Italy!!

I am usually one for rugged travel, absolutely obsessed with traveling in Africa, South America, Southeast Asia and so on. When me and Paul decided to go to Italy, I was excited, but not as much as I usually am. I was so wrong. We started in Rome, and I was quickly taken away by the scale of that city. The monuments throughout the city made me feel so small because of their shear size and beauty. The art in the Vatican was breathtaking, images that I had seen before but never really experienced till I had seen them in life.

We spent New Years there, and wow, the Italians know how to party. Take a look at the broken glass on the streets. We walked around and stood next to a statue of a Roman god and watched the fireworks right next to him. It was surreal. I found a few circus performers, and they let me use their fire staff, so I gave a fire show with all these Italians chanting "kristi". I was in a circus group in Sydney and learned how to twirl fire. I didn't travel back with my stick, and really have no place in Atlanta to play with fire, so I haven't had a chance to twirl in years. I did pretty well, I think Paul was impressed. I will always remember twirling fire on the streets of Rome on the first day of this year!

We went on to Venice, and I got to shop a bit! I am a sucker for buying work from local artist, so in Venice I was going crazy. I found a mask maker I liked and got her to custom make a mask for me. I got to take some pictures of her working on my mask. I just love it!

Update on my love life!

I am engaged! I am getting married May 24th 2008 to my boyfriend of about a year, Paul. We met working at REI in Atlanta, and quickly became great friends. We share a love for the outdoors, trivia, Disney movies, and especially travel. It's great cause not only do I have someone great to spend the rest of my life with, but I have an adventure buddy! We get to mountain bike, climb and travel to odd places together.

Mark Twain said “I have found out there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them”. So Paul and I had to take a trip together.

I usually travel alone and really prefer that. I have only found a few people in the world who like I like to travel with. Over New Years we went to Italy and London. We grew so close, and had so much fun. I knew we were meant to spend our lives together from that trip.

Africa

One of the trips that has changed my life forever was my trip last year to Kenya and Tanzania.

Africa was beyond all expectations! I had some experiences I will always remember! I was offered a goat and a few cows for my hand in marriage in a Masai village! I didn't think that it was such a great idea for a few reasons, one being the men get many wives, and the other being they believe their women should be circumcised (they perform this surgery in their cow dung huts)! I had some lions outside my tent one night! Camping in the Serengeti is quite scary. Me and my friend Tanja spent some time with the villagers in Zanzibar and learned the "pole pole" way of life (Swahili for slowly slowly). Overall I will always remember this trip! As you all know, I think my pictures tell of my trip a bit better then words, so I have kept this e-mail short. So please have a look at my site, http://www.kristiodom.com/.











I absolutely love the big cats. I was in the above vehicle shooting this lion, so I was shooting down from the open car. He choose to use the shade of our car and just chill out! The lion reacted to the sound of my camera by looking at me, and showing me his teeth. I was shaking for ages after this shot, the lion was so overwhelming, that my hands just kept on trembling. I wasn't able to steady my hands for a while to take any more pictures!









Laughing with the Maasai! It is great how laughter breaks all language barriers. We didn't understand a word of each others, but yet it is so easy to share smiles!

Update on Travel

Hello all!
It has been ages since I have put up a blog! Almost 2 years! So there is a lot to talk about.

I started working for Sterling Brownell last May, a local Virtuoso Travel Agency. I worked in the office basically learning the industry until I made a big switch last December. Since then I have been running my own Travel Consulting Business from home with Sterling as my host. I am very pleased to be with one of the best agencies in the States! Not only do I get to learn from the best, but my company has great connections with hotels, cruise lines, tour companies all throughout the world, which means I have a lot to offer my clients. They are often treated like VIPs with added amenities and free upgrades. Please have a look at Sterling Brownell's website, www.sterlingbrownell.com

I have learned and experienced more then I could have ever imagined through travel, so it gives me great pleasure to help others get out and see the world! If you ever need any advice, feel free to e-mail me at kristi@sterlingtvl.com.