Iceland V 2011

On our last full day we did our own Golden Circle tour. We headed to Thingveiller to start with and had a wander and learnt about Icelandic history. 

Then we went up to Gulfoss (waterfall) – OMG I’ve never been so cold. Could barely stand up because of the wind. It is a spectacular sight and you can feel the power. The spray coming off the waterfall had completely frozen all the ground and grass around.
Then we headed back down to Geysir – again pretty amazing. These places are the only ones where we felt pretty surrounded by tourists which was a bit of a shame.

For our last night we booked a room very close to the airport because our flight was a 7:30ish in the morning so we stayed in Keflavik. We checked in got a take away pizza and drove to Hafnir (or just past it really) to see the Intercontinental bridge where the European and American plates meet. O ran up to the bridge, I was too interested in eating the pizza before it went cold. 

Then we finished our trip at the Blue Lagoon. It is beautiful, we didn’t get to see the landscape as it was too dark when we got there but we swam about looking for the hot bits. The trip was kind of made by the fact that we could see the northern lights from in the pool. They eventually kicked us out of the lagoon and we headed back to Keflavik pulling off the road down a dark track to watch the northern lights – attracting the attention of the police, don’t know what they thought we were getting up to. But once they realised we had our faces stuck to the windscreen and the camera desperately trying to capture the lights they left us be (photos did not happen!). When we got back to the hotel we realised we could actually see the northern lights from in our hotel room but it was extremely cold and windy with the wind open.


Iceland has to be our favourite holiday and we're already desperate to go back.

photos by O or me

Iceland IV 2011

Not many of the shops are open on a Sunday unfortunately. However go to the flea market where we managed to get O a hand knitted Icelandic jumper, which he wanted. I was going to get one as well but when we realised how expensive they are even second hand we decided we’d just share the one! 

We went to the National Museum, where we had lunch and to the cathedral in the centre of town, which is stunning in its simplicity. You can get a lift to the top of the tower where you get great views out over the city. We went for another swim at Vesturbæjarlaug O’s favourite pool. We had dinner in the apartment that night and then went to try and find a dark place to spot northern lights from. We failed but mostly because it was quite cloudy, we were both tired and weren’t really in the mood.

Iceland III 2011

This guy was in the lobby of our hotel

The next morning we walked round Akureyi again waiting for the swimming pool to open. The pool complex was huge with different pots at different temperatures and a steam room. The locals seem to do their stretches and yoga in the steam room which was a little disconcerting at first. Then back to Reykjavik with me trying to take pictures of the hundreds of Icelandic ponies from the moving car. We tried to take a lot of photos from the car strangely enough they haven’t really come out or we’ve got some cracking photos of the windscreen wipers or side mirrors!

On the way back South we tried to sort of go to Glymer. Glymer is Iceland’s tallest waterfall. First you need to get along the incredibly bumpy gravel road to get to the head of the walk – this is terrifying when you’re not supposed to take your hire car on gravel roads and when you haven’t taken out the windscreen cover or chipped paint cover insurance. So we got to the start of the walk about 4:45 and expecting that it’d be dark on the way back we took a torch with us. We walked quite a way crossing a smallish stream following the marked path. I don’t do too well with too much walking and my back was quite sore. 

We then came to a huge hole in the ground which basically took us under a huge rock and down the side of a cliff – it was pitch black here! We came out the other side unscathed and kept going (should point out I’m also a huge wuss and have no sense of balance so I don’t do well with scrabbling over rocks and jumping streams. I’m the one on my bum to go down the smallest of slopes). 

Eventually we came to a rather full river with a wire across it. There were stepping stones to the centre of the river and then a log for the rest of the journey. This was my breaking point and thankfully O’s too. We were not crossing the river in the dying light to see a waterfall. Especially when we could see where the path went on the other side and that didn’t look like much fun either. I told O he could go on if he wanted to but I’d had enough and would meet him at the car. (in contrast to me being a wuss and having no sense of balance my husband is like a mountain goat and can bound up hills at the drop of a hat). However, we decided that neither of us was going to cross the river. I suggested to O that he climb the hill in front of us and see if he could see the waterfall from there at least to get a picture. He decided we should both climb the hill to have a look we might have had a small argument, I might have had a tantrum but somehow I ended up climbing the bloody hill. YOU CANNOT SEE THE WATERFALL FROM THE TOP OF THE HILL.  We stomped back to the car practically in silence. On the way back we passed a couple just setting out (they’d been in the car park when we’d set out, not sure what took them so long we assumed they’d already been to the falls). We gave them fairly honest advice – are you mental it is dark, don’t do it, you’ll never make it. They went on regardless but O saw them turn almost as soon as we were out of view. My advice is don’t try and get to Glymer falls!

a grumpy me trudging back to the car

This time we checked into an apartment for two nights. We walked from the apartment into the centre of  Reykjavik and ate at a really nice vegetarian restaurant. On the walk into town we passed a couple of red cross charity shops and some second hand shops which we planned to visit the next day however we hadn’t planned that very well and it was Sunday the next day. 

all photos by O or me

Finally getting round to finishing these posts off.

