About Jules & Verne

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Beijing, China

We started this blog in 2015, just before embarking on a 160-day round-the-world trip that took us from west to east, from mainland to islands through isthmi and peninsulas, from summer to winter and back to summer.

What was born as a tool to keep in touch with friends and family grew into a passion for writing and photography. When we came home and looked back, it was unmistakably clear for both of us that we wanted to continue. We swapped our tablets for computers, traded our smartphones for cameras, and continued to tell stories about our travels.

By then we were fortunate enough to have captivated a patient audience that to this day continues to guide us through the process of finding our voice and experimenting with photography. We seek beauty on every voyage we make, both inside and outside our home country Portugal. Half withdrawn and half extrovert, half introspective and half informative, out stories reflect our own distinct personalities.

We’re not professional travellers and have no desire to follow that path, so this blog will continue to be an amateur affair. As much as we enjoy travelling, there are many other things with captive seats in our hearts and minds, from history to science, from business to technology.

Jules and Verne are of course not our real names, but rather a tribute to one of our favourite writers from youth, whose books sent our minds travelling and wandering. Fernando Pessoa, arguably the greatest Portuguese contemporary poet, wrote under the cover of many different names, in order to experiment with different styles and personas. We humbly bring his inspiration to the internet age, allowing us to share different interests with different people.

We’ll leave you with the original ‘About Jules & Verne’, the one we wrote back in 2015, before our 160-day round-the-world-trip. It ended with a question that we hoped our trip would help us answer: What do we want to do next? We had no Eureka, but one thing is certain: Jules & Verne will continue to write here. The people we meet, the things we learn and the pleasure we take from this blog are immense.

Thank you,
Jules & Verne

Hi! Jules is my “travelling alter ego”. I’m the one with the pink shades in the picture. After many years working in consultancy I’ve learned a lot (wastewater treatment, private equity, renewable energy, life sciences, you name it…); I’ve traveled the world (as measured by the amount of miles in my precious frequent flyer card) and I’ve met a bunch of really amazing and talented people. But I’ve also reached a point in my life where I’m trying to figure out what I would like to do next. What will put a smile in my face every morning (cliché, I know…). Hopefully this trip will help with that. I’ll keep you posted!
And I’m “Verne”! Jules already hit the key of the overworked consultant that throws everything off to go backpacking, so I’ll try a different angle. My mom, who has a nick for difficult questions, asked why on earth do we want to go travelling around the world, given that we never stop whining about the amount of work travel we do. Indeed, it’s not something we always dreamed of doing. It’s something that followed the same though process of all our big decisions: one of us probably said “hey, what do you think about a round-the-world trip?” and the other one went “hum, that’s not a completely stupid idea”. From then onward, we analyzed the pros/cons, crystallized the idea and went about making it happen.
Along our journey we’ll make sure to return to this text and update you on what we expect to get out of it. Right now, one week before starting, the plan is to take it easy AND visit 20+ countries/write a blog/write a book/come up with a killer idea for a start-up. Hey, what’s the fun of starting small?

114 thoughts on “About Jules & Verne”

  1. @Jules & Verne
    Talking about amazing and really talented people, I have to say how proud I already feel for both of you! And yet the procession has hardly left the churchyard! I agree, there is little fun in starting small. We aim at the top, do the very best we can, and only then cross the fingers for them to acknowledge how brilliant our ideas really are. I wouldn’t dare to make any suggestion of what to do next … All best!
    P.

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  2. Hi Jules and Verne,
    What an exciting and thrilling project! I am sure you are enjoying this wonderful experience. I hope we can meet in Portugal after your round the world adventure to hear it directly from you (I shall practise my portuguese), it has been years now that we have not been there and we are longing for it!
    Joyeux tour du monde en 160 jours! 🙂
    Florence

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  3. @Verne,
    Mais ton français doit être parfait! As-tu oublié que tu l’as étudié pendant 4 ans à l’école?…

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    1. Thank you for reading and for your kind words! Writing these posts drives us to learn more about the places we visit and to have a straighter perspective on what we experience, both the good and the bad. I often go back to previous posts to remember things that would otherwise fade from memory, and to enjoy pictures that would otherwise be lost in some dusty hard-drive.

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  5. Hello, Jules and Verne! You have such a great blog, and I’m inspired to travel more just by reading your stories. Good luck on your future adventures, and I hope you get a chance to visit Philippines in the future.

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  7. Jules and Verne…going not to the “center of the earth” but around the earth. What a brilliant idea and bravo for just going and doing it. Many years ago my husband and I took a break from or lives in Canada, took our 2 year old and 4 year old and spent seven months travelling around Australia in a campervan. Friends said we were mad to go. But we went and had a trip of a lifetime. I look forward to learning more about your trip. Wonderful photos btw. And thanks for stopping by Horseaddict.

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    1. Hi Anne, thank you so much for your comment! When we left for this 5 months trip, a lot of our friends and family were also… reluctant (to put it nicely :)), but as you say, it was a trip of a lifetime! However, travelling with two toddlers has additional challenges for sure. Kudos for being so brave!

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  8. Hi to you both, thanks for liking my story. I love your philosophy what you’re doing here with your blog. Look forward to reading more about your travels.

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      1. It will be my great pleasure to advise and help you. There are several mines to visit (coal, metal, salt), castles to the west and stony nature to the east. Plenty to see and admire. You are already welcomed 🙂

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  14. Hello to you both! What a nice looking blog you have here. Thank you for taking an interest into my bike ride. It seems like there’s plenty to get through here, so I look forward to reading 🙂

    Cheers, Scott

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  16. Jules and Verne, thanks for following Under Western Skies. You’re good writers, which is what I admire most in blogs, although your photography is appealing, too. Your work stands out in the blogosphere. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.

