Shetland Islands. looking for ponies , otters, puffins and maybe Jimmy Perez

August 19, 2023August 19, 2023 / brisbanefrannie / 8 Comments

Our plane was an hour late arriving which put us behind. We hired a car from the airport and were sent to the car park to play ’ find the car’. Such a relaxed island way of hiring a car. Steve walked around clucking the car opener until we heard a beep.

We headed straight up the hill to Sumburgh lighthouse. It was super windy and the views were an indication of what as to follow as we explored this most northerly part of Great Britain.

The lighthouse museum explains the history of lighthouses. The hardship the early keepers endured and life for the families of the keeper. I loved the profile of a Lighthouse Keeper.

View from the lighthouse. Very windy but not that cold!

It had an excellent marine section showing the birds found here. The puffins are a favour and everywhere you go there are pictures and little stuffed toys depicting the puffin. I got to hear the noises of the birds and the little puffin has a growling type call.

We continued up the main road north and called into Sandwick with the idea of catching the little ferry across to Mousa a small island off the mainland. It is a bird life haven. Unfortunately we were running late because our plane was an hr behind and we missed the last ferry of the day. we’ll try again in Sunday.

We called into a jewellery shop on the arts and crafts trail. Karlin Anderson was born in the Shetlands but had spent a lot of her adult life in London. She does beautiful work which reflects life on the islands. Her lace work jewellery is exquisite.

If you can read this it tells the story behind her collection.

I might have ordered something from her!

We had a bowl of soup at the Hoswick craft cafe and chatted to the lady in the shop They are such warm friendly people so open to questions about their life on the island.

Excited to see some Shetland ponies on our way to the sunny west coast of the island.

Horses came over with the Norse settlers. They would have been bigger then but evolved with the conditions to be shorter study horses to cope with the conditions and the work load.

We detoured to visit St Ninians. It’s a spectacular beach which stretches from the mainland to a small island. The weather was perfect. Warm & sunny there were even people paddling in the crystal clear water.

Steve walked over to the island and I walked around the cove to explore the rocks. There are so few people around it makes it very special.

The road north is much better than I anticipated and there was little traffic so it was an easy drive

We passed through Brae and decided as the weather was so good to head out the peninsula to the cliffs of Eshaness. The drive gave us the most spectacular scenery possible. We got to the lighthouse and looked North. The afternoon light bathed the coast in sunlight. Truly beautiful.

Heading back to our accommodation we drive down to a little boat ramp used by local fishermen.

Arriving at Busta House was like stepping back in time. It’s old, steeped in history and had rooms refurbished. However, it has stayed. Big stone stairs down to an entrance then up two old staircases to our room named Papa Stour , one of the little islands nearby.

The room was comfortable, had a view out to a bay named Busta Voe. The new bathroom was tiny and definitely wasn’t for the feint hearted. The bath was so high it was like doing gymnastics to get get in! I counted at least 5 people staying at the house who used walking sticks so I don’t know how they managed. So it missed a 🛌🛌🛌 rating. Only a 🛌🛌. But a fairly high 2!

We had drinks in the sitting room before dinner. There were around 125 Gin and nearly 300 whiskey varieties to choose from. Dinner was nice fresh homely food- lamb for Steve , salmon for me with lovely fresh veggies.

A quiet 💤 night.

World Cup vs Walking. In Scotland

August 17, 2023August 18, 2023 / brisbanefrannie / 5 Comments

The Matildas Australia’s favourite women’s football team was playing England. Big moment.

I choose to explore Lauder ( it didn’t take long ) even though I was walking at a snails pace. Steve decided to walk. Turns out he covered 19 km.

The beautiful sign welcoming people to Lauder

Lauder is a lovely Border town and has a nice little High St with a great cafe gallery. I occupied myself there for a while with the other people using walking sticks. I’ve really noticed how many people need a walking stick perhaps more here in Scotland?

