London

Stop #2: London!

I've never been to London before and I was so excited to finally check out this city. The one thing that I didn't realize was how big it was! London is fricken huge and the biggest part of being able to see the whole city is having a hotel in a great location. Luckily the Tube and trains around London make it easy to get to and from the airports easily, as well as around the city.

We stayed in a hotel near Paddington Station, which put us near the Nob Hill area. We chose the Stylotel. This hotel was small, but clean and cute. The staff was also very friendly and helpful with all questions that we had. Kim and I tend to ask a lot of questions because we want to know what the locals know. We aren't in town to just do the tourist stuff, we want an authentic experience. The Stylotel reminded me of a cruise ship. Narrow hallways and tiny rooms, but it was all that we needed, included breakfast in the mornings, and near public transportation. You are also given a free drink at the pub associated with the hotel, which is right around the corner. It was a decent enough place. The drinks were reasonably priced, plenty of seating, and had good music.

London Eye

One thing that we learned on our first night in London, was that most pubs don't have music because of noise ordinances, and most close by 11pm and must have a special license to stay open later. Those that have food, tend to stop serving by 10pm, so if you are arriving later in the night, like we did, don't expect to have a late, crazy night, unless you want to pay to go to the city center areas. Also, for as much beer as England produces, the people there didn't seem to be too interested in the local brews. Being a beer "connoisseur" and I use that term loosely, I wanted to try everything local. I didn't think it was that bad, but the locals looked at me like I was nuts. Despite their confusion of my liking their beer,  they were all very friendly.

Big Ben

We had an early night and headed in because we knew we had a long day the next day. We got up pretty early and set out to get on the hop-on/hop-off bus tour. This is something that we have found to be a great way to see cities quickly and determine what we wanted to do. I would highly recommend these tours to anyone! I will say that I was pretty unimpressed with the service that we chose in London. The buses took forever and one even left us at our stop and kept driving after waiting for over 20 minutes. In London, and this is the only place that I will say this, DON'T take the city sightseeing bus, take the Big Bus Tour.

Due to traffic, it took a lot longer to get across town than we had anticipated, but it was a good time to relax and take in the atmosphere. We rode past a few of the sites and decided to get off at the Tower of London. Maybe I was just

Westminster Abbey

ignorant, but I thought that it was an actual tower, I didn't realize that it was basically a fort where they kept royalty and the crown jewels during times of war. It was really worth seeing, a whole walled-in village that still holds the crown jewels. We took our time and checked out all of the exhibits, including the torture chamber. From there, we hopped on the boat and rode it down to Big Ben, where we got off to take more pictures. Along the way, we saw the replica of the Globe Theater and the London Eye.

Kensington Palace

Tower of London

After a quick lunch at another pub, we walked around near Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, which is a sight to be seen! It was beautiful! Then we hopped on the bus again, and rode it over to Kensington Palace. There are huge gardens and a great walking area near the palace. Unfortunately, the palace itself was under so much construction that it didn't live up to what we were hoping for. After that, we went to Buckingham Palace, which was magnificent. Of course there were plenty of people around, but it was just a great feeling to be standing there. That evening, we had dinner at the Black Swan pub, which was fun. Then we walked around and checked out a few other places before heading back to the hotel.

Stonehenge

Oxford

Windsor Castle

The next day we went to Stonehenge, Windsor, and Oxford. The first stop was Windsor Castle. There is an entire town built around the castle, with the storied boarding school that the princes went to when they were younger. The gardens and everything were pristine and the Queen was even in residence, although we didn't have the opportunity to see her. It was a beautiful day out and it was nice to be out of the city and seeing a gorgeous castle. The next stop was Stonehenge. This is a place that I have been wanting to see since we booked the trip. This was going to be the highlight of England for me! Stonehenge is such a mystery, still to this day, the stories that are told and the theories surrounding the construction of the monument is insane. You can't even imagine moving stones as big as the ones at Stonehenge and you begin wondering yourself. There is just a magic about this place. It was everything that I had hoped for and I was so excited to have finally been there. The last stop on the tour was Oxford. Oxford is a town built around Oxford University, which is actually 29 smaller schools built in different areas. Everything is old, as you would imagine, and the architecture is amazing. It's a great little town, and place that would be great to stay overnight in. We took a walking tour around the town, seeing all of the main sights, and then went to a pub called Eagle & Child, known to have been a watering hole for C.S. Lewis, to have a pint while we waited for our return bus. That evening, we went on a walk around town and landed ourselves in a pub talking to some locals. There was a brother and sister there who were very friendly. They grew up in the country and the sister had moved to London with her boyfriend and was loving city life. They were a wealth of knowledge and very interested in the trips that we had previously taken. It was a great evening, plenty of drinks, and we were able to stay out later than in our own area!

