50th Birthday. Cool dogs and hot dogs

4.12.15

Today was my 50th birthday.
I celebrated it in style, that's thermal style dressed in 4 layers of clothes, dog sledding across the snowy wilderness of Iceland.

A picture speaks a 1000 words so here you are....

and yes - I was ridiculously happy and had an incredible amount of fun.

After we'd finished sledding we went into Akuryri (rhymes with Tipperary) and tried a great Icelandic tradition - the hot dog. They eat them with baked beans, wrapped in bacon, with a variety  of toppings. We opted for fried onions (adventurous I know!) and I have to say they were delicious!

Hubby clearly enjoyed his!

It was a good job we went out sledding when we did as the next day Akureyri was closed - literally - the ring road around Iceland "The 1" was closed in the section that reaches the town. All flights were cancelled from the small local airport so we hunkered down for the much anticipated blizzard.
We were not disappointed. The snow snowed and the wind blowed all night long. If a snow plough can't get through there's not much hope for anyone.

We only went out so we could experience the extreme weather (and to get some pizza - well a girl's still got to eat!)

The above situation clearly demonstrates a valuable point when travelling in extreme conditions such as these we encountered in Iceland - be flexible! We didn't have to change any plans this time as we were already booked into this hotel for another day but there were plenty of fellow travellers who had had their plans disrupted. As ever a smile and a polite request for help can work wonders. It has made me re-evaluate some of our travel plans though as we have another storm predicted for the next 2 nights.

p.s. still haven't seen the Northern Lights - blizzards get in the way of that sort of thing!!

Jo x

Horses and hot pots

2.12.15
We survived the storm - it was quite intense and I'm glad we weren't driving in it. It was gale force winds and although it didn't snow any more the winds blew the snow into huge drifts.

We were safe and warm in our lovely cottage, one of a group of 6 built around a natural hot spring "hot pot" or Icelandic hot tub.

The hot pot has boiling hot volcanic water bubbling up into it and it has cold water added to it to make it a comfortable 40 degrees.

Today we went  riding on Icelandic horses. It was absolutely fabulous, beautiful horses, inspiring scenery, part frozen waterfalls awesome in the true sense of the word.

In case you can't make it out we are in the group of 3 riders just visible in the centre of that photo.

After 2 hours on a horse I was grateful for the hot pot back at the cottage - hopefully I won't be too stiff tomorrow!

Late night tonight - we're sitting up on aurora watch - the forecast is quite good tonight.

I don't think I'll be able to take any photo's - my camera isn't good enough - but I'll be able to say I've seen them.

Fingers crossed :-) 

Whales and Icelandic weather warnings

Went Whale watching today.
We woke up to 6" of snow and a rather dramatic weather warning (more about that later) but the trip was going ahead. We came prepared for all this cold weather and have heeded other people's advice so got dressed in layers. It's not glamorous but here's what I wore: obviously I started with the essential bra, knickers and socks. I then added a base layer of thermal long sleeved top and leggings (I'm trying not to use the term "long John's" but that is basically what they are. I then added another pair of socks - thick walking ones, then the top layer was a long sleeved fleecy top and a pair of fleece lined walking trousers. On top of this - yes there's more - I put on a scarf, hat, ski gloves and a puffy jacket.

Note to self - don't put the final layer on until you are about to set foot outside or you will melt!

Once we got to the boat we were given a thermal onesie to put on over all the rest.
Believe me none of this was overkill. We were about to venture onto the Atlantic for 2 hours in the open air looking for whales - which we found by the way!

Successes of the day -

• 2 Orcas's seen
• I was toasty warm for the whole trip

On arrival back to the harbour we were met with the news that the Icelandic weather bureau had issued a "No travel warning" for the next day  - the day we were due to drive to Varmahlid. This was because of a storm passing across the whole of Iceland. This left us with quite a dilemma and some decisions to be made. Our options were 

• to stay on at Grundarfjordur until the storm passed, totally missing out our stay in Varmahlid and horse riding.
• leave Grundarfjordur immediately and head for Varmahlid a day early, hopefully beating the storm.

I was open to suggestions and recommendations from the staff who, let's be honest, have more experience about the weather and road conditions in Iceland than I do. My priority was staying safe.

Everyone was super helpful. The staff at Framnes rang Hestasport Cottages for us and asked what the weather conditions were like there. They all effectively made the decision for us so we threw our belongings into our bag, made a quick stop at a supermarket to get some food supplies and drove up the west coast of Iceland to get to Varmahlid.

