Travel Tuesday: Camaraderie & Community

I've never been good with farewells or endings. When the last episode of Downton Abbey aired this past spring, I'm not gonna lie - a few tears were shed. Knowing that today is the last day of Travel Tuesday as it has existed over the last few years brings such a mix of emotions.

I've been involved with Travel Tuesday for almost two years, having discovered it soon after I first joined the travel blogging world. My Top 5 Before 35 was my first participation post for a "Travel Bucket List" theme in July 2014. I loved the camaraderie and community within the link-up and quickly found myself regularly interacting with many other travel bloggers, many of which I still consider friends.

So far I've only managed to cross one destination off my "5 Before 35" bucket
list - GREECE!
Pictured: Santorini, 2015

While there were other travel link-ups vying for my attention, Travel Tuesday was always my first choice. I loved the rotation of co-hosts around Bonnie's anchor host position. With every new crop of hosts, I'd pick one and focus the majority of my attention and comments on them in the hope that one day I'd be nominated as a co-host myself ('fess up, I'm sure I wasn't the only one who did this!). But by late last year, I was only participating intermittently due to the demands of a new job and the impending birth of Baby Gypsy. By the time I was approached in April by both Diana and Swags, I couldn't believe it; my time had come, and I hadn't even been stalking their blogs with comments fishing for a nomination! Despite my busy schedule, I gladly accepted the nomination and looked forward to three months of travel-crazy hosting.

But my time as co-host is already coming to an end. With Bonnie's departure as anchor host and our search for a new anchor host proving unsuccessful, Diana, Rachel, and myself have realized that our "in real life" commitments at this time in our lives make it difficult for us to give the link-up the attention it needs.

I have so many wonderful memories tied up in Travel Tuesday. From meeting some incredible bloggers (check out my top fave peeps listed on the sidebar to the right under "Fellow Gypsies") to reading travel posts that ranged from hilarious to inspiring and everything in between, it's been an incredible ride.

It doesn't have to end with Travel Tuesday, though! Please check out the list of alternative travel link-ups below. You'll see some familiar faces and some new ones. It's a great way to continue the camaraderie of Travel Tuesday moving forward!

Alternative Travel Link-ups

#TravelTuesday | Hosted by Bumble Bee Mum every Tuesday.

Travel link up | Hosted by Emma, Jessi and Angie with one bonus rotating host, which goes live once a month on the first of the month.

Wanderful Wednesday | Hosted by Van, Marcella, Lauren and Isabel every Wednesday.

City Tripping | Hosted by Mummy Travels and Wander Mum every Tuesday (having a kid not required to join! :)

Weekend Wanderlust | Hosted by Chris & Heather, Justin & Lauren, Ashley, Macrae & Carolann, and Amanda & Brian every Friday.

You can find a more comprehensive list here.

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The Final Travel Tuesday

We are inviting all past participants and former co-hosts to join together for one last link-up today with a theme highlighting the best of Travel Tuesday! Share your favorite memories from the link-up or provide a personal montage of the blogger friends you've made through Travel Tuesday. Feel free to share up to five posts, whether yours or favorites from other bloggers, so that this last link-up features the best of what #TravelTuesdayprovided!

I'm excited to link up with all you wonderful people one last time this week for the best Travel Tuesday link-up yet!

An InLinkz Link-up