Windsor

The last day in London, we got up and went for a walk through Hyde Park. It's a lovely, huge park, and a great place to relax and get some fresh air. Since we didn't have anything pressing to do and our  flight wasn't until the evening, we could spend the day "being local". We came across the Princess Diana Memorial, which was a beautiful fountain structure, and walked along the river, watching the ducks and swans swim around happily. We then made our way to Harrod's, the famous department store. It was HUGE! Much bigger than I had imagined. It was just a day of window shopping because there was no way we could afford anything in there, even with their huge sales! We then continued our journey into a small italian cafe, where we had a great lunch and time to reflect on all that we had done in London.

It was time to walk back to the hotel, and head off to the airport. London was nice, but it was time to move on...

Iceland

This past summer, I was fortunate enough to take an amazing trip to the British Isles, which was made even better by our first stop in Iceland!! Iceland is one of those places that I've always dreamt of going because of the mystery and unknown, and it lived up to expectations. Although a little chilly for a summer vacation, it was amazing and I would go back tomorrow if I could!

We arrived around midnight at Keflavik Airport, which is about 45 minutes from Reykjavik, the capital city and main tourist hub. The Flybus is a cheap and easy way to get anywhere from the airport, and is available until the last flights have come in for the night. You can buy tickets inside the airport, or as you are getting on the bus. You do not have to buy them in advance! If you buy the "plus" ticket, they will drop you off in front of your hotel, not just at a central location. It's worth a few extra dollars!

Reykjavik Harbor & Music Hall

Because of it's position, Iceland gets 24 hours of sunlight during the summer, which means 24 hours of darkness during the winter. (However, the Northern Lights can be seen, which I think would definitely be worth the trip during that time!) We headed right to our hotel, being so late and having had a long day of travel, we decided to get some rest and be prepared for the next day, the first day of our great adventure! **One tip that we received before arriving in Iceland, was to buy alcohol at the duty free store in the airport before heading into town. It's cheaper there, as everything in Iceland is expensive, especially alcohol...we found this to be a great tip, and you will just be joining all of the locals who already know this to be true, in line at the duty free store, buying their quota!**

The key to Reykjavik is Laugavegur. That is the main street for everything in the small town. Staying anywhere on or directly off of this street will ensure that you have restaurants, bar, clubs, shopping, and tours at your disposal. Our "hotel", the Einholt Apartments, was right off of this street and there was a 24 hours pizza place nearby, which was key to survival! So when planning your trip to Reykjavik, keep this road in mind and don't stay anywhere far from here, you will regret it!

It's a Whale!

On the first morning, we decided to walk around, get the lay of the land, and grab something to eat. We stopped by the tourist information office first, to see what our options for the day might be. We had a few ideas in mind, but didn't settle on anything except the fact that we needed to eat! While eating we discussed the options: whale watching, horse back riding, golden circle, sky diving, etc. Shortly after lunch, we decided to go whale watching. It was a nice enough day and with the ocean right there, why not? We were pleasantly surprised by all of the marine life that we were able to see! There were tons of porpoises swimming around, along with the Puffin, which are my new favorite birds...and of course, we saw whales. It was amazing, and we learned about the smell that comes when they shoot the water out of their blowholes! It was hard to get great pictures because they would come up so fast out of nowhere and then disappear back underwater, but it was an amazing experience and something magical to see.

