GUEST BLOG #1: Travelling with BREL
[Kristel] Two years ago I took my first (and, thus far, only) big trip: from Canada to Turkey. Having never been outside of North America I was excited, but also a tad apprehensive. And did I mention I was travelling alone? To say I was nervous would have been an understatement.
As it turned out, I didn’t need to be. Of all the amazing things I thought I’d come across in my travels… all the ruins and seas, mountains and mosques… the most amazing of all were none other than Brendan and Mel. By the time we met in Turkey, Brel were already seasoned writers, bloggers and travellers. They were on a year-long adventure and just being with them took away all my apprehensions and fears. The locals loved them and everywhere they went fun was sure to follow (and I made sure to tag along!). Their humour is quick and fantastic; their attitude is refreshing and inspiring; and they can take a case of Turkish road rage (so that’s why they keep baseball bats in their cars…) involving a guard with a gun and quickly turn it into a trip to the local pub, complete with borrowing the band’s tambourine, dancing up a storm and claiming a balloon as our mascot (what… is that not normal?). All this on the same day we became unexpected guests at a Turkish wedding. What can I say… Brendan and Mel are so good at weddings that weddings have a way of coming to them!
Because of all their travelling, and the fact Brendan used to be a travel guide and writer, Brel knew just as much about Turkey (and Africa and Belize and Spain and, well, pretty much the entire world) as our tour guide. Their confidence and free spirit brought me out of my shell and made for the best 17 days I have ever had in my entire life. I did things I never would have done if I had been left to my own devices… some of which I have told my mother about… others of which I have not 😉
Plus we share a love of bacon so, really, life-long bonds were bound to be made.
From playing the ukulele with a parrot on Brendan’s shoulder to singing songs in a hooka bar, only to be invited back to the owner’s home for a beer after we shut the place down, every moment of our trip became a memory I will carry with me for as long as I live. Just like the friendships I made. After all, Brendan and Mel are the type of people you need only spend a handful of days with to love for the rest of your life. They are the type of people who invite you to their wedding halfway across the country… and you actually go. Only to find out the wedding is being held in an art gallery… complete with salsa dancing, signature cocktails and a poutine bar. People… a poutine bar! If anyone knows how to plan a wedding it’s Brel! Having planned an outdoor venue, only to have Mother Nature disagree, their backup plan was so fantastic that I can’t even imagine what their first plan would have been. Their wedding was the classiest, yet relaxed and fun, wedding I have ever been to. From proposals to nuptials, honeymoons and, yes, second weddings Brendan and Mel definitely know how to go above and beyond to make any special occasion just as much about their guests as about them.
There is so much more I could tell you. The memories, the stories… the experiences. Instead, I want you to have your own Brel moments. Because if they win the Ultimate Job in Ireland (and perhaps the world)… you will. And they will be amazing and humorous, sincere and life-changing. Brendan and Mel will make their trip of a lifetime feel like your trip of a lifetime.
Because that’s what they did for me.
I know this is the perfect job for them. More importantly, I know they are the perfect people for the job. The only people for the job. How can I be so sure? Because… this was, after all, my idea.
Tags: Travel
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