When it comes to food in Iceland, one may not expect a small island hovering below the Arctic Circle to hold a fork in culinary delight. But it does. Oh yes, the food in Iceland is quite delicious.
In a county that has ZERO McDonald’s (yes, you read that correctly), much of the Icelandic cuisine is organic, locally-sourced, and supremely delectable. From free-range lamb to creamy skyr to pungent, rotten shark and bread baked in the earth, the food in Iceland is a cuisine that charms and surprises.
Ready to unleash your inner Viking? Take a bite! Here are the standout tastes from our honeymoon in Iceland.
It’s difficult enough to figure out what to wear on your average Monday. But figuring out what to wear in Iceland is a a whole new challenge. Especially when you’re trying to figure out what to wear in Iceland in September — the shoulder season still clings to summer while creeping on to winter. The weather can range from the low 60s and plummet down to the low 30s at night (Fahrenheit).
9 Days in Iceland: An Iceland Itinerary Around the Ring Road & Beyond
Many people have told me, this is the best Iceland itinerary I’ve seen! This makes me glad, because planning a trip to Iceland and determining an Iceland itinerary can be challenging. It’s a country with so much to see and do and taste. When I sat down to plan our Iceland itinerary for our epic honeymoon road trip, I became instantaneously overwhelmed. For a few reasons:
Despite it’s size, it’s astounding how much there is to see/do in Iceland.
It’s difficult to determine how much can be accomplished/driven in a day.
Icelandic is a challenging language. The names of every destination is, obviously, Icelandic.
Though we determined where we’d end up each night, much of the day was left open with a few “must see” sights we’d bookmarked. But Iceland is a place that happens naturally to you, so you go with the flow. This is my recommended Iceland itinerary. It loosely follows what we did, but I modified this itinerary to what I would do if I could travel to Iceland for 9 days all over again. This isn’t an exact replica from our journey. Why? Because we missed some things, made some mistakes, and back tracked more than I wish to admit. This could have been easily avoided with better planning, but I’m an ENFP — planning isn’t my strongest trait.
If you have any questions about my 9 day Iceland itinerary, check out some of the comments (there are many questions!) or feel free to drop me an email or tweet or Facebook message! Much love.
Here’s a sneak peak of my recommendations for your trip to Iceland…
This post is my way to figuratively place my highlights of the year in a pretty box, tie it to a balloon with 2015 written across, and let it sail into the stars. The box will have two tags on it. One will say, “The Year of Celebrations.” The other, “The Year of New Beginnings.”
Though I’m not typically a year-end round-up poster, 2015 was too exhausting (in the best way) and too bright to let slip into 2016 without some acknowledgement. It deserves a nod of thanks, a firm handshake, and a genuine smile.
This is a good thing, because the crowds are growing and the queue to enter is lengthening. Judging by the masses of friends, families, photographers, and couples, we’re in for a holiday treat.
We’re waiting to experience one of Toronto’s top attractions for the holiday: the Toronto Christmas Market.
Christmas markets aren’t new. They’ve remained in our history for centuries, originating in Germany/Austria around the early 1400s. For a tradition so rooted in our human history, this is only our first time visiting one. It’s a holidate for me and my newlywed husband, Eric.
The historic Distillery District is the perfect backdrop for the Toronto Christmas Market. It’s an industrial mill repurposed as a pedestrian-only block, now home to art galleries, boutiques, and unique restaurants. Founded in the 1800s, the buildings in the Distillery District add to the nostalgia of the atmosphere.
When I tell people where I’m honeymooning, I get two reactions:
Wow, seriously?! That’s so cool!
Wow, really?! That’s…. different.
Typically followed up by the question, “How did you pick that place for your honeymoon?” or “Why?!”
If you follow me on Twitter, you probably already know where we’re going (I tweet about it quite frequently). I like playing guessing games, so I’m going to share some clues to reveal the coolest honeymoon destination ever:
Frolic on black sand beaches
Whale watching
Volcanic island nation
A very challenging language (which I’m trying to learn)
That’s what Eric proclaimed with conviction. For every reason I mustered to counter that Mexico would be great, he’d retaliate 2 for why it wouldn’t. I completely respect his opinions and beliefs about certain places, but it only fuels my desire to make it a “next destination” to challenge his assumptions. It’s not so much a prove-you-wrong situation, but moreso a let’s expand that cultural palette, break down stereotypes, and reach our own conclusions based on our experience.
I traveled to Australia with a boyfriend and returned home without one.
They say traveling with your significant other can be a true test of a relationship. In our case, this proved true.
We arrived in Queensland, Australia – me & Eric, my boyfriend (at the time). When we made our trip home? He no longer held that title. Queensland is the perfect backdrop for couples in love – picturesque beaches, swaying palms, amazing nature… What could go wrong?
Where to go on a long weekend getaway from Metro Detroit? Perhaps you’ve seen my first post, with 5 attainable road trips close to home. In that list, all the suggestions were out of Michigan but still stateside. Here we’re taking it up a notch – we’re dusting off that passport (or enhanced license) and hopping the border.
I’ve once been of the thought that “Canada doesn’t count” as a new country to visit, since it’s a ridiculously fast drive to foreign land. But our neighbor to the north deserves more attention when it comes to new destinations to visit for a long weekend road trip.
The rules for this small list were simple: The location must be (1.) in Canada, (2.) less than 300 miles away (3.) a fun place to visit. Note: distances were calculated from Campus Martius in Detroit.
