Love Iceland!

All - I'm going to warn you now, this is going to be a long post because I've experienced so much in the last 48h that I must share with you all!  Feel free to read a bit, take a break and come back!


I'm going to break it down by the things that I've done the last few days: Blue Lagoon, Whale Watching, Golden Circle.  And reiterate that you all must come visit here.


Blue Lagoon
You can't come to Iceland without going here, it's what's on every tourist poster, and the views didn't disappoint.  And the best part?  There's a bar in the Lagoon to get drinks!  


If you know me even a little bit, you know that I've never been able to pass up spa treatments, now that I'm unemployed I should probably try to keep this in check.  But I had possibly the most amazing facial ever - highly recommended.  Then I made my way to the Lagoon.  I had actually heard mixed reviews of this, and while it's beautiful for sure, it was a lot of couples canoodling.  For a newly single girl all alone, this was not my favorite part.  But the water is so warm and beautiful I could have stayed there for hours!  See photos below:

Whale Watching
Before this trip, I had never seen a whale.  This is less surprising since I grew up in the middle of the country, but there was something about it that intrigued me.  We did in fact see whales all around us, unfortunately the smaller ones and not the ones you see on TV, but it was very cool.  Better yet were the views from the boat of the scenery.  I wanted to share photos with you all of the whales, but unfortunately, my lack of coordination and speed of reaction made this very difficult.  


Photos taken: 46
Photos where you can actually see part of a whale: 3

Golden Circle

The tour I took consisted of three parts - we saw the geysers, a waterfall and the place where the American and Euroasian plates meet (apparently, the plates are moving apart with Iceland getting larger by 2cm/year)!  

Words can't really describe what it was like to see these things, I've never really seen something so beautiful and while I took about 100 pictures, they hardly do the landscape justice.

Here is my amateur attempt at taking a video of one of the geysers going off (sorry, I couldn't figure out how to rotate it)

Note that the water in the hot springs that we saw had a sign that said 100* C, that's hot.  Some other choice pictures from the Geysers:

The next stop on our tour was possibly the most beautiful waterfall that I have ever seen.  It's the water that's melted off one of the glaciers and was spectacular.  I would come back to Iceland just to see this again.

The next set of photos is from straddling the divide between the two plates.  This was more cool as a theory vs. as beautiful as the rest of the things I saw today, but still you get a sense of the dramatic landscape here.

Miscellaneous 
So I'm on day 3 of my journey and I can't believe that it's taken me this long to do this.  It's not all been beautiful landscapes, etc - for example, last night I stumbled upon Wall Street night at one of the pubs:

(Yes, they even had the subtitled movie playing on all the TVs.  The original, luckily!)


Also, I've discovered my new favorite Doritos flavor:

With that, I think this post is long enough already.  I'm here for one more night, which based on experience will be quite an adventure with it never actually getting dark and no open container laws.


Tomorrow I'm off to London for a night and then St. Tropez, but I can guarantee I'll come back here again.  In fact, this morning I saw a bachelorette party walking down the street - and I considered that, but then I remembered that perhaps I should wait until I'm dating to start making plans like that!

What I've learned, and it's only been 1 day!

I landed in Reykjavik at 6am this morning.  And while it's only 8pm local time, I wanted to update you all.  There are a few things that I've learned already on this trip:


(1) Reykjavik is absolutely beautiful (see photos below)
(2) Iceland bus routes - 1, Amy -0 (although by the end of the day I was definitely getting better!)
(3) People seem to think that I'm Icelandic...until they hear me speak
(4) No matter where you are, there are always friends, friends of friends, or friends of friends of friends that are willing to take you under their wing (thank you Kristin and Thorey via Jared)
(5) I don't understand a single word of Icelandic
(6) 1,000 Icelandic Krona isn't nearly as expensive as it sounds


Things I've done so far today:
(1) Walked...a lot
(2) Saw amazing views of the city, especially from the Perlan
(3) Went to a Thermal Pool, where despite the fact that it's only 60 degrees outside, the water is the most amazing/relaxing feeling ever


Again, thank you all for following me as I figure everything out, it's only been one day and I can't even explain how great this has been so far (and the night's not even done yet!)


Some choice pictures from today:

One thing that did surprise me today though: on my walk back to the hotel, I started hearing "O.P.P." playing very loudly down an alley.  So, obviously I had to check it out.  It was a graffitied court yard with a DJ and a ton of people sitting around watching.  Who knew that Naughty By Nature was so popular globally?!  Not this girl.

Stay tuned, tomorrow is the Blue Lagoon tour day! (And if I'm feeling ambitious potentially whale watching!)

Leaving on a Jet Plane

The day has finally come for my adventure to begin.  I've spent all week trying to get my stuff in order, and of course, packing.  The first realization that I had?  I have two suitcases that are packed, and yet if you looked at my closet and in my drawers, you would have no idea that I've gone anywhere.  Note to self: spring cleaning starts when I return.


My flight leaves this evening for Reykjavik, Iceland.  I am then on to London for Sunday evening before heading off to St. Tropez.  After that, I'm back in London for the weekend to spend time with my amazing friends there.  People keep asking me where I'll go after that, and at this point - I have a list of places I want to go, but nothing yet booked.  I'm trying to be as spontaneous as I can possibly be, so stay tuned.


The other question I get is how long I'll be gone and when will I come back.  Another question that I don't have an answer for.  I'm going with the flow on this trip and will come back when I feel like it's the right time.


Those of you that have spent time with me over the last week understand how scared I am about all of this uncertainty, but it's the only way to grow - so wish me luck.  I'll be thinking about all of you all while I'm away!


Next stop: Reykjavik!

The first day of my next chapter

Earlier this week, I let my team know that I was planning on leaving J.P. Morgan after an internship and 5 years in the investment bank.  While many were surprised by this, those that knew the situation understood.  At 27, unhappiness at work and the end of a 2+ year relationship, I decided that it was time to re-evaluate where I am in life and what I want out of it.  


While most that know me would NOT describe me as spontaneous, that's exactly what I've become.  In a few weeks I will be leaving NYC and spending the summer traveling Europe.  People keep asking me where I'm going, and truthfully, I haven't yet decided and want to keep an open mind.  After years of planning everything, I want to step out of my comfort zone - (wish me luck!)


While I'm scared of change - I'm confident in my decision.  The reason for that? Yesterday was my last day in the office, and I couldn't do anything but smile.  I can't remember the last time I smiled so much!  This has to be a good sign.


I've never blogged before, so have patience with me and hopefully you'll be able to share in on this amazing journey I'm about to take!