Who doesn’t like contests? I just read about a contest where you can win a free domain name and hosting package for a full year. To enter you need to have blogged for at least 3 months, you can’t own your own domain name or hosting and you have to write a review of What I Say, the blog that launched this terrific contest. Make sure to read more about this at Free Domain Name & Blog Hosting. And hurry up if you want to participate because I think it ends today.

What I Say is run by Andreana, known as Dré, a Multimedia Arts student in her 20s who just like me loves the smell of rain, afternoon movie marathons and going to the beach. The blog has a nice design with interesting, personal and up to date content. Recent blog posts include a video of her sweet dog Booboos, a Technorati Love campaign, and the sad news of Heath Ledger’s death (I actually started crying when I read about it on the net, I will miss him). Apart from this, you can check out Andreana’s biography, favorites, wish list, photsnaps, and goodies such as articles and fictional stories.   

So, why do I deserve to win?

I love blogging and have been updating Blissful Travel since April 2007. While writing for print and online magazines requires a specific tone, blogging allows me to write freer and I can share more personal things as well. I plan to keep Blissful Travel for a long long time (probably my whole life) and will do my best to share good travel tips, travel news and personal travel experiences with readers. So, it’s far from a temporary project.

Having another web host would give me more freedom and opportunities in terms of blog design and paid advertising. The last couple of months I’ve been contacted by different companies that were interested in banners, ads or paid links. But since I have a Wordpress.com blog that doesn’t allow paid advertising, I had to turn them down. I wish I had my own domain, so I could work with sponsors, help them reach out to more consumers, and perhaps also join sites as Pay Per Post and ReviewMe. After all, I think most bloggers wish they could earn money on their blogging.  

I do get by and freelance writing is definitely one of my dream jobs; I wouldn’t want to work with anything else right now. But I don’t get a regular monthly pay check and freelancing can be an unstable occupation sometimes. Some months I earn more, sometimes less. Having a free domain name / blog hosting would really be helpful to me.  

Also, I recently started learning more HTML and would love to practice my skills somewhere. And what would be a better place than on my own permanent home online?   

I got a bit carried away, so I’ll stop here.

Anyway, I wish all participating bloggers good luck and thank Andreana for a great, fun contest!

Roofs © Claudia Meyer, St Germain en laye, France

Brooklyn Bridge © Piotr Bizior

Chicago Skyline © Nathan Witt

Calgary, Alberta © P. Widling

Sydney Rendez-vous © Phuong Tran

NYC

Manhattan © Thomas Debray

Downtown Atlanta © Lars Sundström

Detroit Skyline © Donavan McFadden

Melbourne Skyline

Denver Skyline © Benjamin Earwicker

Seattle Night Skyline © Scott Snyder

Hong Kong © Dieter Vander Velpen

Philadelphia Skyline

Toronto Skyline

New York City

In February, Cambridge Beaches in Bermuda offers the special romance month “Come to Your Senses” in cooperation with legendary relationship expert Dr. Pepper Schwartz. During one unique Valentines Day celebration and three weekends of fun interactive workshops he will help couples improve their relationships and have a more fulfilling sex life by using their five senses. An Ocean Spa with couple treatment rooms, private white sand beaches and a beautiful view of the Atlantic definitely can’t go wrong.

For more information about Cambridge Beaches and Dr. Schwartz classes, visit Five Ways to Improve Your Relationship.

The prestigious Maybourne Hotel Group members Claridge’s and The Berkeley start out the new year with their exclusive Suite Heaven offer. When staying in a Knightsbridge Suite at The Berkeley or one of the Superior Junior Suites, you can enjoy a complimentary breakfast each morning of your stay (from £400 per night). Alternatively, book one of Claridge’s Deluxe Junior Suites or a Mayfair Suite (from £480 per night including English breakfast.)

For more information about the offer, visit Suite Heaven.

Check this out. How to wash your laptop shows why you should never leave your laptop with important files in the garden when your kids are around…. unless you have a Ruff PC of course. Then it’s no problem.    

The Travel Blog Carnival by Travel Rants received a lot of great submissions this week. 

Barbara Ann Weibel at The Hole In The Donut blog has already shared her favourites at Best Rides On This Week’s Travel Carnival. Apart from writing about some of the blog posts, Barbara also submitted her own My Experience In One Of The World’s Most Dangerous Countries… for consideration. I have to say this is one of my preferred submissions. It’s an enjoyable read on Zimbabwe, the political situation in the country, and Barbara’s trip to the Victoria Falls, followed by some amazing pictures. Not to be missed.

