Introducing The Girls of Girls Who Go.
Christie:
Hi! I’m Christie, owner, founder and CEO of C.N. Travels, LLC! I am a North Carolinian living in Spain and I love meeting new people, making lifetime connections/friends, and sharing intimate and authentic journeys around the world.
Over eight years ago I left my job as a store manager for a big retail corporation, and I decided to move abroad. Since then, my home-base has been in Palma de Mallorca and Madrid, but I travel any chance I get. Working as an English Language Assistant in Spain and as an ESL teacher online has allowed me adequate income, flexibility, movability, and time off to explore, get to know, and appreciate both my European home and other places abroad.
It had been life-changing to say the least!
I have now visited Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, England, Morocco, The Canary Islands (Spanish), Turkey, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Austria, Czechia (The Czech Republic), France, Portugal, Spain, The Bahamas, Saint Martin, and more. I long to travel, meet new people and have fun; I love learning about new cultures and traditions, new languages, and new foods and drink, but most of all I have realized that I love sharing these experiences and knowledges with other people.
However, my life took another U-turn in the summer of 2022 while Meghan and I were on a trip in Portugal. I became extremely thirsty and tired. At first I thought it was the after effects of having Covid three weeks before traveling, but I soon realized it was something different when I woke up on our first day in Aveiro barely able to walk to the bathroom. I had absolutely no strength. I slept most of the day but by nightfall I became nauseous and knew it was time to go to the hospital. So, Meghan ordered an Uber to take me to the nearest ER where they very quickly realized I was in a life-threatening state of Diabetic Ketoacidosis and was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 35 years old.
Needless to say, my lifestyle has dramatically changed since my diagnosis, but I still long to travel and refuse for this invisible autoimmune disease to hold me back.
With over 10+ years of customer service experience, 8+ years of travel experience/planning and 8+ years of dealing with bureaucracy and healthcare abroad, I feel very confident in providing travel services and once-in-a-lifetime, priceless adventures to groups of womxn, especially those who refuse to allow health conditions hold them back from seeing the world! I wake up every day loving my life and I know I am so blessed, and I want to provide this same feeling to others.
It is important to me that each trip provided by C.N. Travels, LLC in cooperation M.L. Travels, LLC is intimate and authentic. Together, Meghan and I strive to curate trips in partnership with other small businesses around the world. That means we try our best to book with local guides, locally owned hotels, restaurants and bars, and provide cultural experiences/activities so that our clients are not only immersed in the culture, but we are doing our part to ensure that tourism is sustainable in each of the places we visit, and local populations are also sustained by our tourism.
Now for the next trip…
Let’s Go Somewhere,
Christie Collins (C.N. Travels, LLC)
Meghan:
Hi! My name is Meghan, owner, creator and CEO of M.L. Travels. I live in Miami. I have had a lifelong love of French language and culture, and when I’m not working here in Miami, I’m likely hopping on a flight to a new city or country. I love experiencing a place from a local’s point of view.
Born in Miami, but raised in North Carolina, my love of travel began at a young age learning French in middle and high school. I visited France in high school and dreamed of returning to explore more ever since. After some time attending East Carolina University, I knew a typical lifestyle was not for me. I moved to Indianapolis and began working in the restaurant industry. It was there I began my love affair with food and beverage. It also allowed me some flexibility to travel about the US. I visited NYC, Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis, Miami, New Orleans and Memphis trying every local specialty and learning what each place had to offer.
In 2014, I married my husband and on our honeymoon we visited Miami – and just decided to stay. I quickly got a job at Broken Shaker Miami – an award winning cocktail bar inside Freehand Miami, a local boutique hostel. I was lucky enough to have a flexible enough position to allow me to travel multiple times a year.
Since my moving to Miami, I have now traveled to France, Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Mexico, Greece, the Bahamas, the Netherlands, the UK, and Portugal, as well as making a cross country trek in the US during 2020. And, many of these places I’ve visited more than once. I have fallen in love with new cities upon arrival. I have spent time learning new languages, meeting local people and learning more of their way of life, eating their food and learning to make it. I have learned how much I love this part of my life but even more how much I want to help others experience it too. I love to see the look on someone’s face the first time they see the Eiffel Tower, or their first taste of real fresh made pasta. I have spent nearly 20 years of my life in the food and beverage industry, I have spent more than eight years fervently planning trips for myself and others. I am so thrilled to be able to make these passions of mine into unimaginable trips with lifelong memories for other women.
Let’s Go Somewhere,
Meghan Lassiter (M.L. Travels, LLC)