The Girl Who Goes

independent, intentional travel

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Top 3 Things to Know Before Visiting Iceland

visiting iceland - feature photo

Once upon a time, when I was a traveling technology consultant, two friends/co-workers somehow convinced our company to let us fly to Iceland. For the weekend. We flew Chicago to Reykjavík on a Thursday night and returned on Sunday evening. Since it was a fairly last-minute plan, I didn’t do much research in advance of the trip. I certainly learned a lot in the three days we spent there, and there are a few things that I think people should know before visiting Iceland.

While I’m sure I will return someday, for a (hopefully) longer period of time, three days was long enough for me to come up with these three basic tips that anyone visiting Iceland needs to know. So, here we are — three things to know before visiting Iceland. [Read more…]

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Q&A: Christmas Traditions in the U.S. and Italy

Merry Christmas Eve! Our house is busy wrapping the final presents, watching football, and playing in the snow that fell overnight. My Italian sister, Gaia – who joined our family this year through the AFS program – is in the kitchen making tiramisu for Christmas dinner. Since this is Gaia’s first Christmas away from home, I decided to find out her thoughts on the holiday season in the U.S. and how it’s different from where she lives in Sanluri, Sardinia. [Read more…]

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Top 25 Travel Experiences This Year

top 25 travel experiences

Guess what? Today is my 25th birthday! It feels a little weird to think I’m officially a quarter-of-a-century old, but I wanted to write something a little special to celebrate. I’ve had an awesome year full of travel, so I thought it would be fun to look back on my top 25 travel experiences from the past year. [Read more…]

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How to Pack for Two Weeks in a Backpack

how to pack for two weeks in a backpack - feature

Think it’s not possible to pack for two weeks in a backpack? Think again.

It was July 2011. At the tender age of 18, I was preparing for my first international adventure — a two-and-a-half week trip to Germany to visit my then-boyfriend. Never having packed for something like this, and obviously wanting to impress my boyfriend, I packed almost everything I owned. I rolled up to the luggage counter to check my gigantic suitcase, tipping the scales at just barely under the 50-lb limit. Sigh of relief.

As the years passed, I continued to follow this same, pack-more-than-you-could-possibly-ever-need model every time I took a trip to Europe. But when I took my first solo trip in 2016, I decided to change my tactics. Knowing I would be constantly on the move, traveling around the country without staying in one place for long, it didn’t seem very appealing to lug that 50-lb rollerbag around with me.

So how did I, the former serial overpacker, manage to pack for two weeks in a backpack (and still have room for souvenirs)? Here are a few of my best tips. [Read more…]

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Hotel, Hostel, or Airbnb: Pros and Cons

hotel hostel or airbnb? feature photo

Traveling can be exhausting! After the end of a long day, where will you finally get that much-needed shut-eye? Hotel, hostel, or Airbnb?

When I was growing up, lots of road trips meant we would usually stay in hotels. It also meant that we didn’t always know where we would end up at the end of the day. Since we didn’t have advance reservations, I remember my parents stopping at different hotels, trying to find one that still had a vacancy — while my sister and I hoped it would have a swimming pool. [Read more…]