The Day We Broke the Trophy at the Travel Bloggers Conference!

Back from Corsica, I have great news to share: we won the We Are Travel Trophy at the Travel Bloggers Conference!

Indeed, as you read in the title, we won... and broke it!

I'll tell you the whole story, from our return from Mexico, to the evening we went on stage to receive the trophy... Hold on, I have plenty of anecdotes to share!

Nothing is ever certain when you embark on the blogging path. You start with passion, continue driven by habits, the desire to share, and especially by the support of your community of readers.

This support is shown to us every day. By reading us, posting comments, liking a Facebook post, sending us little messages for our wedding anniversary... Thank you!

And in early May, we received a wonderful mark of recognition: the Trophy from the Travel Bloggers Conference!

Before we decided to change our sabbatical year project > to return to Europe and participate in the Travel Bloggers Conference, we hesitated a lot. But the desire to think about the future (with our future big project in a few years... which remains Top Secret!) and the wish to repeat the Conference experience pushed us to change our plans.

After 6 months in Latin America, we set course for Corsica: Ajaccio and the Travel Bloggers Conference, here we are!

We are flying tomorrow evening to leave Yucatan and this country we have fallen madly in love with. I know that I will see my family, friends, and fellow bloggers again. And yet, I lack enthusiasm. Leaving makes me nostalgic:

my last horchata, my last tortilla, my last tuna carpaccio, my last sunset...

But on this warm afternoon, I receive an unexpected message: we are finalists for the Trophy from the Travel Bloggers Conference! Emotional rollercoaster: nostalgia is gone, it's time for euphoria! But this only lasts a short while:

Our plane is waiting for us. Time seems to stretch. A first flight from Mérida to Cancun. Waiting. A second flight to Milan. Re-waiting. Finally, a last short hop to the flat country. Brussels, here we come.

What a wonderful notion is the relativity of time! Like a real elastic band, it stretches to shorten later. It runs and flies. We move from friend to friend, from family to family, and from surprise to surprise.

No one expected to see us again so soon. Beautiful reunions, filled with tears, wide-eyed looks, a traumatized guinea pig, beers, and Belgian fries!

And in the middle of all this, we had to prepare our presentation for the Trophy!

Back to the airport! As if we had left it yesterday...

We arrive in Corsica with butterflies in our stomach! Excitement is in the air: we start to see familiar faces and meet new ones (like Marie-Julie Gagnon from Taxi-Brousse or Vanessa and Arnaud from Around the World at 80 cm...).

I realize then that the surprise return we had planned for our loved ones has far exceeded our expectations. To keep the secret about our trip to Europe, we had to wear the guise of >. And today's discovery: travel bloggers love to play guessing games! Speculations about the > are running wild...

Our arrival at the Ajaccio Congress Palace did not go unnoticed... Whistles and applause: the mystery blog is finally revealed to everyone. I really didn't expect such a welcome!

The first day of the Conference, filled with activities to discover Corsica, passed at an incredible speed (I'll tell you more about our beautiful archaeological and gastronomic discovery in a future article!). A great opportunity to meet bloggers we only knew from > (great group with Lucie from Voyage et Vagabondages, Nathalie from Voyageurs Sans Frontières, Souroure from Flying Down Town and Violaine from Vio'Vadrouille).

This morning of the famous Day D, the day of our presentation in front of 300 people, the atmosphere is electric.

We go on stage a few minutes before the conferences start and, oh surprise, my prayers must have been heard: nothing works!

The technician is pulling his hair out, bloggers are moving from one computer to another trying in vain to find a solution. But after half an hour, the decision is made: the presentation is postponed to tomorrow.

What I thought was a blessing (yay, no presentation!) turns into a trap.

Here we are. Last >, as the Conference ends tonight. We can't afford a mistake... But we are taking that right anyway! Once again, nothing works! Fortunately, the solution is found quickly: this time it's the right one, let the music play!

The presentations are made in alphabetical order. On today's menu, we have 5 travel blogs to enjoy, served on the plate of the Congress Palace: Against the Grain (Audrey and Nico), Bom Dia Portugal (Audrey), I Chat (Céline), New World (Benoit, who came without Fabienne) and... A Bag on My Back! With a name like that, it's no surprise we were the last to go!

Watching each presentation is both a pleasure and a torment: they follow one another yet are so different. The first emphasize their values (>, ecology...), the second on humor and clichés, the third on video, the fourth on passion and sharing... and then... And then there was us!

What a challenge it is to close such an event! We decided to bet on humor and present our blog dynamically and authentically.

The gala evening: here we are! Bloggers and professionals all gathered to close this second conference together. I even took the chance to wear a long dress (after 6 months of travel, there are little pleasures one shouldn't refuse!).

Finally, the time for speeches and the trophy presentation arrives. A tense moment. The > fly in all directions trying to draw attention to the improvised stage on the terrace of the Dolce Vita hotel.

Tensions were released when > was called to receive the first prize. The emotion peaked, and I only realized once on stage that not only did we win the Trophy, but we also received from Liligo a voucher for 2 plane tickets to a distant island of our choice:

But the story doesn't end there!

Going up on stage on a little cloud, reality catches up with us when we step down from the podium. François, eager to find solid ground, leans forward and... what was bound to happen, happens: the glass part of the Trophy, not fixed to its wooden base, slips and shatters on the floor!

I curse François with all my being and anxiously await Xavier's reaction... which doesn't take long: after a moment of pause, he breaks into a huge laugh, shared with everyone present. Everyone relaxes and laughs, us first, at our misfortune.

Long live self-deprecation!

And thank you, Xavier for your sense of humor!

As promised, here's the video of our experience at the We Are Travel Trophy. Clément (Out of Borders) kindly sent us the recording of our presentation... and much more.

The video is in 3 parts: the presentation, the Trophy presentation... and the blunder!

Honestly, participating in the Trophy, I never thought I would make it this far. This is not false modesty. There are so many passionate blogs and bloggers, and so much variety in the blogosphere: some will focus more on photography, video, articles, or social networks, others will be travel diaries, reporting, humor, adventure...

The truth is, it's impossible!

We received the Trophy, but that does not mean we have >! Already, only a few blogs participated (bloggers not registered at the Conference could not enter the Trophy). Moreover, even if we came out on top, it was only by a few points.

So I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the other nominated bloggers for the quality of their work, their infectious passion, and fair play. Thank you Aude, Nico, Audrey, Céline, Benoit (and Fabienne!).

When I learned that we were selected by the jury, I cried. Out of joy, emotion, surprise. At its launch, no one believed in this small blog project (and I, first of all!), born from a simple desire to share my travel thoughts.

Receiving this recognition touched me immensely. Especially given the jury behind this organization (and particularly Corinne from Vie Nomade, whose work I greatly appreciate). Each jury member had a specific aspect to assess:

The organization of the Travel Bloggers Conference in general, and the Trophy in particular, was an enormous task led by Xavier Berthier and his team. Thank you again to them!

We saw beautiful evolutions compared to the previous edition (already in the number of participants from the bloggers and the tourism professionals). We hope this trend continues!

Some points remain improvable (as Benoit writes very well in his summary of the Conference ), especially regarding the Trophy. The idea of determining a qualified jury to assess the blogs is a great idea. However, the votes via Twitter to decide the winning blog is subject to controversy... Moreover, the last day was quite tense, not only because of the voting system but also because these votes were open all day long (long and painful wait!).

Thanks again to Xavier and all his team for the organization, to Liligo for its participation in the Trophy, and Lauren Kim-Minn for her beautiful photos from the Conference!