The Pursuit of Leisure

And let the unpacking begin... NOW

dianasaurus — Mon, 4 Jul 2011 02:38:00 GMT

Back home! I boarded my flight from NYC early this afternoon. It was the perfect day to leave since it was a most rainy day in New York. But I had a smooth cab ride and the most perky flight attendant ever on my flight. He was super cheerful about everything and when we started our final descent into Houston he went through the cabin and thanked all the passengers. I think I finally found the solution to being able to sleep on an airplane: first class. Now that I've had a taste of it I never want to go back. My luggage was the 2^nd and 3^rd bag that came down from baggage claim, and then it was a completely traffic-free ride back to my house.

My vacation weight settled in at a gain of 4.4 pounds! Good times! The only regret I have on this trip is that I wish I had planned out a few things before I had left other than just hotels, but overall I'm very happy with the way things turned out during vacation. This is the first vacation I've spent 100% solo. When I spend vacations with good friends I always have a great time, but traveling by yourself, although challenging, is always rewarding. You will no doubt get lost, have trouble dragging your luggage up a flight of stairs, feel awkward dining out, and get exhausted relying on just yourself. But when things work out, when everything you plan fits together, when you're standing on top of the world looking down, you feel an incredible sense of adventure and independence. You feel more inclined to meet a lot of different people from all over the world rather than if you were traveling with a group. And you get a lot of time to think about life and where you are and what's really important. Not too shabby. =)

Thanks everyone for reading my wordy ramblings, and thanks to the cities of London, Boston, NYC and the country of Iceland for providing such an amazing trip. Until next time!

Of thee I sing

dianasaurus — Sat, 2 Jul 2011 23:59:00 GMT

The first place I headed this late morning was Rockefeller Center to do the “Top of the Rock” observation deck, located on floor 76. The sky was very blue when I woke up this morning, but from up that high there was a haze all around (or pollution). The views were still nice and seeing all of Central Park from that height was pretty unique. There were 3 levels to view the city from and the only slight disappointment was that you can't get a clear view of the Chrysler Building because it's right on the corner.

Then I walked around trying to find a place for lunch. I had written out locations from Let's Go New York online since I had left my book at home from my last NYC trip 4 years ago, but then the first 2 restaurants I tried were closed. I thought about trying to find another one but at this point I gave that up and stopped at the first restaurant I came across, which was Burger Heaven. It was like a diner so I just hopped on a stool at the counter to order my food. Don't worry, I didn't order an unhealthy greasy burger. I ordered the unhealthy fried chicken. But with steamed vegetables! (And also mashed potatoes with gravy). The food was actually very good, but they could have made the meal a little smaller. I was thirsty again today so I inhaled a glass of lemonade and also a glass of water. Then I headed back to Rockefeller Center because I wanted to do the NBC Studio tour. Unfortunately those were based on time slots, and the next available one I got was at 4:15, which was kind of annoying because that meant I had to find something quick to do for 2-3 hours and then return by 4. I walked through this open air market on Avenue of the Americas for 7 or so blocks and bought a smoothie. Then I decided to head back to Times Square and check out the Toys 'r us. The store is really more crowded than it deserves to be, even if it always has a couple of special toys. I think it's just more of the convenience of having all available toys grouped together in a big location.

I went back to my hotel to drop off my things and then back to Rockefeller for the NBC Studio tour. It was a group of 30 and we were guided by 2 NBC pages (Matt and Kyle) – a highly sought after job with many applicants. It seems like you need to have a certain personality type and be able to do some on-the-fly jokes to be able to do the job well. We started the tour with a short video on the owners of NBC, Universal and Comcast and then proceeded to a few sets. We kept having to jump into elevators to switch studios. Our first stop was Dr. Oz., who I've heard of but never watched. According to the page he was brought on Oprah during a ratings slump for 55 episodes and did so well that Oprah gave him his own show. Apparently he's some freak overachiever who went to Harvard for undegrad and then University of Pennsylvania where he got his joint MD/MBA degree in 4 years, he performed 250 heart surgeries in the span of 1 year, and he runs 5 miles every day. Impressive but not enough to make me hyped up over his studio. It was really small and they do some camera tricks to make it seem bigger, like rotating this inner circle where some audience members sit to make it seem like they're all different people in the camera. Then we went to the studio for Football Night in America, another small stage although slightly more interesting because of all the huge flat-panel tvs and we were actually able to get on set. This one football fan in my group got super-excited. Finally we stopped by Saturday Night Live, but the closest we got was viewing the set from a raised elevation up through glass windows. The stages are very small and there are only 3 total, but at least it was something I recognized. Finally we went to watch a video on Will Forte running to get his makeup done in 90 seconds during commercial break for the show, and then we went to a tiny makeshift newsroom where 2 volunteers got to read the teleprompter and weather in front of a green screen. Since I was only familiar with 1 of the shows I didn't really feel that it was worth my money. Everything was so hands off; we couldn't even sit in the audience seats. The NBC Experience souvenir store, however, was pretty cool. It's very funny the things they will make for the shows. I was very tempted to buy a real Dundie Award or a Bayside High Tigers t-shirt but restrained myself.

Then I made a quick stop at H&M since there was a big sale and there are no stores across any of the states in the middle of the U.S. Eh there wasn't anything that great. I got too lazy to make my Century 21 stop too. There's only so much you can squeeze in less than 2 days here and I had my show to catch. I went back to my hotel, ironed my dress that I carried in my luggage for 3 whole weeks just to wear one time, and then headed to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in the Theater District to watch “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” I walked the whole way in my sandals, which is always a lot more uncomfortable. There's really no need to get really dressed up for Broadway shows since you will always see people in casual clothing in the audience, but I like to dress up anyway just so I can feel like I'm doing something important. Apparently that's also how people think you're not a tourist because I didn't have to walk far before I started getting questions on directions. I got to the theater with plenty of time to spare, and then went to the bathroom in the theater, and this was the first time I've ever seen a formal queue with velvet rope for the women's bathroom. I felt like I was lining up for the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. Then when I was in my seat waiting for the show to start I checked into my flight using my Blackberry and upgraded to first class (yeah that's how I roll).

I really enjoyed the show. It was very funny and the song and dance numbers were crazy with the amounts of choreography and acrobatic moves. There was also a very energetic vibe in the audience that made you want to keep on cheering after every number. It put me in a good mood. And I had orchestra seats and the theater was small so I could see everything really well. Of course when Daniel Radcliffe appeared on stage the audience started screaming and then when John Larroquette appeared the audience went nuts. I used to watch Night Court reruns when I was a kid and loved John Larroquette on that show (so much so that I named one of my stuffed animals after him) so it was a real treat to watch him in all his hilarity (and at 63 years of age to boot) spring around on stage. And Daniel Radcliffe (a.k.a. Harry Potter) – the kid is talented. He can sing, he can dance, he can act, and he can fake a good American accent. I'm glad I was able to catch him starring in the show before he has to take a short break to do promotion for the final Harry Potter film.

When the show ended everyone rushed outside to catch the actors leaving the stage. John Larroquette and Daniel Radcliffe each had a separate SUV waiting for them right outside the theater. So there were huge crowds and frustrated police officers repeatedly telling people to get off the street and back on the sidewalk. I can't believe they have to do this every night. I couldn't get a good view from where I was standing so I jaywalked across the street. John Larroquette came out first and spent at least 15 minutes signing autographs before he hopped in his SUV. The only reason I could tell it was him is because he's 6'5” and I could see a scruff of gray hair above the car. Daniel Radcliffe came out last in a baseball cap and he was surrounded by 2 bodyguards so I did not get a good view of him. And yes, I was aware of the irony of lining up and dealing with a large crowd to see the actors leave the theater when I had just seen them on stage for 3 straight hours and with a great view.

I hadn't eaten dinner yet so I thought about walking around trying to find a good place, but it was past 11 p.m. and I was lazy so as I was walking back in the general direction of my hotel I passed by a 24-hour McDonald's. Yes, I went to eat at McDonald's in NYC, on my last night of vacation. But if you were dealing the insane crowds as I was walking you would have seen those golden arches as an oasis too. The lines to buy food were horrible, but when I went to sit down upstairs to eat it was very clean and not crowded, so that was nice. Then I walked back to my hotel and called it a night.

And that's the last full day of vacation! Tomorrow I am flying back to Texas. I can't believe it's almost over already but at the same time I feel like I've been traveling for a long time. London feels like ages ago, and I remember when I hit the halfway point of vacation when I was in Iceland, but that meant I still had a full week in Reykjavik. Then Boston and New York passed by quickly since they were only 5 days combined. I still feel great. Let's see how I feel once I am back home.

Please don't let the bedbugs bite

dianasaurus — Fri, 1 Jul 2011 23:49:00 GMT

Last vacation destination before coming home! I caught a morning flight today to Newark. I completely overestimated the amount of time that it would take me to get to the airport. It was a very smooth and beautiful morning in Boston. I walked out of the hotel and the doorman asked if I needed a taxi and then whistled it down, popped my luggage in the trunk and opened the door for me. I got to the airport 2 hours early and had an omelet breakfast at Legal Test Kitchen (a branch of Legal Sea Foods). Then I got on board my Elite Access first class seat (yep) for my ultra-short flight to Newark. Does first class really make a difference on a flight? God yes. If you have luggage it makes a lot of difference. I'm not going to go out of my way to pay for it, but it is so much more relaxing and quiet since almost all the other travelers are also flying solo. And the seats are so much roomier and people aren't fighting over the overhead compartments. And there's no line for the bathroom. Two of my four flights for this vacation have been on the higher non-economy class and it's been very much worth it. There was even Direct TV, so I watched almost all of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report before we landed.

It was also a gorgeous day in New York. 79 degrees and sunny. I opted for the cab from Newark instead of the air train just because I wanted to relax, and it was certainly a pricey cab ride. Once we got to Manhattan then the traffic and sirens started to kick in and the nightmare that is NYC commuting. It was a fixed-fee cab ride though so I didn't care about the detours and made sure he pulled up right in front of the hotel. I checked into the Double Tree Hilton Metropolitan, and it was a crowded lobby. It's a great location, right on 51^st and Lexington and only 5 blocks away from Rockefeller Center. My room wasn't ready yet, so I collected my 2 free cookies from the hotel, dropped off my bags and decided to just walk around the city. Then I realized I had left my map in my luggage. My little pocket popup map of NYC I had bought before leaving for vacation, and carried through 3 different countries while keeping it in pristine condition – I had left in my computer bag. So I wandered NYC completely guide-free. I spent a long weekend here 4 years ago so I didn't feel completely out of my element. It wasn't a bad way to go about it, except I had intended to go to Rockefeller Center and thought it was north of me, so I started heading north and didn't see it so kept on walking and then I hit Central Park. Well I had intended to visit there too so I thought I might as well explore it now then. It was still a nice day after all. I had my Kindle with me, and what better way to spend a day at the park than to sit and read. But the Kindle didn't turn on. What? The battery lasts 3 weeks... oh wait, that's how long I've been on vacation already. So I decided to walk around and get lost around the park. I did stumble onto the Visitor Center where they sold maps for $4. Eh, too expensive. I just continued walking where I thought something looked interesting and passed by some very pretty areas. I even passed by the lake where they were racing tiny model sailboats. Adorable! It's a very gorgeous park but I can see why you wouldn't want to be there at night: too many hidden paths and crevices.