My second choice, Worldreviewer experts by Karen Brian at the Europe A La Carte Blog, is a must read for all travellers. Worldreviewer is a new site where you can write destination reviews, upload images, and comment and rate on experiences. Apparently this travel website aims to be “the ultimate travel planning tool.” I had a look at the site and found lots of good tips, particularly in the skiing category.

Price conscious travellers will probably like Price of Transportation (POT) Vacation Budget Rule at foXnoMad. The POT rule helps you save money since you decide your day budget depending on how much your flight cost.

Last, I have to recommend Top 25 Most Beautiful Castles in the World at International Listings… even though each place isn’t a castle per se. Their blog post with stunning pictures takes you from the famous Windsor Castle in England and Château de Versailles at the outskirts of Paris to impressing Middle East creations, Himeji Castle in Japan, a handful of North American castles including Chapultepec in Mexico, and ends with San Felipe Castle in Cartagena, Colombia. They clearly show that luxury castles are not only located in Europe, but in the whole world.

I hope you enjoy my picks. If you wish to contribute to next week’s blog carnival, read the instructions at Promote your Blog and Join our Carnival.

If you’re a blogger on the go, keeeping some useful applications on your USB drive can be a smart choice.  

“Whether you’re providing support or just trying to make a strange computer feel more familiar, having a collection of portable applications is very useful.”                - Jessica Hupp

Read the rest of Jessica Hupp’s article Top 50 Apps That Fit on a USB Drive at the Virtual Hosting Blog.

Live band at Chambre Neuf

The nightlife in the French ski resort Chamonix will satisfy most budgets and personalities.

1. South Bar - For the music.

2. Chambre Neuf - The most popular afterski place in Chamonix

3. MBC - The first Micro Brewery & Restaurant in the Mont Blanc region.

4. Soul Food - Bar offering terrific drinks in a relaxed atmosphere, the music is a cool mix of soul, funk, reggae and hip hop.

5. Tigre Tigre - Cocktail bar/restaurant serving Indian food.

6. The Jekyll - Irish Pub

For more info about Chamonix, read Inside track to Chamonix in the Guardian.

France Guide has this new contest where you can win a week-long hotel stay on Martinique if you vote for one of the stories at Color me Martinique. I definitely wouldn’t mind spending 7 nights at Sofitel Bakoua, apparently the island’s most luxurious hotel. I’m not a U.S. citizen though so I can’t vote, but they asked me to join the contest a while ago. The task was to write about the funniest or most exciting travel experience. Nothing has beaten our day at Cedar Point, America’s roller coast, so that was an easy choice.

Two of my favourites are Getting Lost on the Appalachian Trail and Christmas 1987, both of them are really funny and well-written. 

I wish all bloggers good luck and I hope the winners get a fabulous week on Martinique. I’m sure they will!  

Imagine waking up to a beach like this every morning.

A dear friend of mine says you either hate or love the opera. After perusing High Culture on a Low Budget by Olivia Giovetti, it’s clearly that she loves it. The closest I’ve ever come to an opera experience is through movies, the latest Woody Allen’s Match Point. I’m pretty sure I would love it though and Olivia’s Paris: Opera National de Paris, Prague: Prague Opera, and Moscow: The Bolshoi Opera definitely pique my curiosity.

I first heard about High Culture on a Low Budget through Europe A La Carte Blog’s Guest interview with Olivia and couldn’t resist checking it out. This savvy, informative blog is a must for anyone into the world of art, music and dance. Olivia has written about, among other things, ballet in Amsterdam, Portuguese art, Liverpool’s Tate Museum, St John’s Smith Square (apparently one of the best concert venues in the British capital), poetry readings in Barcelona, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Royal College of Music, the oldest and biggest music school in Scandinavia.

Previous posts include Vienna: Haus der Musik, my all time favourite Zurich: Tonhalle Orchester, Paris: Vive la Revolution des Musees!, Paris: Opera Garnier (and Beyond), Budapest: Budapest State Opera, and the most recent Zagreb: Strossmayer’s Old Masters Gallery, Aberdeen: The Scottish Ballet and Genova: Musei di Strada Nuova.

Before booking that weekend trip to Vienna, Prague, Paris, St Petersburg or any other European city, make sure to head over to High Culture on a Low Budget for up-to-date tips from an insider’s point of view. Who doesn’t want to know where to go for the best deals on exhibitions, museums, opera, theatre and classical concerts?