They are realistic, achievable, affordable and not too far away from home. Here it is: 5 attainable INTERNATIONAL long weekend getaways from Metro Detroit.
There’s something fishy about Hamilton Island. And no, I’m not trying to be punny or facetious since it is, well, an island that naturally has an abundance of fish.
Sometimes I do my research about a place SO WELL before I decide to travel there. Other times I see a photo, fall into a state of awe, make my travel commitment without much more thought. Such was the case with Hamilton Island. A few photos of Whitehaven Beach and a helicopter view of the tropical Whitsundays left no question in my mind – I NEEDED to see this.
Lucky for me, Hamilton Island – one of the few inhabited islands in the 74 Whitsundays – was one of the destinations I could choose for my 5 Days in Queensland trip.
I sensed Hamilton Island’s “fishiness” before we arrived. Just take a look at their website – perfectly branded and informative; Social media accounts brilliantly managed. Nearly anything I wanted to know about the island or needed to book for the island was centrally located.
Upon our arrival, all visitors were picked up on a bus from the airport and dropped off (for free) at our accommodation. A branded folder intricately stuffed with anything you’d need to know about Hamilton Island waited at our hotel. Details about every restaurant, shop, activity, hiking trail, etc. etc. was a turn of the page away. For the tech enthusiasts/paperless greenies, Hamilton Island even has its own app (I learned in Oz that “greenies” means “hippy.” I like it). Beyond the expected “things to do” guide, this app includes bus timetables, weather information, and audio tours.
Well, that’s convenient!
We discovered that we could swim in any of the nearby pools and our complementary breakfast buffet could be enjoyed at multiple restaurants [by the way, these brekky buffets were ah-mahz-ing]. Every kayak and SUP and sailboat matched with that well branded beachy blue, palm tree green, and sunshine yellow. Even the golf-carts bumped around like a happy little Utopian transportation zooming past the free shuttle service.
Everything was just too perfectly cohesive and in sync with each other. It seemed fishy. It started to feel almost… Disneyworldish (minus random characters frolicking about)… like this destination was perfectly crafted to create an enjoyable experience for its visitors….
Because it was.
It was like some Marketing Guru walked into a Hamilton Island planning meeting and said, “Don’t worry blokes, I got this.”
During the second day of feeling slightly perturbed over this paradise-esque island, we flipped on the TV (it was raining). On played an infomercial (which replayed and replayed and replayed) about Hamilton Island’s history and activities…
Hamilton Island is owned by Bob Oatley. And therefore, many of the businesses on Hamilton Island are owned by the Oatley family as well. The Oatleys are winemakers and sailors… and they purchased Hamilton Island (sounds like a good gig to me). It’s a tourist island and was developed for the purpose of… just guess… tourism! Rich guys with lots of money buying islands and making more money. Sure, there are a few people who live there, but they’re either voraciously wealthy or island workers. As far as I know.
It wasn’t always owned by the Oatleys. The island was first* possessed by Keith Williams, an entrepreneur who charged in during the 1970s to develop the island into a tourist magnet full of hotels, restaurants, a boat harbor, airport, golf course and more. He essentially laid down the blueprint/vision of Hamilton Island’s future. If there’s one thing that stands out on Mr. Williams’ resume, it’s his role in designing & developing Sea World on the Gold Coast. Theme park. Tourist destination. Okay, NOW I’m understanding the origin of the fishiness of this island…
*not, of course, including the original aboriginal island dwellers.
*(and these guys)
It seemed slightly inauthentic and forced, but that’s probably because it was – this “destination” wasn’t established organically. It was pushed there with a purpose, for… tourism! There’s nothing wrong with some good ol’ entrepreneurship to commercialize your own island into a tourist mecca. Shoot, if I had the money… But that’s why the island seemed fishy. It was so perfectly put together, so well-crafted, so designed with the tourist-escapist-mindset. I suppose I wasn’t anticipating the loudness of the commercialization. Maybe I predicted more local charm. We were completely in the company of fellow tourists enjoying their vacation and island workers catering to these vacations. Hamilton Island is a holiday island.
The beauty of Hamilton Island made me breathlessly gasp, “This place is unreal!” And then I found out the beach wasn’t exactly “real” but manmade… yep, totally unreal. Knowing the beach wasn’t natural didn’t make it less beautiful. It just built on the fishiness.
It’s a resort island, duh. Of course they’ll build their own beach! What did I expect?
Answer: See beginning of post where I’m completely taken by the beauty of the Whitsundays without doing any research. I’ve never stayed on an island completely spoiled for tourists. It was a new experience. Not a bad one, just different. No, I didn’t get to meet island locals or behold ‘daily Australian life.’ But that fishy feeling I couldn’t shake? That’s a novice resort visitor staying at her first luxury resort tourist island. And it was pretty blissful. Because I am lucky that a place like that was developed so I could enjoy a sunset like this:
The was much to do and nothing to do. We could fill our days with a million activities and excursions or relax on the beach and lounge by the pool. We could grab tinnies at the convenience store or opulently dine on oysters & champagne at a fancy restaurant. It was on Hamilton Island where I heard my first kookaburra laugh, conquered a bushwalk with incredible views, relaxed on the beach, sailed to Whitehaven, cuddled a koala, and fell more in love with the natural beauty of Queensland.
It was a little fishy, it was a lot expensive, it was brazenly touristy, but it was unpretentiously beautiful. And despite that something fishy, I really, really, really want to go back to Hamilton Island.
