Iceland Travel Diary
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Let’s face it, we’re all creatures of habit. We have a favourite parking spot in the supermarket, a favourite mug, or item on a menu. Our minds are more settled when we’re in well trodden ground. But romance is seldom found in the familiar, which is why sometimes you need to lock away your inhibitions, throw caution to the wind and venture deep into the unknown.
Think about all those spontaneous nights out that weren’t drowning in expectation and so consequently ended up being some of your fondest memories.
When the lovely people over at Danone asked me to talk a little bit about what feeling ‘Light and free’ meant to me, my husband and I decided to do the message justice by embarking on the most random, spontaneous adventure we could think of…
So, one humid Sunday evening, as the sun cast long shadows that spilled into our home, we span a large globe, and promised that the very next day we would fly out to wherever my finger landed…
It landed in Iceland (I was aiming for Ibiza)!
I’ll be the first to admit, Iceland isn’t somewhere I had ever even considered setting foot in, but I tried to keep an open mind and embrace our Nordic adventure.
We quickly booked our flights and AirBnB, packed our bags, camera, drone and toddler, and off we set!
Day one:
Several hours later we stepped off the airplane and into the divinely fresh Icelandic air.
After an hour’s drive through a barren, molten landscape, we were swallowed up by the city of Reykjavik. It was then onto our apartment, where our host showed us around what can only be described as the perfect lady pad. Extremely contemporary and reflective of the harshness of the foreboding landscape that we now found ourselves in, but with feminine touches all around.
We didn’t want to waste a single moment, I sort of felt like a character from the Famous Five who’d had too much caffeine, desperate to go out and seek adventure. So, after a quick snack, we went for a wander around the capital and stumbled across a quiet little nook, decorated with piercing blue glassware, and serving burgers that tasted like pure joy in a bun.
Day two:
Grace and I spent all morning playing hide and seek. Well, I say that, but he basically kept stealing all my hiding places when it was his turn. He also thinks standing looking at a wall with his hands over his eyes is a feasible hiding spot – he clearly has a lot to learn about the art of hide and seek.
What I learnt very quickly about Iceland is that, despite its seemingly unforgiving, barren, harsh, isolated and even desolate landscape, there is something more to it. By the end of the first day I knew only two things about Iceland; the first was that I was entirely captivated by this tiny, peculiar Nordic island, the second was that I didn’t have a clue why – but I was determined to find out.
After a morning of pretending to struggle to find a toddler curled up in the middle of the floor, we jumped in our hire car and set off to find somewhere called ‘The Blue Lagoon’, the most visited attraction in Iceland.
After an hour’s drive and a few wrong turns we arrived, parked the car, paid a lady at reception a lot of Euros for some tickets, slipped on our swimmers, and finally all walked into the huge Blue Lagoon.
The water is rich in minerals, like silica and sulphur, and feels like a giant hot bath. Surprisingly, Grayson adored it; he was in his absolute element, and even swam with armbands by himself for the first time ever. Seeing him bob around with a big grin washed over his face was such an unforgettable moment, I felt so proud of him.
With all that paddling and playing, hunger soon crept up on us, so we ventured to a bar/restaurant named ‘Snaps‘. It didn’t look anything special from the outside, but let me tell you now, the food was pretty darn sensational. We had the most amazing freshly caught fish and all shared the best chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten. But we did make a rookie parenting error by giving Grayson some, meaning we had a very hyper two-year-old who we needed to try and wear out for bedtime, so we decided to go on an impromptu walk by the beach to tire him out…
I’ll admit, a walk was the last thing on my mind after a long day exploring; all I wanted to do that evening was bury myself on the sofa with my husband, and watch something terrible on Netflix, but our spontaneous evening walk actually ended up being something I’ll remember forever, despite the fact that it was freezing cold!
Day three:
On our third and final day, we wanted to pack in as much site-seeing as we possibly could, so we piled into the car and drove to visit something called the ‘Gullfoss Waterfall’ in the southwest of Iceland.
I suppose it goes without saying that we spent a long time stopping at various beauty spots and landmarks along the way to take blog photos and get vlog footage.
On our way home we stopped to take a look at the geysers (boiling water spontaneously blasting up from the ground), which Grayson was really intrigued by, and kept saying ‘some more Mama, some more’.
I realise it looks quite underwhelming in this particular photo; it’s one of those moments when your patience is rewarded, but it is quite difficult to capture. Sort of like Grayson being rewarded for his patience by being allowed to sit in the driver’s seat of the car for a while…
As our trip drew to a close, I realised that Iceland has a way of saying so much without even whispering word. Somehow it made me feel so connected with this big floating rock we’re all on; it told an incredible story, and made me part of it. It’s almost as though the island had an aura, or its own special kind of energy.
After a few days of quietly pondering why I felt so captivated and intrigued by this place, I began to feel that the intrigue was born out of what Iceland reflected straight back at me.
Its volatile volcanic energy, which bubbles with ferocity beneath the cold, barren, sacred landscape feels somehow reflective of our own internal passions, emotions and desires, restricted by our unique inhibitions and fears.
Never in a million years did I expect Iceland to affect me the way it did. I suppose it disconnected me from everything simply so it could reconnect me to something new, something clearer. When you find yourself somewhere so remote and isolated you’re able to see and appreciate what’s right in front of you far more vividly.
As we reluctantly made our way to the airport, London bound, I realised we had done exactly what we set out to do, to prove that you don’t always need a rigid plan, that the best adventures are the ones that will find you anyway. So, say yes, empower yourself to feel light and free, be spontaneous and create your own incredible adventures. You get one life, one chance to do anything and everything you’ve ever dreamed of, so take that chance.
H x
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