Well, I've now officially experienced all four seasons in Chicago; if the month-and-a-half that I was here last winter counts. I have to say, the city comes to life in the summer in a way I have never seen before, what with the rooftop bars and music/art festivals, and although I was sad as always to see summer come to a close, fall has been a celebration as well! Although I'm not even a sports fan, the excitement of the Cubs winning the World Series has been contagious. I was in Nashville the night of the final game, but I watched on TV as my new home-city ecstatically welcomed a monumental moment in history-- 108 years in the making. The bustle of this blue state has only been dampened ever-so-slightly by recent, ahem, political happenings; but as I want this post to be travel-related, I digress...
Last month, I was able to check another country off the bucket list: Iceland! After spending a night in New York, I, along with my lovely friends Cara and Emily, maneuvered our way over to Reykjavik for a few days. Although it rained the entire time and was rather expensive (as the majority of Scandinavia is); it was SO WORTH IT, and worth all the recent hype it has gotten as a newly popular tourist destination. Seriously, the Icelanders were some of the nicest, warmest, most welcoming people I have ever encountered. Getting around was a bit more difficult than I imagined, as public transport is not as readily available in Reykjavik as it is in some other European cities. However, we were able to take a dip in the Blue Lagoon spa the night before I left, and it was quite an experience-- we had an absolute blast. It actually does include a bar that you can swim up to, as well as a mini-spa where you can apply your own mud masks. The only downsides I can think of are: One: I don't have any pictures because I was afraid to bring my phone to the lagoon, considering I have horrible phone luck, and two: the bar actually does tally the drinks you have, cutting us off at three glasses of champagne each. ;) I suppose it's smart thinking: drunk people and large open bodies of water tend to not mix well. Also, if you ever visit, be prepared to strip down naked in front of a group of people, as showering in the open locker room area before entering the lagoon is mandatory. When in Europe though, am I right?!
While Emily and Cara got to experience an extra day, I had to fly back a day early, as I was on reserve the following morning. So, on October 14th I hopped a plane to London to hop another one to Chicago-- that's standby travel life, yo! Anyway, a few Icelandic adventure pictures to follow!
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Me, Cara, and Emily in front of the Hallgrimskirkja Church. Photo creds: Some drunk man with a flask in his coat pocket.
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A view of the colorful Reykjavik rooftops from the tower of the Hallgrimskirkja Church
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May or may not have taken one of these menus from The Laundromat Cafe to frame... ;)
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Em and Cara drinking their first cups of coffee in Reykjavik, after pulling an all-nighter of travel from JFK.
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