Who are Sophie and Kiki?
Welcome to Sophie’s travel blog ! On this page, you’ll discover who’s behind Sophie and Kiki.
Who is Sophie?
Let me introduce myself, my name is Sophie, and I’d like to make a success of my life…
On a more serious note (no, I’m serious about what I said before), my name is Sophie… so wise! This name suits me perfectly (well, almost)…Thanks Dad!
Otherwise, I’m 38, from Saint Etienne. And a loyal ASSE supporter (“Allez les verts”!). For work, I did a stint in the Paris region, then in the Marne. In 2018, I moved to Le Puy en Velay (Haute Loire) and since 2021, I’ve been based in Saint Etienne.
How can I describe myself in a few words? Organized, or rather loving to organize and organize, thinking too much but also emotional and sensitive. And most importantly, I love to travel and get away!
Sophie’s first trips
Where does this passion for travel come from? This desire to travel, to take planes and trains, to discover new countries.
I’d say the first vacations with my dad, when we’d go away for a week in August. I loved organizing our vacations, looking for train timetables and hotels (and I was very young at the time!).
And then there was my grandma… it was with her, in 2006, that I took the plane for the first time. She was 85 and I was 21, so the two of us set off on an adventure, by car, from Saint Etienne to Lyon and on to Paris. It was a short trip (barely a 1-hour flight), but a moment of pure happiness for both of us… She on her last plane trip with her little girl, and me the first of many. Now, flying makes me feel a special emotion. And I always think of my grandma…
Finally, in 2011, my school’s promotional trip was to Canada. My first big trip! I still remember when we were told we’d be going to Quebec for 1 week. What a thrill! After that, I did a series of trips, notably to the United States and Europe.
The birth of Sophie’s travel blog
2016 will have been a dark year for me with the loss of my dog and then my granny. I decided to go abroad on a language stay using my professional training leave.
In November 2017, I created the travel blog Les carnets de route de Sophie. I remember that moment exactly. I wrote my first introductory articles, telling myself that I would abandon this blog after a few weeks.
So in January 2018, I’m off to Australia for 3 months and Canada for 3 months to learn English. The best experience of my life. I wrote about 100 articles. I just loved sharing my adventures on this travel blog.
Back in France but still travelling…with the travel blog
After 8 months of traveling, I’ve come back transformed. What’s more, I’m not returning from Canada alone. Not with a Canadian, but with a Swiss! I’m moving back to my home region. I’m starting a new job. It’s been a perfect year 2018.
To get together with my (little) Swiss friend, we travel a lot, especially in Europe. A weekend in Brussels, a weekend in Rome, a week in Sardinia, a road trip to Portugal. Of course, I organize all our trips from A to Z.
After that, I write articles on the travel blog for pleasure. But I’m really looking to improve them with more advice, tips and discoveries.
And then March 2020 arrives. After a weekend at Disneyland Paris, confinement is announced.
The pandemic and the end of travel
A long and painful descent into hell began again. I work 5 days a week at home and, above all, the borders are closing. I’m separated from the people I love, no more social life, just solitude and above all no more possibility of traveling.
I have a lot of time to think about my life. What meaning should I give it? Am I really fulfilled in my work? I don’t have all the answers and time is running out. I’m putting the blog aside. When you have a travel blog and you can’t travel, it’s hard to keep it going!
The travel blog revival
I’m concentrating on my travel blog. I created it when I left for Australia. It was only for my family, friends and colleagues. When I look at the articles, there were a lot of photos, not much text.
Then, as my travels progressed, I wrote more in-depth articles. In addition to photos, I gave historical background and travel tips.
The health context has changed our travel habits. We used to be able to travel anywhere in the world. Flying was disconcertingly easy. With the crisis, I’m discovering France, and places close to home that I didn’t know existed and were so beautiful. I like to write about destinations close to home, like the gorges of the Loire and the gorges of the Ardèche.
Since the borders reopened, I’ve also been traveling a lot in Switzerland. I had never been to this country before I met my little Swiss friend. Today, I can say that I love this country. Safety, cultural diversity, cleanliness, respect, beautiful sites like lakes and mountains. In fact, my greatest discoveries were the Rhine Falls and the Jungfraujoch.
With the travel blog, I was able to meet other bloggers who took part in an article on the most beautiful places to discover in Switzerland.
Sophie’sway of travelling
I like to travel by organizing everything in advance, whether it’s booking activities, hotels or cars. I like to spend time researching and organizing everything.
As far as the budget is concerned, I like to travel while enjoying myself to the full. This means that I don’t like to deprive myself when I travel (within reason, of course).
When I’m there, I don’t like to run. I like to take my time. Enjoy a place, stop, have a coffee, leave. I confess I’m not much of a sportswoman either. I like walking in nature, enjoying magnificent landscapes. Being charmed by places I never knew existed. Places I never imagined I’d be touched by.
I’ll end with this quote that I love:
But who’s behind Kiki?
You’re all wondering who’s behind Kiki in this blog!
Everyone knows Kiki, the little cuddly toy from Japan, who had his moment of glory in the 80s. When I was little, my dad gave me Kiki. And when I started traveling, I always put him in my backpack. I took photos of him in every town I went to.
And then came the idea of featuring Kiki. Did Kiki speak out again specifically for this travel blog? Of course, he always has his own opinion, sometimes a little cynical, which he expresses after each article. As loyal readers know, he’s sometimes sentimental, perhaps a little too critical, and sometimes Sophie has to rein him in so that his little history lesson doesn’t get out of hand, but one thing always remains the same: he loves being Sophie’s faithful companion, letting himself be won over by her passion in the good times, and comforting her and making her laugh in the bad.
So if you liked my presentation or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’ll be happy to answer them. You can also read my media kit.