Iceland I 2011

O, ok and I, were very excited when we got on our Iceland Airways flight to discover that there were individual tv screens in the backs of the seats. We touched down at Keflavik airport at quarter to 4 ish and went to pick up our hire car, raiding the tourist information office in the airport for free maps. We were a little apprehensive about potentially driving in snow and ice but the hire car came with winter tyres (feels like you’re driving on flat tyres) as standard and heated seats (essential). From the airport, we headed straight to find our hotel which for our first night was part hostel/part hotel, cheap and almost cheerful but it served us. Once we’d checked in we headed straight to the supermarket for supplies shocked that the shops don’t have very long opening hours. Once we had our supplies, we headed out for a walk from our hotel. 

We headed up to the Perlan, which was quite stunning at night. During the day you can go in – you can also go in at night I think, to eat but it is vvv expensive. From there we walked to the shore to see the heated beach, which is either not on at night or not on during the winter but it was not warm. We walked home through the graveyard, which is apparently stunning during the day. It wasn’t bad at night, is very well lit, and feels safe if not a bit bizarre to be walking through a graveyard. 
For tea, we followed a recommendation by Cakes and Bunting and went for fish and chips http://www.fishandchips.is/ it was lovely yummy food. After dinner, we went to the swimming pool.  http://www.swimminginiceland.com/   Laugardalslaug for our first experience. Thankfully Cakes and Bunting had warned us of the strict routine that you need to follow when swimming in Iceland so it wasn’t a shock. You leave your shoes outside of the changing rooms. Take off all your clothes and leave them in your locker. Take your swimming costume and towel with you from the changing room to the “wet” area where there are cubby holes for your towel.  Here you must shower naked then you put on your swimming costume and make the very cold dash to the nearest bit of hot water you can find. There was a British school group at the pool and they were very loud and boisterous so sort of spoiled the experience. We soon realised how much of a social experience swimming is for the Icelandic there are always loads of conversations going on and you feel a little out of place if you’re in a hot pot without anyone to talk to.  After the pool you go and shower – they have absolutely no qualms about being naked and you get strange looks for being in your costume and trying to hide behind your towel. You dry yourself in the wet area and only then should you return to your locker. You get dirty looks from the Icelandic women if you trek your wet self through the dry area.

After all that we collapsed at our hotel and prepared for the next day.


(photos by O or me)

Up North - November 2011

9 members of the same family in the same house for 3 days and it wasn’t even Christmas?! There was another big birthday last year but this time it was on O’s side of the family. A long weekend away in a beautiful part of the country? Count us in.

We collected O’s brother and his girlfriend from the train station and then I swiftly dropped them at the shops so they could actually purchase the birthday girl’s gift. We were soon on our way and had a relatively easy drive up the road stopping at Fort William for a sandwich and a toilet break. Then we turned off and headed towards Mallaig. We soon pulled up at the beautiful wooden lodge type esk building with a field of ponies and a stream outside.

We had an explore, went and petted the very friendly ponies and helped O’s mum prepare the dinner for that night. The house was really, really lovely but we soon realised that it was impossible to take a single step without the floor boards creaking. There were wooden floorboards throughout, which meant you couldn’t get anywhere without someone hearing you. We even had a competition later that night and no one managed it without a squeak. We ate a lovely meal and once baby nephew had been bathed and put to bed we settled in for a tense game of trivial pursuit (O’s family is hugely competitive). O was teamed with his brother in law and they were very smug over their victory.

The next morning breakfast was eaten and the shops were popped to. Once everyone was back it was time for the birthday girl to open her presents and us to have a slice of cake (of which there were several). Then in order to work off the morning cake we headed to beach leaving O’s dad who was making another cake. We were very lucky with the weather the whole weekend and it was quite mild. The others played frisbee and football as we walked along the beach. Back to the house for a bite to eat and a lazy afternoon playing with our nephew while preparations began for dinner.

