Yesterday was a bit of a travel adventure. I'll explain at the bottom - but first today! Today I went full guns a blazin' - Rhine Falls and Uetliberg mountain. Rhine Falls are continental Europe's largest... I'll admit the pictures beforehand made them look dinky, but even though they are short they are POWERFUL. I will forever love the roar of a good waterfall - it's so soothing yet mighty. The mist didn't hurt either, with this heat. The viewing platform pretty much puts you inside the fall, you're that close. It's amazing. I listened and just soaked it all in for about an hour before a giant gaggle of tourists showed up and the vibe died lol. Back to the city I go. I've quickly learned the chocolate shops in the touristy areas often give ... read more

Sloppy mess out there today..! Early flight out of Akureyri - it was a balmy 7C at 7am... that's one way to get rid of all their snow! Flight was quick and smooth. I really like Air Iceland - they have fun little quirks, much like everything else in Iceland I guess. For example, in each seat pocket is a book for you to write your "North Adventure" and see what others have done on their visit too. Anyway, once in Reykjavik I dropped my stuff off at the hostel and continued on my way. It was raining in Reykjavik, which puts a slight damper on the plan to explore. Nevertheless I ventured out towards the city centre and roamed about for a few hours. I went to Tjornin to watch some of the ducks and ... read more

Short and sweet one today: I can't stop laughing every time I look outside - we got a dumping of snow... like... this morning roads were essentially closed and you couldn't get in or out of town level of dumping of snow. I love it. This morning (while it was still coming down, HARD) I got dressed and went on a winter wonderland exploration walk... which was basically me shuffling through ~20-25cm of snow at that point, none of which was cleared. I'm still laughing about it. All in all apparently we got around ~35cm. It was pretty gusty most of the day though, so you'd be walking and sometimes you'd have like 2cm to get through and other times it was up over my boots. It was fun to do some exploring but I only ... read more

Doesn't matter where I go, people always ask me directions lol. The domestic airport in Reykjavik is super tiny - it's like less than 10 flights a day, and I had 2 different people ask me where the gates are and how to know when to board. I told them were the gate area is, but that generally people wait in this other area because there are more seats. One girl asked: "But how do I know which gate? I don't want to get on the wrong flight!" - There is literally only one flight haha. You good. When they board (10min before departure) you literally walk out onto the tarmac. I love tiny airports, so much less stress and drama. Flight was short - 40min hop over the highlands. Too bad it was dark, I ... read more

It's pretty toasty in Portland and air quality isn't fab, so I needed something with guaranteed shade today - The Grotto ended up being the perfect fit! It's billed as the place "for solitude, peace and prayer" and it didn't disappoint. The lower garden area is free and has a few statues (Jesus with the cross, some other statues off near the cliffside), a grotto with a statue of Mary and a kajillion candles around it, and a small(ish) church you can visit. Thankfully they have an elevator that brings you up the cliff to the upper garden. First place I went to upstairs was the Meditation building - it's on the edge of the cliff and gives you a lovely view off towards the mountains. You could see the haze from here, but it was ... read more