I’m Karyn and I’m a published travel writer, photographer and blogger. You can find some of my most recent travel-focused stories and opinion pieces in the Houghton and Mackay online magazine. My full back catalogue of published work can be found here. 

 

I grew up in the midlands but moved to Dublin as a student and never left. Travel has always been the great passion of my life, and I've been documenting my experiences, both in written format and visually, for as long as I can remember. Though I still work full-time with an NGO (those bills won't pay themselves....), I travel as often as I can, and spend most of my spare time writing, taking photos and developing this platform.

 

I love languages and have a pretty decent level of French, courtesy of time spent living there as an 18 year old, countless trips to France, and numerous re-watchings of the hilarious Call my Agent (Dix Pour Cent). I've also been teaching myself Spanish and Italian for the past few years, thanks to the brilliant Coffee Break Languages podcasts.  Because I travel a lot in these three countries in particular, it's important to me to be able to converse in some small way with the people I meet every day. It's a step outside my comfort zone, and it often takes a day or two before I find my flow, but on a personal level, it creates a sense of connection with a place and its people. It's always appreciated, no matter how rusty. 

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I'm drawn to cities: my favourites are (in no particular order) Paris, Rome, Turin, Bologna and Toulouse. I've lived in France, Edinburgh and Toronto, and spent months travelling around South-East Asia and Australia  in the days before smartphones and Wi-Fi. Shockingly, I have a terrible sense of direction and a tendency to go astray, even when using Google Maps.

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I gravitate towards cultural activities when I travel, and could easily spend the day in a museum or gallery.  I love live music, especially jazz, and enjoy catching gigs when I'm abroad. I read voraciously, and these days I'm all about the great female authors. Here are some of my faves:  Rachel Joyce, Tessa Hadley, Sarah Winman, Gwendoline Riley and Meg Mason, though I also need to mention the late Dervla Murphy, Ireland's great travel writer, adventurer and all-round legend. 

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I love sharing and swapping recommendations and tips with the online travel community and it's always nice to connect with new people. Come join me on Instagram or Facebook, whichever floats your boat. 

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​​​​​​Karyn x

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