We absolutely LOVE photography. So, the first moment we heard about the Explore the Elements photo-blogging competition we knew we had to enter. We've debated (and debated some more) and finally decided which photos to enter for which categories. This is tricky for photographers as most of our images are direct reflections of something we loved seeing and wanted to capture- so of course we love all of them! We hope that you love them as much as we do! Here are our entries for

Iceland: We loved you, and we plan to make a summer trip back to see more of your beautiful country in the future... but we (sometimes) hated your winter roads! There is a saying in Iceland that if you don't like the weather, to wait five minutes. It's quite often true, both in good and bad ways, but how the heck do you drive through it? If you pay attention to Icelandic news, you'd notice that they've been having quite the winter this year. And, of course in true Brinkmann f

I must confess that I have a bad habit. I like to check the weather frequently. Too frequently. I know, I know. That doesn't go with the whole "care free" attitude that we as frequent travelers should have. We're supposed to be all "go with the flow" right? Well, unless there is some "weather checker anonymous" group out there, I just don't "go with the flow" when it comes to weather. I like to be prepared as possible, and that's even more so the case when going to a country

We as people spend our whole lifetime, wanting to be happy. However, when a real opportunity presents itself, the bulk of us go to great lengths to deny ourselves this happiness. Why is it that most of us are so perplexed to believe that we cannot, should not, or should feel guilty for wanting a piece of happiness? Why is it so hard to true to ourselves, wants and dreams? My idea goes beyond the painful decision to order poutine instead of salad during a rigorous diet plan

Before traveling anywhere it's become tradition for us to make a music mix for the road. The rules are that the mix must be representative to that country's culture and where possible we use music from the same region. It's like our own little adventure sound track. We were pretty surprised given how big Iceland's music scene is, to find a good mix of Icelandic music online. Sure, there are reviews and You-Tube videos if you know what you're looking for, but finding a good co

Iceland. It's a land of ice. And snow. And wind. And rain. And sunshine. And horses that look like their hair has been better conditioned than my own... and yes, it's next off our bucket list. When we first started discussing the idea of heading to Iceland in late winter, our friends of course thought we were crazy. We live in Canada already, where a large majority of us ACT like we don't mind the cold (don't be a wimp!), but hibernate a lot in the winter months (eh, we can s

It's probably helpful that Spain is our favourite country in the world thus far (shhhh don't tell the others!), but Barcelona is and will always be our absolute favourite city. We've been there three times, and for a couple who doesn't like to see the same place twice- that's quite the feat. For our friends catching the travel bug, we always recommend Spain, and in particular Barcelona and the surrounding region (known as Catalonia) as their first dance with this Sangria-lovi

by: Gregory Brinkmann Whether it be a small business, run by eager family members with visions of grandeur or a corporation seeking to maximize their client experience, a critical part to any business function is the customer service symphony. This symphony composed by key management and performed by all the employees and devices available are a crucial part of any business venue. One bad employee "movement" or an "out of tune" device, can ruin the entire experience; the vibr

Rome. It's immense. It's intense. It's intriguing. It has a constant vibe you can only get from a city that has over 3,000 years of history behind it. So, what can you do if you're limited to just THREE short days in this amazing city? We've provided a breakdown below of what we'd recommend for each day. Instead of having a strict structured plan, keep these locations in your pocket and let Rome take you where it takes you. Some of our best experiences and finds in major citi

Amazingly Inspiring Time-Lapse Video by photographer/blogger Kien Lam. Check out his website at: http://kienlam.net/around-the-world! #inspiration #travel