Finally I decided to wander back to the urban jungle and headed towards a skyscraper with the sun behind me and hit 5^th and 79^th street. I was over 30 blocks north of where I started, and I decided to walk the 30 blocks back as well. Since I've already been to NYC once, I did a lot of the touristy stuff on the first trip already (Empire State Building, Times Square, Statue of Liberty) so I'm not venturing far out of Midtown so I didn't use the subway today. I may use the subway tomorrow; I was actually kind of curious how New Yorkers are on the subway because during the week I spent on the Tube all the Londoners were dead quiet, briskly walking to their trains making no eye contact with anyone else, then sitting down and reading one of 4 items: 1) newspaper, 2) Kindle, 3) iPad, 4) Novel. I wasn't sure if this was just a culture thing or if because we have all this high-tech stuff in recent years that no one bothers to talk anymore.

So yes it was quite a bit of walking today. I will definitely feel it in my legs tomorrow. Then I did find Rockefeller Center (I got lazy and looked it up on my Blackberry) and walked around there for a bit before heading back to Times Square. Yes, Times Square is incredibly touristy and when you think about it why is going to the Starbucks there (or any of the many clothing stores) there better than any of the other 400 NYC locations? Because there are a bunch of flashy ads and neon signs? Nevertheless I still found myself drawn to it. I had to make a lemonade stop there because again I was super thirsty. Plus I was also heading to the Discovery Times Square, where I was planning to visit an exhibition on Pompei. Nah, I'm just kidding. I was heading to the Harry Potter Exhibition. I briefly considered visiting both exhibitions, but after visiting Iceland and walking on lava fields everywhere and seeing real-life volcanoes already, I think it's time to get a break from volcanoes.

The Harry Potter Exhibition amounted to mostly seeing props used across all the films: all the magical wands, wardrobes, significant items like the Marauders Map and the Triwizard Cup. I'll admit I geeked out when I saw the Invisibility Cloak and sword of Gryffindor up close. They actually gathered quite a lot of props from the films since all the films are finished and they won't be using those items anymore. I always find movie props fascinating since so much care and work is put into the items which you as a viewer will probably never see up close to notice all the fine details. There were a few interactive parts of the exhibit. The first room was the sorting into the houses, so volunteers got to sit on a stool while the worker placed the sorting hat over their heads and the speaker announced which house they should go in. Yes it was all for the kids again... with the speaker saying whichever house the kids preferred. Pshhh whatever, like I need a fake sorting heat to tell me I belong in Gryffindor. =) Then there was a section where you could pick up quaffles and throw them through these rings in Quidditch. Yeah I still think the game is just as boring as it is in the books and the movies.

The gift shop at the end of the exhibit contained overpriced souvenirs. Parents were buying their children replica wands for the low price of $50 each. For a stick that lights up?? Unless it's a life-sized light saber it's not worth it. After I left the exhibit I walked around for a little more around Times Square until the lack of sleep last night (packing my luggages again) kicked in and I got pretty tired. I got so lazy I grabbed dinner on the way back to the hotel at Chipotle and guess what? East Coast Chipotle kind of sucks. The ingredients aren't nearly as fresh and it was a small, pitiful burrito they handed me. Normally the meat should be bursting out but this was a clean meal. Sad, really. I don't know if I'm gonna try out any “nice” restaurants here.

Tomorrow I might do the Rockefeller Center view and NBC tour. I'm undecided about shopping here. I'd like to do Century 21 and H&M, but on the other hand I kind of hate shopping for clothes so we'll see. Maybe museums? I have my Broadway show tomorrow night for sure. I'm attending “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying,” starring none other than Mr. Harry Potter himself – Daniel Radcliffe - live and in person. At least I'll be sleeping in tomorrow!

Cheers, Bean Town

dianasaurus — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:54:00 GMT

Today was the laziest day of vacation yet. I headed out pretty late this morning wondering what to do before 11, so I went inside Trinity Church in Copley Plaza to continue this unofficial church tour I seem to be doing during vacation. This was a straightforward pay $7, then walk into the church. That's it. No massive tombs or corridors or audio guides like in London. An organist was rehearsing so that gave a nice dramatic soundtrack while I was walking around. After the church I went to the Farmer's Market in the Prudential Plaza, but this turned out to be really small. At least I got a free Lindt truffle from a store worker handing them out on the way there. Then I decided to walk to the North End to get something Italian for lunch. I was trying to find this place from my guidebook, but I couldn't, and then just as I was walking past Florentine Cafe, this guide on a segway tour wheeled by with his tourists and said, “This restaurant also has pretty good Italian food,” so I thought I might as well stop walking and go inside. There were so many cafes on the street all serving Italian food so it was pretty hard to narrow one down. But the restaurant was pretty crowded so I figured it must be good. I ordered some penne pasta with chicken and some alcohol. The food was good but not amazing.

I also stopped by the Old North Church (otherwise known as Christ Church) and this is the famous church where 2 lanterns were hung outside in 1775 to signify that the British were crossing the river (“one if by land, two if by sea”) and therefore warned the militias before the Battle of Lexington and Concord. The church was very simple on the inside: white walls and pews and clear windows, but it was still emotionally moving. The pews were actually arranged like cubicles because that was the only way to keep people warm back then, and back then you could “buy” a pew to attend service with the best seats going for the equivalent of $25,000 a year.

I made a quick stop by Faneuil Hall Marketplace to grab a yogurt smoothie and caught the end of a street juggler act. I had also watched a street juggler in London and another one in Iceland, and it's funny how even though they have different styles and senses of humor, a lot of things are similar. I video-recorded all of them, so it's gonna be interesting to string all the videos and watch them together. Then I walked along Beacon Street, a famous neighborhood because of its ritzy townhouses. They're very nice-looking in that New England/old money type way. I passed by the bar that was the inspiration for the tv show Cheers unintentionally. (Eh, I never really cared for that show). Only the outside and staircase are like the show, otherwise the inside is completely different. But I think there's another bar in Boston that recreates the inside exactly if you're so inclined to visit. Then I walked to the Esplanade, this park right along the water with running/biking trails. It's also where the 4^th of July celebration will be held. It was really pretty and very relaxing just to sit there in the sun and enjoy the breeze and watch the sailboats go by. I think I sat on a bench there for close to 2 hours. I had a long list of things I wanted to do in Boston but decided to just take it easy today and enjoy the city without stopping to take a picture every 5 minutes.

So that ends my short stay in Boston. A nice little city, but I kind of feel bad for the drivers because the roads are narrow and people constantly jaywalk and block turns all the time. Tomorrow morning I am flying to NYC, where I have no guidebook at all, so let's see what happens! I have one event scheduled only, and that's to catch a Broadway show on Saturday night. Otherwise maybe I'll just chill in Central Park or check out the museums. I can't believe I'm starting the final leg of vacation tomorrow.

Bibs are for Amateurs

dianasaurus — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 23:59:00 GMT

Another beautiful day in Boston. I started out today in a good mood because everyone I encountered this morning was just plain old nice. I headed out my hotel room and housekeeping was servicing the room directly across the hall and wished me a good morning. This random guest I passed in the hall told me good morning. This other housekeeping guy I passed right by the elevators wished me a good morning. The barista at Starbucks told me the flowers painted on my shirt were awesome, wasn't my name the name of a goddess – of the hunt and twin of Apollo, and if the drink he made for me sucked he would fix it for me. I could get used to this hospitality! And I've been able to avoid the somewhat high numbers of homeless people and petitioners on the street for the most part so it's all good. (My sunglasses get part of the credit).

I scarfed down a bagel for breakfast and then went on the Boston Duck Tour. A lot of big cities have these amphibious vehicle tours (I did one in Austin a few years back), but in Boston these seem to be a major part of touring the city and highly recommended. I was on the Charlie River DUKW, and it was actually built in WW2, as opposed to most of the other ducks that now run on biodiesel. The “conDUCKtor” (a.k.a. the driver) of my tour came up wearing a toga and olive branch and said his name was Jason (of the Argonauts). They certainly didn't do that in Austin. All the people that lead the tours have wildly different personalities. Dorky, yes, but somehow it works. He was a pretty entertaining and friendly tour guide, and the ride through Boston was very nice. It was great weather and the breeze was great, and because Boston is small we got to drive past a lot of neighborhoods and famous landmarks, and getting a history lesson at the same time. Near the end we of course plunged into the Charles River. Then while we were on the water Jason asked who wanted to drive and I thought, “I do!” but he was mainly asking the kids. Sigh. So kids from Germany, India, Italy and the U.S. All got a chance at the wheel (some days I wish I were a kid again).

Afterwards I was hungry so I headed to Faneuil Hall (pronounced “fan-YOOL”) Marketplace, which was very crowded but I loved it. There were 3 main buildings for food and shopping (North, South, and Quincy Hall) and it was arcade-style slightly chaotic. It was like a combination of Conventry Garden in London and Pike Place Market in Seattle, except definitely more restaurant-oriented, which I enjoyed. There were at least 30 food options walking down Quincy Hall and all very varied, but I was scoping out the places where the lines were longest so I know which places the locals like. I got food from mmMac N' Cheese and had the Boston special, which had crab, shrimp and lobster. The seafood wasn't of the highest quality but the actual macaroni was so it wasn't a bad meal. You watch them prepare it right in front of you. Then I had a passion pina coloda from Monkey Bar, which was very refreshing. I'm not sure if it's because the weather is warmer and sunny here and/or because I spend most of my day walking around, but I'm buying a ridiculous number of fruity drinks because I'm so thirsty during the day, even when I'm constantly refilling my water bottle too. Boston must have perfect lemonade weather. Now that I'm typing this I'm already getting thirsty again.

After lunch I took the inner harbor ferry to Charleston Navy Yard, home of the USS Constitution – the oldest floating commissioned warship in the world. The ship is also known as “Old Ironsides.” The hull is made of 3 layers of wood, with white oak on the outside layers, and live oak, which only grows in Georgia and is 5 times denser than white oak, in between. So during the War of 1812, when the Constitution was engaged in a battle with the British HMS Guerriere, the Guerriere's cannonballs bounced off the side of the Constitution, and the British exclaimed, “Huzza! Her sides must be made of iron!” and the nickname was born. There's your history lesson for this 4^th of July! The ship was pretty fascinating; you get to walk down 2 levels below deck and see the guns and the sleeping barracks and get a little history lesson on what life was like back then. The tours are led by actual sailors and it's not a museum so you don't pay to enter, which is nice since it means I only had to pay for the $3.40 roundtrip ferry ride. It also means you have to go through a security check and metal detector but when I went the lines weren't bad at all. And the ferry ride is pretty nice too; you get great views of Boston and Charleston.

