 minutes to even cross a start line! Slowly, the street was less and less crowded and each of runners could find a space and rhythm. At 6th kilometer there was a very attractive thing to do: we all run across the football stadium! First 10 km were just fine. Until a well known to all runners guest came: Mr Crisis. Crisis It is still not clear to me what mistake I made. I suddenly realized how hard I was breathing, I couldn’t find my favorite pace and before 14th kilometer started I felt completely exhausted. The music on my mp3 didn’t do any good and I felt confused and angry. It was so bad I thought about quitting.  For next 10 kilometers! A real struggle. Eventually, I switched the music off and using my recent experience from camino I focused on the nearest kilometer. 6 minutes and 40 seconds, 1000 meters – this was a distance I was able to focus on. And it finally helped me to find my pace. Until another well known element of each long distance run occurred: pain. I’m Turning Into Pain… la, la, la. After crossing the important point of 21km, which is half of the marathon distance and before reaching another important milestone of 30 km my joints and muscles were hurting quite badly. I stopped once to get help from medic he was kind enough to spray my knees and kill the pain. For a while, at least. What a relief! Slowly, however, every inch of my body hurt. And it was even worse when I stopped! So the only way to deal with this pain was to continue the run!  By the time of half distance all runners were helping each other: positives messages were flying around. “You can do it! It’s not that far! The finish line is just around the corner.” And my favorite banner carried by the fans was saying: “And you could have chosen chess!“. Well, I could have but I didn’t. And so I was running. I had two amazing men with me: my husband and my dad. At some point their encouragement was the only thing I could stick to. We run this marathon together and this was a real team work. Nicely done, boys! Finish Line After over 5 hours I finally crossed a finish line. I was crying like a baby out of joy I finally made it! The mixture of exhaustion, proud, joy, excitement, surprise and satisfaction was fantastic! There is nothing in this world to be compared with the emotion of crossing a finish line of your first marathon run! The very same day I could hardly walk. The day after was similar. But after 48h I was feeling great again. So what am I going to do now is to run a marathon in 2015! You didn’t have any doubts, did you? Marathon. The Real One! A conclusion of my marathon story was epic: 10 days after I completed my first ever marathon I went to Greece. To a small village called Marathon, to be precise. It is situated about 40 km from Athens and it is a mythical place of a great battle between Greeks and Persians. I went to Marathon with an Association of  Licensed Tourist Guides kindly arranged by the Tbex team. This was a guided tour that took us first to the Marathon battle fields, then to the Marathon Museum and eventually to the beach and very tasty lunch. The weather was excellent and we had a lovely time. The Battle of Marathon was a historical event but it became later a theme for various myths and legends. Apart of its military importance and crucial role in defending Athens Marathon is especially known for a legend of Pheidippides. He is said to have run from Marathon to Athens in full military outfit to share the news about the Athenian victory. Just as all marathon runners I was aware of this exhausting run ended with death of the runner but it was new to me to know that he run in with full equipment which, at that time, was heavy and very uncomfortable. He run with his shield which was extremely heavy not to be seen from a distance and not to be considered a coward. In order to fulfill his duty he run in extreme heat with full armament. Although there are two legends mixed here and nothing is certain thinking about it is uplifting. Human bravery, dedication and determination is something that touches me deeply. And as a marathon runner I know more about than I used to. Jenny who was with me and who recently completed 4 marathons described the story in profound so if you are interested in hearing more about Battle for Marathon click here.  

