Byteful Travel Carnival 1 – Inaugural Edition


Today, I’m excited to present to you some really compelling articles (including some really amazing stories) from all over the planet.

Below is the inaugural edition of the Byteful Travel blog carnival which spans a variety of travel topics. And I’m happy to report that the majority of the articles below include some great photography to compliment the text (some of which is absolutely hilarious!).

As I said last month, blog carnivals are one of the best ways to discover new quality content in a vast array of different topics. For this first carnival, I was impressed by all of the articles, but if you’re in a hurry and only have time to read a few, I thought “13 Silly Signs Guaranteed to Make You Smile” (which is really hilarious), “20,000 kilometres by thumb: A hitchhiker’s lap around Australia” (which is pretty extraordinary), and “Hawaii Vacation with Parents and Children – The Waikoloa Petroglyph Field” were especially enjoyable entries.

Ready? Here we go…

Destinations

William Wallace presents:
Modern Day London Icon The Millennium Bridge posted at London Is Cool

Zhu presents:
Ushuaia, The End Of The World posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying,

“Traveling to the Southernmost city in the world is pretty exciting. Sure, it’s a silly symbol, but it’s fun to sit by the seaside and imagine that Antarctica is right there, barely 1,000 kilometers away. To know that Canada is 13,000 km north. To reach the end of the road, literally.”

Photography

Katie Sorene presents:
13 Silly Signs Guaranteed to Make You Smile posted at Travel Blog – Tripbase

Travel Poetry

Contrecoup presents:
Sojourn posted at Life observed from the Edge (the site has since been taken down), saying,

“Not so much a tale about a destination, but rather a poem exploring some of the more abstract urges that drive me to continue on down the road.”

Travel Tips

Andy Hayes presents:
Inspired by the View posted at Sharing Travel Experiences, saying,

“Sometimes a little height is all you need…”

Travel Stories

Jordy Clements presents:
Tents for Haiti – an Omaha relief effort posted at Omaha.net – Local Writing from the Heartland

Emily Gerson presents:
An Encounter With Cross-Country Vagabond Sean Robinson posted at Maiden Voyage

Andrea Nicole presents:
20,000 kilometres by thumb: A hitchhiker’s lap around Australia posted at InspiringTravellers.com

Jennifer Miner presents:
Hawaii Vacation Parents Children – Waikoloa Petroglyph Field posted at The Vacation Gals, saying,

“A simple hike in Hawaii with my parents and children became incredibly meaningful to me. I hope you like this post.”

Austin Morgan presents:
Interview with an American Working at a Preschool in Norway posted at Foreigners Finances, saying,

“Interview with an American woman who moved away from everything she ever knew in Central Illinois to start a new life as a preschool teacher in Norway.”

Vicki Potts presents:
Fez, Morocco – how I got the travel bug posted at redheadedtravels, saying,

“This goes back 22 years to when I first caught the travel bug and progressed from holidays to travelling.”

Iain Manley presents:
Travel and Nostalgia posted at Old World Wandering: A Travelogue, saying,

“Travel and Nostalgia is about the difference between how we experience life and how we remember it, something I think travel helps to highlight.”

Want to grow your audience?

You too can be a part of Byteful Travel carnival! If you’re a writer, and you’ve written something that relates to travel in some way, I’d highly encourage you to submit a piece you’re proud of.

Why? Because blog carnivals are a fantastic way to get the word out about what you’re publishing on the ‘net. I know this from firsthand experience because blog carnivals have been incredibly helpful in spreading the word about this site.

To request an article you wrote to be considered for inclusion next time, please submit your blog post (just one please, and one that provides real value and is not spam) to the next edition of the Byteful Travel carnival using the Byteful Travel carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found in the blog carnival index. (And if you’d like to host the carnival itself, as I have done here, please contact me via the contact page.)

A big thanks to everyone who submitted! Without you, this carnival never would have happened. And if you submitted an article but it wasn’t accepted, it probably was under 300 words or it wasn’t about travel. If you have any questions about how to submit an article or why your article wasn’t accepted, please let me know.

