Tales from the Icelandic Coast

So I've been to Iceland.

Okay, so I've been to the Iceland airport. Twice! But unfortunately, even by my own rules, that doesn't count.

Luckily for this blog, however, my dear friend Sierra traveled to Iceland earlier this year on her honeymoon and has a few anecdotes and photos to share from her adventures in Iceland!

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Honeymooning in Fire & Ice

I’m Sierra Brown. I am a Charlottesvillian, a wife, an adventurer, and I am a WAHOO. I have three major passions (in no particular order): travel, outdoor adventures, and food. So, when it was time to choose a honeymoon destination, my husband and I thought Iceland would surely feed these passions. We were right!

We did the Iceland stopover option with IcelandAir on our way back from England (also wonderful, but in different ways). We took 4 days, but really only had 2 full days to explore. Our trip was at the end of May, which was great because Reykjavik wasn’t too crowded yet and prices for hotels were still reasonable. Also, the sun went down just enough to give us that dusk effect and helped us sleep a little. The downside to going in May was that some tours are not available yet due to snow and ice blocking the way in higher elevations. Nonetheless, we booked some great tours to explore the beautiful landscape and had plenty of daylight to explore the cute town of Reykjavik.

Most folks who travel to Iceland for a short time do the Blue Lagoon and Golden Circle tour and catch some hot spring, waterfalls, and glacier highlights. We are not most folks. Our adventures started with a trip in a tricked-out, off-roading, monster van driven by a tiny, beautiful, blonde Icelander. She picked us up from our hotel and drove us and a small group out across moss-covered lava fields down into a lava tube. After a short walk into the cave, she asked us all to turn off our lights then shared some traditional scary stories and lullabies. They love spooky bumps in the night—I guess it comes from all the winter darkness. After that, we crawled through some very low ceilings. My husband stood up on the other side just long enough to catch his toe and topple head-over-heels into a 4-foot-deep hole, breaking his left hand in 2 spots. Although they had a walk-in clinic just up the street from our hotel, we weren’t about to waste a minute in a doctor’s office. So, on to a pub for an expensive recovery beer instead (we got him patched up at home a few days later).

Reynisdrangar beach

Our second day of touring was spent on the Southern Coast of Iceland. Once again, we were picked up, but this time in a GIANT off-roading bus. Our driver drove us down the scenic ring road several hours past the snowcapped Eyjafjallajökull (E15) volcano and water walls that fell from cliffs and disappeared into the wind before hitting the ground. We first stopped to explore the black sand beaches of Reynisdrangar with giant monoliths, sea caves, and basalt towers then on to the town of Vik for lunch. After a hot bowl of lamb stew, we met our guides and geared up for our trek on Sólheimajökull glacier. This was incredible. The ashy soil covered the glacier in spots, which validated the nickname of “Mordor” for the front of the glacier.

On the way back we stopped at two enormous waterfalls: Skógafoss waterfall and Seljalandsfoss waterfall (made famous in a Justin Bieber music video). Seljalandsfoss has a path that goes behind the falls, and you can take in the beautiful landscape through the pouring water. It’s pretty epic!

Selijalandsfoss Waterfall

Skógafoss Waterfall

Ok... Let’s talk about food!

We started our first afternoon with a trip to the 10-11, a small convenient grocery store, for peanut butter, jelly, bread, skyr (thick Icelandic yogurt), chips, and bottled water (the water at our hotel was very sulfurous). Although the store had many more traditional options like dried fish, we stuck with the basics to keep in our room.

After out shopping, we hit up the Public House/Café and tried their “Best of Iceland” tapas sampler.

• Grafinn Lundi – Cured Puffin
• Timianreykt Bleikja - Arctic Charr on a senbei cracker
• Hreindyr - Reindeer w/ Icelandic Blue cheese
• Haegeldadur Lambaskanki – Lamb shank in an Icelandic donut
• Viking Beer sampling

All of which was A-MAZING!

We ate a few more meals in town. I would recommend them all: crepes at Eldur and Is, pizza (bacon, maple syrup, spinach, and apple!) at Eldsmiðjan, coffee at Te & kaffi, and sushi from Sushibarinn delivered to us during trivia!