After watching whales all afternoon, we stopped at a couple of bars on the way back to the hotel to see what was going on and find out what the scene was like...it was Saturday after all, so we had to have someplace to go out and celebrate being in Iceland! One of the places we stopped at was the Lebowski Bar. Yes, it was exactly what it sounds like...themed from the Big Lebowski, bowling and all. It was interesting, but happy hour was buy one, get one, so saddle up! We were informed that we didn't need to head out for the evening until 11pm or later, so we had time to take a nap (get rid of some of the jet lag) and get ready...and that's what we did! **There is a "tourist" newspaper available in the information centers, and it will outline things to do and give you a complete list of all bars and clubs in Reykjavik, which includes reviews, prices, and who goes where.**

At Glaumbar

We headed out around midnight, and started the evening at a lounge called B5. It seemed like it was the place to be. People dressed nicely, good cocktails, and a line at the door. They played great music and there was plenty of people watching to be done! We took a breather and headed over to Glaumbar, which is known to be a crap-hole, but we wanted to see it. The inside looked like the inside of an old wooden ship, and smelled equally as bad. The drinks were fairly cheap, so we didn't complain about that, but it was a one and done! We headed back to B5 and had made friends that could get us past the line, which was nice. (Not bad for only one day in the country!) We had a great time. I decided to go check out a few more places, while Kim stayed and danced. Normally we would NEVER separate, however, since everything was on one street and it was light outside, eh, what the heck?! I went to a few different places, met some Icelandic friends, had my credit cards frozen, and ran out of cash. AWESOME! By the time I got back to the hotel, Kim was already there...and she was nice enough to go grab us each a slice of pizza, which we both needed before heading to bed. What a night!

Getting some fresh, spring water

Pingvellir National Park

Pingvellir National Park

The next day was a later start, but with the late nights, come late mornings! We had a tour called the "Golden Circle". This is a signature tour in Iceland, as it hits three of the main tourist points in the country. We went with Iceland Excursions, as they were recommended to us and I would pass that recommendation along...they were always on time, professional, and very friendly and informative! The Golden Circle begins at Pingvellir National Park. This is where the two continental shelves come together, so as you drive through the park, you go from the Euro/American side to the Asian side. It's pretty neat and any good tour guide will explain all of this and show you where the fault lines are, which are clearly visible. There are also some great places to stop and refill water bottles, as there are many natural springs in Iceland and they have the purest water in the world. It's amazing!! Once you leave the country, you will notice a difference in the water all around. The next stop was the Gullfross Waterfall. It's a smaller version of Niagara, or for you beautiful South Americans, a much smaller version of Iguazu Falls (still my favorite). It was very beautiful though and you can get right up next to the falls to take pictures or just get a great view. There is also a path up above where you can get a better panoramic view of the falls. At the visitors center, they are said to have some of the best lamb stew. Lamb is very popular in Iceland, as it is a staple in their diet. I've never been a fan, but as with my traveling, I like to try different foods and those that are popular in other countries...so I tried the lamb stew, and after two slurps, I was done! It just wasn't me and it wasn't making me feel good, so I had to move on to the white asparagus soup.

Gulfross Waterfall

Gulfross the "Golden Falls"

The last stop on the tour was the Geysir Hot Spring area. There were geysir, big and small all around, similar to some areas of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The main "attraction" geysir spouted every few minutes, so it was neat to see and get pictures of and you didn't have to wait around, like for Old Faithful. Since our tour was running on-time, our guide took us to a couple of additional sights, another small waterfall area and Kerio crater. The crater was magnificent, and Bjork has even performed a concert from the center of the lake inside of the crater. All in all, we had seen a lot of southern Iceland and were amazed by everything. It's such a beautiful landscape, in such an interesting way. Most of the ground is moss-covered lava rock, seeing as the island is made up of volcanoes. There are no trees on the island, except the ones that have been reintroduced in recent years. There are mountains and flat lands, all surrounded by the ocean, and it is a sight to see.

Kerio Crater

Geysir

Our final day in Iceland was a sad one, but not wasted! We got up early, packed our bags, and headed to the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is a large, lava rock area that has been filled up with the steam water from the hydroelectric plant nearby. It created an area of mineral rich, milky blue water that stays around 97 degrees Fahrenheit. We decided that the Blue Lagoon was our place to splurge on this trip and we were going to live it up before getting on our flight to London.

Outside of the Blue Lagoon
bathing area

Enjoying our mud masks!

