The Girl Who Goes

independent, intentional travel

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How to Spend 24 Hours in Florence, Italy

24 hours in Florence - feature photo

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…]

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

nightjet train

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…]

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How to Spend 48 Hours in Rome, Italy

48 hours in rome - feature photo

Do you recognize this famous icon? 48 hours in Rome was plenty to ensure I saw all the major sights.

Despite having lived in Europe for more than a year, and despite having visited Italy three times, I’d never been to Rome before. For some reason, I just hadn’t made it over to “The Eternal City.” Well… after my first visit, I decided I officially blamed all my friends who had been and never told me how amazing it was. I went for the first time in July 2019, and it was MAGICAL, even though I was only able to spend 48 hours in Rome.

My parents and sister ventured to Europe for the first time, stopping in Madrid to see me before heading on to visit our exchange student from last year, Gaia, in Sardinia. Then, they continued to Venice, Florence, and Rome. I met up with them in Rome, where we spent two days all together at the conclusion of their trip.

Anyway, though my time in Rome was short, I felt like I really got to see most of the things that Rome is famous for. So even if you only have 48 hours — like me — you can still check out these 7 must-visits and 3 bonus items!

[Read more…]

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The 7 Best European Summer Drinks

european summer drinks - feature image

It may have only been “officially” summer for a week, but here in Spain and most of Western Europe, we’re already in the middle of a bad heatwave. Temperatures of 102°F (39°C) for days on end may be normal in Missouri and other parts of the U.S., but it’s so much worse without one key American luxury: home air conditioning.

With a high of 109°F, I’ve spent the last 5 days bouncing from one air-conditioned cafe to another, chugging iced coffee by the gallon where I could find it and trying to avoid my stifling 4th-floor piso. Iced coffee isn’t a particularly Spanish drink, though. But it got me thinking about the summer drinks that are popular throughout different European countries. So if you’re visiting Europe this summer, hopefully these European summer drinks can help keep you cool — air conditioning or not. [Read more…]