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    1. Nice to meet you too Brad. Writing and photography are recent passions, and we have greatly improved on both accounts by interacting and learning with other bloggers. Thank you for reading, looking forward to see what’s new Under those Western Skies!

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      1. I have many posts to upload yet (in Word but not on here) as I’m about 11 months’ behind. We left Australia March 2014 and just returned to Italy a few week’s ago; and will be in Southern Italy for about 12 months.

        If you’re down near the toe, come and have an espresso or vino 😉

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    1. Indeed, we called the blog “Jules Verne Times Two” because we originally started it to write about a round-the-world trip we did in 160 days. It involved a lot of flying but regrettably no balloon rides like Jules Verne’s novel 🙂

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  20. Jules & Verne, very nice to learn about you and what a wonderful blog you have here. Thank you for following my blog, I will certainly take time to visit yours as well. 🙂

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    1. Thank you for reading, it’s a pleasure to follow your blog! Btw, I remember you mentioning you were having issues with missing comments: this comment was indeed lost on the spam folder, no idea why. Sorry about that!

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  24. Hey, Jules & Vern, I glad yo stopped by my site. I’m in Galveston TX just east of Houston at the Jamaica Beach RV Campground.

    If you are still in TX. need to check out another couple who are in Texas. They are Heath and Alyssa Padgett. They are young travelers and I’m sure they would love to interview you two. Check out their link.http://heathandalyssa.com/

    Keep up the great work of travels and I will follow your journey.

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  26. Thoroughly enjoyed your Texas Trilogy. Should work or whatever bring you back our way, rest assured there is MUCH MORE to discover – more towns, more lifestyles, more friendly Texans. And if you get out to West Texas you will see those cowboy hats.
    Best part of your entries is perspective on personal energies interacting.
    Thanks for stopping by StepsAndPauses and leading me here.
    Jazz in Austin

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  28. Wonderful blog! Two funny coincidences: my sister called me Jules Verne when I was younger because I loved to write (and her nickname for me was Jules), and my husband and I traveled around the world for our honeymoon almost 17 years ago (wow…that number seems impossible). Thanks for noticing Fun with Fungus. My own travels are rather local these days!

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    1. Hi there Jules, Verne here! 🙂 How was your honeymoon round-the-world trip? Was the route similar to ours, or completely different? Your ‘Fun with Fungus’ post reminded me of a morning we spent picking mushrooms in France, a few years ago. It was great fun, and the resulting mushroom soufflé was delicious!

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      1. We only had 7 weeks and spent most of our time traveling and mainly camping all over New Zealand (both North and South Islands) and Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Magnetic Island, Airlie Beach, Port Douglas, a sailing trip on the Barrier Reef, and the Red Center) and continued to Thailand and Germany (where we stayed with friends for the most part). A bit different, not quite as far-ranging, but still fun, and we got to travel a lot before our marriage, too.

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  29. Olá! I’m glad to read through your blog and to find out that you’re portuguese! I’m off to Asia and hopefully I’ll be sharing a lot of my own experiences. Keep on nice and safe journeys.I wish you all the best.

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  30. Hi! It was so nice to find your blog and read through the amazing experiences you had, both in Portugal and abroad. I write about Microadventures, but I must say the idea of a big round-the-world journey entices my wanderlust, and I loved reading through yours!
    All the best 🙂

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  33. Hi! Happy to have found your blog! I love the layout, the style the content…everything! I’ve read some of your posts and I can’t wait to read more! I’m aa travel lover too so I’m definitely looking forward to following you 🙂

    Lisa | http://www.fromdreamtoplan.net/

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  37. Hi ‘Jules and Verne’
    Just to let you know I have nominated you for the Bloggers Recognition Award. I am pleased to have come across your blog and have enjoyed reading your posts and seeing some wonderful photos. Have a look at my recent post for the rules/conditions regarding this award.
    https://borntotravel55.wordpress.com/2017/02/16/bloggers-recognition-award/
    I hope you accept the nomination and I look forward to seeing who you nominate. Congratulations and well done!
    Cheers, Mark

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    1. Thanks Mark, much appreciated! I’m afraid though we have no easy way of fulfilling the award rules, as we have a fairly rigid blog structure where each post is about a specific location – Verne

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  38. I’m so happy to find your blog, and wonder what took me so long to stumble upon your posts. Blogging teaches me that it is all about sharing inspirations with others — I was inspired by what other bloggers wrote about interesting places around the world, and when some people say my blog posts do exactly just that to them, I realized it’s all about passing on the inspirations. Getting out of one’s comfort zone to see the world, to meet people from different cultural backgrounds, to learn the history of places around the globe, is what I believe everyone should do. It helps us see things in a broader, and less judgmental, perspective. Keep writing and traveling guys!

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  42. Hi “Jules and Verne”. It is so great to meet you two. This is a great “about” page and your posting are filled with excitement. We are looking forward to tagging along with you and seeing the world through your eyes and words. This was a great photo of you both.

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      1. Thank you for your kind encouragement!! Yes, isn’t it true…. So many wonderful places here yet to explore. It seems every back road we take we see something new and meet someone of interest. Keep sharing cuz we are reading everything you put out!!!

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  44. Pingback: A Traveler In My Own Backyard – Trail to Peak: The Adventurous Path

  46. Very fun to read your posts and delight in your wonderful photos! We share in common so many travel destinations visited. Love the way you weave historical and factual information throughout. We’ll look forward to following your journeys…

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    1. Thank you for reading!

      We do indeed share a lot of travel destinations. I noticed you spent quite some time in South America: this is something we also want to do, 1 month was definitely not enough!

      – Verne

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