Europe – The Girl Who Goes

Last Updated on February 22, 2024

Everything You Need To Know About Carnaval in Alicante

Two weekends ago, we got to partake in one of Spain’s most exciting traditions for the first time: Carnaval! While Americans may be more familiar with Mardi Gras celebrations, the concept is similar. With the Christian season of Lent starting on Ash Wednesday, Carnaval is typically celebrated in the time leading up, though the exact duration varies from city to city. Here in Alicante, the main celebration was held on Saturday night. And it turns out that Carnaval is Alicante’s second-biggest holiday, so we were really excited to get to experience it all. [Read more…]

Last Updated on February 4, 2024

Top 9 Day Trips from Madrid, Spain

day trips from madrid - segovia - feature photo

You can visit so many amazing cities by taking day trips from Madrid

As of three weeks ago, I’m officially a resident of Alicante, Spain! Which I think means I’m an “Alicantina” now. 🙂 But I’m still working on getting to know the city, especially now that the matter of finding an apartment is settled, so more to come about my life in Alicante. For today’s blog post, I wanted to share a topic that I’ve been meaning to write about for a while, from my days as a “Madrileña” — the 9 best day trips from Madrid, Spain.

All of these are day trips that I actually took while living in Madrid. Some of them are so quick and easy that you could be back in Madrid in less than an hour, while others are probably better suited to being a two-day trip or more. However, all of them are absolutely doable as day trips! So, here are the 9 best day trips from Madrid, Spain. (Listed in order of shortest to longest distance.)

[Read more…]

Last Updated on November 27, 2023

City Review: Porto, Portugal

I visited Porto, Portugal, for the first time in January 2019, and it ended up being one of the most magical weekends of my life. When I was living in Madrid, a friend from the U.S. was planning to come visit for a week, and we were going to spend a girls weekend in Porto, exploring and drinking port wine. However, she ended up getting sick and not being able to travel. Unbeknownst to me, another visitor was on his way — Matt, my former friend/co-worker/summer fling and present-day fiancé. 😉 After he surprised me at the airport, we spent a whirlwind weekend in Porto and it felt like something straight out of a movie.

After we got engaged this summer, and knowing we were heading back to Europe to apply for our digital nomad visas in Spain, I knew I wanted to go back to Porto and take our engagement photos there. Plus, it was a great opportunity to spend an entire week there instead of just a few days. I feel like we really got to know the city better! So here’s my city review of Porto, Portugal. [Read more…]

Last Updated on November 15, 2023

7 Reasons to Visit Ljubljana, Slovenia

When we visited Ljubljana in September, we showed up with zero expectations. All I knew about it was that my university had offered a study abroad program there, which I assumed meant that it had enough going on to be interesting. But the main reason for our visit to Ljubljana was that going to Slovenia helped me achieve my goal of visiting my 30th country at age 30.

It turns out that Ljubljana was an amazing little city and it didn’t take us long to fall in love with it! So if you’re looking for somewhere off-the-beaten-path to visit during your next Europe trip, here are 7 reasons why you should visit Ljubljana. [Read more…]

Last Updated on December 26, 2024

City Review: Ljubljana, Slovenia

We did it, Joe. This past September, I finally achieved my goal of visiting my 30th country at age 30! After spending five weeks in Spain as we applied for the Spain digital nomad visa, we set off on a month-long trip through five more countries. First was Croatia (country number #29) and next, finally, was country #30: Slovenia. Specifically, we went to Slovenia’s capital city, Ljubljana.

Ljubljana may seem like a random place to visit. Matt hadn’t even heard of it, and neither had anyone at home when we told them we were going to Ljubljana. I only knew about it because in college, my school had a study abroad program in Ljubljana. I was always curious about it, wondering why in the world Ljubljana had been chosen as an exchange partner.

It turns out that Ljubljana is a beautiful city and I can totally understand why students would love to live there! Here’s my city review of Ljubljana, Slovenia. [Read more…]

Last Updated on November 8, 2023

City Review: Zagreb, Croatia

After spending five weeks in Spain, it was time to set off for the second leg of our two-month trip. First stop: Zagreb, Croatia.

