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| So... I guess it was kind of a fun time. |
At the end of August, I was at the cottage with some friends, and we ended up talking about Iceland in that random sort of way that summer conversations meander back and forth over all kinds of little things ... trips other people were taking, dreams from years ago, and plans made around a campfire that dissipate quickly in the morning light.
Except that this particular plan didn't float away like last night's smoke ... it grew.
That's the simple version, of course, but really, that's how I ended up on a plane to Keflavik, Iceland (and then on a bus to the capital city). It was just an idea, and then it was a plan, and then suddenly it was plane tickets and calendar dates and suitcases and boarding passes and the ground dropping away beneath us faster than I could blink.
And then ... Iceland!
We walked the colourful streets of the capital city, rode horses across stone-broken lava fields, hiked up waterfalls, and road tripped across the Southern part of Iceland ... we saw snow at the top of Glymur, sheep upon sheep upon sheep by the side of the road, and rainbows every 30 seconds in Reykjavik, where the weather changes faster than you can pull a hood over your head. It was the most "adulting" I've ever done, all the way across the ocean from everything that I'm used to, and as beautiful as it was, it made me realize how much I love living in Canada, too.
It truly was a wild trip... in every sense of the world! Would you be interested in seeing another post about tips and tricks for traveling Iceland? let me know in the comments!
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would YOU go?
xx,
Olivia
Wow! That is so fun! I wish my friends and I could actually make our big travel plans happen! I love the pictures of the cliffs--so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHailey
www.haileyhudson.wordpress.com
I'm blessed to have friends who LOVE planning big trips like this ... if it was up to me, I'd have waaay more trouble putting this stuff into action! :p and that picture of the cliffs is one of my favourites, too!
DeleteBlack sand beaches? It looks so beautiful! Everything about this place looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThe black sand beach was the most wild and eerie and powerful and beautiful part of our trip (well... maybe not the MOST beautiful, but definitely wild and eerie and powerful!) Iceland on the whole is very very beautiful though :)
DeleteLove all these pictures! I told my brother if he ever went back, he had to take me.
ReplyDeleteI haven't ever been out of the country, but I would love to see a castle some day. And maybe the alps. Yes, definitely the alps because mountains = <3
Oh, Meaghan, if you ever get the chance to, do go to Iceland! And do as many hikes as you can fit in - hands down that was my favourite part!
DeleteI would also love to see a castle ... maybe in Wales, because I have family there?
I love hearing the story behind this trip! That's so cool that a dream turned into a reality! I love all of the photos. It sounds like the trip of a lifetime. :) <3 If I could go anywhere, I would go to Ireland or Italy!
ReplyDeleteYay! Thank you Erin! It was totally the trip of a lifetime ... and I'm so thankful I got to go with one of my best friends!
DeleteWow it looks incredible!
ReplyDeleteAnna it totally was!! Thanks for commenting!
Delete200% yes please do a tips & tricks post because now I want to go to Iceland!!!! WOW. Those landscape shots absolutely blew me away! I met a photographer this summer at an arts festival I was working at, and she only photographed Ireland and Iceland... and now I can totally see why - SOOOO MUCH BEAUTY. <3 I love the story behind this, and isn't it the greatest when those subtle little dreamy conversations evolve and then HAPPEN? WOOOO! Best feeling, I swear. I am so glad you had a fabulous time, Olivia!
ReplyDeleteLOL yayyy hopefully a tips+tricks post will be on the horizon soon!! Maybe around Christmas break when people are planning vacations?? I'll think about this one. And that's so interesting that the photographer sticks to specific countries ... I've never heard of that, but it does make so much sense in this case!!
DeleteWow, that looks like a fantastic trip, Olivia. I've wanted to go to Iceland for about a year now, and this trip just woke up my hunger to travel there even more!
ReplyDeleteWhat made you want to go to Iceland?
You said the trip was wild. What was wild about it?
Did you eat any interesting, weird, or particularly yummy food while there?
What languages do people speak in Iceland?
Oh, I have so many places I want to go. Iceland, Germany, Norway (and the other Scandinavian countries), Italy, Ireland, England (again), South Africa, Ethiopia, and Ethiopia (again). : ) Where do you want to travel next?
Danielle, the trip was worth it! It's just as beautiful as it looks!
DeleteI wanted to go to Iceland after reading a post by Hannah Mary (the Daisy Tree blog) ... I saw some pictures that she'd posted from Google Images and I was hooked!
It was wild in the sense that some of our flights got cancelled and delayed ... but also wild in a very literal sense - lots of hard rock and wide-open horizons with no humans in sight!
We ate twice at a little restaurant called "Fish and More" (you can google it!! It's very tiny!) The food there was DELICIOUS - I tried Plokkfiskur, which is a traditional Icelandic fish stew, and loved it!
People in Iceland speak Icelandic and English!
I'm probably going to Europe next to visit a friend ... but after that, I think I'll be content to stay at home for a good long time! Whew!
Ooh, Plokkfiskur sounds good. : )
DeleteEurope sounds exciting! And yeah, travel is good, but home is good too.
Mmm, those pictures - it looks like Iceland is something else. The scenery is so impressive. Thanks for sharing, and of course, any more posts about Iceland are fine by me! :) If I could go anywhere, I would like to meet friends in America, but Iceland is probably somewhere near the top along with the UK.
ReplyDeleteIceland is SO BEAUTIFUL. I can't say it enough times!! Meeting friends in America is a great idea - half the greatness of travelling is the people you do it with!
DeleteI love your pictures, especially because I went to Iceland on my honeymoon 5.5 years ago! I recently framed some photos for our bedroom, so now I can look at the cliffs and black sand all the time. Did you see puffins? That was one of my favourite parts.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, did you really?! Where did you stay? Sadly we did not see any puffins... I wish! We did find lots of puffin memorabilia, though! Haha.
DeleteWe booked a six-day tour of the southern part of Iceland, so we had a rental car and stayed at different little hotels with the first and last nights in Reykjavik. The landscape, history, and language are all so fascinating!
DeleteThis looks stunning, oh my gosh!
ReplyDeleteIT WAS STUNNING, OH MY GOSH!!!
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