The words of the young man in the car rental firm came to mind and I did question myself as to whether or not we were mad but then I reflected that these changes to our plans were dealt with calmly and efficiently by a group of people who are used to dealing with these extreme weather conditions and by travellers (ie me and hubby) who are open to suggestions, respectful of other people's knowledge and expertise and, perhaps most importantly, are flexible.

The drive to Varmahlid was quite uneventful although it was difficult driving and navigating in the dark. We did it though and were glad we did.

I'll tell you all about it in the next blog

Snaefellsnes and Grundarfjordur

Left Hotel Laxnes today and drove 160 kms to Grundarfjordur on the Snaefellsnes peninsula. 

Stunning scenery along the way and some challenging driving conditions.

 Made it safe and sound to The Hotel Framnes www.hotelframnes.is just in time for the Liverpool vs Swansea game. How lucky was that?

Exceptionally happy with our hotel room - especially the view. 

Today I learned some more things:

1. In Icelandic the days of the week and months of the year do not start with a capital letter.

2. A heated front seat in a car is a wonderous thing, especially when it's -8 outside

Alafoss, Reykjavik and birthday no. 1 (0r 51 to be precise)

 28.11.15

Today we celebrated hubby's birthday with a bracing walk into the town of Alafoss. This town was used as a site for a British army camp after we invaded Iceland in 1940. We did this to stop Germany invading them first! It was all about protecting the Atlantic shipping lanes. Britain couldn't maintain the invasion force as our troops were needed on the front lines so the US took over the invasion on our behalf, and bizarrely, at Icelands invitation. 

After our walk we got the bus into Reykjavik. I didn't take any photos there. To be honest I was a little disappointed. There were a lot of very touristy shops which all sold hats, jumpers and socks, of varying quality, all made from Icelandic wool. It felt a bit like being in a very large Edinburgh Woollen Mill shop back home! 

By the way - we found Sven the reindeer from Frozen - oops!

2 weeks and 2 birthdays in Iceland - are we mad?

26.11.15
We arrived in Iceland after an uneventful flight from Manchester with Easyjet.

Picked up our 4x4, complete with snow tyres, from Thrifty only to be asked by the lad on the desk
 "Are you mad - 2 weeks in Iceland, in winter- why?" I wasn't sure how to answer him really but hopefully, after I've shared our adventures in Iceland with you, you'll understand why.

After picking up our car we found our way to the main road in Iceland, called The One, and easily found our way to the Hotel Laxnes (it helps that it is opposite the biggest KFC I have ever seen in my life).

We are in the Hotel Laxnes for 3 nights. It is warm, the staff are friendly and helpful, the beds are comfy, and you can make your own waffles at breakfast! www.hotellaxnes.is

27.11.15
The Golden Triangle

After a leisurely breakfast of coffee and waffles we waited until the sun came up (at 10.30am) before we set off on our drive.
The Golden Triangle takes in the key sights of Thingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss.

Thingvellir is a National Park and has breathtaking scenery

Geysir is - well - it's one big Geysir really and lots of little ones that just seem to belch and hiccup

Gullfoss (Foss is waterfall in Icelandic) is staggeringly beautiful. Apparently it part freezes in Winter. It was -14 today but that's not cold enough (!)

We were out for about 6 hours. Hubby did all the driving and I did all the navigating. Both were quite challenging at times. Lots of concentration needed for the snowy conditions and icy roads, difficult to know where you are when all the road signs are covered in snow. We survived though and we've learned a few things:

• Always take a coat out with you - somehow we forgot to today. Let's just say we won't be doing that again! We had waterproofs but they were pretty inadequate.
• Anti freeze in windscreen washer bottles doesn't work in -14 degrees. Carry bottles of water for cleaning windscreens.
• The boot of the car is perfect for storing leftover pizza (in the box) when you don't have a fridge in your room.
• 6" of snow is only classed as "light snow" - hate to think what "heavy snow" looks like.
• Sightseeing from the warmth of your car works just fine.

Tomorrow we're walking around the local town and then catching a bus into Reykjavik. 

