The Girl Who Goes

independent, intentional travel

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What I Miss About Living in Spain

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Crystal Palace in the Retiro

There’s still not a whole lot to write about around here… though as COVID cases keep decreasing here in KC and vaccinations keep increasing, it’s getting easier to feel hopeful! Matt and I are both vaccinated now, as well as my parents and sisters, so we are ready to get moving again! Though, of course, it’s going to take some time for other places to catch up.

But it seems like I’m dreaming about my life in Madrid — and traveling in general — more than usual lately. So while I wait for the day when it’s safe to start traveling again, I thought I would make a list of all the things I miss about living in Spain. [Read more…]

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Thinking About Our Travel Options for 2021

Reykjavik in December 2017 when I had the whole world within reach

We’re now two months into 2021. Though we all eagerly awaited the end of a very bad 2020, not too much has changed for most of us. The vaccines are a bright spot on the horizon, even though we know we certainly aren’t in a priority group. Matt and I are hoping we’re both vaccinated some time in the summer, and by that point many other people should have been vaccinated first. Could that mean a return to “normal” for us? [Read more…]

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What I Miss the Most About Traveling

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Last night, my family and I finally had our Christmas. Yes, on January 9. Most of my family, except for me & Matt, and my sister Carrie, came down with COVID, so we had to postpone our celebration until everyone was healthy again. Luckily everyone is doing well! And while we were all together, we also did one of our New Years traditions — we each write down as many predictions as we can for the new year. Then, we take turns reading the last year’s predictions to see how many we got right.

I was first up. As I scanned through my typed list, which I’d emailed to my dad since I was in Europe last year, all I could say was… “Wow. This is sad.” Because of course, at that point I had no idea we were two months away from getting hit with the pandemic that would be life-changing for the next year, if not longer. [Read more…]

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Why We Decided to Move to Helena, Montana, for a Month

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A snowy day in Yellowstone

Ouch, it’s been two months since my last post. That’s definitely the longest I’ve ever gone without writing something new here, and I want to be clear that The Girl Who Goes is NOT over… it’s just that the girl isn’t able to go very much these days.

But I haven’t given up on traveling forever, and with the first COVID vaccines being administered in the U.S. today, I’m feeling excited about my travel prospects for 2021!

Anyway, today’s my birthday so I decided I should write SOMETHING today, of all days. So I’ll share the story of my last travel adventure, during the month of October in Montana. [Read more…]

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Podcast Alert: Where Are You Going Next?

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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…]

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What It’s Like to Fly Internationally During Coronavirus

airplane coronavirus pandemic

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…]

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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…]

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7 Questions I Still Have After Living in Madrid for 10 Months

My most frequent question: WHY?

In keeping with the theme I’ve had going – 7 Things I’ve Learned from Living in Madrid for 10 Days and 7 Things I’ve Learned from Living in Madrid for 10 Weeks – I have a special edition of this post to commemorate the 10-month mark.

Instead of focusing on things I’ve learned, I want to focus on the questions I still have. Questions that, apparently, almost a year in Spain could not answer. [Read more…]

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Going Back “Home”: A Weekend in London

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The London Eye and River Thames from Westminster Bridge

Five and a half years ago (!!!!), I spent a fall semester of college studying abroad in London. It was one of the most important experiences in a long chain of events that contributed to me eventually living in Spain. During that semester, I had more fun than I’d ever had in my life. I met some of my very best friends, I was able to jet off to different countries over the weekends, and I got to live a lifestyle unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. Most importantly, I learned that I could do it. I could adjust to life in a foreign country, away from everyone/everything I knew and was comfortable with, and thrive while doing it. [Read more…]

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The Truth About Living in Spain

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Portrait of the author recovering from tonsilitis on a Wednesday

You know how people will post photos like “Instagram vs. Reality?” I don’t really see myself as someone who highly curates my image or digital presence, but to anyone who doesn’t talk to me on a regular basis, it may just look like I’m living the dream all of the time in Spain.

Which is totally true. This is my dream! But there are also lots of parts that aren’t easy; parts that are unglamorous and hard work, and I don’t talk about them much. So I wanted to share an inside look as to what it’s really like living in Spain. Here are my realities! [Read more…]