Blue Lagoon bathing area

When you walk out into the lagoon area, there is steam rising from the water because the air temperature is at most 50 degrees. There are people moving slowly around the lagoon, some with mud masks on, and some enjoying a glass of wine. We got in an tried out the water, which was amazing and sucks you in immediately. We soaked for a while, and then decided to head over for our massages. These massages are done in the water. You lie on a floating mat with a warm, water-soaked blanket over the top of you, and the masseuse reaching underneath you to massage from the bottom. It's hard to explain, but holy crap did it feel good! We only went for the 30 minute massage, next time, it's gonna be the whole shabang! The entire midday was awesome. We had lunch, a glass of wine, put on our own mud masks and left feeling amazing and refreshed. I wasn't ready to leave Iceland, but since I had to, that was the send off that I definitely needed!! **For anyone going to the Blue Lagoon, wet your hair and put in a large amount of conditioner before entering the pools. Leave the conditioner in your hair while you are bathing. The large amount of chemicals in the lagoon can damage your hair and will leave it feeling stringing and abnormal for days.**

Iceland--Amazing--Go Now!!

Check-In

Hello All! I apologize that there haven't been any posts, but being a teacher, my ability to travel right now is a little lacking. HOWEVER, I do have a few things in the works that I am trying to put together and get moving in the right direction. You can never let a job get in the way of traveling, even if it's just for a weekend or whatever...

So, since my best friend Jen, whom I have been visiting Portland with in the fall of the past two years, is now in PT school and busy as hell, I've got to decide if I want to find some other sucker to experience Portland with me. My hope is to go at the end of October, just for a long weekend.

If Portland doesn't work out, I may look into something like Boston, somewhere I've never been. Seems like it would be great in the fall and realistic in 2-3 days, just to get the overview and the feel.

With the holidays coming up, I would also like to get out and ski somewhere good, possibly over New Year's...I coach basketball, so that limits my days during winter break, but I'm determined to make the most of it somehow!

Spring Break is still up in the air. There are infinite possibilities, but it also depends on my new MIBA program and when they want to start classes. BOO! But it's just as important to keep educating myself...so we shall see what I can work around:) Nothing stops me completely!

Next summer. This all depends on how things go at work this year and if I decide to make the big move to "elsewhere-ville". I've been talking about moving for a couple of years now and I'm getting my finances and everything in order to be able to do so. Obviously, I still want to take a big trip this summer, which I will budget for either way, but it also may be a one-way ticket to Europe with a couple of suitcases and my dog...who knows?!

With all of that in mind, I will be updating when trips come about, I promise!! And if any of you have suggestions on places to go, I'm based out of Chicago for distance reference, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE comment and give me your suggestions and recommendations!

Thank you for reading and staying with me!! Take care and travel much!

Colorful Colorado

I love Colorado! I spend as much time as I can out here each year, visiting at least 2 or 3 different times. I spend most of my time in Divide, which is west on I-24 outside of Colorado Springs, where my dad now lives. Although I’ve been out here dozens of times, the beauty of this state always amazes me and we always find new things to do. One of my ongoing goals is to climb all 54 of the 14ers in Colorado. I’m not very far along, but even if I can only get one or two per summer, I’m moving in the right direction. This particular week is my last trip of the summer. My dad came to visit back home in Chicago for a week, so I had someone to drive back to Colorado with, and we have had a fun week of hiking!

I spent most of the first day acclimating and resting. It’s been a busy summer, so it was nice to just be in the fresh air and able to do a whole lot of nothing! It’s also hard to get going right away because my dad lives at 9,300ft elevation, so acclimation is a must if you want to be able to breath! I was able to say hi to the dogs and the horses and enjoy the sunshine while it lasted, and of course, I watched tons of Olympic coverage!!

The next day we headed down to Woodland Park for breakfast and to see what was going on. Since the fires, namely the Springer and Waldo Canyon fires, Woodland Park and other small towns going up Ute Pass, have been struggling to get people to come back and spend their money. The fire did not damage WP, however, now that monsoon season is in full effect, there are storms (rain, thunder, lightening, and sometimes hail) everyday, usually sometime after 2:00pm, which can last a few minutes or through the night. These storms are also causing mudslides along the burn scar, which then blocks and closes down I-24 to and from the springs. It’s a pain, but they get is cleared fairly quickly each time and the state is in the process of mitigating the situation before it becomes a bigger one.