The garden

So far I've blogged mostly about my travels. Today I'd like to show you my garden. I have never really had much interest in growing things and always used to view the garden as a space for the niece and nephew to play or for partying (our bonoween party used to be the stuff of legend - duck apple and pumpkins alongside a bonfire and fire works). My dad was the gardener in the family and he used to grow the same things every year. His borders had dahlias, chrysanthemums and marigolds and he grew tomatoes and cucumbers in his greenhouse. When he died I inherited his greenhouse and I took on the gardener role. Initially it was a way of still feeling close to my dad but over the years I have grown to love planting all the fruit and veg and then cooking with it. Nothing gives me more pleasure than serving up a pasta sauce that is made entirely from ingredients grown in my own garden. Tomatoes, onions, garlic and the basil all straight from soil to pan in half an hour. Here's a couple of before and after photos. The first was taken in May at the start of the growing season, the second in August all ready to harvest. It's not that difficult really. Nature wants to grow.

I've learned a few things about gardening and myself over the past few years. I now only grow what I like to eat. I grew runner beans for the first two years, they're a doddle to grow and look really pretty - pity I hate their taste! I filled the freezer with bags of them until I realised I was never going to eat them and threw them away - I hate waste too. I had to learn to be patient ( very difficult for me). In the first few years I was pulling carrots and onions out of the ground when I felt they should be ready resulting in a harvest of small carrots and onions. I now leave them as long as possible and the results are much more satisfying although I do still get the occasional comedy vegetable.........

Travel Guides

It's already been established that I love books so it's only natural that when I'm planning a trip I turn to travel guides. I generally go to our local library to check out if there are any guides for where I am going but sadly - with local funding cuts- our libraries seem to have fewer and fewer such books and any they have are quite old editions. They can still be useful though.

I also enjoy a good old mooch around a book shop - and if it's got a coffee shop attached then all the better. Near where I live there is a book shop called Linghams that also has a coffee shop attached. It's a fantastic local resource and frequently has guest authors, a book club, story time for kids and it sells the tickets for the local amateur dramatic productions. Check it out www.linghams.co.uk

Back to travel guides....

As can be seen from my bookshelf I have quite a collection of travel books.

I thought I had a preference for Rough Guides but actually the collection is split 50/50 between Rough Guides and Lonely Planet books. The books are useful not only for planning a trip but also while you are there. We were in Paris once and I had the Rough Guide to France with me. I read in it about the Catacombs, the underground store of human bones and we decided to visit - fabulous (if macabre) afternoon out. I had never heard of it before and it was thanks to the guide that I found it that visit. http://www.catacombes.paris.fr/

 I also like AA City Packs for the following reason. Years ago hubby and I went on a weekend city break to Madrid - it was our first city break and we didn't plan it at all really - just hopped on the plane, found our hotel and then wandered the streets. When we got back people were asking me "did you see, visit, try etc etc?" and I was quite disappointed that we had seen hardly anything. Next time we did a city break it was to Barcelona and I bought the AA City Pack and took it with us - soooo much better. Using their recommended Top 10 we decided what we wanted to see as a priority and what we'd see if we could fit it in. Worked out brilliantly. We never go on a city break without one now and the books get passed around friends and family so are well used.

I know with all our portable technology it is easy to google a destination and check out what's around but I like the fact that with the books I only need some light (and sadly these days my glasses!) and I have instant access to the information without worrying about battery life, signal, roaming charges etc etc.

Jo x

Booking accommodation

I'm in the middle of booking a big road trip round America.

We're going in June and I know certain areas, especially around the National Parks like Yellowstone, can be booked up a year in advance so I'm booking hotels now.

I thought I'd share how I go about it with you.

Here is the list of websites that I'd recommend you sign up to before you start searching:

Quidco - www.quidco.com If you are not familiar with Quidco it is quite simple. You earn cash back on products and services you buy from companies that are linked to Quidco.

Trip Advisor - www.tripadvisor.com not only gives you reviews of hotels, restaurants and activites, it will also do price comparisons for hotels  if you put in your dates of travel.

These are the 2 main ones but I am also registered with booking.com www.booking.com, hotels.com www.hotels.com and expedia.www.expedia.com. Hotels.com gives you a free night stay for every 10 nights you book and stay for, Expedia gives you Nectar points (for those of us with a nectar card).

So here's what I did using my recent search for a hotel in New York.

