get to know me
Get to Know Me!
Hello fellow travel buffs! My name is Kristine, and I am obsessed with the wonders of the world!
A brief history of my Early Travels
I grew up in the amazing city of New York. I don’t recall my first flight, however, I was told at 9 months old, I screamed the entire way. Haha… good thing babies are generally cute!
Before she married, my Mom was a flight attendant for Pan Am. Because of this, I blame her for giving me the travel bug. In high school, she insisted we travel to India, Nepal, Russia, China, and Japan. It was official. I was hooked.
Throughout my 20’s, all I cared about was travel. A year was successful based only on the places I got to go. Later on, I moved to Belgium as a cultural exchange student. When my year was up, I came home feeling lost and out of place. A regular 9 to 5 job was a death sentence. Finally, I found a way to travel working as a tour guide all over the United States.
Where it Started to go Wrong
After six years on the road full time, I was starting to feel a bit lonely. Subsequently, I had a group from Alaska. Not only a state I had never been to, but also the last frontier! Who could resist? Time for a new adventure! With this in mind, I filled my car with my worldly possessions and drove to Anchorage.
I got a job working in events and my “real” career officially began. In Alaska, everyone you meet will introduce themselves with their name and the number of winters they had survived. This is a badge of honor because a lot of people get island fever and don’t stay. I didn’t understand what that meant until it happened to me. After two years, things started to become repetitive and road began to whisper it’s time to move on- this time to California.
Completely off Track
I got another events job and this is where my international travels seriously slowed down. Unlike Alaska, I worked super long crazy hours. The relentless schedule meant few vacations. I took short local trips, went home for the holidays, or recovered from an annual illness where I would be deathly ill for two weeks from all the stress. What was I thinking?!
After five years, burnt out and exhausted, I moved back to New York. The career continued and my travels continued to lag. My life was filled with other people’s priorities and I forgot my dreams.
I learned the hard way losing yourself is a terrible price to pay. Someone at a party asked me what my dreams were. I had no idea. That shocked me. So, in typical me fashion- I made a list. All the things I wanted so badly since I was a kid was what I still wanted today. (Do it. Seriously. You will never get what you want if you don’t know what you want!)
Back On Track
Those days are over.
I still work the same full-time job. However, what changed was taking full advantage of every minute outside of work to live an intentional life. As a result, my dream list is now my to do list, not some day but now.
Finally, like everyone, I eagerly await the end of the pandemic so I can get back to crossing items off my bucket list. Unquestionably, great adventures can happen even at home. Lucky for me, New York is full of international communities- so let’s see what we can find until the world opens up!
If you made it this far, thank you for reading! I hope we share many adventures. See you on the road!
Q & A
Answers about Lady In Red Travels
I keep my site updated as best I can with careful research and personal experience. My opinions are completely candid and truthful. I may not always get everything right- facts are facts while opinions are just one person’s thoughts. Undoubtedly, part of the joy of travel is opening up to new ideas and experiences. By doing this, I have often found myself reconsidering what I believe to be true.
Life is complicated. Because of this, many things can be true and contradictory at the same time. It took me a long time to realize this. Once I did, life became a lot more interesting. I invite RESPECTFUL discussion and very much appreciate the time anyone takes to read and comment on my blog.
My focus is to have a genuine experience of another culture. What are the local foods? When shopping, what products are unique to this place? What attractions will give you a sense of history? How can you get a deeper understanding of the local people? What makes this place special? What is here that you can’t find anywhere else?
I give a very brief general summary of the places I travel to. I link sources I think are interesting and limit my comments to the tips and tricks I learned from my trips. It is not my goal to recreate travel guides available all over the internet.
For example, I might tell you how to cut the line at the Louvre and my opinion on what to see while you are there, but will link other sources with specific expertise and more in-depth knowledge on the museum.
I am not interested in boring cookie cutter stuff found all over the world. However, this is an example of how two truths can exist and be contradictory.
In general, I get frustrated when a place is full of imported global brands, especially some of the American brands. I don’t want to travel across the world to go somewhere that is on every other corner back at home. Yet, at times, it can be a source of comfort. I admit having McDonald’s more than once around the world. I was too tired, too wet, too cold or just on stress overload. Comfort food that was easy and familiar gave me my strength back to continue delving into new uncharted territory. I don’t judge those moments (who doesn’t love Micky D fries- especially if you can get the old recipe ones!) but I don’t let them be the backbone of my travels either.
It takes a lot of courage to stretch your comfort zone. Sometimes you need a break and that’s okay.
I tend to travel either in the mid-range or the luxury market and usually some kind of combo of the two. I do not have endless funds (sadly lotto has not been good to me) so I try to balance getting the best experiences I can without going broke.
As I have gotten older, comfort has become more important to me. I want a decent bed, a warm shower, and clean room. Safety is also paramount, especially when traveling alone. My time is the most precious thing above all else so being centrally located and taking the most direct routes is worth the extra cost to me.
I look for the best of the best and that is found in all price ranges. Prestige just for its own sake does not impress me. I truly believe the most expensive thing is not always the best. Warm human connection and increased understanding of another is by far the best of the best.
This is obviously a very new blog. I know it will be successful given enough time. I am open to offers to work together. Please feel free to reach out to me at kristine@ladyinredtravels.com