The Girl Who Goes

independent, intentional travel

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How To Get Free Notre Dame Cathedral Tickets in Paris

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We all saw the news in April 2019 — one of the world’s most famous churches, Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, caught on fire. And if you somehow missed that, then your Instagram feed was certainly full of every person you knew who’d ever been to Paris posting grainy photos from the early 2000s of themselves at Notre Dame, captioned simply with a #brokenheartemoji. 💔

But six years later, Notre Dame lives again! In fact, it just re-opened to the public in December 2024. So when Matt and I visited Paris at the end of March, we couldn’t miss our chance to check it out. And when I was planning our visit, I was shocked to find out that tickets to visit Notre Dame are free! However, only a limited number of reservations are available per day — and they don’t make it easy to claim those tickets. So here’s exactly how you can get free Notre Dame cathedral tickets. [Read more…]

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Truth or Stereotype: Are Parisians Actually That Mean?

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I first visited Paris in the summer of 2011, right after graduating from high school, on my first-ever trip to Europe. After spending a few weeks in Germany with my boyfriend at the time, we boarded a tour bus in Stuttgart for the 10-hour ride to Paris. I remember visiting Notre Dame, being amazed by the Eiffel Tower, drinking wine on a Seine River cruise (so scandalous for an 18-year-old), and generally having a good time.

Since that was my first big trip outside the U.S., I was so curious about visiting Paris again with a different perspective — the perspective of someone who’s now visited 31 countries and countless major cities around the world. I was excited to go with Matt, too! But when we told people about our plans to visit Paris, we heard a few variations of this sentiment: “The people in Paris are so mean.” [Read more…]

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City Review: Bratislava, Slovakia

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An Eastern European Christmas Market tour this past December was the perfect time to check another new country off the list! After visiting Wroclaw, Poland, and Prague, Czechia — both of which are cities/countries I’d been to before, our last stop was Bratislava, Slovakia. For being the smallest of the cities we visited on this trip, the Bratislava Christmas market was super impressive and had the best food out of the three.

Whether you’re planning a visit to Slovakia’s capital city for Christmas or any time of year, here’s what you need to know about visiting Bratislava. [Read more…]

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City Review: Wrocław, Poland

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This past December, Matt and I set out on our ten-day, three-country Christmas Market tour of Eastern Europe. Our first stop was Wrocław, Poland — a city I visited for the first time on a solo trip back in March 2019. It was really exciting to be back there, especially in such a different situation than the first time.

I obviously enjoyed the city enough to come back, so I wanted to share more about what it’s like to visit. Here’s everything you need to know about Wroclaw, Poland. [Read more…]

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UK ETA Visa: What You Need To Know

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Last month, we visited the United Kingdom to spend the first few days of the New Year in Cardiff, Wales. And this weekend, we’ll be  heading back to the UK — to Liverpool this time — with a brand new “visa” in hand. This is the new UK ETA visa, or the Electronic Travel Authorisation visa, which just went into effect for the first time on January 8, 2025.

It sounds a little but scary, but I promise the process to apply is super simple — and I’ll walk you through all the steps so there’s no confusion. I’ll even share a trick for American passports to (hopefully) help prevent frustration. So, here’s everything you need to know about the UK ETA visa. [Read more…]

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Day Trip: Cardiff to the Gower Peninsula

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I mentioned in my last blog how deciding to visit Cardiff, Wales, in January was quite a choice. 😂 And while we enjoyed our time in Cardiff, the real highlight of our visit to Wales was the day trip we took to the Gower Peninsula. We had considered renting a car in advance of the trip, but we decided against it in case the weather was going to be bad — so we basically booked and planned our road trip less than 24 hours before we set off.

Here’s what our day trip from Cardiff to the Gower Peninsula looked like, and what you need to know if you want to plan your own. [Read more…]

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City Review: Cardiff, Wales

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Whether it was spending an infernal August in Sevilla, moving to Ecuador for two months, or just visiting the city of Bratislava at all, sometimes we find ourselves planning trips that leave other people with only one question: Why? Our most recent trip — to Cardiff, Wales, on New Year’s Day — was just another example. As we boarded the National Express bus to Cardiff from Bristol airport, the bus driver couldn’t figure out why in the world three Americans had turned up in winter coats and backpacks for a January trip to the gloomy UK, and he told us as much.

But with our friend Hanna visiting us in Alicante for the second time, we wanted to take the opportunity to travel somewhere new together. And flights between Alicante and Bristol (just an hour from Cardiff) were direct and cheap, and none of us had ever been to Wales before. So we followed our own typical line of reasoning, which also asks a question: Why not?

With almost no prior knowledge about Cardiff or Wales, here’s my review of the Welsh capital city. [Read more…]

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10-Day Itinerary: Eastern Europe Christmas Markets

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Happy New Year! 🎉 It’s hard to believe we’re only two weeks from the one-year anniversary of our big move to Alicante — I guess time flies when you’re having fun. 2024 was a fantastic year of new friends and new places (and our wedding in Catalonia as well), and I can’t wait to see what 2025 brings. Right now, we’re in Cardiff, Wales, until we head back to Spain for Spanish Christmas. But today, I want to share a bit more about our Eastern Europe Christmas Market trip from last month.

I felt like 10 days (plus one extra day for traveling home) was the perfect amount of time for the three cities we visited: Wroclaw, Poland; Prague, Czechia; and Bratislava, Slovakia. Our trip lasted from December 13-23, which was also a really good time to visit because some of the markets are closed on December 24 and/or 25. So, here’s our exact itinerary if you want to plan your own trip next year! [Read more…]

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Bratislava, Slovakia: Christmas Market Review

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Merry Christmas Eve! After 10 days traveling around Christmas Markets in Wroclaw, Prague, and Bratislava, we’re finally home in Alicante and ready to relax for a few days before our next trip (next week!). I’ll be missing my family tomorrow, but I’m feeling pretty good about our plan to spend every other Christmas in Spain vs. the U.S., so this is a Spain year! We’ll be hanging out at our friends’ house, having brunch and watching Christmas movies.

Now, it’s time for my final Christmas market review: Bratislava, Slovakia! Slovakia was a new country for us both, so we were really excited to experience somewhere completely new. And while my sister visited Bratislava over the summer — and said it was pretty small with not too much going on — we decided to take a chance on it for our last Christmas market of the trip.

So, here’s everything you need to know about the Bratislava Christmas Market. [Read more…]

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Prague, Czechia: Christmas Market Review

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Czech-ing in from stop #2 on our Eastern European Christmas Market: Prague, Czechia! I’m so excited to be back here — my only other visit was in November 2013, and while the Christmas markets weren’t in full swing quite yet, some stalls selling doughy, cinnamon-coated chimney cakes had already started popping up. Just the thought was enough to make me want to come back as we were planning our Christmas market trip!

After a few days visiting the Wroclaw Christmas Market, we made our way to Prague and jumped right in visiting Old Town Square’s Christmas Market, as well as some of the smaller ones around the city.

Here’s what you need to know about the Prague Christmas Markets. [Read more…]