1. Opened trip advisor and looked for hotels in New York for the dates I wanted to travel. You can view the hotels in various order ie price high to low, ranking etc. I usually look at hotels in price order low to high. I had an idea of the area I wanted to stay in (Times Square) so I looked on the map and found a couple I thought would be ideally located.
2. Read the reviews. I always think of myself as a middle of the road sort of person. That is I don't want the best or worst - just something in between. I read the best and worst reviews but tend to trust the more moderate, balanced reviews as they feel, to me, somewhat more believable. As you know from previous blogs I don't mind not having a view or a balcony but I really like an en suite so if I read "shared bathroom" I move onto the next hotel. 
3. Having chosen accommodation (Radio City Apartments in case you're interested) I looked at the price comparisons listed next to the dates I wanted to travel and noted that all booking agents listed (which co-incidentally were the 3 main ones I use) had the same price for my dates.
4. Opened Quidco and went through to each of the 3 companies to search via them and confirmed that the prices were all the same. They were. In the end I booked through Hotels.com because they were offering 12% cashback via Quidco (Booking.com was 6%) plus it was 2 more nights towards a free one.
5. I have a Clarity (Halifax) credit card which doesn't charge a currency transaction fee so always use this to book accommodation abroad.
6. I received an immediate confirmation from Hotels.com and within 24 hours I had an email from Quidco informing me the cash back on my £350 stay had been tracked and would be £42. 

Sometimes Trip Advisor can't list price comparisons and you have to book direct with the hotel. Always check if it's part of a chain and if so - do they have a loyalty scheme? If it does - register.

I did this for a hotel by Mount Rushmore. Simply by joining the loyalty scheme online I got $30 off the room I booked.

I really enjoy this whole process and can spend hours searching before I book anywhere.

Hope this may help some of you out there.

Boston next :-)

Jo 

Julia

I have osteo arthritis.

As my rheumotologist describes it, it is "generalised, widespread osteoarthritis" which means it is everywhere, every joint, every day.

It decidedly does not bring me joy, and as such is not really a topic for my blog, however it does have one huge thing in it's favour - because of it I found Julia.

Julia describes her treatments best - check out www.marmaladesearth.com

Julia provides massage therapy in the comfort of your own home so is perfect for anyone who may be anxious about leaving the house or going to new unfamiliar places. I tried various massage therapists before coming across Julia but for all of them I had to travel to their place of business. That's not an issue for me but following an hour of reflexology (treatment on your feet) the last thing I want to do is drive home - it rather defeats the object of having the treatment to be honest.

When Julia leaves I just plop onto my own sofa and enjoy the only period of time I have when I am pain free in my feet. Julia will blend oils to your personal taste (I'm an old Trog so the house usually smells of patchouli oil on a Friday evening) and always leaves me the left over oil so I can use it up in the days between treatments.

Just 2 points - Julia only provides treatments for women and you can't have her every other Friday as that's when she comes to me.

Jo

Accommodation - know yourself.

Booking accommodation - in the UK or abroad.

Most importantly - be honest with yourself and ask what do I really want out of a hotel room?

Now this may seem a stupid question - and you are probably thinking "errr a bed to sleep in" but bear with me.

If you are on a road trip, stopping off at hotels for one night at a time then you may well just need a bed to sleep in. If you are staying somewhere for 2 or more nights then other factors come into play. Here's what I mean..

1. Do you spend much time in your room?
2. Are you happy to share a bathroom or will you insist on an en suite?
3. Is a balcony or a view important to you, and if so - why?
4. Do you like small, intimate hotels where you get to know other people or do you like the anonymity of a large chain? 
5. Do you need a restaurant on site or breakfast included?

To give you an idea of what I mean I'll share some of the things I've learned about what matters to me and Hubby.

1. On a "Fly and Flop" holiday Hubby and I spend quite a lot of time in our rooms. We both like to get out of the sun mid day and, as I have some problems with my joints, I sometimes need to rest.
On a Road Trip holiday it's not so much of an issue as we are often staying only 1 night.

2. Given the choice I would never share a bathroom - with anyone- so I am happy to pay extra for an en suite. Even if it's for only 1 night.

3. We do not sit on balconies nor do we spend hours staring at views. I certainly wouldn't pay extra for a view. I remember my Dad's wife once paid extra for a room with a view and he made a point of pulling a chair up to the window and refusing to leave the room as he wanted to get his money's worth. Point made!

4. We are quite private people and prefer the anonymity of large hotel chains. Not to say we are unfriendly but we take time to relax on holiday and don't want to have to sit with strangers across a breakfast table from Day 1 having the "is this your first time here?" conversations.

5. Given the choice I like breakfast to be included - it's one less faff in the mornings. A perfectly acceptable alternative for us is a McDonalds or Subway nearby. Let's be honest that applies equally to travel at home and abroad as they are everywhere! (Interesting aside - there is no McDonald's in Iceland any more but there is Subway. I did hear that someone bought the last ever burger sold in McD before it closed and it's preserved - with a web cam on it - to monitor decay. May just be an urban myth but it's one I like).

