Blog – The Girl Who Goes

Last Updated on December 28, 2024

Top 5 Things to Do in Sevilla, Spain

Just one of the many things you must do in Sevilla, Spain

During my second year living in Spain, my mom came to visit! Since she’d already seen the highlights of Madrid when she came to visit me the summer before, we decided to take a long weekend trip down to Sevilla in the south of Spain. Even though it was the end of February, we were nice and warm in sunny Andalucía!

It had been nearly four years since my first visit to Sevilla, when I went during my first-ever solo trip, so I was really excited to go back. After living in Spain, I felt like I had a lot more context for Spanish culture and history — plus more experiences with other cities throughout the country. That helped me to develop my understanding of Sevilla better than I could before. [Read more…]

Last Updated on January 3, 2023

Podcast Alert: Where Are You Going Next?

In the past two years, I’ve been excited to have the opportunity to share my experiences regarding travel and life abroad in podcast form. In summer 2018, I was a guest on The Hump! as well as America on Tap. Both podcasts are hosted by good friends, and I was honored they wanted to have me on their programs.

Last week, I was once again a guest on an up-and-coming podcast: Where Are You Going Next? I met the podcast host, Will, through Instagram, so it was my first time being interviewed by someone who I wasn’t already friends with. In his words, Where Are You Going Next is… [Read more…]

Last Updated on July 13, 2020

What It’s Like to Fly Internationally During Coronavirus

As my second year in Spain was coming to an end, it was time for me to plan my return home. Remembering the true horror of last summer spent in Madrid — record-breaking heat waves and a lack of air conditioning — I knew I needed to leave Madrid before July. But in April, at the same time I was considering my exit, the coronavirus pandemic was also taking over the world… particularly Europe. Hoping that things would return to some semblance of normal by then, I decided I would leave Spain on July 1.

In general, I’m accustomed to paying about $300 one way from Madrid to a large U.S. city such as Boston or Chicago. Then, I use Southwest points accumulated from my former life as a traveling tech consultant to get me back to Kansas City. In this case, however, I had to make a choice: pay $2,000+ for a semi-direct flight, or pay $200 to fly Madrid-Paris-Newark-(stay overnight)-LaGuardia-Kansas City? [Read more…]

Last Updated on September 1, 2023

Hasta Luego, España

To say that my second year in Spain didn’t go quite how I expected would be an understatement. It makes me more grateful for the whole, uninterrupted first year I had. Traveling to another country every month, riding the metro around the city on the weekends, meeting friends at cafes, taking the train or bus to new cities in Spain. [Read more…]

Last Updated on September 1, 2023

Coronavirus Update: Madrid, Spain – May 25, 2020

Day 1 of semi-freedom

Another month has passed since my last post, but it seems that May has gone more quickly than April, and MUCH more quickly than March.

In my last update, I wondered how much longer it was going to be until the end of lockdown. Well, just a few days later, I got my answer. [Read more…]

Last Updated on February 2, 2024

Coronavirus Update: Madrid, Spain – April 27, 2020

Hi everyone. It’s been over a month since I last wrote something, and I think that may be the longest time I’ve ever gone without posting. As of this month, I’ve been writing as The Girl Who Goes for three years! (A fact I was reminded of when I was prompted to renew my domain registration.) So, it looks like I’ll be the girl who’s going for the next three years, at least. 🙂

Obviously, Spain has been in the news a lot over the past couple of months. It’s the second-most affected country in the world after the U.S., and third in number of deaths after the U.S. and Italy. That being said, as I begin Week #7 of lockdown – honestly, it’s more than just quarantine – I have seen a lot of changes over the past 6 weeks and glimmers of hope for the next weeks to come. [Read more…]

Last Updated on February 2, 2024

Coronavirus Update: Madrid, Spain – March 20, 2020

Day 1 of coronavirus quarantine in Spain

It feels a little bit like end times, doesn’t it? A month ago, even though we knew that coronavirus was happening *elsewhere* in the world, we didn’t anticipate its spread to be quite this serious and far-reaching.

My mom came to visit me the last week of February into the first week of March. We traveled down to Sevilla, in Spain’s southernmost region of Andalucía. Spain’s coronavirus cases at that point were around 100. We didn’t notice really any change in daily life; all we did differently was be more vigilant about washing our hands. [Read more…]

Last Updated on November 11, 2025

How to Transfer From Midway to O’Hare Airport in Chicago

The CTA train will help you transfer from Midway to O’Hare, or the other way around

When I was living in Madrid, my mom came to visit me for a week in February. And I was able to find her a pretty cheap flight from Kansas City, without even booking too far in advance. I had also recently booked a last-minute flight back to KC from Madrid to watch the Super Bowl with my family (just for a weekend). Which was also super cheap. But how did I do it? [Read more…]

Last Updated on March 25, 2025

How to Spend 24 Hours in Florence, Italy

We would have loved more time, but here’s how we spent 24 hours in Florence, Italy.

When Matt and I decided to visit Rome for New Year’s during our holiday trip, our main motivation was meeting up with a couple of friends — Emily and James. But it was a little too expensive to fly back to Madrid from Rome, so I started checking out other airports in Italy. About four hours north of Rome is Bologna, which ended up having the best ticket prices. And halfway between Rome and Bologna is Florence.

After hearing about Florence as one of Italy’s must-visit cities for years, it was the perfect opportunity to check it out myself. [Read more…]

Last Updated on February 19, 2025

A Review of ÖBB Nightjet: Overnight Train from Munich to Rome

ÖBB Nightjet Train

Our holiday trip through Germany, Austria, and Italy included my third-ever overnight train experience. A couple of days after Christmas, Matt and I rolled up to the Munich Hauptbahnhof to catch our overnight train to Rome. Our ticket was hard to read, because it was all in German, but I was 90% sure I’d managed to book us seats that would convert into beds.

I was also at least 90% sure it was going to be my best overnight train experience so far. Operated by ÖBB, which is the Austrian Federal Railway service, I couldn’t imagine things would be anything short of perfect. [Read more…]