The Story Behind Madison’s Footsteps
Ciao bella! My name is Madison and welcome to my travel blog, Madison’s Footsteps. I’m a travel blogger and digital nomad passionate about solo travel, sustainability and international cuisine. During my travels, I discovered so many breathtaking views, thrilling activities and delicious restaurants that it felt unfair not to share them with the world! I love creating and sharing destination guides and solo travel tips to help women get out and travel solo.
I fell in love with travel when I was 19 years-old and took my first solo flight from Chicago O’Hare to Roma Fiumicino to start my study abroad semester. After four months in Italy spent traveling all over Europe – I moved to New York City for an internship in the fashion industry. After realizing that was a huge mistake, I flew home to Madison, WI to finish up my degree and figure out what I wanted to do with it.
After graduation, I ended up taking a job in Florence for a budget-friendly, student travel operator. I spent the next 18 months living in a centuries-old apartment in the Santa Croce neighborhood (almost directly above Dante’s jail cell 😍) and planning epic weekend trips for study abroad students to seven European destinations + Morocco. I learned so much about myself during that year and a half traveling and guiding others to love solo travel as much as I already did.
After leaving Florence in late 2019, I was faced with the difficult task of finding a travel job during a global pandemic. Needless to say…that didn’t exactly work out. With all my newly found free time, I purchased Christina Galbato’s Influencer Bootcamp and Christina Galbato’s Blogger Bootcamp and spent my days redesigning my blog, growing my Instagram following and collaborating with brands. Sadly, one paying gig and a lot of free products over five months doesn’t pay the bills, so I turned to Kathryn Kiefer’s VA Vault and landed my first client as a Virtual Assistant. (Unfortunately this course is no longer available).
Three years later, I’m LOVING my life as a part-time Virtual Assistant, part-time blogger and full-time nomad! I’m constantly taking new courses and learning new things every day about travel, content creation and becoming a successful entrepreneur (that’s right y’all, I officially filed for my LLC!).
When it comes to the digital nomad life, I prefer slow solo travel over constantly being on the move. I spent 2021 living the island life in Roatan, Honduras. In March of 2022, I moved to Southeast Asia and spent two months in Thailand, one month in Vietnam and four months in Bali, Indonesia – the digital nomad’s paradise. In late 2023, I’ve just returned from another three months in Europe – this time in Lisbon, Portugal. I’m taking a quick break at home for the time being to figure out my next move…but recently my heart is saying Belize…so we’ll see what happens 😜.
Where I’ve Lived & Traveled
📍 Dominican Republic: Punta Cana.
📍 Mexico: Cancún.
📍 Italy: Rome, Naples, Florence, Venice, Montalcino, Anzio, Cinque Terre, Porto Venere, Sant’Angelo, Sorrento, Positano, Capri, Amalfi, San Gimignano, Milan, Pisa, Siena, Lake Como.
*I lived in Rome for 6 months and in Florence for a year a half.
📍 Vatican City
📍 Spain: Barcelona, Madrid, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca, Seville.
📍 England: London, Cambridge.
📍 Greece: Athens, Santorini.
📍 Austria: Vienna.
📍 Czech Republic: Prague, Cesky Krumlov.
📍 Germany: Berlin, Munich.
📍 The Netherlands: Amsterdam.
📍 Malta: Valletta, Mdina, Paceville.
📍 France: Paris, Avignon, Nice.
📍 Croatia: Dubovnik, Krka National Park, Split.
📍 Montenegro: Kotor.
📍 Bosnia & Herzegovina: Mostar.
📍 Ireland: Dublin, Doolin, Galway.
📍 Switzerland: Interlaken, Wengen.
📍 Morocco: Marrakech, Atlas Mountains.
📍 Portugal: Lisbon, Sintra, Lagos, Porto, Madeira.
📍 Hungary: Budapest.
📍 Thailand: Phuket, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Tao, Koh Phi Phi, Krabi, Khao Sok.
*I lived in Thailand for two and a half months and traveled around the entire country.
📍 Poland: Krakow.
📍 Monaco: Monte Carlo.
📍 Canada: Toronto, Niagara Falls.
📍 Honduras: Roatan, Utila, La Ceiba, Pico Bonito National Park, Tela, Copan Ruinas, Lago de Yojoa.
*I lived in Roatan, Honduras for a year.
📍 Vietnam: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Ha Long Bay.
*I traveled around and lived in Vietnam for one month.
📍 Indonesia: Bali (Canggu, Seminyak, Ubud, Nusa Penida, Amed), Lombok (Gili Trawangan), Flores (Komodo National Park, Padar Island, Rinca Island.)
*I lived in Canggu, Bali for 4 months and traveled around Indonesia.
📍 United States: Wisconsin (my hometown), Portland, San Fransisco, Napa Valley, Sonoma, Rosemary Beach, Orlando, Indianapolis, Traverse City, Nashville, Salt Lake City, Denver, Fort Collins, Rocky Mountain National Park, The Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Sedona, New York City, Chicago, Minneapolis.
Madison’s Footsteps provides women with the solo Travel tips, destination knowledge and confidence they need to book solo trips all over the world.
A little about me on the personal side…my favorite things include handwritten menus, rooftop bars and both starting and ending the day with a strong, Italian espresso (I’m an Italian girl at heart). I have a slight addiction to both Family Guy and true crime (a weird combo, I know), love cuddling my sweet and whiny chocolate lab, Vinny, and probably consume too much red wine for my own good. I’m an avid scuba diver and I can’t wait until I’m back near a shoreline with a thriving coral reef.
If you’ve landed on my website in the hopes of a brand collaboration, I’m always interested in collaborating with brands that fit my niche and would interest my audience. To discuss a collaboration, please email madison@madisonsfootsteps.com, get in touch via my collab page or send me a direct message on Instagram. If you’re interested in digital marketing services, please visit Madison’s Footsteps Creative and get in touch via the contact form.
If you love travel content as much as I do, follow my Instagram page @madisonsfootsteps and subscribe to the blog for destination guides, solo travel tips and more delivered straight to your inbox bi-weekly! Join my Facebook Group, Our Footsteps 👣 Travel Bloggers for more travel inspo + a great community of travel-lovers and be sure to follow along for my adventures on my social media channels linked below.
Ciao for now, Madison
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