Once I got back, yes, I was really thirsty again, and I passed by this sign that said, “Best Smoothies in Boston,” so of course I had to try it out. It was a place called Emack and Bolios, and I had this orange/mango/strawberry/sparkling water smoothie which I drained within a few blocks. Then the weather was so nice that when I walked through the Public Gardens again I just had to find a bench to sit down and enjoy the sunshine and cool breeze in front of the lagoon. I was going to stay longer but then I realized it'd probably be great views of Boston from up high, so I went to the Prudential Tower to see the 360 degree view of Boston (the only such building in New England). It's on the 50^th floor of the tower, and for $13 you get windowed views from every side of the building plus a free audio tour. The views over Back Bay were amazing because the afternoon sun was shining directly on it. There were also a few exhibits on immigration and minorities in Boston on the walls. It's one of the better towers that I've been in since you have the straight glass windows all around and there are no bars to block your views. You might get some reflection light in your photos if the sun happens to be shining there but otherwise it had a lot better views that I was expecting.

For dinner I ate at Legal Sea Foods. I thought I'd save that for my last night here, but I was tired and there's a restaurant right in the Prudential Center so I went for it. And got the “lobster lovers” special, which was basically a bundled up package of a cup of clam chowder, 1.25 lb lobster plus 2 sides ( I picked green beans and french fries), and then a strawberry shortcake with fresh strawberries for dessert. I wasn't expecting there to be that much food, but it was actually a gut-busting meal. Oh how I've missed that while traveling outside the U.S.! There was a woman at the table next to me telling me that she wouldn't eat for a week now after eating here. I was expecting a puny lobster but it was a fair size and fresh, and I think I did a really good job of prying all the meat out from the shell. So that plus a Coke totaled out to be $40, which is not bad at all. This is where not drinking alcohol really pays off since a glass of wine would have added $10 already. I walked back to my hotel around 9:30 and it was dark outside(!), which felt great because the weather was cool and it really feels like an end to the day. Oh nighttime is definitely a good thing.

I'm not sure what I'm doing tomorrow yet. There are some 4^th of July activities I wanted to check out but then there are also neighborhood walks I wanted to do and touring specific buildings. But then the Pru has a farmer's market tomorrow from 11-6 and that sounds delicious already. I'm really starting to like Boston; I was walking around today and there was that stupid grin on my face again. I had arranged my whole vacation around Iceland and then London, and then Boston was kind of an afterthought. Icelandair flew direct here and I had never been to Boston so I was always going to visit here, but I didn't really focus on the number of days here. Now I find I really like the city and I wish I had an extra day here. Oh well. Tomorrow is my last day to explore and then on Friday I head to NYC.

From Midnight Sun to Midnight Ride

dianasaurus — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:35:00 GMT

Greetings from Boston! It is 10:30 at night and I am witnessing something I have not seen for a while: darkness. I actually had to turn the lights on in the hotel room. I also took a hot shower and the water did not smell like anything at all. I kind of miss Iceland. I flew from Reykjavik this morning and landed in Boston where it was a sunny 83 degrees outside. The captain on my Icelandair flight said it was beautiful weather but I've been so used to 40-50 degrees that this felt really hot to me and I was sweating in the cab ride already.

I checked into the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel – the “grande dame” of Boston, and it's in this great location in Copley Plaza in the Back Bay area. My cab driver said it's where the presidents and governors always stay when they visit. I found this decent online deal for the most basic of rooms, which is a nice queen-sized room with absolutely no views at all. It reminds me of my hotel in London actually, except the quality is a bit better. Of course right when I got back to the U.S. I had to get into that pesky habit of tipping again, so one for the cab driver and another for the bellhop. What is the appropriate tip for a bellhop I never had a clue. But I felt a very important person coming out of the cab with the hotel doorman opening the door for me, taking my backpack and both my luggages and placing them on a luggage rack and wheeling it behind me as I walked to the lobby. I suppose a little service every now and then isn't a bad thing. The hotel is a nice-looking building from the outside, but it does not prepare you for the inside, which is so ridiculously ornate; the main entryway is lined with chandeliers and my jaw dropped when I stepped in.

I did not plan anything in Boston before I came here other than my hotel. I had bought a day-to-day guide but didn't set out any itineraries because everything on my trip has been planned only the night before, so after unpacking my things in my room I went down to the lobby and asked one of the bellhops where the Public Gardens were. This guy had a really strong Boston accent and he didn't understand when I said, “gardens.” Then he said, “Oh, Public GAHdens,” and pointed me to the place. I stopped for a bit in Copley Plaza because there were some booths selling fresh fruits and vegetables so I walked a bit around there. I also bought a Polish sausage. Yeah, I'm on a hot dog kick.

I followed his directions and it's a pretty nice park. It was very crowded and it's not a huge park but still felt peaceful. There were loads of people taking naps in the grass (with the majority NOT being homeless). I bought a ride on the swan boat on the lagoon, where there's one worker who pedals and steers in the back for the entire boat. That's probably a decent workout. There was a breeze on the lagoon so it felt pretty nice – very relaxing. There's also a very tiny and cute suspension bridge that the boat passes under. All the workers seemed to be kids and this one guy was working this as a summer job before starting college. Then there was a family behind me and the mom told one of her kids that they could work here once they go to college in Boston – like it was the most common summer job in the world.

After the park I went to the Granary Burying Ground, which has the graves of the victims of the Boston Massacre, and such famous patriots as John Hancock, Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. (I hope we all know who Paul Revere is and who he warned on his famous midnight ride). It was a very small cemetery and according to this guide in a tricorner hat who was giving a tour, I overheard that even though there are only hundreds of headstones, anywhere from 5.000 – 12,000 bodies might be buried there. The area was under heavy construction, particularly with the paved paths. Actually a lot of Boston seems to be under construction so they're not really good photo ops. On the taxi ride we passed by the Esplanade which is where they're holding the 4^th of July celebration with fireworks and Boston Pops. Everything's in setup mode with bleachers and whatever stages they're preparing. I'm a bit bummed that I won't be here for that; it looks like it's a massive celebration.

Then I headed to the Boston Public Library, which has a really gorgeous interior. There are frescoes on the walls and these 2 lion sculptures that adorn the staircase. The architecture is pretty neat-looking. The reading room was pretty nice too but there were a lot of students who were studying so I didn't take any pictures in there and just sat down and pulled my guidebook to choose what looks interesting. Finally I settled on heading to the Prudential Center (or the “Pru”) which is a huge indoor arcade/shopping center. Yes I actually missed this too while abroad. Food courts! I opted for a cheaper dinner tonight and had Wagamama, which is a British noodle chain. I had it once in 2009 in the Auckland Airport in New Zealand I think, and I forgot to visit while I was in London, so this was a nice way to make up for it. It was located directly over the subway though, and the first time a train passed underneath I wanted to duck under the table because I thought it was an earthquake. After dinner I was still pretty tired from packing late last night so I called it a really early night and just had a Pinkberry frozen yogurt for dessert and then did the short walk back to the hotel.

Some things I had missed while I was abroad: American TV, American chains, free soda refills, cheaper meals, and of course the general sort of excess comfort level that is not provided internationally. And I did miss Americans too. Sure, they can be pretty annoying abroad, but on homeland everyone has a sort of joyful energy that I didn't see a lot of in Iceland and definitely not in London. One thing I did not miss was my cell phone however. I grudgingly turned the network back on when I got to Boston and there were so many hundreds of work e-mails coming in on my phone I had to delete the account entirely off my Blackberry. Now that I'm back in the U.S. I have this compulsive need to keep checking it even though I don't hear any notifications. You'll find it's hard to turn off your smartphone but when you do it's a really nice break from information overload – a return to simpler times if you will.

Tomorrow I am either doing the duck tour or visiting the USS Constitution or both or something else. I hope the weather is good. If it's not I'll duck into some of the museums. I only have 2 full days left and even though the city is compact and easy to get around just by walking, I won't be able to do everything I want here. If I can just do a couple of neat things and get one really good seafood/lobster meal I'll be happy with my time in Boston.

Photos: Boston & NYC

dianasaurus — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:25:00 GMT

Takk Fyrir & Bless

dianasaurus — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 23:15:00 GMT

So ends my time in Iceland (for now)! I had a very easygoing day just around town. I had my buffet breakfast in the morning and then walked around central Reykjavik taking photos. Today is probably the worst day of weather I've experienced since being here. There were blue skies in the morning, but also a very strong wind that made the weather a lot colder than what I've been used to here. It's the first time I've had to wear both my down vest and winter jacket and beanie around town, and it was actually so windy that I got pushed over a few times when I was walking. However since there were blue skies and good visibility in the morning, I headed over to the church Hallgrimskirkja to ascend the bell tower to get a good view of Reykjavik. I was expecting to climb up hundreds of steps but this was pretty much a straight elevator ride up 8 stories, and then ascending 2 flights of stairs to get outside. The views were gorgeous and all the buildings look so colorful when viewed from up top, but the wind was also very incredible. It reminded me of being on top of the Empire State Building in NYC in winter.

After leaving the church I went to so many bookstores and souvenir shops to find SOMETHING to buy that seemed “Icelandic” enough. I am amazed at the prices here on simple things like key chains. I thought about buying volcanic ash from either the Grimsvotn or Eyjafyallajokull eruptions, but it was like $10 and I couldn't help thinking that Iceland needed to get rid of the volcanic ash somehow and what better way than to market it as a tourist souvenir. So I didn't buy any. This is probably the least amount of souvenirs I've purchased when traveling internationally, so family and friends, if you don't get a souvenir from me remember that I'm bringing back something even better. Love? (Second only to fine merino wool or precious gems).

Then I had myself a hot dog “with everything” at Baejarin's Bestu again. I could probably eat at least 2 of these for a meal but I had a big breakfast and wanted to get an early dinner. I sat down at the one outside table right beside the stand and then this man asked me in Icelandic if he could sit down as well. I'm guessing that's what he asked but when I nodded and gestured for him to sit down he laughed. He asked where I was from and then I told him how long I had stayed in Iceland and that I enjoyed my time here. He said it was a bit cold but I told him I thought the weather was very good except for today. He told me that the weather was really good last week and that he was at his summer house in Husavik. Then he told me he was a police officer for 40 years but then he retired, but then had to work again as a taxi driver once all the Icelandic banks all failed in 2008 when the economy busted. Then he told me he used to pay 58,000 krona for his monthly summer house payment but now it's 78,000 so he's thinking about maybe selling it and buying a smaller house. ($1 USD = 110 krona). It was pretty interesting; I just love the random conversations strangers will start with you if they see you're traveling alone.

More souvenir shopping followed after this and then I went back to my hotel to drop off my stuff, along with taking an hour-long nap. Shopping is exhausting? Then I went to dinner at Einar Ben, this restaurant right in the center of town. I chose it because I wanted something very Icelandic and a bit nicer since it was my last night here. It's located in an old house and when I went in at 6 p.m. I was the first patron there. I picked a little table in an alcove right by the window overlooking the street. This was probably the most romantic restaurant I've ever eaten in by myself, and it was a little funny because the restaurant is located on the second level of a house, and when I walked up the stairs one of the waiters and one of the other workers were talking but then they dispersed and once I sat down at my table I heard a computer sound over the speakers and then “Besame Mucho” started playing over the speakers. It was a little hilarious.

