I had the pleasure of meeting Kim at our annual TBEX conference in Cancun this past month and interviewing her.   She is the founder of Vanilla Sky Dreaming.  Born in Israel, raised in Los Angeles. She’s always on the road and has been intensely traveling the world for the last 10 years. She has lived in Los Angeles, Malibu, NYC, Tel Aviv, Baltimore/DC and Miami, some even more then once. She thrives on being in and out airports and collecting frequent flyer miles, meeting strangers all around the world, trying new foods, learning about new cultures, languages, fashion and exploring cities she dreamt of.

Tell us a little about your blog and how you started it?

Sure, well my blog’s name is Vanilla Sky Dreaming it covers all things travel, along with spirituality, art and photography. The inspiration behind this blog came from my intense traveling and moving around in the last 10 years, which 95% of these were traveling solo.  I learned so much, met incredible people and seen amazing places and I thought it’s time I’d share it with the world, on the hopes of inspiring people to do the same. You only get one life and I think it’s important to live it to the fullest and see what this amazing world has to offer.

Since you write about solo traveling, do you enjoy traveling alone?

Yes! It’s actually my favorite way to travel.  Sure, it’s nice to travel with friends and family, but I personally think that you can get so much more out of your traveling experience this way.

When was the first time you traveled solo?

The first time I traveled all by myself was when I was 11 years old. I was living in Los Angeles at the time and went to Israel to visit my grandma!  That’s what I wanted as my birthday present!

When did you first start to travel and where did you go?

Well I was born in Israel and moved to Los Angeles when I was 8 years old. Growing up my parents loved taking my siblings and I traveling all the time, weather it was to Hawaii, Vegas, NYC, San Francisco or Israel.  So from a young age I already fell in love with traveling.

What’s the one thing that you have to take with you when you travel?

MY CAMERA! I’m completely obsessed with photography and always have been.  If I don’t have a camera with me, you might as well cancel my trip haha.

What’s your favorite destination and Why?

I would have to say Italy! Italy is an incredible country! I spent 2 and a half weeks there exploring all of Italy, from top to bottom and no matter where I went it was amazing.  I think a lot of it has to do with the culture, Italian’s are very warm hearted people, the architecture is beautiful and of course the food is amazing!

What is the strangest thing you’ve ever experience while traveling?

Probably seeing a gypsy in Milan throwing a baby at one of the people that was on the tour with me! On the hopes that she will drop her bags and have someone steal it when she didn’t notice!

What do you enjoy most about blogging?

Sharing my experiences through my eyes and inspiring people to want to travel more.  I love reading all the comments, it inspires me to keep doing what I do.

What do you enjoy most about traveling?

I would have to say the people I meet along the way and discovering the art that every country and city has to offer. It can be in the food, the music, the dancing or how a city is built.  I always come home with a new prospective on life.

Where do you plan on visiting next?

Well this year I plan on covering as much of the world as I could! I’m currently planning a trip to Iceland and Africa.  Along with a trip to Asia, South America, The Caribbeans and a few other countries I missed in Europe. I’m hoping to visit about 25-30 countries.

You can check out Kim and learn more about her travels on her web site at Vanilla Sky Dreaming.

Facebook: https://facebook.com/vanillaskydreaming
Twitter:      http://twitter.com/hofitkimcohen
Instagram: http://Instagram.com/hofitkimcohen
Pinterest:  http://www.pinterest.com/hofitkimcohen/