Category: Blogging

10 Questions For (1): Jennifer Knoepfle of Better Living through Travel

I would like to introduce a new 10 Questions for: category as a sort of variant of “My Interview with”, because:

  1. I’m always insatiable curious who is behind a certain blog or website. Their “About” page or category is one of the first I use to hit
  2. It is an excellent tool for community building in the Travel Bloggers scene (Don’t forget to visit the newly started Nerd’s Eye View Travel Blogger Forum | A New Travel Community. It has over 70 members by now! [Ed: It has since the post date replaced by the Ning Based TBex or Travel Blog eXchange)
  3. It is an excellent way of introducing new Travel related Bloggers on the block to my readers.

The questions are more or less modeled after my first (and thus far only) interview by Paul Johnson who was among the fellow Travel Bloggers who inspired me to go on with what I did here at Happy Hotelier. If you’re interested scroll down on my About page. The questions also cover more or less the main areas of focus of Happy Hotelier.

Thus far I have sent out only a handful of invitations, and the response was overwhelming. So the start is promising.

Here is the first edition:A new Blogger on the block who concentrates on sharing hotel and dinner tips

Jennifer Knoepfle

10 Questions for: Jennifer Knoepfle of Better Living through Travel

1) Who Are you?
My name is Jennifer Knoepfle, I am 31 and I live in Los Angeles, CA. Although I was born In Houston, TX, I have lived in California since I was ten and very much consider myself a Californian, much to my Mother’s chagrin. By day (and most nights) I work in the music business as the Director of Membership for a non-profit organization called ASCAP. I’m no travel writer by profession but certainly a loyal enthusiast, considering travel to be my most dedicated hobby.

2) What do you like about what you do?
Not surprisingly, the number one thing I love about what I do is the traveling. My job requires me to travel on a monthly basis so I am able to incorporate my passion into my everyday life.

3) What don’t You like about what you do?
I am really lucky, there really isn’t anything I don’t like about my job.

4) You’re a Blogger at Better Living through Travel, please tell us all about the blog and your aims with it.
I decided to start Better Living through Travel as a way of sharing my experiences with my friends and family. As they knew I dedicated a large portion of my life to seeking out the best hotels in any given place, they would come to me for advice and suggestions. The blog was a way for me to organize all my experiences in a way that could be accessed by other people. Lo and behold, once I started the blog, I quickly discovered that there were many people out there (not just my friends) that found my suggestions useful. I hope to use the blog as a way to share experiences and hopefully help people discover a hotel that might be really special to them. In my humble opinion, the cornerstone of any great vacation is a suburb hotel.

5) What are the 3 best destinations you’ve ever stayed to date and why?
1. El Calafate, Argentina:
El Calafate is home to some of the most spectacular glaciers in the world. I am so thrilled that I was able to see them in person, as they are disappearing and someday may no longer exist.

2. Gordes in Provence, France:
I spent two weeks driving around Provence last year and it was a incredibly memorable experience. The south of France has such an amazing feel, so different than the rest of the country. The people are great, the landscape is beautiful and the food is delicious.

3.Chianti, Italy:
Any place that you can start drinking wine at mid-day is okay in my book. I loved Tuscany for several reasons, but the biggest attraction for me is the Italian obsession with the preparation of great food! I’ve never eaten as well as I did in those two weeks. In fact, there are even dishes from that trip that I still crave all the time.

6) What are the 3 best accommodations you’ve ever stayed to date and why?
1. The Home Hotel – Buenos Aires, Argentina:
I just did a post about why I love this place so much. Instead of boring you with the answer twice, you can read about it here: Home is Where My Heart is

2. The Hotel Healdsburg- Healdsburg, CA:
This hotel just has a really great vibe. The rooms are ridiculously comfortable, the beds are like marshmallows and the soaking tubs are enormous. The set-up and the decor is really inviting and relaxing and all the rooms are suites, so you really get great value for the price.

3. Borgo Argenina -Chianti, Italy:
Staying at Borgo Argenina is about as close as you can get to experiencing Tuscany in the same way as the locals do. The Innkeeper is a former fashion designer from Milan who restored an old Tuscan farmhouse into a beautiful Inn. The decor is very much in tune with the region and it feels like as if you were staying in a home rather than a hotel. The owner was more than happy to give us great suggestions on places to see and restaurants to eat. She was a great guide and I am certain my trip was a success largely due to her suggestions.