That evening we had:

Cream of mushroom soup – made by O’s brother and his girlfriend

Beef stew and dumplings with roasted veg on the side – made by O’s brother in law

Vanilla cheesecake and baked key lime pie – made by O and I

Birthday cake for those that weren’t bursting

The rule was that O’s mum didn’t have to lift a finger. Once the dishwasher was stacked and the pans were cleaned we put on plenty of layers and wrapped up as warm as possible. We made a torch lit procession down to the beach and stood well back as the boys arranged the fireworks. We didn’t have many and had purposefully chosen the ones which we thought would be quietest (yup we were after quiet fireworks). Baby nephew did very well to start with but soon got a bit upset and started saying “all gone” “no more” to which we responded “just one more” “oooh isn’t it pretty” “yay, you like fireworks” he remained unconvinced. Once the last one had gone off the boys with their torches scoured the beach to pick up the debris. Back in the warmth we played a couple of rounds of a game similar to call my bluff, O was very smug to be on the winning side again.

Unfortunately during the night I started to feel unwell and the next night O and his brother followed suit. After a day in bed the following day when we were due to leave I was still feeling pretty ropey but I was the best out of a bad lot and we needed to get home somehow. Throughout a very slow packing process which included one sock on, sit rest, other sock on, sit rest, bend pick up jumper, sit up, rest, place jumper over head and arms through sleeve, realise you’ve moved too fast and your brain is hitting off the sides of your skull, sit and rest etc. etc. We eventually got all of our belongings and O’s brothers belongings into the car. I drove very slowly down the road, which was thankfully the road was very clear. There were a few stops for fresh air but we finally made it home in one piece. We collapsed onto the sofa with the duvet and switched between sleeping and watching TV.

A lovely, lovely weekend which was unfortunately spoilt by a stomach virus, we had a great time up until then.


(photos mostly by O apart from the rubbish ones which are by me)

Happy Holidays

(picture by O)*

Tomorrow we will drive South to spend time with my family.

Hope you have a wonderful time with your family and friends.

*our little tree which has now started shedding needles, especially because inevitably the cats have been systematically removing the baubles. 

Keswick - Oct 2011

20 members of the same family in the same house for 3 days and it wasn’t even Christmas?!

We approached the long weekend with some trepidation to say the least. We’d be spending time with aunts, uncles and cousins that we rarely see and some partners that we’d never even met. But my Dad was turning 65 and he wanted his entire family together to help celebrate.

There were:

Mum, Dad, #1, her husband and niece and nephew, #2 and her boyfriend, O and I. Dad’s brother and his wife. Dad’s sister, her husband, her eldest son, his partner and their 8 month old son, her youngest son, his partner and her 7 year old daughter

We arrived in dribs and drabs on Friday night to a huge house on the outskirts of Keswick that had once been used as a B and B. We chose our room, made ourselves some dinner and caught up with family members as they arrived. The rugby world cup was still on and England had a big game against France the next day. Some of the family decided to go for a rugby breakfast at the nearby pub. O decided as the only one likely to be supporting France he would stay away from the pub and watch the game in our room where he was relatively safe to shout “vive la France”.

By the time we got up the next day, had breakfast and the others were back from the pub plans had begun to emerge. The immediate family Mum, Dad #1, #2 and me with our respective attachments were going to go for a walk around Keswick. #1 had got a treasure trail guide which basically took us on a long walk through Keswick but we had some purpose in our random wanderings. Aunts and Uncles went their separate ways for different walks and trips to car boot sales. The weather was not ideal so we were wrapped up with scarves, gloves and waterproofs to keep off the rain. Back to the house for lunch and a lazy afternoon. Dad’s sister and her family being from Leeds are huge rugby league fans and it was the challenge cup final so that evening they found a pub showing the game and stayed there until dinner time. Plenty of rugby for one day!

The photo on the left is the right way up. Trust me

family stroll through the park

#2 had contacted a local chef who came to the house and made us a delicious meal and did the washing up, which meant that everyone could relax. (although given the size of the supermarket shop my parent’s had delivered we could have fed all of us for quite some time). Wine was consumed and we began to relax with each other, family stories were told, some more shocking than others. We realised just how much we still missed our grandparents. It was strange and a little sad in a way to see my father in his role as the patriarch of the family. My Dad opened his birthday cards and he blew out the candles on his cake (which I spent Friday making), unfortunately we were all far too full for cake after the huge pudding the chef had made so it didn’t get cut until the next day.