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Tbex 2014 in Athens is coming and I’m obviously participating this amazing event. I thought this is a right moment to share some memories from Ireland here. See who I was at Tbex with! Here are some nice captures of these jolly fellows with links to their blogs. I think you might find it interesting! Just as we did! Spending few days in Ireland together was a vibrant and very energetic time. The ideas were just flying around! I would love to share some of the best moments of this trip. So here they are! This is Erin who runs a blog called Travel with Bender. She is Australian mum traveling around the world with all her family. We had eaten our first oyster together! Unforgettable. And in June 2014 she visited Poznan! I have never imagined this was possible but it happened for real! We met in my home city and it was so nice to refresh our memories! Vera from Finding the Universe was sitting next to me in a bus. We met later in Poznan too, having a lovely lazy walk around my Home City. This is Sarah. She is French and so her blog is in French too. Charming girl with curly hair! We both got soaked at our segway tour so we have unforgettable memories of drying our clothes in a hotel. And here is Nick. American guy and adrenaline junky in one. We shared our Killary Adventure. The Big Swing was fun, wasn’t it? He runs a travel blog Nick’s Travel Bug. Here is Lanora from Writing Travel. Her speciality is photography so she was hanging around with her camera watching everything very carefully to get a perfect capture. Amazing photos! Who else? Oh, yes, Corey. Our Irish guru, although not Irish. Rather American with Polish roots. But his blog is focused on Ireland so he felt like at home. His blog is a winner of Best Blog Diaspora 2013. Congratulations and I hope to see you soon! Whose turn is now? Another Aussie in our company. Meet Brendon from Nerd Travels. Hs is on his journey for a long time so being a backpacker in everyday travel (how does this sound?) he was impressed with excellent quality hotels we had been staying at. Johnny is both: chef and traveler. He runs a blog Vagabundus. We had a lovely adventure at Killary Adventure park. Plus he was always sharing some interesting tips on food and kitchen. Best spot at the Irish cottage was taken in a second! And last but not least two German fellows: both running blogs in German so visit their blogs if you speak the language. Carina from the Pink Compass  and Robin from Weltreisejunkies. We met later with Robin in Berlin at ITB Travel Fair in March 2014. The world is really small!    

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One of the reasons why I travel is meeting people. The locals, preferably, but also other travelers. My recent trip to Ireland mixed both and I consider this experience a perfect one. I’m starting to tell you the story from a meeting in Zetland Country House Hotel with an Irish fiddler. No jokes here: I really met an Irish girl who played the violin. Wonderfully. Try to imagine a day full of activities, places visited, people you have been talked to, and your feeling of the total exhaustion at the end of the day. This is what we had been doing for the whole day with a bunch of bloggers met at the Tbex conference who got invited to one of post conference trip: Wild West Atlantic Coast. We crossed Ireland from the east to the west and went to one of the unspoiled areas at the Atlantic Coast: counties of Mayo and Connemara. After a very busy day we got amazingly warm welcome from the owners of the Zetland hotel: when we entered the hotel the fireplace was warm, the armchairs looked cosy and the traditional Irish music was a fabulous background so we all could feel well. The owner was waiting for us with the local whiskey (this is not a spelling error: Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey are distinguished in spelling; whisky is the usual spelling in Britain and whiskey in the U.S.) called the Irish Fiddler. I have never tasted whiskey before and I started well, I dare say. We tasted two varieties of whiskey and with the fresh oysters it tasted really special. I think the particularity of this experience laid in a very pleasant combination of warm, cordiality, music and taste. The more senses are engaged the better we remember. For me this was one of the long lasting experience because of that. Later that evening, when we got back from a dinner I met Bernadette- the fiddler- and Alan- the owner’s son. We were sitting in a bar until late, chatting about music, family traditions, the local customs and some of our travels. There was no rush, no running, no ‘being late’ feeling. Just sitting there, having our whiskey and cider, talking, laughing and thinking “Gosh, this is amazing, and will not happen again. Ever.” The next day rainy and foggy weather was waiting for us. Despite the poor weather the surrounding of the hotel is marvelous. And so it is the near bay. When I got down all fireplaces were already warm. I met Martina- the hotel manager- who told me the story of turf used as a heating fuel. The turf is collected all over Ireland and it comes in handy little pieces. Normally, after the turf is collected it dries for couple of weeks before it is used in a fireplace. This year, however, which was extremely warm and scanty rainfall the turf was dried in 2 weeks. It fires in a second- when properly dried- and gives nice warm. We had a lazy breakfast in a beautiful dining room with view over the garden and the bay. We had a short but very interesting conversation about the Irish funeral customs with our Irish guide. She said that in Connemara and Galway where she comes from people are still very attached to keeping the death person at home for a while to say a proper goodbye. Neighbors, friends and family members come to pay their respect. The funeral is just after that, at the local graveyard where the whole local history is immortalized. Because of warm, tasty food and cordiality of the owners nobody was interested in leaving, really. Cosiness of this place is outstanding. I really wish to get back to Zetland some day. I would love to see it in a beautiful weather, eating breakfast in the garden and watching the bay. Next episode of this story is here.  