I ordered the lamb loin as my main course and did not order a starter dish. After I had started digging into my very hot and freshly-baked bread rolls, my waiter came over with a dish saying the chef wanted me to try something. It was a very fancy plate with tender beef slices and it was very good. I wanted to take pictures of the food because it all looked really good, but the atmosphere just felt too homey and I wanted to get away from being a tourist for once. What's really interesting about the restaurant is that there is no set menu and it changes daily depending on the fresh ingredients they have and what the chef feels like making. This family of 3 came in about half an hour after me and they did NOT get the special chef's plate of beef that I got. Muahaha. My lamb plate then came out and it was small of course but the presentation was very nice and the meat was exceptionally tender and flavorful. It also came with sliced potatoes that had been pressed together to look almost like a cake, and yes it was also very good. I've been eating so much seafood here, which is obviously very fresh, but the lamb is also well-regarded here and I was very happy with my meal. I saved enough room for dessert and ordered the skyr, which is similar in taste to a tart yogurt, and that came with ice cream on top and blueberries and strawberries around it. Definitely the best meal in Iceland I've had.

When the bill came, much like the rest of Iceland, tipping is not done here so there isn't even an option to tip when you pay the bill. I read that waiters get paid pretty well here because of the labor unions so you shouldn't feel bad about not tipping. Nice to know that they will still provide good service even though it's a fixed salary. So I got a nice little side dish in addition to what I ordered. Not bad at all. I have to say that I've very much enjoyed not needing to tip anywhere; it makes paying so much easier.

I walked around town for a bit more after dinner but the wind was just brutal so I had to call it an early night. The streets were almost empty because of both the wind and the rain and I'd hate to be here when there aren't any tourists walking around. I was at a tourist shop and the cashier knew Spanish so I overheard this man say in Spanish to her jokingly about the weather, “We are suffering here.” I popped into the chain bookstore Eymundson and ordered a hot chocolate from Te & Kaffi and then walked back to my hotel where I had a nice, long hot shower. I almost don't notice the sulfur smell anymore.

Final thoughts: I had a really good time in Iceland. London was definitely impressive, but I enjoy smaller crowds and once I dug into Reykjavik discovered a good number of restaurants and cafes to keep my stomach happy, and the people here for the most part have been incredibly friendly. I couldn't make a longer trip here because the prices are so high so I think the length of my stay here was good. I don't know if it's being outside in nature or the fresh air or clean water, but I feel very consistently refreshed and better than I have for a while. I'd be walking or hiking or standing outside in the crisp air and just start grinning stupidly for no reason and it feels great. Tomorrow I head to Boston. I'm very sad to leave Iceland but it's time to move on and it'll be good to get my feet back on the homeland again.

Meet us, don't eat us

dianasaurus — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 23:59:00 GMT

Second to last day in Iceland! I didn't have any scheduled activities this morning, so I woke up later than usual and when I sat up I realized I was feeling the pain from horseback-riding. Combined with still being sore from snorkeling and glacier-hiking, and I have 3 days worth of activities wearing out my muscles, so basically it hurts when I sit or walk. Standing still however, is thankfully okay.

Since I had no activities I had time to stuff myself at the breakfast buffet. There are always these fish pieces that look like they're fermenting in a metal bin and I was never sure what it was, so I dropped a big piece on my plate out of curiosity and when I sat down I popped the whole thing in my mouth... and I got my taste of cured shark meat. Oh my god does that taste bad. Imagine pickling a shark and you'll have a good idea of what it tastes like. At least I can cross that off my Iceland to-do list.

I headed to the city center to check out the Settlement Museum finally – my first museum in Iceland. It was actually a pretty neat exhibit. They uncovered the remains of a Viking long house from around 800 AD back in 2001 when they were constructing a new building, so they built the museum all around the foundations of that house so when you walk the exhibit you're walking around the actual remains of that building. They suspect that it belonged to the first settlers of Reykjavik so it's a pretty cool thing to have right in the current city center.

Then I went to have lunch at Hofnin, this place right by the harbor that I wanted to try because it has a catch of the day lunch special, which was haddock today. Probably one of the fancier restaurants I've been to, but I'm in vacation mode and not feeling uncomfortable about eating out by myself in a fancy restaurant so it's all good. My love of food wins out over any awkwardness. The catch of the day came with a creamy mushroom soup, and then the fish came out with green beans and potatoes. Since I had the breakfast buffet I wasn't that hungry but I still finished pretty much all of lunch. Oh I think the vacation weight is coming around nicely.

It started raining so after lunch I ducked into Volcano House, a cafe/souvenir shop/movie theater that shows 2 movies on well, Iceland volcanoes. One was about an eruption in 1973 in the Westmann Islands that lasted for 5 months and buried a town in volcanic ash. The other was about volcanoes in general in Iceland, with a focus on Eyjafjalljokull that erupted last year. They were a nice way to kill time but overpriced for the lengths, and I don't know how that place stays in business when there aren't any tourists around.

Then I checked out some souvenir shops to plan my luggage packing for tomorrow; remember how I said I was going to load up on Icelandic souvenirs? Well scratch that. They are a lot more expensive than I thought, and the Icelandic wool is really scratchy in general. The sweaters are cute because they have that U-shaped snowflake design that runs between the shoulders that a lot of Icelanders wear but with all the ones I've seen costing over $100 it's not something I'm going to load up on. Even t-shirts cost over $30 each. Looks like it'll just be the standard cheesy Viking key chains.

At 5 p.m. I went to a whale-watching tour run by Elding, the environmentally friendly company. These people from the International Fund for Animal Welfare were handing out these fliers on the streets by the harbor with the slogan, “Meet us, don't eat us!” referring to commercial whaling in Iceland, which the season just started a few days ago. The eating of whale meat is supposedly catered to tourists as a normal Icelandic dish when not that many Icelanders eat it. I couldn't bring myself to try it, or puffins as a meal either. The boat stopped by one of the puffin colonies since it is breeding season, and they are really kind of awkward birds. They float on the water, and then when they start flying it is very ungraceful with very rapid flapping. But they mate for life and lay one egg every year and they are too unique and cute to even think about eating.

The whale-watching itself was decent. I don't know why I always attempt to take pictures during whale-watching because they never come out good or the whale takes up only 2% of the photo. It's very difficult to get a good picture without knowing the swimming patterns. Our boat found some harbor porpoises and a lot of minke whales (the smallest baleen whales) and the narrator was shouting out “12 o'clock!” and different times to tell us where the whales were being spotted. He was a pretty amusing guy, gasping and saying, “Wow, this is so exciting. Minke whales everywhere!” with his Icelandic accent and he said what a good tour it was when it ended. Since this is his job I'll assume that when he gets this excited, we saw a lot more than is usually seen. We did find a feeding ground and got fairly close to some minke whales but I would not say Reykjavik is one of the top places for whale-watching. The puffin colony was good but we were pretty far out and my camera's 20x zoom was not enough to get a good shot of the birds. Then it also got pretty cold standing right at the front of the boat and my hands were numb so I ducked into the inside cabin on the ride back.

Afterwards I headed to Vitobar for dinner since it's famous for its burgers, and it was a very small bar but I ordered the blue cheese burger with fries and a giant Coke, and it was a very satisfying meal and reasonably-priced. Tomorrow I'm planning on breakfast buffet, then a hot dog for lunch, then an early dinner (something with lamb since I haven't had that here yet), and then some Icelandic dessert. Yes, it's just a food day tomorrow along with souvenir shopping and random photos of the city. Some of the streets here are pretty interesting because the houses all are shaped the same but are painted different colors, so you can have a street with a red, yellow, green, blue house all next to each other. There's also a lot of artistic graffiti on some of the houses too. It'll be a nice relaxing (and delicious) way to end my trip here.

One Step Closer to Cowboy Status

dianasaurus — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 23:59:00 GMT

Another travel plan gone awry. I woke up early this morning to get ready for horseback-riding. I got to the lobby exactly at 8:45 to meet my bus and waited, and waited, and waited for an hour. I thought maybe the bus had come and left without me, but there was no way that I had missed the bus. Finally I headed back up to my hotel room and called the stable and they said they had stopped by Hotel Reykjavik Centrum and I wasn't there so the driver left without me. I told her I wasn't staying at Hotel Reykjavik Centrum, I was staying at Hotel Reykjavik and that they had the wrong hotel. I heard her sigh and mention that she'd have to send a taxi for me. It was already 9:50 by then and I didn't want to force whoever else was horseback-riding to be delayed so I told her I was okay with doing the afternoon trip. She sounded relieved and laughed nervously saying she was sorry. I was pretty annoyed since I rushed through this morning for nothing, and I had thought about doing whale-watching in the afternoon after my morning horseback-riding, but that plan was shot.

Since I didn't get to enjoy my hotel's buffet breakfast, I headed into town to find something to eat. I got tempted by a billboard outside a cafe called Glaetan that served English breakfast until 2, so I went in and ordered that and an orange juice. Everything came out so pretty; even the orange juice was served in a big cocktail glass with streaks of red juice at the bottom. The English breakfast was the most mouth-watering breakfast I'd seen in a while, and very reasonably priced for Iceland: fancy scrambled eggs, bacon, muffin, toast, sliced ham and cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and finally those weird sweet British beans that I don't really care for but everything else was so filling I didn't mind. Then I walked around taking random pictures and trying to plan out the rest of my restaurants here.

The bus for Ishestar came around 1 p.m. There were 2 German girls traveling together and one of them paid particular attention to me since she saw that I was traveling alone. They were so cute together and I didn't catch their names so I'll just call them Brunette and Blonde. I was talking to them at the stables and we were talking about our trip plans and what we've done so far and just more things in general. Brunette was the more talkative one but Blonde was better at English so when I was talking with her she'd occasionally turn to Blonde to confirm what I was saying. When I said I was from Texas that got the usual reaction of comments of state executions, Bush and his ranch, and of course, guns. Brunette asked if my parents were from America, and then she nodded and said that her parents came from Russia. They were spending 2 weeks in Iceland and had booked their accommodation last December and their room overlooked the water so they really liked it. She asked me if it wasn't difficult to travel alone (taking pictures, eating out, etc.). I told her it was difficult to find someone to travel with from the U.S. because most people have 2 weeks of vacation so if you want to travel with someone you have to match up your vacations and locations. Their eyes widened and they both said, “Ohhhhh,” and then Blonde actually needed to use her hands to count the weeks of vacation they get in Germany, and this turned out to be 6 weeks. Sigh.

