"Hi! I'm Katrina, an American living in Ireland who enjoys the absurdity of every day life mixed with the madcappery of travel!"
TourAbsurd.com started out as a photoblog created in order to keep in touch with friends and family back in the U.S. It began when I took my first trip to Italy in the summer of 2007. I fell in love with the country and simply had to go back. Within 3 months of returning to the US, I gave away almost all of my belongings, packed what little was left, and hopped on a plane to start a new life overseas.
I checked two bags and carried on two more: a laptop case and a bag carrying my beloved puppy dog, a senior Bichon Frise. One of the senior kitties flew over a few months later. (The other one lived out her life in a luxury kitty spa, receiving the best of care until her passing. This was very sad, as she was supposed to join me in Italy.)
I made it my mission to visit an interesting place in Europe at least once a month for the first year. In doing so, I got a taste for travel that has fired up a nigh insatiable desire to keep moving!
After living and working in Naples for some time, I married an Italian guy. Sadly, he was was not as honest as he was good looking and things did not work out. We did have some fine adventures along the way, however, and you'll find some of those in the archives.
Both of my beloved critters crossed the rainbow bridge within 2 years of arriving in Italy and are still greatly missed. I rescued a kitty from a parking lot in Naples because I just love critters too much. She's back in Italy with the soon-to-be-ex's family, but I hope to have her here in Ireland soon.
Currently I live in Cork city, the best city in all of Ireland! It's a wonderful center of music, culture, food, and friendship. You just can't beat being able to meander down the streets and following your nose to an amazing dinner and your ear to fantastic music and pubs. The friends I've made here are some of the best people on the planet. LOVE Cork!
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Adventures and observations about the absurdities and delights of life are my daily fare. Sharing this in blog form is a great way to keep in touch with all the family and friends I've made throughout the world. I secretly hope that by sharing the silliness I discover, I'll be able to inspire people to travel and broaden their views of the world. Well, perhaps a section from one of the "espionage" posts says it best:
"Through my travel experiences, as well as being a member of Couchsurfing.org, I have come to see more and more of the good in people. For all of the 'strangers' I have invited into my house, the vast majority have been delightful, upbeat people who are out to improve themselves and the world. Likewise, the majority of the folks I have met while traveling have also been cheerful, helpful people who are simply living their lives in the best way they know how.
By posting pictures and stories of the things I have experienced overseas, I really want to contribute to peoples' relationship to the rest of the citizens of the world. If you see that all the head-shaking silliness of marketing is a global phenomenon rather than a national one, for example, you just may chuckle and begin to realize that we are all in this together. 'This' being life."
This is life. And this is also TourAbsurd!
Cheers!
Recently saw this video on TED.com and had to share it. It sums up a lot of my feelings on the importance of laughter and play as a uniting force. Enjoy!
Guest Posts: Non-commercial
Would you like to write a guest post, submit a Featured Photo, or have Katrina write a post for your site?
Blog posts for TourAbsurd should be either: a) funny and lighthearted travel stories, or b) about inspirational experiences that made you really appreciate the power of travel for expanding your world/connecting with people. At least one accompanying picture (taken and owned outright by you) is required, and more are encouraged!
Featured Photos or galleries in slideshow form will be shown separately as their own post. Preferred types of photos are uplifting, humorous, or scenic. I tend to take pictures of landscapes, animals, and occasionally architecture. I sometimes miss out on great people photos, so those are welcome as well. I'm not a fan of urban sprawl, decay, or photos depicting stressful environments, though I would consider featuring something like that if it was for a good cause (links to a particular charity, for ex.).
Posts for your site need to roughly fit into the above two categories, as these are the kinds of posts I enjoy both reading and writing. I also prefer to write in first person, as writing third person narratives tends to cause much rolling of the eyes and gnashing of the teeth. Send me a description of what you have in mind and we can discuss the terms.
*for information on sponsored posts or writing for commercial sites, please see the advertisement page
Please send me a message from the Contact page. Look forward to hearing from you!