The chef made a huge batch of cinder toffee (the inside of a Crunchie)

On the Sunday morning some of the family had to leave to get back for work on Monday so we reduced the numbers by 6. After saying goodbye everyone again went their own ways and made their own plans. Although we were in a stunning part of the country O decided he wanted to visit the beach. I wouldn’t recommend the beaches in that part of England or certainly not the beach at Maryport. It was an extremely industrial and rather grey and bleak. Although it was fun to reminisce with my Mum who’s Dad used to frequently travel to Maryport from Newcastle sometimes taking her with him. Again the weather was poor so we hurried to warm up back at the house. I was starting to come down with a cold at this point so wanted to be warm and cosy. We spent the rest of the afternoon doing a really hard jigsaw, each taking turns at different bits. Remembering how big granddad (Dad’s dad) used to love doing jigsaws and how little granddad (Mum’s dad) used to always hide one piece so he could put the last bit in.

Maryport

That evening we took #2’s boyfriend to the train station so he could also get back for work on the Monday. We put some pies in the oven and made simple vegetables and again ate around the enormous table which was in the dining room. That evening we played card games, chatted about our grandparents/parents laughing at different memories, how when my cousins had been with my Nana she had always talked about my sisters and I and then vice versa, she would always chat about my cousins when with us. We also doggedly kept going at the damn jigsaw and it soon became clear that we were not going to bed until it was completed.

The next morning there was a bedlam of packing and trying to share out the huge amount of leftover food. My cold had well and truly hit. We went to rheged for a hot drink and chats with #2 and my parents before #2 had to go and get the train. On the way home we popped in and visited Rebecca, the second time we’ve gone to visit her lovely home and I’ve been full of cold so have coughed and sniffed on her sofa. Should perhaps visit at the start of a trip before I fall ill rather than at the end.

The weekend had been a huge success much more relaxed than anticipated because everyone made their own plans and came and went as they pleased. We came together for meals and spent a lot of time chatting through happy memories.

intense jigsaw action

Photos by O. Me or nephew

Berneray - June 2011

This year seemed to be the year that I caught ferries to Scottish islands I’d never been to before. We’ve got quite a running tally and this year added two more to the list.

It was June, a lovely couple had just been married and we unfortunately had to leave the party early to prepare for our early start in time to catch the ferry. The tent was packed along with wet weather gear, warm weather gear and winter gear. You never can be certain of the weather in Scotland. We hadn’t been camping for a really long time so I was worried it could be a shock to the system. We were also going wild camping i.e. sans toilet and shower block which I was a little worried about. Although we’d expected to be camping very close to the holiday home that O’s Mum had rented for the week. After a smoothish crossing (thankfully I don’t get travel sick) we arrived in North Uist and made the relatively short journey to the house. Once we arrived at the house it was clear that there weren’t any spots nearby on which we could pitch a tent. O’s sister and her family weren’t arriving until the next day so we decided to take a bed for the night and find a camping spot the next day.

We had a fantastic weekend, there were trips to the beach where we found our camping spot. There was a slap up restaurant meal which included me eating half a lobster. There were hand dived scallops which were the biggest things I’ve ever seen – thank you O, shame you don’t eat meat they were yummy. There were fiercely fought games of scrabble and arguments over the quality of certain brands of dictionary. There were books read, a small hill climbed and seals spotted. There were cuddles with nephew who we later discovered was suffering from a hideous cold that knocked me and his Mum sideways when we finally came down with it a few days later. (he handled it much better than either of us).

Unfortunately there were also arguments with the owner of the holiday home (they lived next door and had only been renting out the house for 6/7 weeks) who felt we were overcrowding the house – even though O and I were only there for the day. We decided not to ruin the holiday for O’s parents and we left the island a day early but we did have a fantastic few days. I survived “wild” camping thanks to having a house with hot running water a 10 minute drive away. I was staggered by the beauty of the beach. In my time I’ve seen some fairly impressive beaches but nothing that compares to that stretch of unadulterated white sand. There wasn’t a thing on the beach either, barely a shell, pebble of clump of seaweed to be found. We relaxed, spent time with family and blew the cobwebs away with all that “fresh” air.

photos by O

October is here

October is going to be a good month. The start of November won't be too bad either


I've been on holiday with my sisters.


My whole family is getting together to celebrate my Dad's 65th birthday. 


Cass and I are celebrating our 30ths together.


I'm going to the 2nd blook club meeting - hopefully I'll have read the book by then.


O and I are going to Iceland - any recommendations gratefully received.


The O's family are getting together to celebrate his Mum's birthday.


