Someone Finds Me Inspiring!

Over the course of a recent two week visit from family, I was delighted to find that blogger and author Marian Allen gave me a Very Inspiring Blogger Award for my recent travels to South Africa to pursue my dreams.

As I would say back in England, I'm dead chuffed!

Here's what Marian had to say about me: I "met" Fiona through a Yahoo groups, then met her in person at Fandom Fest in Louisville. She just realized a long-time dream and visited Africa to work with non-human primates. What's more inspiring than living your dream, as I do every day I write?

Aw shucks!

Now there are rules to this award. I have to display the nice little log you see above and link back to the person who nominated me. I have to state seven facts about myself and nominate seven other bloggers.

Obviously my facts will be mostly travel-related so here goes:

1. After high school, I spent three months living and working on the Brunnsteinhutte in Mittenwald, Germany.
2. The first family holiday I took was to Great Yarmouth when I was about 8. My sisters and I all got mumps.
3. Among my many remaining travel dreams: to ride the Trans-Siberian railroad.
4. I actually dislike most travel shows on TV but I absolutely adore watching and reading Michael Palin and Anthony Bourdain.
5. Among my many incredible travel memories: watching the sunrise from the top of Mt Fuji.
6. Travel tip that flies against what most people advise: try the street food.
7. Oddest museum ever visited: A 2 room sex museum behind a temple in Shimoda, Japan. One room was filled with penises, ranging from a few mm to several meters in height!

And now for seven other inspiring bloggers:

1. Lori Rice - Fake Food Free. Lori was one of the founding members of the Kentucky Food Bloggers, and, like me, she shares a passion for both food and travel. Although she has since moved to California, she continues to inspire with her love of healthy, wholesome food.
2. Rona Roberts - Savoring Kentucky. Another local foodie, Rona combines food, health, and issues of social justice on her blog. Check it out - you might be surprised what you learn.
3. Greg Rodgers - A Vagabonding Life. Have never met Greg but my husband and he used to take kung fu classes together. They met up last year and hubby told me about his blog. This guy lives my dream - backpacking from place to place and writing about it.
4. Sherry Ott - Ott's World. Another traveler living the dream, Sherry quit her cubicle bound life and has never looked back.
5. Lori Widmer - Words on the Page. I've covered food and travel; now for my other passion: writing. Veteran writer Lori has been a constant source of inspiration to me as she hares her knowledge and tips for improving your writing career.
6. Michelle Wojciechowski - Wojo's World. Need a daily dose of humor? Check out Wojo.
7. Nomadic Matt. Matt is another travel blogger I've been following for some time. If you are dreaming of busting out into the big wide world, everything you need to realise the dream can be found on his site.

Feeling inspired yet? I hope so!