Neither of us had ever been to Zagreb or Croatia before, and I was eager to visit it as one of the last two new countries I needed to achieve my goal of 30 countries at age 30. Croatia was number 29! We flew direct from Madrid to Zagreb, where we spent three days exploring Croatia’s capital city.

Here’s what you need to know about visiting Zagreb, Croatia. [Read more…]

Last Updated on December 10, 2024

A Review of LEVEL Airlines: Boston to Barcelona

Over the years, I’ve flown between the U.S. and Spain on a few different airlines. Usually, I fly with Iberia, American, or Norwegian. But for our most recent trip, we tried an airline I had never even heard of before — LEVEL Airlines.

Usually, we try to travel during the off-peak seasons to find cheaper tickets, but we had a few reasons for needing to be in Europe this August-October. Not only were we applying for our Spain digital nomad visa and checking out our destination wedding venue a year in advance, but we also wanted to get engagement photos taken in Porto, Portugal. We accepted the fact that we were going to have to pay more for plane tickets than we’re used to.

However, we found LEVEL Airlines to be about on par with what we typically pay when flying between the U.S. and Europe. From Boston to Barcelona, it was $540.50 per person. We did have to use Southwest points to get us to Boston from Kansas City, but it was worth it for the cheap flight on to Spain.

Here’s what you need to know about LEVEL Airlines and my review of my experience. [Read more…]

Last Updated on October 1, 2023

Day Trip: Sevilla to Córdoba, Spain

Knowing that we were going to be spending all of August and a bit of September in Sevilla, we figured we’d at least take a day trip from Sevilla to Córdoba while we were there. It was a city I’d heard so much about, and I’d never had the chance to visit! But with the temperature typically above 100°F (~37C) in both Sevilla and Córdoba, it was looking like we’d have to save Córdoba for another trip to Andalucía. We went to Cádiz to escape the heat one weekend instead.

Luckily, on our last full day in Sevilla — a Monday, which was Labor Day at home — the high temps in Córdoba dropped to the low 80s and we decided we’d make the trip from Sevilla to Córdoba after all. Unlike when we’d gone to Cádiz, we didn’t have any problem finding seats on the train, so we took the RENFE Media Distancia train, which cost €11 per person each way, and got us from Sevilla to Córdoba in one hour and 19 minutes.

If you want to plan your own day trip from Sevilla to Córdoba, here’s what you need to know. [Read more…]

Last Updated on September 21, 2023

Day Trip: Sevilla to Cádiz, Spain

Spending the entire month of August in southern Spain was a CHOICE. As much as we love Sevilla, and we hope to make it our home base in Spain when we move, the 112°F (~45C) days were tough to stomach. Initially, I wanted to take a day trip to Córdoba, but the forecast looked basically the same there, and I knew we wouldn’t be able to enjoy sightseeing in those conditions. So I started to research places within an hour or two from Sevilla that could give us a true respite from the heat, just for a day. And that’s how I found Cádiz.

It seemed like everyone else had the same idea, considering that it was nearly impossible to find a train to Cádiz that still had seats available for any weekend day we were in Sevilla. Eventually, we were able to find a spot on the first train of the day on a Friday morning, but everything coming back later that day was sold out… so we turned to popular European carpooling app, BlaBlaCar, for the trip back home. (More on that later.)

Anyway, if you want to get from Sevilla to Cádiz, here’s what you need to know! [Read more…]

Last Updated on December 27, 2024

Everything You Need To Know About Visiting Barcelona

Park Güell

To those who are here because they’re coming to our 2024 wedding outside of Barcelona — this is for you! 🤍 And to those who stumbled across it because they also want to know everything they need to know about Barcelona — this is for you, too.

Whatever your reason, I’m glad you’re here. I’m going to try my best to introduce Barcelona and Spain for anyone who’s visiting for the first time. [Read more…]