Chris Davidson, of Haggis Hostels , put me in touch with Jamie Mullen, Pilgrim's manager, who was mo

It never ceases to amaze me how motivated travel industry folks can be when it comes to organizing events. Our business is to connect people to places and to the people who live in those places. So I guess it’s no wonder we jump at the chance to meet other travel professionals: we are curious by trade.
I was introduced to Kash at TBEX Athens , by a friend who knew I lived in Edinburgh. Kash is possibly one of the busiest (and most sought after) travel bloggers I have ever met – he is constantly marathon travel shops producing new work for his website and his clients. He was one of the masterminds behind #Blogmanay , and he’s recently created a project called marathon travel shops Must Love Festivals that focuses on the lesser-known marathon travel shops festivals throughout Europe. Needless to say, he’s very well-connected. Especially in Edinburgh.
But when I sent him a message on Facebook to see if he knew of any travel folks who might be interested in getting together, I expected a polite reply with maybe a couple of suggestions. Clearly I had not yet learned the way of the travel blogger.
Chris Davidson, of Haggis Hostels , put me in touch with Jamie Mullen, Pilgrim’s manager, who was more than happy to host us. Pilgrim has a “wanderer” theme, and the bar is made of vintage suitcases. Perfect for a travel-related event! Jamie even provided us with cheesy marathon travel shops tortilla chips, sausages, sandwiches and other munchies. But the best surprise was three bottles of celebratory champagne. Celebratory because Haggis Hostel just launched their brand new concierge app. And anyway who needs a reason to drink champagne? Besides that, we received 25% off drinks with super cool VIP cards, and had several tables to ourselves.
I rambled for a couple minutes (it may have made it to video…) and then suddenly everyone was double-fisting: beer in one hand, champagne in the other. Julie and Scott of Zurika , who have organized a few travel tweet-ups, congratulated me on a successful evening and said they were happy to pass the torch. “But I’m leaving next week,” I said, feeling the familiar sadness at the idea of my impending departure. It’s too bad I have started to become a part of this travel community just as I finish my time in Edinburgh. But there is talk of Travel Massive coming to Edinburgh marathon travel shops (currently looking for volunteers – if you’re interested, please get in touch ), and there’s always the possibility that I will come back, or at least come to visit.
Filed Under: Community , Europe , Events Tagged With: ediburgh travel bloggers , edinburgh , edinburgh marathon travel shops scotland , edinburgh travel , edinburgh travel community , edinburgh tweetup , edintrav , edintravtweetup , networking event , pilgrim bar , scotland marathon travel shops , travel bloggers , travel marathon travel shops blogging meetup , travel industry , travel meetup , travel networking , tweetup About Hayley Swinson
Hayley is the founder marathon travel shops and a contributing editor of Savvy Girl Travel. Originally from the USA, she has just completed her MSc in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh, with a focus on fiction writing. Follow her on twitter: marathon travel shops @hayleyswinson
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