7) What are your 3 most memorable food experiences to date and why?
1. The Pappa e Pomodoro at Malbhorgetta in Chianti:
Quite simply, the best tomato soup I have ever had. I must have eaten it five times on my trip. You see, when I like something, I can be rather habitual about eating it.

2. The Rib Eye Steak at La Cabrera Norte in Buenos Aires, Argentina:
Argentina is a place for steak and this is among some of the finest, maybe even the best, I’ve ever had.

3. The Lentils w/ Sausage at Pura Vida in El Calafate, Argentina:
It’s been two years and I still think about this dish all the time. I’ve tried to make it at home but have never been able to duplicate this special combination of flavors. Pura Vida is a wonderful little hole where they specialize in soups and stews. It is also one of the few places that offers a great variety of vegetarian options.

8) What are your 3 worst destination/accommodation/food experiences to date and why?
Worst Accommodation:
Ojai Retreat in Ojai, California. I had never been to Ojai before and the retreat was recommended to me. It would probably be great for some people (yoga enthusiasts or people who loved absolute seclusion) but for me, it was the seclusion that scared the crap out of me. The house is isolated at the top of a hill, very dark with hardly anyone around. Also, there were giant spiders crawling everywhere!

Worst Destination:
Cancun, Mexico is like vacationing in the worst parts of Middle America. The city has become a total tourist trap and the majority of the restaurants are chains like Tony Romas, Chilis and Pizza Hut. It was very disappointing.

Worst dining Experience:
The First Class cabin of Continental Airlines. I was on a ten hour flight to Europe and I somehow managed to get the upgrade. I know it is airline food, but I thought that the food in First Class might actually taste good. I was soooo wrong, I guess airline food is just disgusting no matter what class you are in.

9) Can you offer the readers 3 tips about the city you are currently living in?
1. Rent a hybrid from Fox rentals if you come here. You will drive A LOT.
2. Take an architectural tour when you are here. Los Angeles is home to many fantastic buildings that are worth seeing.
3. In the summer, see a concert at The Hollywood Bowl. In the winter, see a concert at The Disney Concert Hall.

10) Any Question(s) you’d expected me to ask that you would like to answer?
Nope..these were great!

Great answers Jennifer. Thanks a lot and good luck with your blog! I love what I have seen from it. Promise me not to abandon it!

Interesting you mention the Home Hotel. I mentioned it earlier and it got mentioned recently in the New Cool Hotel Rooms book of The Cool Hunter. I made a note to self to check it out whenever my travels will bring me to BA.

Finally on a personal note: You would be a great Agent at Vibe Agent 🙂 (and no I don’t get paid whatever to plug them).

Last edited by GJE on May 5, 2010 at 10:16 pm

Chubby Hubby

El Bulli Starter

Clearing up and posting old drafts:
I came across Chubby Hubby a long time ago, wanted to feature it and then it landed on my back burner. The photo is one of his while he reviews El Bulli. Wow do I envy him:-)

This blog started as an experiment. Then it became an addiction.

In early 2005, I found myself on the steering committee for a Writers Festival. We wanted to both engage bloggers to help publicize our festival and feature some of the more popular ones on various panels. Because many of us were unfamiliar with the world of blogs, one of our fellow committee-members suggested that we start our own blogs, in order to get a better sense of what they were all about.

It wasn’t until much later did I realize that I was the only one who took the suggestion seriously and actually started one.

I’ve always loved food. I believe it comes from growing up in a family of foodies, who not only placed importance in what we were eating but in the act of eating together. As I grew up and moved out, the friends I made were also food-lovers. As was the woman I eventually married. My darling wife S is, in many ways, a much bigger foodie than I am. Not only does she love food, she knows a helluva lot about it. She also happens to work professionally as a food writer, editor, and consultant.

It was only natural then that the subject of my first (and only) blog was food. Through this blog, I try to share the joy of eating well and eating with people you love. I never imagined that Chubby Hubby would be as well-received or as well-read as it is. I am eternally grateful to readers for their comments and for returning day after day or week after week to read about what S and I have been up to in the kitchen, where we’ve been dining, or other inanities that I or my darlin’ wife S might feel like posting.

This was on my back burner almost a year. Now trying to go ahead with the food part of this Blog as well……

Real Travel

Cleaning up and publishing old stuff:

Real Travel logo

Real Travel is another community generated travel guide I discovered some time ago on the Internet. I checked out their part of The Netherlands to see that they have the usual disadvantage: Only a bit info about Amsterdam. Nothing else. I fear that they will not be able to compete against the big players in the field. Maybe an idea for Uptake to include them in their database.