Looking forward to seeing more of your travel articles in the next carnival!



Carnival of Cities for 2010 May 19


If you don’t already know what a Blog Carnival is, you need to know. (And you’ll be glad you found out!)

Why?

Well, blog carnivals are one of the best ways to discover new quality writers that exist in a niche you enjoy.

Here’s how the magic works: writers submit their post to a carnival on BlogCarnival.com and the website emails the article link to the carnival host to assist in organizing the host’s carnival. Then, the blog carnival host will preview all of the articles, decide which are appropriate to the carnival’s topic (yes, even they get spam), and publish a collection of the best articles submitted.

It’s all free, and since every carnival is moderated by a human being (unlike automated search engines such as Google) the best articles usually come to the foreground, so it’s an awesome way to discover fascinating new writers and articles. Often, a blog carnival will travel from blog to blog, and today Byteful Travel hosts the Carnival of Cities.

What’s special about Carnival of Cities?

Carnival of Cities has been one of my favorite carnivals for a while now because it consistently includes fascinating articles on a topic I love: travel. The carnival occurs bi-weekly, and it’s dedicated to highlighting any aspect of any specific city. No joke: people often say that reading through it feels like a trip around the world.

I’ve been submitting to this carnival off and on for about two years, and it’s an honor to finally host it. Thanks to Sheila Scarborough, maintainer of this blog carnival, for giving me the go ahead.

So in summary, today we’re going to wander all around North America, stop by Europe, and then finish at the mysterious island nation of Sri Lanka.

Ready? Here we go…

The Americas

Glenwood Springs, CO, USA – The Vacation Gals present:
Summer Fun at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park at The Vacation Gals

Manistee, MI, USA – Dominique King presents:
Manistee North Pierhead Lighthouse awaits fate at Midwest Guest

Luray, VA, USA – Sheila Scarborough presents:
Good food in the Shenandoah: Brookside Restaurant at Family Travel Guide

Chicago, WI, USA – Minnemom presents:
What to Do with Kids in Chicago at Travels with Children by minnemom

San Diego, CA, USA – Shelly Rivoli presents:
Cheap & Free San Diego: Balboa Park with Kids at Travels with Baby

Jacksonville, FL, USA – Alex Garmendia presents:
The Real Guide to Jacksonville, Florida at The Good Life

Montréal, Canada – Boomergirl presents:
“…those nights in Montréal” at Roadstories

Toronto, Canada – Zhu presents:
Toronto By Night at Correr Es Mi Destino

Ushuaia, Argentina – Bob Berwyn presents:
Beagle beer and friendly huskies in Ushuaia at Summit County Citizens Voice

Quito, Ecuador – foXnoMad presents:
Climbing Pichincha Volcano On The Teleferico In Quito, Ecuador at foXnoMad

Europe

London, England, UK – Dee Andrews presents:
Trooping the Colour in London at Travel and Travails

Valencia, Spain – Jack Norell presents:
Surviving las Fallas in Valencia at Eyeflare Travel Articles and Tips

Asia

Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka – Brian Spencer presents:
Postcards from the Road: Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka at Perceptive Travel Blog

Want to participate?

If you want, you too can be a part of the awesomeness that is Carnival of Cities. And really, you’d be silly not to consider this. For any writer, blog carnivals are a fantastic way to get the word out about what you’re publishing on the net. I know, because blog carnivals have been incredibly helpful in spreading the word about this site.

To request an article you wrote to be considered for inclusion next time, please submit your blog post (just one, and one that provides real value and is not spam) to the next edition of the Carnival of Cities using the Carnival of Cities submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index.

And if you’d like to host the carnival itself, as I have done here, please contact the carnival’s maintainer at the following email address: Sheila “at” sheilascarborough “dot” com. (But please be patient. She gets a substantial amount of email.)

Also, Byteful Travel is hosting its own travel-related blog carnival in June. If you’re curious, checkout the Byteful Travel Carnival page.

And until next time, happy reading!