Destinations – The Girl Who Goes

Last Updated on April 22, 2024

A Review of Transavia Airlines: Alicante to Amsterdam

After three months living in Alicante and a couple of very quick weekend trips, we finally had the opportunity to take a longer trip: We spent the week in Amsterdam! The main purpose of the trip was to see the famous Amsterdam tulip fields (more on that later), but I was excited to come back to the Netherlands for the third time, and Matt got to check another country off the list. Luckily, it was very easy to fly from Alicante to Amsterdam with Transavia Airlines.

I had never heard of Transavia before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it caught my eye for a couple of reasons: first, we didn’t have to pay extra to bring a carry-on bag; second, it wasn’t RyanAir.

Keep reading to learn more about flying with Transavia and my review of the experience. [Read more…]

Last Updated on March 21, 2024

5 Museums in Alicante, Spain, You Can Visit For €5 or Less

We’ve been residents of Alicante for just over two months now, and we’ve even had our first visitors! My best friend Hanna came to visit for about 10 days, and then immediately afterwards, Matt’s parents came for a week. Which means we’ve had a good reason to keep exploring our new city and find ways to entertain our guests. Luckily, there are lots of museums in Alicante — many of which cost only €5 or less.

While Alicante may be a typical Costa Blanca beach town for many tourists, the museums are a great way to spend a rainy day, escape the heat or cold, and learn something new. And when the museums are so cheap, what’s not to like?! With that in mind, here are 5 museums in Alicante you can visit for €5 or less. [Read more…]

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…]