Top Traveling with Sweeney blog posts
It was very nice to be nominated by Linda of Islandmomma for the My 7 Links project initiated by Tripbase. I expected that I’d be able to do my part very quickly. It sounded easy just to pick seven Traveling With Sweeney blog posts appropriate for each of the assigned categories and share any lessons learned. But I soon found that you can be easily distracted when looking back through your old posts. Seeing them with a fresher eye, you can’t help thinking about what you’d do differently. I’m pleased that I have learned so much, while I also recognize how much further I’d like to go to improve my work and evolve my blog. One of the most important things I’ve learned over the past several months is that my fellow travel bloggers are a great source of support and knowledge.
Here are the categories and my choices. I hope you’ll enjoy them!
Most Beautiful – Beauty and the Snowy Beast
I was happy that others saw as much beauty in these photos of Central Park in the snow as I did.
Most Popular – Rue with a View
This post was about a stay in a Paris Latin Quarter apartment in early December, 2010. It seemed to resonate with a lot of people who love Paris, especially those who enjoy it during the holidays and when the snow falls! The traffic kept coming to this page well beyond its initial promotion.
Most Controversial – To Cruise or Not to Cruise
Everybody’s got an opinion and there were many people who felt very strongly on both sides of this issue. There were good comments pro, con and in between.
Most Helpful – Hop On, Then Hop Off
For my own site, I haven’t been writing travel tips (I have written a few as guest posts). Rather, the narrative has been aimed at sharing my experiences to inspire others to travel or consider new destinations. Before I really got serious about Traveling with Sweeney and was still focused on another travel-related website that I owned, I wrote a few posts just to get started. This one, although it didn’t include detailed travel tip information, was well-received as a sensible recommendation about hop-on hop-off buses when visiting a new city. I took a chance by making it public, and was pleased with the positive feedback.
Most Surprising Success – Blarney Lips
It was St. Patrick’s Day and I just wanted to say “Sláinte” (“To your health”) to everyone. I took the opportunity to do so in my submission to a weekly travel photo series hosted by Budget Travelers Sandbox. It really generated a surprising amount of traffic to the site over the next several days. It was the right post to capture the spirit of the day.
Deserved More Attention – Traveling for a Cause
I’ve actually been very grateful for the attention that my best posts have gotten. However, I would have liked to see this one get even more attention than it did since it relates to a cause that is near to my heart — efforts to bring awareness to Multiple Sclerosis and to fund research for a cure.
Most Proud Of – A Different Kind of Road Trip
This is another one of those very early posts that didn’t get much exposure. I don’t think it’s my best writing and I was very new at formatting, but I’m proud of it because I felt that it was a tribute to my mom and dad and originated from deeply-felt emotions. I was glad I had a forum to shine a little light on my parents. One of the wonderful things about owning a blog is the total control over the content you choose to feature.
Now here are my nominations to participate in My 7 Links!
Thanks for the nomination Cathy. Working on my post right now. It does make you think doesn’t it.
You’re welcome. Leigh. Yes, always good to reflect once in a while about our work.
Thanks for nominating me Cathy! I look forward to taking part in this too. 🙂
My pleasure — I enjoyed reading your 7 links!
Great list of posts and I’ve done my part to help Traveling for a Cause get more attention as it’s a great post. Thanks so much for the nomination.
Very much appreciate your retweet of that post!
Love the photo of Central Park!
Thanks, Stephanie – I had so many of Central Park from those two days, it was hard to pick just a few.
I honestly loved “A different kind of road trip” really made my eyes tear because it was so heartfelt.
Thank you, Grace. That really makes my day that you were touched by the article.
Great photo of Central Park!
Thanks! 🙂
Love that shot of Central Park. And of course, I love Paris. Fabulous list.
Thanks very much! NYC, Paris … 2 of my favorite places!
What kind of camera do you use? Amazing shots.
Thanks for that nice compliment! I’m almost ashamed to say that I just use a basic Canon point and shoot. I’ve actually been trying to decide on moving step up in cameras. Good to know I’m doing OK with this one.
Enjoyed looking over your list. You always include such amazing pictures! Thank you for the invitation, I’m working on my list right now 🙂
Thanks, Debbie – Looking forward to seeing your 7 Links post!
To Cruise or Not to Cruise was one of my favorites, as were the snowy central park pictures.
Thanks, Caanan. Good choices ;-), I think!
Wasn’t it a fun project? When I looked at that wonderful Paris photo I thought it was NYC in the snow. It’s a great shot!
Thanks. Yes, it was fun to do this. I think we should do it again!
Nice list Cathy and I have to say, with the heat currently in Tokyo it was great to see so much snow 🙂
Thanks, Todd – glad I could help with the snow photos!
I always follow your blog posts. Very interesting and have nice photos too. Glad to renew acquaintances with a lot of them here.
Thanks, Marlys — always appreciate your support!
Love your Central Park and Ireland photos! I think that snow makes everything beautiful, it just is annoying when it all turns to ice and the city can’t handle it, which happens in Seattle and Florence, but maybe not NYC?
Thanks, Annie. Snow can be very beautiful! Not so much when it turns slushy, but I guess that’s the price to pay 🙂 !
I agree with your most beautiful post: Central Park and all the snow. Wow! I also think it is great that your most controversial post deals with cruising. That topic certainly does ignite some passionate responses. 🙂
Thanks, Carrie! I was kind of surprised by how strongly some people feel about the cruising topic. I really liked hearing about everyone’s experiences.