Although Reykjavik is known for its wild club scene going all night, the restaurant scene closes up early. You had better get your dinner before 9:00 PM because everything closes after that—which seemed extra strange because it was still so light out. However, if you get an early start on dinner, you’ll be more likely to catch the abundant and necessary happy hour specials to cope with the insane alcohol prices. We popped into a few places for drinks: The Lebowski Bar (Big Lebowski themed) and Dillon Whiskey Bar (which sits on top the Chuck Norris Grill). We even managed to WIN a few free drinks in a game of trivia at Kofinn. All the questions were based on American movies—WINNING! They gave us each a Viking lager and a shot of Hot & Sweet, a traditional licorice liquor.


I’m afraid that even with all my ramblings, I haven’t fully captured the complete awesomeness, quirkiness, and wild nature of this country, the landscape, the people, or their capital. You’ll just have to experience it yourself. Get going!

All photos are by Sierra Brown and are used with permission for this article. Images can not be used without expression permission of the owner.

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Flying With A Baby: Tips, Tricks & Hot Toddies

Flying with a baby isn't easy. But it's not impossible.

Becoming a parent doesn't mean that you stop being who you are and stop doing what you love. Yes, finances change with having children. Yes, interests and lifestyles will change, too. But if you make travel a priority and budget accordingly, it's still possible - even if you have to spend more time prepping and jump through more hoops to accomplish it!

So if you're a wanderlustin' mama like me and looking for some practical tips on preparing for a transatlantic flight with an infant, read on. And for those blessedly kid-free readers of mine (no, I don't envy you one bit... okay, maybe sometimes), read on for some tongue-in-cheek entertainment, a preview of your potential future, or maybe just a little chuckle at the expense of all us mamas and papas wanting to take our babies all over the world. Just show us some grace - or buy us a beer - when you see us struggling with all the baby gear in transit!

Read More: Our Transatlantic Flight with an 8 Month Old

Not pictured: Patience & a bottle of rum

1. Pack Your Patience
You can forget the carefree days of traveling sans infant: cute outfit, a neck pillow, a good book, and the enjoyment of the on-board entertainment. Pack your big girl panties because things are going to get real. Like, trying to figure out how to change a blow-out diaper in an airplane bathroom kind of real. Be mentally prepared for the most stressful experience of your life. Expect something to spill at the most inopportune time. Resign yourself to the fact that your daughter will fall asleep on you just in time for you to need to use the bathroom. Like I said, flying with a baby is not easy. But your reaction to the stressful situation can make or break it and influence the reaction of your fellow passengers.

And if it doesn't turn out as bad as you feared, well, then party like it's going out of style! Which for us parents usually means a hot toddy at the end of a long day.

Tip: For shorter flights, try to arrange the flight times to occur around or during baby's nap times. Be prepared for annoyed looks from some passengers. They obviously have never, ever been a crying baby even once in their life, and never, ever gave their mother a single moment of annoyance or stress. (Insert massive eye roll.) ...Oh, and if you're a nursing mom and a bit shy about nursing in public (like me), you'll want to snag a window seat. I had a window seat in the back row, and it was perfect for privacy and comfort.


2. Make a Plan
Before I even drew up a packing list for our trip, I created a battle plan for getting to, through, and out of the airport. I'm not even joking (you can blame my A-type personality), but it did help me make sure that I purchased some much needed essentials and had a plan for what big ticket items (stroller, pack n play, etc) we brought versus borrowed at our destination.

• Arrive Early: Do not underestimate how much extra time you need. The extra baby gear, an unexpected dirty diaper, and a hundred thousand other things can eat up so much more time than you originally plan. For international flights, arrive at least 2.5 hours prior to your flight departure.
• Baby Carrier: I used a cheap Infantino carrier, but I would recommend investing in something more comfortable if you plan to wear baby consistently. This, however, worked just fine for in the airport and for up to an hour on various excursions. Wear baby while going through security, if allowed, and definitely wear the baby while boarding the plane - having your hands free as much as possible is essential!
• Carseat / Stroller: We have a Graco travel set in which the infant car seat latches directly onto the stroller, and we decided to gate check both items so that we could use them in the airport as we waited to board. We used the Gate Check Pro travel bags to make sure that our stroller and car seat didn't get overly dirty, and we were pleased with how the bags withstood the rough handling. No ripped seams or tearing. While it is not padded and will not guarantee that your items won't be broken, we were thankful that our baby's car seat was not dirtied as badly as our suitcase.
• Diaper Bag vs Back Pack: Maneuvering a plane with an infant is hard enough without having to balance a diaper bag on one shoulder. Even if only for the trip, consider using a backpack as a diaper bag. It was so much easier for me to have it strapped onto my back versus using a diaper bag with just the typical "purse strap" on it. 
• Entertainment: Babies, especially those older than two months, can get bored just like us. Make sure you pack favorite toys and books. Debut a new item on each leg of the trip to pique their interest.
• Friends: Be extra nice to the stewardesses; they can make your trip so much better! I cannot say enough great things about the on-board experience with IcelandAir. On two of our flights, they arranged for us to have the row to ourselves, and even on the full flights, they were always handy with extra pillows, blankets, and a comforting smile when baby was screaming her sleep-deprived little head off.
• Go Light on Packing: In years past, Danny and I would each have a huge roller suitcase with maybe a couple of backpacks on top of a camera bag and purse. We're more practical now that we have to balance all the cumbersome baby gear. We used one roller suitcase, one diaper bag, and one camera bag. That was it. I tried to use a capsule wardrobe approach for our clothes and generally feel that we were much more efficient with our packing on this trip than on any other.