Our riding group got considerably bigger once the rest of the people showed up; the bus had apparently taken the wrong route so our trip was delayed since they needed to get everyone else. Sounds like someone has a consistent problem with picking people up. We watched a safety video, and just from those 10 minutes of talking about how to approach a horse and how to talk to the horse, I will say that Icelanders love horses. A lot. We headed to the gear room to put on helmets. It was raining slightly but nothing too bad so we didn't put on any of the rain gear. Then we got led out to our horses. The Icelandic horse has been bred in Iceland in isolation from other horses for 1,000 years. This means they are susceptible to diseases that other horses have so no horses are allowed to be imported into the country, and once an Icelandic horse leaves the country it is never allowed to return. It's a lot smaller than other horses that I've been on; it's the first time I've ever been able to mount and dismount a horse without any help. Supposedly they are really good for beginners because they are very tame and well-behaved. My horse was named Motsart (pronounced “Mozart”) and after I mounted they also handed me a whip, which was definitely something new.

We rode single-file for 1.5-2 hours and the horse was so well-trained that I basically didn't have to do anything except make sure not to fall off. I only had to kick a few times and thankfully never had to use the whip. Although Motsart did get spooked by a motorcyclist and jumped, and then during one trot the horse in front of us was going too slowly that Motsart raced up to pass it. We alternated between a slow pace and a fast trot, which was a lot bouncier than what I'm used to; the saddle was not as cushioned as what I'm used to either so as I'm sitting on my bed now I'm a bit sore (reason #78 I'm glad I'm not a guy and the reason one of the American guys asked the guide if she needed to stand up when galloping). It was a good tour. We had one guide in front setting the pace, and then a second guide who rode up and down the line to make sure we were okay and whipping the slower horses if necessary. We passed through some scenic countryside with the Blafjoll Mountains in the background and rode through lava fields and hills filled with Alaskan lupine flowers.

When I got back to town in the late afternoon I hung out in the hotel room trying to find a place to eat early dinner and then decided to wing it in town. I stopped by to watch this Australian street busker named Wally juggling on top of a ladder, and he was pretty entertaining. He loaded his dialog with the raciest double entendres I've ever heard in public, but the crowd of tourists and Icelanders was very entertained. He had 2 guys assisting him and asked each of them if they preferred to be the guy in the front or in the back. He told us, “Don't worry, the kids won't get it... and if they do it's not my fault.”

The burger place that I had wanted to try was too crowded so I kept on walking further into town and then settled on, you guessed it, Icelandic Fish and Chips. (Don't worry I'll have plenty of time to go to the gym once I get back home). The restaurant is located right across from the harbor and the fish they offer depends on what they catch. Then you order which fish you want, the type of potatoes, and which sauce as well. I settled on cod and crispy potatoes and this basil garlic sauce – which was amazing. The fish was very fresh and the meal was very good considering that they are trying to make the meal healthy by not frying the potatoes and instead baking them, and loading the menu items with omega-3. It was definitely the healthiest fish-and-chips I've ever had but still tasted good.

The day was rainy, which limited sightseeing but at least the clouds give some illusion of nighttime. I wanted to try more food places in town so after walking around for a bit more I settled on Cafe Babalu, a delightfully quirky cafe in the city center, but genuinely quirky. There are a lot of cafes in town considering the population of Reykjavik is only 200,000 , but some of them close at 7 so I had to walk around quite a bit to find one that was open. The décor was all eclectic and none of the mugs matched. I ordered these banana and chocolate crepes with whipped cream with a cup of tea and it was yummy. Then I called it a day.

Tomorrow I might go whale-watching if the weather is good. That's the last expensive activity I plan to do here. Otherwise I will finally check out the museums and continue to stuff myself with food before I get go Boston. I really do like this random food tour I'm doing around town and I think it'll be a nice way to end my time in Iceland.

Have Pickaxe, Will Hike

dianasaurus — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 23:59:00 GMT

Longest day in Iceland yet. I kept hitting the snooze and finally dragged myself out of bed and made it to the lobby to wait for the bus at 7:00 sharp. The bus didn't come until 7:13 and once we finished picking everyone else up we headed to Skaftafell, located in Southeast Iceland and one of the places I was trying to book a hotel months ago but everything in the area was unavailable. It's the base city for Vatnajökull National Park so I was glad that they actually run a day trip that far from Reykjavik. That means the only area I wasn't able to get to on this trip was this one national park in North Iceland, but with everything I've done so far already I would say this was a good trip. This was a 4+ hour ride with the bus speeding on open highways with no traffic. There was another woman traveling solo named Greta (from Germany) that also went on the same trip and is also staying at the same hotel as me. She complained that this was the worst hotel room she had been in for a very long time. The bus ride was fairly smooth. It was nice that it was strictly a bus ride (on a pretty comfortable bus), and didn't have narration or any photo stops or anything else touristy.

Once we got to the base for all the glacier hiking they provided a lunch of a tiny sandwich and the Icelandic staple fish soup. I'm starting to really like the soup here; it's pretty filling. Then we headed to the Glacier Guides base and they measured our hiking boots for crampons - metal spikes tied to the soles of your shoes to dig into the ice and provide the proper traction. Then it was another bus ride (in a school bus) to the base of Virkisjökull Glacier. It was a short hike until we actually got to the beginning of the glacier and had to put on our crampons and use our pickaxes. I was a little surprised at the casualness of it, because when I hiked Fox Glacier in New Zealand the guide fitted all our crampons on personally to make sure they were on correctly, but here the guide was basically like, “Here, this is how you put it on,” and didn't check our boots afterwards. Oh well, we had no major incidents, except for this one tourist who I will just call Camera Guy lost his pickaxe. I think he put it down to take a picture and then it just slid off the glacier due to the downward slope. Our guide had told us if we wanted to put it down to either dig our pickaxes into the ice or step on it between the crampons and that if it started to slide down not to follow it; it would be a lot easier for him to retrieve the pickaxe than to retrieve one of us.

Anyways, Camera Guy was pretty forward with his picture requests. When you travel solo, of course it's always hard to get your picture taken in front of something. You can take the picture yourself and wind up with a giant lollipop head, or you can get one of the other tourists to take it for you. Often enough when I take the picture myself someone will walk by and offer to take it for me. Otherwise my preferred method is to sort of wander around until usually a pair of travelers, either a couple or a pair of friends who want their picture taken together asks me, and then after I take their picture I ask them to reciprocate. Well Camera Guy asked just about everyone in the group, even the guide (tactfully you should leave the guide alone to you know, GUIDE) constantly and he was pointing out exactly what he wanted in the picture, how big he wanted to be in the picture, etc. Then he would fix his hair every time before we took the shot. I guess it's good he's comfortable with his vanity? When he had lost his pickaxe and was walking around far away looking for it, Greta mentioned to our guide, “There's always one.”

The glacier was pretty cool. Hiking on ice is always a unique experience and a little treacherous; you really want to make sure your feet are wider apart when you walk or otherwise you might hook your crampons on your pant leg and rip your pants or fall, etc. We had a good view of Vatnajökull Glacier, the main glacier on top and the 2^nd biggest in Europe. There's always cool formations too (pun intended) where the water runs down the glacier and you just see things you wouldn't see anywhere else in the world. What we were walking on was actually very dirty though, covered in ash and dirt from the latest volcano eruption from the Grímsvötn volcano in Vatnajökull last month. Apparently some of their manmade bridges on our glacier got taken out too because of the eruption, so they had to alter some of the hiking paths.

We spent 1-2 hours hiking on the glacier and then headed to Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon on Breiðamerkursandur. Yes those names are just as hard to pronounce as they look. This area was pretty neat because this is where the glacier runs into the sea, and the seawater melts the ice, so you have this big lagoon filled with different types of icebergs floating around. We got in an amphibious boat and took a 45-minute ride around the lagoon. Our guide was blonde Anna, and she took this big chunk of 1,000-year-old crystal-clear ice and used a pickaxe to break it up into pieces so we could all try some. Definitely refreshing! The lagoon is is also where they filmed the end of the James Bond movie Die Another Day (which I never saw so I have to take her word for it) where they are driving around on the ice. They filmed during the winter but the producers didn't realize that the water never freezes over, so they had to close the bridge between the sea and the lagoon and wait 2 weeks for parts of the lagoon to freeze so they could drive the Aston Martins on it.

After our boat ride we got free waffles with cream. I wasn't sure why this was highlighted in the trip brochure, but I think Icelandic waffles are a big thing for dessert or to have with coffee, and yes it was really good. It was stuffed with jam inside and then you dip it in the cream. Yum. Then we drove back to base camp and back to our original bus for the ride back home – another 4 hours! It was a nice ride though; when everyone's quiet and just enjoying the scenery or sleeping it's very calming. We stopped in this tiny area midway and I had a fish burger for dinner, and yes, this fish was delicious and not ridiculously overpriced. We also passed by Eyjafjallajökull on the drive, which erupted last year and caused all those travel headaches in Europe (flights to and from North America were unaffected because the wind blew everything east). The bus driver also pointed out the large volcano next to it saying they were waiting for it to erupt sometime.

We didn't get back to town until 23:00 and I was so exhausted when I got back to the hotel that I just took a hot shower and brewed myself a cup of decaf (and started blogging)! Tomorrow is horseback-riding in the morning, and that will be less than half a day. I'm starting to feel sore muscles from yesterday's snorkeling so I hope my legs will be okay tomorrow.

Should I get out and push?

dianasaurus — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 23:49:00 GMT

Ah it feels great to sleep in. I was very energized all day today. I headed down for the breakfast buffet in the hotel this morning and spent a good 40 minutes getting second and third servings along with orange juice and coffee. Then I headed to the city center to book something for Saturday (horseback-riding it is!) before heading to the Arctic Adventures office for my snorkeling tour Into the Blue. I was standing outside before Valdi, my guide, found me saying he was looking for me and then went to grab the other 2 people who I had pegged as Americans. Valdi was pretty amusing; he was trying to rile us up to get us excited. Once we got to the van, the couple immediately introduced themselves to me (Sarah and Joshua) – the first tourists to be so outwardly friendly – so of course they turned out to be Canadian. And this was their honeymoon trip because they just got married last Saturday. They were spending a week in Iceland, so I didn't want to mention that I was here for 10 days... as a solo traveler (single honeymoon?), and that I had already spent a week in London before this, and that I have an additional 5 days after this. But finally, FINALLY I've met someone on an international trip who's taking a shorter vacation than me.

We headed to Thingvellir National Park, which is an area I had walked through on Monday when I did the Golden Circle day tour and is the site of the oldest Parliament. It is also the location of the rift between the Eurasian and North American continental plates, which are moving apart at a rate of 2 cm a year. The water in between the 2 plates is where we went snorkeling; you can also dive there if you are certified. It's a glacially-fed river, and very slow-moving so it takes about 8 years for the water to come down from the glacier to down below. This also means that the water is at a consistent 0-4 degrees Celsius, i.e. very cold. We had to suit up in these huge black down-filled teddy bear suits to keep us warm. It felt like I was wearing a Michelin man costume. What we wore underneath the teddy bear suit was up to us. The Canadians didn't bring any change of clothing so they just wore what they had been wearing, Valdi stripped down to his boxers, and I wore my special polypropylene thermals I bought in New Zealand years ago. Once we got that suit on, then we had to put on an additional dry suit over the teddy bear suit. Since the water was so cold we had to both keep warm and make sure we didn't get wet. They dry suit had built-in gumboots and was pretty difficult to put on since you have to make sure that the seals on the wrists and on the neck were straight and not folded at all so water couldn't leak in. You have to put your head in last, and this process was called the “rebirth.” The suit also had 2 sets of zippers that Valdi had to zip up on everyone since he had to make sure that we were all dry. Then we also had to put on gloves, flippers, a neoprene hood and finally the goggles. There were some other Icelanders in my group so it was cool to hear long conversations in Icelandic; it's a lot different from the other languages I've heard.

