Meet Trailblazer Katie Francis

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Francis.

Katie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My love of travel began in France, a place where every girl dreams of falling in love, a place that has romance written all over it. Maybe the first city that comes to your mind is Paris, the “City of Love”, but my journey started about three hours south of Paris in the spa town of Vichy. In my junior year of undergrad, I said: “See ya USA, Bonjour France!” In Vichy, I studied International Business and French at University Blaise-Pascal. Originally, I signed up for a semester, but I had such a great time I decided to stay for two. During those ten months, I traveled throughout Europe and this where the itch started. I’ve been scratching it ever since.

Has it been a smooth road?
Managing a full-time job on top of maintaining a travel website isn’t easy. I don’t know who these “Pinterest” people are that make it look easy. It is not. After work, all I want to do is pop in a frozen pizza and lay on the couch while scrolling through Netflix for 20 minutes before I finally land on a show. However, I know I have stories to share and that is what keeps me motivated. I want to make people laugh and know travel can be for anyone. So, the Great British Baking Show can wait an hour while I grind out a post or edit some photos.

For those just starting your journey be open to learning, practice patience (something I am still working on), and laugh at yourself.

We’d love to hear more about Kitty to City Travel Website.
You can find me persuading friends to pack their travel bags, day-dreaming about my next adventure, or Googling cheap flights.

I’ve always wanted to share my stories and I finally got the courage to start a blog. My blog is intended for anyone who wants to experience the world, laugh at my travel wanderings, learn more about international travel, and get tips and ideas for your next adventure.

Anytime I go on a trip, I think of myself as Indiana Jones (theme song included). What I love about Indy is that he isn’t a superhero. He falls down, gets hurt, and gets back up. You don’t need superpowers to travel the world. I surely don’t have any. In one of the movies, I don’t remember which one, Indy states: “If you want to be a good archaeologist, you gotta get out of the library.” Same goes for traveling. If you want to really experience another culture, you have to get out of your comfort zone. This is what I aim to do.

When I am not traveling, I am a Sales Learning Consultant. I create and facilitate Sales training to develop employees’ skills and assist in their professional growth.

Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
As a kid, I loved exploring and being in nature. Summers were spent at camp; sleeping in old A-frame tents and telling ghost stories next to the fire. I’ve always been a storyteller, I remember trying to tell the scariest story to see who sleep with their lantern on all night. Then, being the jerk that I am, I would wander over to their tent and make spooky sounds. Funny to me at the time, not so funny when the camp counselor gets a knock on their tent flap and I get latrine duty the next day. Has this set me up for success later in life…probably not but I am glad to see I haven’t changed much and I still love a good story.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kittytocity.com
• Email: Katie@kittytocity.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kittytocity
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kittytocity
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/KittyToCity
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/KittytoCity

Image Credit:
Katie Francis

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