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Iceland Part 3
Be sure to read parts one and two of this series! Day 3 in Iceland was an open one for our Groupon. We decided to fill it with a bus tour of the south coast, from Reykjavik to Vik. We went with Reykjavik Excursions on this tour and had an awesome time. The tour used the few hours of sunshine well and we crammed two waterfalls, a glacier, and a black sand beach into the day. The first waterfall was Skogafoss, which, according to the tour website, “was featured in Thor: The Dark World and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” I just appreciated that you could walk up the…
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Throwback Thursday: Giants and Artists
Every Thursday I bring you a post from one of my journals. This week, it is a post I wrote on study abroad in Belfast. Enjoy! “Welcome to Belfast. Belfast is a really safe city. By the way, don’t go into the pub across the street.” This past weekend was my Arcadia sponsored trip to Belfast and the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. Belfast is a beautiful city with a fascinating history. However, when the above is the first thing your program manager says after you’ve pulled up to the hostel, it doesn’t put you at ease. Apparently, the bar across the street was known for being “sectarian.” As dumb…
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Iceland Part 2
Looking for part one of this series on Reykjavik? Click here! Our tour of Iceland through Groupon included not only our stay at Skuggi hotel, and airfare, but also, for a fee, a trip to the Blue Lagoon. Day two was Blue Lagoon day. Except we didn’t end up going to the Blue Lagoon, it was closed for the entire month we were there. Instead, we went to Laugarvatn Fontana. We left fairly early, in pre-dawn deep blue light, on a big bus. Our tour guide surprised us with an extra stop first! A visit to the Fakasel Horsepark. Icelandic horses are a unique breed that is kept stringently pure.…
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Throwback Thursday: The Seed
Today, I bring you a post from one of my journals. This week, it is the first post I wrote in India. Enjoy! I hardly know the day anymore. Tuesday was incredible. Ricky, our guide, took us via metro and cycle rickshaw to Jama Masjhid and Gurudwara. The mosque, Jama Masjhid was awe-inspiringly beautiful, almost haunting in the early morning. We took pictures with people in our hijabs and admired the hawks in the intensely blue sky. The Sikh temple was a different kind of awesome. They welcomed us into the procession around the Guru Granth Sahib, their holy book. We visited the attached kitchen as well. A small man…
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Throwback Thursday: First Impressions
Occasionally, I will bring you a post from one of my journals. This week, it is the first post I wrote in Thailand. Enjoy! Apologies for making you wait so long for the first Thailand post! I did write a stream of consciousness note to self about the first day: Thursday, October 11, 2012: Thailand Bangkok, airport luggage made it through Ellen met a few travelers Jenna Jessie Caitlin Brendan van across the city confusing jumble of highrises, half-abandoned apartment buildings, traditional houses, and hovels, the hotel is nice enough good service took care of our bags much to our dismay, tiny elevators, quick shower meeting again for dinner with…
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Iceland Part 1
I have been to two places that seemed stunningly alien to me. The first was the desert around Jaisalmer in India. The second was Iceland. Iceland is, in a word, stunning. My husband and I spent four days there in January 2016, and we’ve both dreamt of going back from the moment we left. The story of our trip to Iceland is one that is very much representative of the way Mr. C. and I make decisions. One of us will make a suggestion or ask a question, the other will agree, and the decision is made. In August 2015, only a month after we’d started dating, Mr. C.…
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Throwback Thursday: Lessons from Ireland
Every Thursday I bring you a post from one of my journals. This week, it is an early post from my time studying abroad in Ireland. Enjoy! Rules of Ireland: 1) The pub next door is always a good idea. 2) The misting gets you as wet as a downpour. Monday night my roommates and I needed dinner something fierce. So we left our hostel and headed towards Grafton Street, except right away we paused at the pub that actually shares a wall with the hostel. We notice that the foods pretty cheap, but we want to explore, even more than we want food. So, on we go. For…