Somehow all of this means I'm managing not to work a full week for the next six weeks. Woop!

Holiday break down

Do you know what really sucks at the start of your holiday? Having the car breakdown on the way to the airport at 3:45am. Waiting on the breakdown truck to arrive and poor #1's husband having to come and collect us. Delivering us to the airport 10 minutes after check in closed. Sprinting with #1 through the airport to make that flight, because we'd checked in online and could make it. Leaving #2 in the airport to change flights and deal with the large suitcase which was the reason we didn't all get to sprint through the airport. Waiting in Malaga airport for #2 to get there. Suffering the car hire guy bitching about us not taking their extra insurance. 

All of that sort of ruins the first day of your holiday. Do you know what makes it better?

Sunshine. Spending time with my sisters in almost complete silence because there was no need to make conversation. Reading our books, eating well and soaking up the sunshine. 

We've all some how managed to attach ourselves to men that can't sit still. Who need to do things while on holiday. So we holiday together and don't have to do anything.

Celebrations

(images by me or O)

So as you are aware last Wednesday was the big 30 for me. To celebrate (or commiserate) we had planned a break away. We headed to the Lake District, to the same area where we'd spent our minimoon. However first we went for lunch in Kendal (of mint cake fame), it was a beautiful day so I tested out my new camera (present from O and my parents). O had chosen a place for lunch, I was very impressed by, he doesn't usually plan that far in advance. We walked into the restaurant and I turned towards the bar to ask for a table for two, however O just pointed me into the next room. When I looked up I was staring at my parents. It took me a moment to put two and two together. You know that feeling when you see someone you know but not in the situation you were expecting to see them - yes that. My lovely husband had managed to keep a secret from me and had set up the whole surprise. We had a lovely meal at New Moon, a wander about Kendal and then said goodbye to my parents and headed to our hotel.


We were spending the night at Langdale, after we checked in we headed to the pool for a swim, sauna and to slowly poach in the jacuzzi. We underestimated our time slightly so were a little rushed getting ready for dinner, we then got lost on our way to the restaurant, which was a little stressful. It was sooooooooooooooo worth it though. We went back to the Drunken Duck which is where we had spent our minimoon. The food was delicious as we remembered. 


The next day I'd decided I wanted to tackle a fear of mine head on. On our minimoon we took a row boat out onto Coniston water and I had a panic attack, for absolutely no reason - I was not expecting it and it has irritated me ever since. I was determined that this time I would not have a freak out. So after another swim etc. we headed through the drizzle to Coniston. This time there was no freak out and no tears. There was rain and drizzle and a wet seat but some bursts of sunshine and warmth and a lovely time. 


Our journey home was made all the more lovely with a brief stop at Rebecca's home - we had cake.

My Spare Rantings 2

Dear Hoteliers,


Two beds pushed together does not make a king size bed. It does not make a romantic giant bed. It makes two beds pushed together. It means someone falls down the break or a young recently married couple sleep miles apart*.


Please sort it out.


Thank you


*p.s. and then when they get home to their standard double bed they both try to sleep star fish style and there isn't enough room. 


I think I've ranted about this before - Sorry.

Italy: Luca & Pisa

Our last day in Italy we went to Luca. We went to Luca mainly to get gelato. We wandered around the walls of this beautiful fortified town with friends. I'd really like to visit Luca again - mainly for the gelato.

Then we got the train to Pisa, we marched rather quickly from the train station to the leaning tower. Friends we were with climbed the tower, however we were worried we would run out of time. So we watched them climb as they stopped at different stages to wave at us. There isn't really anything else to see in Pisa so we trekked back to the station, on to the airport and waited for our flight to depart.

That was a very long and dull account of our few days in Italy. It feels like such a long time ago. I hope we will be visiting  Italy again.

Italy: Florence

Our friends had been living outside Florence for months and they didn't fancy seeing the sights yet again. So we explored on our own meeting later in the day to go for dinner. 

We went to the Boboli Gardens

We had lunch in the Bardini gardens overlooking Florence

Of course we went to the Duomo (although not inside)

Our photos could never do justice to how beautiful the Duomo is.

Just a few of the highlights of Florence.

Italy: Day 3 Rome, Colosseum etc

Our last day in Rome we checked out of our hotel and headed to the Forum and Colosseum for the day.

Then that was it, the end of our time in Rome. We had crammed in as much as possible.


We headed back to the train station and took the train to Florence where we met up with friends who we were staying with for the next two days.


Photos are by me or my husband