The Breakfast Blog

Yummy Eggs

An interesting find:
The Breakfast Blog
in search of the best eggs in town

Why eggs?
“All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast” – John Gunther

This is a blog about breakfast. More specifically, it’s about my ongoing search for great eggs.

Rather than just annoy a close circle of friends with my views on who does the best benedict in town, or whose scrambles rule the roost, I’ve decided to share these views with anyone silly enough to listen (or read, in this case). I figure there’s at least a handful of breakfast nuts out there who, like me, will welcome some tips on where to find the best breakfast spots in town.

So, why eggs? Why not pancakes, or toast? Why not porridge? Because eggs, for me, are the best test of a good hot brekky. They’re quick to cook, easy to compare, widely available, and, in most cases, a pleasure to eat. Although eggs will be the focus, I won’t totally ignore non-egg subject matter, like muesli, fruit salad, and the like. No point alienating the health freaks. But who’s ever craved a nice-healthy-bowl-of-muesli the morning after a big night out?

My plan is to blog my way through breakfast at two levels. First, I’ll do reviews of breakfast venues – good and bad – and rate them according to the eggs, the extras (sides, seasonings, sauces), the coffee, the rest (other food), the help, the price, and the buzz (crowd, venue, atmosphere, etc). Second, I’ll dish out my own set of gongs for “best whatever”..

I’m not a breakfast man myself. Usually I confine myself to a cigarette and a cup of cappuccino. However occasionally I fancy a nice Egg Benedict. And the ones Breakfast Blog offers us are really yummy.

10 Expat Blogs about The Netherlands

Expat Blog Logo

Clearing up and posting old drafts:

Expat Blogs are a wonderful source of information about a destination through the eyes of a foreigner. Here are 10 of them relating to The Netherlands.

Through Expat Blogs, a community of expat bloggers that charts the various expats in various countries, I found some interesting foreigners blogging about The Netherlands.

  1. A Touch of Dutch, “I’m a happily married American woman and have been living/working in the Netherlands for 6 years. I’ve decided to finally put together a blog for family/friends and everyone to share what life’s like living/working halfway around the world.” And, dear readers this Blog is a Gem with tons of information!
  2. Doe Maar Gewoon English with a very Dutch Title:”The adventures and misadventures of living in the Netherlands. Thoughts on Dutch culture, food, the joys of the public transport system and life in general.”
  3. Sethy’s Blog, “We are both expat from Malaysia and France. This Personal blog aims to keep contacts with our family staying in Malaysia and France. Via this blog we are trying to compare/comment the different style/way of live of our three countries.”
  4. Suze abroad, Suzanne from Down Under has been musing away from 2003. I fully second her sometimes hilarious mutterings and especially her post about The Dutch Midwife Mafia, as we have been confronted ourselves by some grave errors in this area recently. It is not only the midwifes, but also the gynecologists who are really old fashioned here sometimes. In a way they dependent on the midwifes, so they keep their mouths shut and go with the (wrong) flow. Because of this anomaly in Dutch Health system Suze decided to go back to Australia for the child delivery and to live there. Suze had been living in Utrecht.
  5. Sara de Mul – Living in Dutchland is a British woman blogging about living in Amsterdam. Sara has some interesting facts on her Blog. Unfortunately she updates very in frequent, one explanation could be she is really into learning Dutch. Kudos for that, because the Brits I know are very hesitant about learning Dutch.
  6. From Arkansas to Amsterdam A good idea: Here all members of the family have their own section on the Blog.
  7. Orange Journey, “Orange is the color of the Dutch Royal Family. The lineage of the current dynasty — the House of Oranje-Nassau — dates back to Willem van Oranje (William of Orange). But while the color orange has royal roots in the Netherlands, today it symbolizes a broader pride in the country and in being Dutch. We (Mr. and Mrs. Awaara) moved here in June, 2007 and first lived in Oranjastraat. Here it starts our journey in this orange country.”
  8. In Search of Dutchland, “In Search of DutchLand is a blog that chronicles and romanticizes the adventures of a 26 year old Pilipino-American living in The Netherlands. It is a refuge that attempts to illustrate her waking up to a “Dutched” reality complete with personal observations of cultural idiosyncrasies, narcissistic ramblings, and lingering homesickness.”
  9. Gone Dutch, “Life and travels of an American expat living in Rotterdam.”
  10. Reasons Not to Blog. “American living in The Netherlands since 2004. Since then, reading too much, not writing enough, and pursuing sometimes disparate, sometimes desperate academic and personal goals.”

Will be followed (I hope)