Sometimes you don't have the choice and you just have to take what's available, but if you have the luxury of booking well in advance and know the answers to the above questions then you've a head start. Next time I'll look at the booking accommodation process I follow.

Jo

Planning a trip

As I mentioned in my last post I have 2 main types of holidays the "Fly and Flop" and the "Big Trip"

This blog post is about the second type.

Planning a trip is so exciting but totally overwhelming.
Using a real life example here's what I do - hopefully some of you may find it useful.

Decide - roughly- where you want to go or what you want to do.
For example it's my birthday in December and it's a biggy. To celebrate I decided I wanted to achieve one of my life's ambitions and see the Northern Lights (NL).

First thing I did was google "where's best to see the Northern Lights?"

Turns out there's quite a few places you can see them- including our very own Scotland, there's also Norway and Iceland. There's a few ways of seeing them too including cruising and city breaks.

I then ordered some holiday brochures for each of the various places to see the sorts of things that were on offer, Travel companies have been arranging the sorts of tours I like to do for years. It's always worth checking out where they go, how they get there and the activities they can provide. You can always copy their itineries tweaking them for your own preferences. I also borrowed some travel books from the local library - yes I know it's old school but if you've seen my other blog posts you know I like books!

After poring over the books and brochures I decided on Iceland and as all my research indicated you have to be away from artificial lighting to have the best chance of seeing the NL I thought - Road Trip!

Further research showed a road trip in Iceland is not that difficult to plan as there is only one main road "The One".

Destination and type of trip decided on I then hit the internet to research things to do and places to stay. My go to website is always Trip Advisor www.tripadvisor.com but I've also found some really useful stuff from fellow bloggers so it's worth just doing a generic google search.

It's then basic internet stuff to search for flights, book car hire and hotels for the trip.
Given that I'm driving around Iceland in November/December and lots of places are closed I decided to book all the accommodation before I get there - I believe some things are best not left to chance. I intend to cover Hotel booking in another post.

To sum up....

1. Decide on destination and type of trip
2. Order some travel brochures for ideas 
3. Research using your preferred media method - but I'd recommend as many different types as you can - including the low tech but very useful - talk to people!
4. Book your flights
5. Book your transport (if needed)
6. Book your accommodation
7. Book/plan activities

I'm going to cover topics such as:

• Things I never go abroad without
• Booking accommodation
• Loyalty schemes I'm a member of
• Hand luggage essentials
• Foreign currency

If anyone has any other travel topics they'd like me to blog about - let me know.

"Fly and Flop"

I heard the phrase "Fly and Flop somewhere (- can't remember for the life of me where so sorry can't credit it to anyone) and I use it a lot as I think it describes perfectly one of the 2 types of holiday I like to take.

It's a big world and I'm always reluctant to go to the same place twice but there are times when you want to go somewhere familiar to do nothing more than lie on a sun lounger, favourite tipple in hand and read a book (or work on your blog).

As I write this I am in Dalyan, Turkey in a little hotel called the Keysan Yunus (www.keysan.co.uk ). Little is the operative word here - it only has 23 rooms but it has a large pool, plenty of sunbeds, a well stocked bar and is run by a lovely, friendly family for whom nothing is too much trouble.

Here's a picture

I shy away from recommending hotels as everyone has individual tastes and what's right for me may be hideously wrong for you. Plus there's a fantastic website (www.tripadvisor.com) that will give you way more information than I can. All I will say is that this hotel and town suits me and hubby just fine.

I'm here for 2 weeks and hope to spend some of that time writing in (on?) my blog.
For now - my sunbed is calling.

Jo

My Bookcase

My bookcase represents a snapshot of all the things in life that bring me joy.

First of all there's books - love them. Love the feel, the smell, the fact I can drop them and not have a panic in case I've broken them (unlike my iPad or kindle). 

Secondly there's order and organisation. I am not a tidy person by nature but I do like things to be in some sort of system.

If you look at my bookcase you'll see a lot of space dedicated to Agatha Christie, a panda book section (and various items of panda- phernalia). Gardening, cooking and travel are also well represented. 

This is my first ever blog post courtesy of my fabulous niece Katy, and her wonderful girlfriend Sammy, who have just set me up on blogger. I have had very little input apart from going to the chippy for them but am now prepared to step up and blog like crazy.