The burn scar from the Waldo Canyon fire is sad. For anyone who has spent time out this way, you know how beautiful this area is, and how green it normally is this time of year. The fire covered a lot of ground and Waldo Canyon is actually closed for the next two years. That was heartbreaking for me to hear because that was always a hike that I did at least once a year, sometimes more. So even though the fires are gone, they will be remembered for years to come.

View from the Crags

After breakfast, we decided to head to the Crags, which is a 4-5 mile round trip hike that shares a trailhead with Pikes Peak, from the backside. This trailhead is located near the Crags campground, just outside of Divide. The more well-known and trafficked path up Pikes Peak (one of the 14ers at 14,110ft) is the Barr Trail which starts in Manitou Springs.

Rock Formations

The Crags is a great hike to get acclimated because it’s fairly straight-forward with most of the uphill hiking coming right at the end. The elevation gain isn’t enormous, maybe 1,500ft max. I was sucking wind a little bit, as you end up at about 11,000 feet of elevation, but man is it worth the climb! And it’s a great way to acclimate. The views from the Crags are awesome though! You can see Woodland Park and Divide from above, as well as many of the surrounding mountain ranges in the west and southwest of Colorado. We started from the “newer” trailhead, which adds another mile or so to the hike and adds a lot of tough uphill hiking. However, we came back through the campground, cutting off the newer trailhead, and walking down the road back to the car. Either way works, but if you get a chance to check out this hike, do it!

Climb to the summit of Raspberry Mtn

The following day, we decided to climb Raspberry Mountain. This was a new hike for me, but it begins near the Crags trailhead, so it’s convenient to get to. We decided to take three of the dogs to get them some exercise. This hike was scheduled to take about 3 hours round-trip, although I’m not sure of the exact distance. It was a tough hike though! Holy crap! This hike was uphill and then back down, and up again. It’s the type of hike I like to call a “mind-fuck”. Maybe not the best description, but very true. Just when you think you are making headway and going uphill, the darn thing goes back down and beats up all the work that you just put in. Either way, we made it to the top in decent time.

The Crags from Raspberry Mountain

Dad with Kaj and Thai

The only one that we were worried about getting up was Cheyenne, one of the yellow labs. She’s a big girl these days, so she was taking her time, actually hiking behind me at times…but she made it to the top to get her drink and treat. On the way down, she would walk ahead a bit and lay down in the shade until we caught up and made her keep moving. It was entertaining if nothing else! Kaj (border collie) and Thai (cattledog) made it with ease, as they are younger and have a ton of energy. They were ready for a nap when we got back though.

Divide from Raspberry Mountain

The views from the top are much like the Crags, but great. You can actually see the Crags behind you from this position. Once again we were just below 11,000 feet, so we could see everything in nearby mountain ranges, as well as the storm heading towards the area.

We went to Lake George Pizza for dinner that night. It’s a place that I had never been, but had seen many times before driving to and from the back range and Buena Vista. Dad and I shared a chicken ranch pizza, and headed home before the storm got too bad. The lightening was wicked, but it was kind of cool to watch at the same time.

The next day was a rest day. Dad had some things to deal with for football, which he still coaches, even though he is retired from education. We watched Olympics, took care of the animals, and made a great dinner before the next day, on which we planned to climb a 14er.

Dad on the Summit--
Mt. Sherman, 14,036 f

Wednesday was our climbing day, so we were up at 4:00am to head towards Fairplay and Mt. Sherman. We got on the trail just before 6am and headed to the top of the mountain. Mt. Sherman is a 14er that takes you as high at 14,036 feet. The hike starts above 12,000ft and tree line, so we started out climb as the sun was coming up, but it was cold and because we were starting at such a high altitude, I was out of breath before we even got out of the car! Oh well…here we go!

Old Mine

Leadville form the summit

There are a few old mines along the trail, which give the trail character and something to look at while you hike. It’s wasn’t a tough hike for the first couple of miles, but the altitude definitely made it more difficult! When you really start hiking upward, you are on rocks, so you have to watch where you are going with every step or you could easily twist an ankle or just trip yourself (which I’m really good at!). So enjoying the scenery doesn’t really happen unless you stop or get to the saddle to see where you are.  It was a beautiful clear morning, so there were great pictures to be had!