As you can guess, the water was very cold. I only partially felt it in my hands but my face got very, very numb. Near the end I was getting water in my breathing tube because I had taken it out but when I put it back in my mouth, it was so numb that I couldn't feel if it was set properly, so water got in there. The good thing is that it's glacially-fed water, so if it gets into your eyes or you accidentally inhale some, it's not a problem. Otherwise the views were fantastic. The water was exceptionally clear despite the dramatically cloudy skies and it's a really interesting perspective to look at lava fields underwater. Some crevasses went down very deep and I bet it looks great if you are going through it as a diver. I brought my cheap waterproof video camera with me to record, and it was frustrating/semi-funny because of my gloves, which were so thick it was hard for me to both set the camera to the underwater mode and to press the record button. I could not control my thumb's actions. It was a tricky balance of both viewing the scenery below me, then trying to set the camera, and then looking up to see where the rest of my party was. I was near the end of the line and we were supposed to just float down because the current actually moves, but everyone was getting so far ahead of me I had to constantly kick my flippers, which got very tiring. My legs were cramping by the time we reached the end when I had to stand back up again on dry land. It was cold but I was enjoying the view so much that I thought we were just taking a break, but that was the end of the trip!

We took off some of our gear and then carried it back, but then we reached a place where we could do an optional jump from a cliff into this small pool. Valdi had mentioned from the beginning that it was optional and had told us to be careful because the water was going to be cold and your suit was going to compress quickly and your lungs were going to take a hit. So yes, I went for it this time. Valdi gave us safety instructions and then jumped right in. This Icelandic girl was preparing to do it and I could hear back-and-forth dialog in Icelandic between her on the cliff and Valdi down on the bank below, but then she stepped back, so I stepped up. (Hells yeah). I told this other Icelandic guy zip me up again. I hesitated a bit because the rock that we were jumping from was slanted downwards towards the water and I didn't want to accidentally slip (that would not be good for my head) but then I stepped out, felt the slight freefall and then ice cold water, and then I swam up to the shore.

Then we headed back to the van and took off all our suits. Poor Joshua, his drysuit had a leak in it and he was positively drenched in the icy water. So much for that $2,000 suit. Valdi said, “God damn, I've never seen that happen before. It's really heavy.” He had to strip out of his clothes and get in another drysuit to warm up. That is some really bad luck to be the only member out of the 9 of us to have that problem. I told him at least he would have an interesting story when people asked about his honeymoon. I on the other hand was extremely dry. To give you an idea how cold the water was, I pulled out my video camera to recharge since the battery had drained so much in the cold water, and the camera was still ice cold despite the snorkeling trip having ended over 6 hours ago.

Once we got ready to head back into town, Valdi started the van but couldn't get the gear out of park. He said, “God damn it” twice (it's nice to know that Icelanders know the appropriate English cuss words). Then he got on his phone to get help and although I only know a few Icelandic words, I bet he was saying some colorful Icelandic words. I'm pretty sure he said a really bad one that sounded like, “Nyntsh!” near the end of of his efforts. While he was on the phone getting help and getting under the car and messing with the wires, Sarah, Joshua and I went outside to take pictures. The rest of us had a good time. The sky was clearer now so there were some really good photo opportunities. The park is gorgeous and there is something really peaceful about standing on top of a hill and looking around and not seeing any sort of human settlement in any direction. It also feels very good just to stand outside here; the air feels very clean. There were mosquitoes swarming around but I didn't get bitten at all in the 45 minutes or so I was climbing up around the rocks, so that's all right with me.

Finally Valdi was able to shift the car into gear and we were off! It wouldn't be a real Iceland trip if something didn't break down somewhere. We had originally planned to head back first to drop off the snorkeling gear but he said he didn't want to risk stopping the car so we just headed straight back to Reykjavik. It was a nice friendly goodbye from everyone when I got out of the car.

Since I didn't have any lunch, once I got back to town around 8 I was positively starving so I went to grab some fish-and-chips for dinner. I know, I know, I'm not in London anymore, but it is a waste not to grab some fish in Iceland, and the fish turned out pretty good – nice and fresh. It was a big meal but I was still sort of hungry so I ducked in and out of a few bookstores/cafes before I finally decided to stop in this hole-in-the-wall convenience store to get a bar of Icelandic ice cream, which was also pretty good.

Tomorrow I need to meet the bus at 7 a.m. for my glacier trip so I have to get to bed pretty early tonight. It's gonna be another long day tomorrow, but that's more due to the location of the national park, which is in South Iceland and 350 km away. I've been here 6 days already and I'm gonna be sad once the Iceland portion of my trip ends!

500 Photos Later

dianasaurus — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 23:59:00 GMT

Oh what a long day. I went on the Snaefellnes Peninsula tour with Reykjavik Excursions. It was a lot of sitting on a bus and frequently getting off to walk around, then getting back on the bus to head to another location. It was a lot smaller group than my other day trip, so we took this smaller older bus where it bounced a lot and the trunk kept popping open, much to the dismay of the passengers who actually stored their luggage back there. I saw some beautiful locations and the guide gave us a bit of Viking history because a lot of the sagas pertained to places in the areas we were visiting. The language in Iceland is still the old Nordic that the Viking sagas were written in, so it's pretty similar to what it was 1,000 years ago; Thor and Odin are still popular names. The biggest myth that seemed to cause the most doubt out of my group, comprised of mostly Americans, was about this one Icelandic woman who went with her husband to Greenland, and then traveled to North America and was pregnant, gave birth to a son in America but then were forced away from the lands because of conflicts with the Native Americans. This would have placed her and her family 500 years before Columbus as the first Europeans to discover North America. Our guide said they recently replicated a Viking ship from 1000 AD and sailed it to Greenland and then to Canada without any major problems... except this ship also had GPS.

We hiked along some gorgeous cliffs along the sea, and then headed down one beach covered in volcanic rocks, and of course passed through huge lava fields which are very prevalent all along the highways I've seen so far. There was only once scenic railing throughout the whole day; otherwise you had to be super careful while looking down at the views from up top because those cliffs had a sheer drop down to the jagged rocks below. I finally got to experience that Icelandic wind, and yes, that makes things a LOT colder. We stopped at this tiny cottage for lunch and I ordered a tea and a fish soup, which is a common restaurant item here. It's a little hard for me to describe, because there's obviously some cream in it but it's not thick like clam chowder. Also since this was probably the only restaurant in the area they could charge a lot for food. I got nice thick slices of bread with butter with my meal, but the soup cost about $16, and there were probably 5 small pieces of fish in there total. Eating outside has been very expensive here in general; the only thing that is actually cheaper is all the coffee drinks. It might even be more expensive than London. In my younger days I would have packed a bunch of instant noodles and used that as one meal every day but as I discovered once I traded my hostels for hotels, eating fresh food is a lot more satisfying.

Once we finished all our walking and photo stops it was over a 12-hour day so I finally put the camera away after hundreds of photos, a lot taken on the bus ride too where I'm sure less than 40% will be in focus. I think digital cameras need a “car mode” that takes into account the kind of focus you need while you're on a moving vehicle and shooting through glass. Tried to get some sleep but the bus way too bumpy (I've had smoother horse rides) and I just wound up either banging my head against the window or almost falling out my seat when I did try to shut my eyes.

When I got back into town I checked into my “deluxe” single room, which has a bigger bed and an actual shower door (yay!). And it has actual walls where the window used to be in my old room so the room can actually get dark(er). The room is located at the end of the hallway though, a half-level below the rest of the floor, so I had to bang my huge luggage down the staircase. But at least no more snoring neighbor! Since it was already past 8 when I got back I dropped off my luggage and then headed into the city center for dinner. I chose Cafe Paris, which seemed to be a popular place. The whole inside was booked so I had to pick a table outside where all the Europeans were smoking and the seagulls were doing some reconnaissance flybys right over my head. Oh and of course the waitress pulled out an iPad when she took my order. I guess that's convenient for orders and paying, but it was funny because she had to store it in her belt and walk around with it and had to awkwardly draw it out whenever she went to another table. I had the lasagna, which was surprisingly a decent size, and it came with a side salad and no dressing. It's been a long time since I've actually had this green vegetable stuff!

Tomorrow I am going snorkeling, but not until noon which means I can actually sleep in tomorrow. I haven't been able to do the hotel buffet breakfast the past 2 days because I've had to catch the early bus to go on my trips. But tomorrow I am sitting and stuffing my face for an hour. Then I need to decide what to do the rest of my time here: maybe horseback-riding or whale watching. I don't even care about the whales so much since I don't think Reykjavik is going to be the best area for spotting them; I just want to see some puffins. Iceland fun fact: you can dine on both whales and puffins here and it's not considered weird. Oh, and Greenland shark is a specialty here, but the shark is poisonous because of its urine, which it releases through its skin, so to eat it it has to be buried underground for 3 months, and then hung out to dry for another 3 months so it's cured. Then you're supposed to eat just a little of it because it tastes so bad, and then wash it down with Black Death, i.e. Icelandic beer.

The Hardest Sit-up Ever

dianasaurus — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 22:08:00 GMT

Today was, you guessed it, another beautiful day in Iceland. There was a little bit of rain coming down in the late afternoon but in general there's been nothing but blue skies. I went on the Hvita river today in Drumbo for some whitewater rafting with Arctic Adventures. It was about a 90-minute drive to the river, and is actually pretty close to the area I went yesterday for the waterfall and the geyser. The driver had on an oldies station playing mostly American songs like "Unchained Melody" and "Ring of Fire," which combined with the empty lands we were driving through seemed to fit. During the last 9 km of the drive I saw why driving in Iceland is both very easy and very difficult. Easy because there is no traffic, but difficult because the road goes from paved to unpaved seemingly at random and with no warning signs. It was a very bumpy ride down the gravelly road. The other people on my tour were a couple from Germany, a couple from America, and a father and son from America (although the dad was originally from Russia). Our guides remarked on how we were lucky to get such good weather. It was a gorgeous river, glacially fed like all the other rivers I've been on before so the water was very clear and pretty cold.

The whole operation wasn't as organized as what I am used to on these sort of risk activities; I don't know that they get enough tourists to put on the full operation with positioned cameras, etc. It was nice on one hand because then it was just all about the rafting and enjoying nature, but on the other hand I couldn't get any pictures of the pretty river we were on. We had a very quick training session before we went out on the water with the commands that the guide was going to be using: all forward, backward, stop, hold on. They seemed to make a big point that it was common to fall out of the river, and apparently the boats have flipped 3 times this year already. Our kayak safety guide was this guy named Lama from Nepal, and apparently he's some badass rafter who can guide a whole raft by himself . Our guide said this type of work was the easiest thing for him to do. He was showing us what to do if we fall out of the raft and if we needed to cling to his kayak what to do if we were holding onto the front or the back.

