Karen Brown

Karen Brown is a native Floridian currently living in Orlando.  She has a passion for shopping but more specifically, "Shopping Under Tents!"  Finding hidden treasures and bargaining at flea-markets, bazaars and souks!  She is always on the search for locally sourced, hand made and unique artisan goods and experiences for her Art In Voyage guests.

She has worked in corporate entertainment and had an extensive career in travel/tourism/hospitality at the Seminole County Convention & Visitors Bureau, often working with other CVB's around the state and in the US as well as a long time partnership with Visit Florida the official tourism office of the State of Florida.

For many years Karen wrote a column for an LGBTQ magazine, called Straight Girl in a Gay World.  She has also done (and continues to do) extensive charity fund raising work for the LGBTQ community in Central Florida.

Her Top 3 destinations:

• Umbria(Italy): The history and the beauty of this region is staggering.  I often marvel at the way the sunlight shines in this part of Italy.  I swear there are shades of green I've only ever seen here.  The amazing food, the lively people and of course the shopping...the porcelain of Deruta, the hand made leather from this region and plenty of markets.
• Marrakech (Morocco): A paradise of beauty, charm and some of the best shopping and haggling I've ever experienced.  Marrakech is the most alive place.  A swirl of humanity, local markets abuzz with the aromas of spices and local foods.  And the Hammam Spa Treatments are not to be missed!
• Provence (France): Every where I look in Provence is a post card scene.  The scenery just gets more beautiful every time you look.  The trees bend gracefully over the highways to make cathedrals of green.  The lavender fields alive with purple and scent and the some of the most gracious people.  This is a mild place in the most lovely way and I fell in love in minutes.