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My first TBEX conference was a thrilling experience. I hope it will turn into a long lasting relationship with the community of bloggers from all over the world. As for now I can tell you a few things that I most appreciate from these couple of days spent in Ireland and why I think this was amazing experience. The Power Of The Community Although my blog will be one year old very soon my contacts with blogger fellows were limited to the e-version only. I knew some names, some interesting blogs, some sites I regularly visit and some nice chats over Twitter. BUT I have not met any of them in person. Thanks to TBEX conference it has changed. When I arrived to Dublin and saw the hall in Double Tree Hilton hotel packed with people I was shocked to discover how big the community is. Suddenly, hundreds of people got their faces behind their Internet names and we started to get known each other in a very traditional way: over coffee or drink, sharing our passions and worries. As far as I’m concerned, although we are all individualists focused on our travels very much, the sense of belonging to the group is still important. In order to retain a healthy balance we need each other to share a common experience and not to feel completely isolated. Having a certainty that there is someone who understands you is a huge thing. The Joy Shared Multiplies This was amazing to see that the passion towards travel is shared by so many and it manifests itself in so many ways! Each of us travel and each of us do it differently. Isn’t it great? It is a good example of how shared characteristics keeps its individual and personal character. Although each of us has their own disappointments, failures or embarrassing stories we all agree that traveling is very joyful experience. The Feeling Of Being Taken Care Of The hospitality of Irish hosts was outstanding. It was not only the marvelous organization of the event or generous snacks at the coffee brakes but most of all their engagement in making sure that we’re all fine and happy. During the post conference trips (Wild West Atlantic) I was overwhelmed with the care and attention of people responsible for our time spent there. Starting with the driver Tommas and our guide Therese (Failte Ireland), through all hosts: Radisson Blu , Zetland Country House Hotel, Cashel House, traditional Irish food suppliers: Gleeson’s Cafe in Roscommon, Portfinn Lodge& Fjord Restaurant, Ard Bia in Galway, Twelve Hotel, Mulranny Park Hotel, Grainne Uaile Pub, tradition keepers from Cnoc Suain (traditional Irish cottage, music, dancing and cooking), ending up with our entertainers: Great Western Greenway, John (Segway Adventures), guys from Walking West, and Killary Adventure. And photographer Shean O Mannin. No Matter Who You Are The community is large enough to mirror the general composition of the global society. So at the conference you could meet singles, couples, families- both siblings and married couples with kids, and people with grey hair. Thanks to such a variety we could feel more attached to the reality. If that was only a group of young independent people in their 30s it would be much less so. Meeting people who have been traveling for last 25 years, who have been working for newspapers, travel agencies, publishing houses, chain hotels is a great resource. My Best Thing About Tbex For me: meeting John Minihan in person was the best about Tbex. It all comes from love to the literature and my total delight with Samuel Beckett plays. I feel privileged I could meet John who was not only the famous author’s photographer but was actually a friend of Beckett. Hie story was fascinating and a short conversation after the interview was amazing. I got back home, unpacked my suitcase, made a laundry and now I’ll do my best to bring you through the whole Tbex experience as I saw it. I hope you’ll like it and, who knows, maybe we’ll meet at the next Tbex? All published posts from Ireland are here: The Irish Fiddler: read a story of Irish girl Bernadette Soaked story in Galway: the segway ride at al. Outdoor Activities: for adventurous people only Best Irish Museum (even though little one)  

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