The Girl Who Goes

independent, intentional travel

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A Review of LEVEL Airlines: Boston to Barcelona

level airlines review

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…]

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Day Trip: Sevilla to Córdoba, Spain

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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 in the U.S. — 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…]

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Day Trip: Sevilla to Cádiz, Spain

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Benefits of taking a day trip from Sevilla to Cádiz — getting to see the sea!

Spending the entire month of August in southern Spain was a CHOICE. As much as we love Sevilla the 112°F (~45°C) 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 from Sevilla 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 plan your own trip from Sevilla to Cádiz, here’s what you need to know! [Read more…]

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Everything You Need To Know About Visiting Barcelona

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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…]

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A Review of SAS Airlines: Chicago to Copenhagen to London

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In February, I set off “across the pond” for the second time this year to visit London with my friend Hanna. We all know that flying to Europe isn’t cheap, so when it was time to look for flights, I tried to find the best flight for the best price.

In this case, it meant selecting Chicago as my origin because that’s always cheaper than flying from Kansas City, where I live. Using Southwest points to fly from KC to a larger city is one trick we use pretty frequently to get cheaper flights. And when I found a round-trip flight from Chicago to London — with a layover in Copenhagen — on SAS Airlines, it was a price I couldn’t pass up: just $400.

It was my first time ever flying with SAS Airlines, and it wasn’t an airline I knew much about. So if you’re thinking about taking a trip with them, here’s my review of SAS Airlines. [Read more…]

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Top 9 Things To Do in Budapest, Hungary

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Budapest is a city that I visited for the first time this past March. Despite the chilly temperatures, it didn’t take long to fall in love with it! And while I wrote a Budapest city review for my last post, I wanted to share some of the many things to do in Budapest — no matter how long you stay, you won’t have a problem staying busy.

Here are my top choices for things to do in Budapest. [Read more…]

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City Review: Budapest, Hungary

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Back in February, I headed over to Europe for the second time in 2 months. This time, instead of traveling with Matt like I have over the past few years, I met up with my best friend from college, Hanna. We studied abroad together in London in 2013, where we became friends. Considering it was now 2023, we decided to take a 10-year anniversary visit. But while we were over there, I wanted to visit a new country, too. And that’s why we went to Budapest, Hungary. [Read more…]

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Road Trip Itinerary: Spain, France, and Andorra in 2 Weeks

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Back in January 2023, Matt and I took our first big European road trip — from Barcelona to Andorra, to France and back to Spain. Literally 14 blog posts later, this is the last thing I had to say about it: What if you wanted to take a similar trip of your own? A road trip on another continent can be daunting, but having an itinerary can help take some of the pressure off of planning.

So, to help, here’s our exact road trip itinerary to help you plan your own! [Read more…]

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How To Plan Your Own European Road Trip

plan european road trip

If you didn’t know, I’m a big fan of road trips. Whether it was my family’s annual road trip across the U.S. that took us thousands of miles in two weeks, my road trip through Alaska with a friend when we were 24, or the most recent European road trip Matt and I took through Spain, France, and Andorra this past winter… there’s something special about traveling “slow.” Seeing the world around you rather than flying from point A to point B.

Our European road trip in January was actually my first “proper” road trip in Europe — meaning I rented a car for more than just a day. Over two weeks, we visited seven cities in three countries. And while it was more expensive than flying or taking the train/bus between cities, we enjoyed the freedom the rental car afforded us.

Of course, planning a road trip can be overwhelming, no matter whether you’re close to home or on the other side of the world. So if you’re thinking about your very own European road trip, here are my tips to help make it easier. [Read more…]

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Europe Road Trip Pros and Cons: Is a European Road Trip Worth It?

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A few years ago, Matt and I rented a car in Barcelona and began our two-week road trip through parts of Spain, France, and Andorra. While I’d rented cars for shorter day trips before — like Munich to Neuschwanstein, and Dublin to Giant’s Causeway — this was my first time taking a real European road trip.

It’s always cool to try something new, and we had an amazing time visiting three countries and seven cities. And of course, when you try something new, you learn a lot. (Here’s what we learned about taking a road trip in Europe.)

If you’re thinking about taking a European road trip of your own, there are lots of things to think about before you make the decision. And now that I’ve done it, I’ve got a list of things for you to consider.

Here are the pros and cons of taking a Europe road trip. [Read more…]