Gourmantic recently celebrated its second anniversary, and with nearly 400 articles under its belt, it’s time for a little navel-gazing. The purpose is not to ascertain how much weight has been gained from delectable food and drink experiences but to review the progress and reminisce about good times in travel writing.
My 7 Links is an initiative started by Tripbase designed to dig through the archives and select 7 posts from pre-set categories. Gourmantic was kindly nominated by Julia and Barry from Turkey’s for Life.
Most Beautiful Travel Article
We’re fortunate to have seen many beautiful places around the world but none has captured the mind, the spirit and the imagination as the island of Bora Bora in Tahiti. After our Tahitian wedding ceremony in Moorea, the stay in the luxurious Le Meridien Bora Bora was as close as we had come to paradise. This article is a visual celebration of the beauty of this French Polynesian island.
Bora Bora, Tahiti
Most Popular Travel Article
If you’ve ever questioned whether romance is dead in modern times, the popularity of the Real Letters to Juliet proves otherwise. Many of our readers ponder if they can leave messages to Juliet’s secretary at Casa di Giulietta in Verona and whether they will be answered. This article has also generated several emails where readers were desperate to know if the movie, Letters to Juliet, was in any way factual.
Juliet’s House, Verona
Most Controversial Travel Article
The Ugly Side of Venice shook the travel blogosphere and Twitterverse at the time of publishing. This article pens the angry emotions I felt as I alighted from the vaporetto near Piazza San Marco and saw massive advertising billboards covering the historic buildings.
Venice, Italy
Most Helpful Travel Article
Where to Eat in Paris: Restaurant and Bistro Guide was Mr Gourmantic’s debut article, a thoroughly researched and experience-based guide which he had been collating from his various travels to Paris. The guide is comprehensive and divided by arrondissements and is one of our most popular articles.
Paris Bistro, France
Surprisingly Successful Travel Article
Looking for Brigitte Bardot in St-Tropez is part of Le Tour de France road trip we took last century with no GPS, digital cameras or mobile phones and one fold out map of the whole of France. Brigitte Bardot may no longer be a sex kitten but a surprising number of people often look for her in our article.
St-Tropez, France
Travel Article that Didn’t Get Attention it Deserved
Souk el Nahasin in Aleppo is the coppersmiths market in this ancient metropolis in Syria where an old craft is still practiced. The article was written in a style inspired by watching the video footage taken at the time. Some of the photographs have a metallic look and feel designed to transport the reader back in time.
Souk el Nahasin, Aleppo, Syria
Most Proud of Travel Article
There are several articles on Gourmantic that have extended my writing abilities and played with different styles, yet many fall into the food and drink categories. Tasting the Mediterranean was my submission to the Gran Tourismo travel writing competition in the travel and food category which ultimately won me first prize. The style was my first foray into more poetic writing on Gourmantic and the story relates – in a flashback – my culinary coming of age at the hands of a young boy.
Sea urchins from the Mediterranean, Safra, Lebanon
Nominations for the “My 7 Links” project are Trains on the Brain, Immersed in the World, Rambling Tart and Food Lover’s Odyssey.
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What are your favourite Gourmantic articles? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Thank you for the nomination, Corinne! Great selection. Clicking on #2 and 5 now. 🙂
Thanks Nicole, I look forward to reading yours 🙂
Congratulations on your My7Links. We loved doing ours – but of course, we’ve thought of many more articles we could have included. Going to have a look at your Aleppo one now. 🙂
Julia
There’s always more than 7, isn’t there… 🙂
Awesome links Corinne, I was here for a few of them, but dying to read the one about Bardot and the Tour de France – what an inspiring trip idea!
The Bardot story was fun to write, and I’m so pleased you’ve been part of this journey 🙂
Corinne – Thank you so much for the nomination. This is going to be a lot of fun looking back and choosing articles for each category. I Love your choices! I must admit that I missed your Tour de France series last year while I was hiding in the Dordorgne with little-to-no internet connection. Gotta get over to that post, and the others, now!
Has it been a year since the Dordogne trip? How time flies…
It does fly, doesn’t it. By the way, some of my favorite Gourmantic articles include:
“Five Hours in Paris” (the post you wrote for me right before that trip to Dordogne)
“How to Look Like a Tourist in Paris in 5 Easy Steps” (I still laugh when I think of it)
Of course, the one with all the eye candy, “Champagne Jayne: Glamour on the Go Champagne Experience (I just now had to go back and take another look at it.)
Oooh… your choices are fab! It was a pleasure to write “Five Hours in Paris” for you. It’s av ery popular one which surprises me that many people do have 5 hours in Paris!! The tourist one was my number one for some time, as for the eye candy, you can come back any time and take another look at it… as I do 🙂
Thank you so much for the nomination, Corinne! I will get to work on this as soon as I’m settled in. 🙂
Take your time, Krista – no hurry 🙂
[…] little looking back here at Food Lover’s Odyssey. The special occasion? Well, Corinne from Gourmantic and Nicole from Immersed in the World nominated me to join Tripbase’s My 7 Links […]