We went through the first set of waves with no problems. The second set we hit a big rapid and with the momentum of the raft I thought for sure we were going to flip over. Fortunately we didn't, but unfortunately I felt my weight go backwards so there were a few seconds where I was doing this awkward balancing act of my my back leaning horizontally outside the boat, my right foot hooked into the footpad, my right hand holding the paddle, and my left hand holding a death grip on the O.S. line (a.k.a. the “oh sh*t” line) around the edge of the raft. I couldn't quite force myself back into the raft because we were still spinning and I remember thinking that I really didn't want to fall into the cold water, and also how my pride was going to take a hit because out of all the high-adrenaline activities I've done, this relatively calm river was going to be my downfall. I was already preparing my paddle to put between my legs in preparation for somersaulting over the edge because my muscles were wearing out but fortunately my guide reached out his arm and all it took was a hard pull to get myself back in position inside the boat. Well I said I had wanted some excitement today! Morale of the story: always lean forward into the raft when you have to hold on. Also I'm really glad that I didn't sign up for the class 4+ whitewater rafting trip.

At one point we reached a canyon where we could jump off a cliff into the water below. The jump itself wasn't that high and I was more worried about the temperature of the water, so I didn't go for it. That's probably the first time ever in a trip where I've opted not to jump off something voluntary but it didn't look worth it to me; I might as well have just fallen off the raft earlier if I wanted to get wet and get some real excitement. The rest of the river was fairly easy and calmer than my Whistler rafting trip last year. There were some unique rock formations along the sides of the river due to the volcano eruptions in the past where the lava cooled, and it was pretty quiet for the most part. Our guide wasn't so talkative and there were points where I couldn't tell if he was joking about something or not. At one point he told us to stand up and paddle and we just turned around to him and were like, “Really?” And he was serious so we tried it out and it wasn't successful.

Once we got back to base and changed out of the wetsuits we had soup and sandwiches and coffee/tea on the patio. Our driver who had picked us up was talkative so we talked about the weather here and how even though Iceland was applying to be part of the European Union, if you asked most Icelanders they would say they didn't want to join. He also mentioned that it doesn't get dark here so when you go to the pubs, when you get outside again you have no idea what time it is. The Russian-born American guy was pretty funny because he was asking very direct questions such as the opinion on previous foreign military presence in Iceland and what kind of industry existed in Iceland anyway (fishing is a big one). Then he asked the driver if he could still smell the sulfur in the water or if he was used to it now. The driver said he couldn't smell it anymore and the American said that the first time he turned the hot water on and smelled it he was like, “'What the hell is that?' I thought it was going to kill us.”

I got back into Reykjavik about 6 hours later from when I left for the trip and immediately went in and booked a glacier-hiking trip for Friday. Then I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around town and getting bites to eat. I had a nice cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream at this coffee/bar called Mokka, and then I visited this huge church called Hallgrimkirkja – the tallest building in Iceland. When the weather is exceptionally clear again I will climb up the tower to get a panoramic view of the city. Finally I went into the central open outdoor area where I watched these kids skateboarding, and falling down quite a lot. This was the biggest group of (naturally) blonde people I have ever seen gathered together. Super blonde and very, very fair-skinned.

Tomorrow I am heading to Snaefellsnes (pronounced SNY-felts-ness), a peninsula on the Western side of Iceland with mountains and glaciers. It's going to be a 12+ hour day and I have to get up early so I'll be heading to bed early tonight. I also have to pack up my things because I'm moving to the “deluxe” single hotel room tomorrow. I've actually gotten used to this tiny room but my neighbor snores at night and the walls are super thin so it'll be nice to get away from that.

No Dusk, No Dawn

dianasaurus — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 23:02:00 GMT

I took the Golden Circle tour with Reykjavik Excursions today. This is the most popular day trip in all of Iceland so it was a giant bus and I heard some Americans among the crowd. Very loud Americans with very loud kids but they were still better than yet another loud constantly kissing European couple sitting in front of me. (Why???) Our tour guide was pretty funny; he was giving a brief history of Reykjavik and Iceland in general. Notable facts: the Icelandic Krona is the smallest currency in the world, Reykjavik's domestic airport is located really close to the city center because Britain built it there during the first World War and after they, the U.S., Canada and Norway finished using it after WW2 it was gifted to Reykjavik (because it's very hard to take an airport with you), and there are volcanic eruptions and “tourist eruptions.” Also Icelandic people are 7 kgs heavier than they were since the '60s. Here's my guide's explanation for why single men weigh less than married men: when single men get home from work and open the fridge, they see nothing exciting there so they go to bed; when married men get home from work and open the bedroom, they see nothing exciting there so they go to the fridge.

We started our day visiting a church that is home to the Bishop seat. Then we went to Gulfoss – a giant waterfall that seems catered for photo ops for tourists. The bus parked and then we walked for 2 minutes to get an immediate view of the entire waterfall. There was a separate path down below where you can get really close and get sprayed. Surprisingly few barriers, which is good to get a really good photo but you better not stand too close to the edge or it's a pretty long drop. Then we went to the Geysir geothermal area (the origins of the English word “geyser”) and one of the geysers was erupting at a pretty consistent basis of every 4-8 minutes. I managed to get out of the way just in time after it erupted to avoid the giant sulphur fumes that swept out from the geyser. Finally we headed to Thinghvellir National Park, site of the world's oldest parliament at over 1000 years and also the location of the rift between the European and North American tectonic plates. The trip was good but a little too family-friendly; I was hoping for a little more excitement but this was very general sightseeing and not a lot of time to get out and walk around the whole area. I did get a lot of good pictures out of the day though. Also there were a lot of tourist shops and some of the goods are so ridiculously cheesy that I feel like I have to load up on souvenirs in Reykjavik before I fly back to America. Luggage fees be damned.

When I got back to Reykjavik I started wandering down Laugavegur – the main street in the city with all the pubs and restaurants. I walked all the way down into the city center but didn't find anything that looked good so I turned around and then found this hole in the wall place called Svarta Kaffid that offered a good view of the street outside. I ordered a mushroom soup served in a giant bread bowl and it was superb. There's something really rich in the cheese and butter and other dairy products in Iceland that makes them taste extra good. I don't think I was eating that much in London, but in Iceland I am definitely putting on the vacation weight. My stomach certainly enjoys it! I also ordered a tea and the waiter came out with 2 wooden boxes so I could pick the one I wanted. Not being a drinker I have to say I really like these pub/cafe/restaurant combinations. Not only is the food good but you can order fancy coffee/tea drinks while everyone else orders alcohol. If they had more of these in the U.S. I'd definitely go out more.

Finally I went sit by the water to watch the (non) sunset. Last night I looked out my hotel window after midnight and it was still very bright outside. Then while I was sleeping the sunrise woke me up around 3 a.m.. It doesn't gets dark here but there are varying degrees of brightness and the sun was blasting through my 2 hotel curtains and I had to use a sleepmask (for the first time ever) that I bought specifically for Iceland because I could not sleep otherwise. I had packed a flashlight in my luggage and now I have no idea why I even thought to bring it. It's a bit odd. I think I would get more out of the constant daylight if more places were open later. I wish there were some giant outdoor public gallery or something. Some bars and pubs are open late obviously but with the sun never going away it seems like you're just drinking in the middle of the day, which is a little depressing. I was listening to other tourists losing track of what day it was and now I'm running into the same problem. Since I've never seen the night it kind of feels like this is all one really long day.

Tomorrow is whitewater rafting, which I'm really looking forward to for a bit of adrenaline. I'll also have to find other activities to book for Friday and afterwards.

Heittur Pottur and the Town's Best

dianasaurus — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 23:05:00 GMT

Today was another gorgeous day in Iceland. I was expecting it to be a lot colder here, so all my special technical clothing that I brought – cold weather/waterproof/windproof – is slightly overkill at this point, but I'll probably find good use for them once I start hiking in the colder areas or if it rains the rest of my time here.

For lunch I stopped by what could possibly be Iceland's most highly rated restaurant: Baejarins Bestu Pylsur (the town's best hot dog in Icelandic). It's this tiny little shack by the water that sells just hot dogs and Coke. But like the name suggests, this was the best-tasting hot dog I've ever had. Seriously. I had one with everything, which includes the homemade sauce, and it was delicious. Apparently they cook it in beer and use fresh-baked buns; they even have little wooden blocks with cylinders scooped out so you can put your hotdog down without using plates. I'm going to have to stop by there again before I leave.

Then I went to the Blue Lagoon, one of Iceland's “hot pots” (heittur pottur in Icelandic) – a manmade hot spring. It's the most popular location to visit in Iceland and is located between the international airport Keflavik and Reykjavik. It was created after a geothermal plant was built nearby, and is blue because of the blue-green algae in the water, and there is also white silica mud coating the bottom of the pools. Basically it's a naturally hot spa that feels good and improves your skin. Not a bad way to spend a sunny afternoon in Iceland. Since it's a natural spa without any added chemicals, you need to shower without a bathing suit before you can get into the water; they even had posters showing where exactly on your body you need to wash yourself. Slightly inconvenient, but when you think about all the other people bathing with you it's definitely a good thing. Fortunately most of the showers had stalls, but you do have to walk down some corridors buck naked (another benefit of traveling solo). Once you get out to the actual pool, they gather the silica mud in buckets that you can rub on your skin to exfoliate, so I took a fistful and smeared it all over my face. Even though it's such a popular tourist destination, there was still ample room in the pool, and the water is hot but not too hot so soaking in there for over an hour didn't feel suffocating at all. They even have an igloo-shaped rocky enclosure where you can sit to avoid the sun or the rain. I highly recommend it. I wish I had gotten to use it when my muscles were sore but in any case I'm gonna sleep well tonight!

Now that I've gotten past the initial culture shock of Iceland, I find Reykjavik to be kind of quaint. I booked all my trips through Thursday today, and talking to the 2 Icelandic people at the booking offices, I find they are really charming and friendly. I was asking how to pronounce certain Icelandic words correctly and it was funny when there was a slight language barrier. It probably also helps that these were the longest single conversations I've had with people since starting my vacation. So that's what human contact feels like! Oh and I'm even getting used to the sulphur smell of the water. Sure I smell like rotten eggs every time I wash my hands or take a shower, but the hot water feels incredible and my skin feels great.

I'm still trying to get used to the daylight here. I had some slight difficulty going to bed last night. I was waiting for the sunset around 1 a.m. but twilight seemed to last a very long time, so I'm not sure if it even gets dark here now or if it's about 24 hours of daylight. I felt like I was going to bed during the middle of the day. Now I see why everyone uses military time here because 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. look awfully similar. I had to switch my watch to that time starting yesterday too because I think otherwise I'm going to get confused. On the flip side this place must be incredibly depressing during the winter.

