The Girl Who Goes

independent, intentional travel

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Hola, Ecuador!

park carolina quito ecuador

Finally, finally… we are in Quito, Ecuador.

There’s not much else to say about how much we’d been anticipating this trip. I’ve already said it all, and I don’t want to repeat myself too much. Feel free to read more here, and here, and here if you want the whole background on the situation.

But now, we are here. And I’m so excited to have something to write about again!

I guess I’m going to start by sharing the story of our travels and everything that we needed to get into Ecuador. Here we go! [Read more…]

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The Quito Countdown Is On…

quito ecuador

23 months since my last international trip. 20 months since the COVID-19 pandemic took over the Western world. And 18 months after we originally planned this… our Ecuador trip is only a little more than one month away!

To be clear, we’ve postponed this trip several times. Back in February, I was wondering whether we might finally make it work in 2021 — along with musings of other potential travel destinations (none of which panned out). Luckily, we had a much better 2021 than we did 2020. With trips to Milwaukee, the Pacific Northwest, Ann Arbor, and several visits to Washington DC, we were able to scratch the travel itch — at least domestically.

But after all this time, lots of waiting, three COVID vaccine doses each, and Ecuador passing the U.S. on the percentage of their population being fully vaccinated, we decided: it’s finally time. [Read more…]

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Trip Review: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

milwaukee skyline

This post is just a tad bit overdue, but a glimmer of hope about moving back to Spain is giving me new motivation to write again. 🙂 At the beginning of August, Matt and I took a road trip from Kansas City to Milwaukee. We went to a wedding about an hour outside of Chicago, but we didn’t want to just turn around and drive home. So we decided to spend a few days in Milwaukee, Wisconsin — because Matt’s sister lives there! So we had a free place to stay.

Also, one of my new friends that I met during my summer soccer league, Anna, just moved to KC from Milwaukee! We met up for coffee and she gave me a bunch of tips and places to see before we went, which was super helpful. We weren’t there for very long, but I feel like we still packed a lot into our visit. [Read more…]

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Learn About Spain’s NEW Digital Nomad Visa

digital nomad visa spain

Update October 2023: My fiancé, Matt, and I have officially been approved for the digital nomad visa! Learn more about its requirements and how to apply in my most updated blog post about the Spain digital nomad visa.

One year and two months ago, I wrote one of the saddest blog posts I’ve written in my four-and-a-half years of being The Girl Who Goes: it was my goodbye to Spain and Madrid, which had been my home for the two years prior. Not only was I saying goodbye, I was saying it in the worst way — without getting a chance to say many goodbyes at all. As COVID-19 upended my second school year in Madrid, it also upended my future plans to stay in Spain. [Read more…]

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How I Created My Travel Gallery Wall

Hi, it’s me, your travel blogger friend who left her glamorous, frivolous life in Spain to settle back into the typical patterns of everyday American society for the past 10 months. (Thanks, COVID.) While our next adventures seem to be creeping closer, little by little, I’ve had some time to work on other projects that I’ve enjoyed. And one of them was decorating my very own office! [Read more…]

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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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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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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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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…]