As we neared the summit, we passed the only group ahead of us, so we were the first to summit that morning, right at 2 hours of hiking. It was a great feeling. From the top you can see Leadville in one direction and Fairplay in the other. It definitely gives you a different perspective when you are standing over 14,000 feet in the air. Dad was pointing out some of the other 14ers, but he points at a mountain and I see four out in front of me…I guess it’s worth trying to figure out?!

The spine to the summit

I kept my camera out on the way down the mountain, to get some nice shots of the area. We decided to take a different trail down, which ended up being mostly dirt and some loose gravel, and was steep enough that we had to slide sideways for quite a ways down. It is a new trail that people can take up to the saddle and skip the switchbacks, but it’s a steep one! I can’t imagine how bad your legs would be burning if you wanted to hike up it!

We made it down and cut off over a mile of the hike down, took a few pictures of the old mines, and headed back to the car. There were quite a few groups heading up at this point, and I’m hoping that they all made it up in good time!

The trail we slid down...

Leadville from the saddle

[When hiking 14ers, one of the general rules is that you want to be off of the summit by noon. Knowing that the storms come in the early afternoon, you want to try to get to tree-line before then, so that you aren’t caught in any lightening in the rocky areas at the top.]

After the hike, we headed into Fairplay to grab a quick bite to eat at the Brown Burro. I had huevos rancheros, which were awesome! Fairplay is a small town, in Southpark County, mostly known for it’s older area of town, which the animated cartoon “Southpark” is modeled after. You can walk or drive through this part of town. There’s not a whole lot going on there, but something to see!

The following day, we headed down into Colorado Springs to run some errands. We stopped at Costco and Barnes and Noble. I needed to get to the bookstore for some research material for a trip I’m planning for next summer. (I’ll tell you where I’m going once it’s confirmed! But I’m very excited about it!!)

Lizard Rock

Cheyenne taking a break

Lizard Rock

The next day we checked out a hike back in the Tarryall area, which was a new hiking area even for dad. We took the hike to Lizard Rock. It’s a rock area that looks like an iguana laying across the top. Overall, it was probably 4-5 miles round trip. The hike wasn’t too difficult, but it was good just to get some distance under my feet and seem some more beautiful scenery. It was also an opportunity to get the dogs exercised again. It was a similar scene for Cheyenne, but the other two had a great time chasing chipmunks and running through the open fields. They also had a chance to swim in the river on the way back. 

Cheyenne and Kaj swimming

Tarryall area

That afternoon, we went back down to the Springs so that dad could look for some new hiking boots, and we checked out Nico’s (my step-brother) new work area. After finding his boots, and grabbing a cute shirt and skirt, whose proceeds benefit the rebuilding of Waldo Canyon, we stopped at Johnny’s Navajo Hogan. This is an old, but famous bar in Colorado Springs. It is actually a National Historic Site and is built around an old native Indian Hogan. It was pretty cool, lots of beer to choose from, and actually served me my first beer in this trip! Pretty good for me! Ha!

Tarryall Area

Tarryall Area

What dad named "Butt Crack Rock"

Top of the hike

From there we dropped Nico off to grab his car and we made a stop at Trinity Brewing. This is a great brewery off of Garden of the Gods Road. We had a few appetizers and beers, even getting a chance to be some of the first to try their new pilsner that they tapped while we were sitting there. Lucky us! As it was getting later, dad and I headed back up the pass and stopped at Bier Works in Woodland Park for one last beverage. It had been a good and productive day, but it had also been long and busy, so it was time to head back, watch some Olympics and get to bed!

For the last day, we just decided to relax and putz around Woodland Park. They were having a wine festival, which we chose to bypass for the Mountain Arts Festival. It was a nice day to just walk around, enjoy the fresh air and see what people had to offer. We also had brunch at the Crystola, which is a great bar just east of Woodland Park. Usually we have prime rib at the Crystola and listen to great live music on Friday nights, but with everything else going on, we opted for a mimosa and brunch. There is never a bad time to go to the Crystola!

I’m sad that I have to leave. It’s always hard to leave this great state and all of what it has to offer. Dad and I have had a lot of fun this week running around hiking, shopping, and whatnot. It’s been relaxing and a great break. I can’t wait to come back! (Hopefully for some winter skiing!)