Tomorrow I am going on a day trip to see some geysers and giant waterfalls along the Golden Circle. Tuesday is whitewater rafting. Wednesday is another nature day trip and Thursday is snorkeling. I still need to book Friday and afterwards. The free breakfast buffet at the hotel is definitely a real treat; there's cereals, bread, croissants, meats, cheeses, butter, fruit, yogurt, orange juice, coffee and tea. I stuffed myself this morning and this is the kind of vacation where getting a good start to the day is very important.

There is No Starbucks Here

dianasaurus — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 23:38:00 GMT

Good evening from Iceland! This is a milestone because this is the first country I've ever been to (USA, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, UK) that was never part of the mighty British Empire. It's 11:30 p.m. and it is still daylight outside. It's tripping me out because I thought it was a lot earlier than it was. I'm curious to see what time it actually gets dark here. I am writing from my tiny hotel room in Reykjavik. I take back everything bad I had said about my London hotel room because this room is not what you'd expect at this kind of price. I'm staying at this hotel for the next 10 days, but starting on the 5^th night I'm in an upgraded room for the rest of my time here. That was unintentional; I originally thought I would stay in Reykjavik for a few days only and then stay in other parts of the country, but literally every other place was booked so I had to adjust my trip to stay only in Reykjavik. So hence the 2 different hotel rooms in the same hotel. I'm glad I have a better room later on though because I think I will be depressed staying in this specific room my whole time here. Oh the things I will do for a free breakfast buffet. Oh and the bathroom smells like sulfur (like rotten eggs). Why, you ask? Because the hot water actually comes from geothermal power plants, which makes it good for bathing but not drinking. Otherwise though the water is exceptionally pure, I had a cup of Icelandic water on the airplane and a glass of tap water at dinner, and they were the most refreshing drinks I've had in years.

I set out really early this morning to take the Picadilly Line in London to Heathrow Airport. Way too early because the subway heading that direction wasn't crowded at all, but I was paranoid. At least I got a full breakfast at the airport. It was a pretty smooth flight. My checked luggage and my carry-on were both over the limit, but just by a bit so the airline guy let it go. Yay. The plane was pretty full but not overbooked and I managed to fall in and out of sleep during the 3-hour flight. The flight attendants said everything in Icelandic and then in English, which was a relief. All Icelanders seem to be bilingual, and unsurprisingly everyone starts speaking in English to me right before I even say anything. I guess there must be something about me says I'm not an Icelander. =)

The customs line at Keflavik Airport was like a dream-come true. Remember back in the good old days (from what I've seen on tv shows and movies) when all you had to do when you entered a foreign country was to show your passport, get it stamped, and then mosey on through? That's all I had to do here. No customs form to fill out, just show the guy my passport, answer 2 questions, get my passport stamped, and just walk all the way through customs. It was so nice. Then after I picked up my luggage I went to book a Flybus ticket to get dropped off at my hotel. The worker seemed amused when I bought my ticket; I think all the foreigners had asked the same stupid question of which bus we were supposed to get on and he had to keep pointing at the first bus in line parked 15 feet away.

It was a peaceful ride into Reykjavik. The ride lasted about 45 minutes and whether people were just taking in the scenery or were tired from the flight, hardly anyone said anything on the bus. I could have ridden on that bus for 3 more hours. I love these types of buses. They're the semi-luxury liners with reclining seats and luggage holders – my bread and butter when I traveled around New Zealand – and it just felt so comfortable and familiar. Then I got dropped off at my hotel here and walked into my room and after seeing it, locked my stuff quickly in my room safe and got out of there as fast as I could to explore the city.

Reykjavik central is definitely a lot different than I expected it to be. I walked along one of the bigger streets into town but the place felt very quiet – but not in a good way. It felt very dead. It could just have been the time of day too – 5 p.m. On a Saturday probably doesn't get very crowded here. Once I hit the heart of the city and actually saw more people I felt better. There's this metal sculpture of a Viking ship right on the edge of the water, and all the other tourists seemed to flock there like it was some religious idol. We all just sort of stood or sat there for a few minutes holding our cameras. It was cloudy when I arrived but by then the sun was out and the weather felt great so I think everyone was just enjoying the sun. As I'm writing in my hotel room I have the radiator off and the window open. The weather is probably nicer now than it was in London when I left, where it was pouring rain.

I had dinner at this sort of hole-in-the-wall Thai place called Krau Thai. It was located in some far-off corner but it was recommended in my Bradt travel guide and it was actually a decent-sized meal. Then I got lost walking around the city center while making mental notes about where to eat the rest of my time here. There are a lot of small cafes and bars and I think the nightlife is known for being really good here. That being said, I need to start booking all my day trips because if all I had to do here was check out the bars and restaurants I would get bored very quickly. London was a more suitable place for that. Now it's time to get away from the city.

I haven't booked anything for tomorrow yet. Possible options include the Blue Lagoon, whitewater rafting, snorkeling – basically anything that can be done in half a day since I'll need to book it in the morning and won't have time for the huge day trips until Monday at least.

Photos: Iceland 2011

dianasaurus — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 23:29:00 GMT

Brass Junkie

dianasaurus — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 22:09:00 GMT

Another day of rain! In London! How... typical. It is amazing how depressing the city feels when the weather is not good; most of the tourists seem to vanish. I'm fortunate that I got the days of sunshine that I did because in this weather, knowing that the Underground is going to be crowded and slippery I felt like doing nothing. I woke up to another late start this morning to go to the Horse Guard Palace in Whitehall– and yes, yet another Changing of the Guard. This one was a lot more calm but still involved over 20 horses and still a pretty large crowd of tourists.

I walked around St. James's Park but then it started raining hard so I headed to Trafalgar Square to the National Portrait Gallery, which has some amazing historical paintings. It was a lot less chaotic than the British Museum since it wasn't as crowded and people weren't running around trying to get their photos taken in front of the portraits.

It was still raining when I left the museum and I could not find a cafe that was not overcrowded, so I went to the Charing Cross station to get a Cornwall pasty (large!) before I went to St. Martins-in-the-Fields and down into the crypt to do a brass rubbing. Basically you select a bronze plate of the picture of your choosing, and then they will tape a piece of paper on top and all you have to do is take a big waxy crayon and rub it over the paper. Granted there is some technique you're supposed to follow as you rub but pretty much the indentations in the bronze plate will draw the picture for you. I chose George and the Dragon but my copper-colored crayon unfortunately didn't show up that well against the black paper. It was a nice, calm, relaxing activity though. I mean, how can it not be? You're in a crypt under a church at a little wooden table coloring with a crayon on a rainy day. Yeah, the place was definitely not swarming with tourists. Afterwards I found a bar/restaurant/cafe right near my hotel called the Patisserie and ate an early dinner before returning to my hotel.

So that concludes my trip to London. I'm turning in especially early tonight so I can be well-rested for tomorrow. I can't believe it's been almost a week already since I flew to London. I felt like I had so much time at the beginning of the week and now it's over. I'm a little sad but more excited about the next leg of my journey. Tomorrow I fly out to Reykjavik where I will stay for the next 10 days. I'm pretty excited for a change of pace. London was good but very crowded so I am looking forward to getting out into the great outdoors in Iceland: hiking, snorkeling, glaciers, volcanoes, rafting, etc. away from giant tourist masses. Just some nice, quiet time. I'll be getting in too late to be able to do any real exploring tomorrow, but hopefully by Sunday I can be out and about. So the next blog entry will be coming from Hotel Reykjavik, Iceland.

Don't Stop Me Now

dianasaurus — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 22:05:00 GMT

I finally had my big British breakfast this morning: bangers, chips, toast, bacon, egg and beans along with a cup of tea all for 5 pounds. The sign outside the restaurant said “Fish and Chips,” but when I stepped inside it was very much a Middle Eastern restaurant that also just had to serve British staple food. London is definitely a lot more international than I thought it'd be.

Then since it was raining hard this morning, I made my way to the British Museum where I spent my entire day. Its context is the history of the world, but over 90% of it is Europe/Middle-Eastern based. Since the museum is so large I was planning to come back tomorrow because it stays open late on Friday nights, but of course once I was inside I felt like I had to visit every single room – and this took over 6 hours. I was pretty energetic at the beginning since I always found ancient civilizations interesting in school. The Central Court is a huge indoor plaza and the first room I turned into had the Rosetta Stone front and center. The museum also had parts of the Parthenon and Cleopatra's tomb, but after 20-plus rooms of ancient Greece, Egypt and Rome, I was exhausted by the way I finally made my way to the 2nd floor. I basically breezed through most of Medieval Europe and sped through all the art exhibits. It was also very crowded today, with children on school field trips and tourists from all over the world. The way the museum is set up, a lot of the statues are not bound or partitioned off, which is nice because you can actually get decent photos of the artifacts. But then I saw little monster kids leaning against them or just running their hands alongside the whole wall of hieroglyphs just to touch something. I saw an adult place his cup of coffee on top of a sarcophagus. If this were the first international trip I were taking, I'd believe tourists are a horrible bunch but I think it's just the quantity here that is overwhelming.

Awkward cultural difference moment #2 of London: not knowing that programs and guides all cost money over here. This museum worker was standing in front of the entrance asking who wanted a map of the museum. I said yes and she said, “Two pounds.” Why does every map/program have to cost money over here?? Of course after I paid for it I walked inside and there was a cheaper map that was donation-based only. This happened last night at the Jersey Boys show as well. The theater worker was standing in the center asking who wanted a program, I said yes, and he stared at me and said, “It costs 3.5 pounds.” At which point I said exactly, “Oh... no thanks. So my seat is in the left hallway, then? Cheers.”

After I left the museum I decided to head back to Coventry Gardens to get some paella because I had seen them making it yesterday in these giant steamy pans and it looked really good. I paid 6 pounds for a medium because everyone else I had seen were getting smalls and mediums, but yeah, it's still pretty small compared to an American portion so I was still a bit hungry afterwards. So I headed to Leicester Square to get some homemade ice cream. And then I got kind of bored because it was still sunny outside, but all the places to visit outside of bars and restaurants were already closed. And this being a solo trip, those kind of places open at night are not going to be that appealing. I half-thought about going to see a movie just to spend another relaxing evening doing normal city stuff, but nothing was that interesting for me to go out of my way to pay extra money for. So I decided to head back to my hotel (after visiting the Starbucks across the street) and just rest up for tomorrow.

Tomorrow is my last full day in London. I think I might hit some of the smaller museums, maybe finally do the big red double-decker bus tour even though I've gone to all the tourist locations already. Maybe I'll finally hit one of the top recommended pubs for some fine pub-dining. I don't think I am going to buy any souvenirs here on account of my limited luggage, so sorry folks no stuffed teddy bears dressed up like Buckingham Palace guards for you! I feel like I crammed so much into my first few days here, so now I'm sort of recovering and not sure what else is a must-do activity in London. On Saturday I am flying to Reykjavik, Iceland, so I need to start planning my itinerary for that and also start reading my Icelandic language book as well.