These are now my "ABCs" of baby travel, but will remain a work in progress. My daughter was eight months old and already cruising around furniture in terms of mobility when we traveled, so you may need to tweak this list based on your child's age and development level.

Tip: Make sure your diaper bag contains an extra shirt for yourself and hubby in addition to spare outfit(s) for the baby. You never know when a bottle is going to end up all over you!

Gelato is a great end goal.

3. Remember the End Goal
The five stages of flying with a baby are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Oh, wait, those are the five stages of grief. Well, it's pretty much the same thing!

• Denial: It can't be but so bad. She'll fall asleep eventually. ...right?
• Anger: Why won't you stop screaming?!?! Do you think you're the only one on this plane? MAN! Why the heck did we think it would be FUN to fly to freaking EUROPE with a BABY!!!
• Bargaining: Honey... sweet pea... if you just stop crying and go to sleep, mommy will buy you the biggest, most expensive toy in the whole wide world as soon as we get there. I promise!
• Depression: I am never traveling anywhere again.
• Acceptance: Well, at least this'll all be over in just a few hours.

All good things come to an end. And so do bad things. So even if the worst case scenario pans out, just remember that you will reach your destination in just a few (long... very long) hours and be off that wretched plane with the last remaining shreds of your sanity and dignity. Then you'll be facing the next big adventure: sleeping with a jet-lagged baby.

Yay, parenthood!

Any other tips you'd like to offer?

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Sacré-Cœur, Paris: Moneychangers In The Temple

Admittedly, our visit to Paris was not all rainbows and sunshine. First trimester nausea, a hotel in a not-so-great part of town, and sticker shock were just a few reasons why our weekend in the City of Light does not rank among our more favorite travel experiences.

And then there was the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. The Basilica of the Sacred Heart is just barely 100 years old and commands an amazing view of Paris on the Montemartre, particularly for watching the sun set. From what we could see in our guide books prior to our arrival, there were a few grassy areas where we could spread a blanket and enjoy a romantic evening with a picnic dinner.

This Montmartre door
had eyes.

It's really too bad that reality didn't match our expectations.

First of all, the climb to the top was unpleasant, and I'm not referring to the incline. There were hordes of tourists all trying to do the same thing we were, and to compound the problem, there were what I could only describe as gangs of young men aggressively hawking their wares. And by hawking, I should say harassing, verbally assaulting, and intimidating anyone they singled out. They attempted to forcibly put a bracelet on my friend's arm, then stormed after her shouting and screaming for her to buy their trinket when she refused. He chased us up the final set of steps to the Sacré-Cœur, and it wasn't until the crowds closed behind us that we finally were free. It was angering and also alarming.

Secondly, there was the atmosphere of the Sacré-Cœur itself. My oh my, it is a beautiful building! But... the inside of the basilica felt more like a market than a church. There were machines selling commemorative stamped coins strategically spaced throughout the structure. Despite the signs to keep quiet and to take no photos, it was noisy and full of flash photography. It was a far cry from our experience in the Notre-Dame, which despite the hundreds of tourists lined up to view it, had a more solemn and spiritual feel.

But that is just my opinion! And despite the downsides, I am glad that we experienced it for ourselves.

View of Paris (and the hordes) from the Sacré-Cœur.

Have you visited the Sacré-Cœur Basilica?

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