I then returned to the Black Bull and chatted to the wife of yesterday’s timber man the owner – Steve’s new best friend . They have owned this pub for 8 years and have turned it into a friendly place for locals and tourists. Turns out they travel to Sydney every second year to visit their daughter in Sydney. She & her husband run an event company and recently organised the opening event to the World Cup which involved closing the Sydney Harbour Bridge for an opening party.

So she was more than happy to chat and have the tv on the GAME I sat there mostly alone ( it was 11am) with a coffee. Not a gin!

It was a great game but unfortunately Australia lost to England. Remember, I’m in Scotland and they were mostly supporting Australia! No love lost between England Scotland.

Meanwhile, Steve is walking along the road then detouring through fields , forests & villages.

He found a beautiful old church and chatted for ages to the three ladies doing the weekly clean. The church only opens twice a week so he was lucky today was one of the days .

This church dates from 1242 it looks quite new but has recently celebrated their 781 year anniversary.

I left the pub and drove around the country side and arrived at the Juniperlea Pub to meet a very tired Steve for a late, late lunch.

We had a quiet afternoon as the afternoon ‘sludge’ had started. ( drizzly rain)

Dinner was at the Hotel pub and and early night. The food is good but it’s getting hard to select! I had the steak pie ! Steve the local cheddar Mac & Cheese. We’ve had the fish ‘n chips another favourite a few times. So time for a change.

Steve decided yesterday’s long walk was enough. It was cloudy and he didn’t want to walk in the rain, so we left together for an explore of the countryside. It’s so beautiful. Lush fields , stone fences where no one seems to be in a hurry. Lots of retirees in these little villages where there is nothing around. Most have few, if any shops at all so you have to get a bus or drive everywhere. oh it would be so cold in the long winters!

We found a laundrette in a supermarket car park. Such a great idea. Three big machines in a bus shelter type building. You pop your washing in, go into the Coop supermarket. Come out , change to the dryer and have a coffee in the adjacent coffee shop. So easy.

We drove up to the next village Dalkeith. It’s only about 30 mins from Edinburgh so would be a good place to live and commute to work in Edinburgh.

We visited the stunning Dalkeith Park. You can drive around it (a bit like Centennial Park in Sydney) and there is a Palace which is only open on weekends for tours and concerts. There’s a rotunda and nearby a part called Restoration. It’s a little piazza type area with restaurants, shops a great food hall and gallery. A lovely place to meet for lunch.

There’s also camping in the park next to an adventure playground. Free for children but £4 for adults! It’s got all sorts of tree houses, slides sand play and from the delighted screaming for the children a fun place to spend some time.

About 20 minutes away is Rosslyn Chapel. You may have heard of this chapel – mostly because of the book & movie The DaVinci Code. They filmed scenes here. The publicity was good for the chapel because visitors to it have increased . Before there was a little man sitting in a wooden box at the entrance where you entered for free. Now there’s parking , a visitor centre, lots of well planned & displayed information.

The chapel was started in 1442 and took 40 years to build. It was built by the wealthy St Clair family as a chapel on their land. It deteriorated over many years and was at one point used as a stable for horses.

The design is gothic style with the most beautiful stone carvings. All designed to reflect stories from the bible.

It’s small with a limited number of people entering in each 90 min time slot. There’s a free talk about the Chapel, when everyone sits in the pews and look ready for a church service. Our guide was a frustrated actress or maybe a vicar. Reminiscent of Dawn French she brought the history alive with a few well told stories including dramatic pause, lowered voice and a laser pointer to highlight the stone sculptures.

Note the kangaroo in the bottom left. A wife of the Earl was Australian.

From the Chapel it was off to Edinburgh for a night before flying to the Shetland Islands. I pre arranged for Steven ( the man I’ve been communicating with for our 10 day apartment stay after Shetland ) to store a bag. So kind of him. We have limited luggage for the small plane to the islands & were planning on playing storage costs at a local place but it got complicated so I emailed my friend Steven and he met us at the apartment and took our bag to his place until we arrive back. So kind of him.

Pub near our apartment in Edinburgh. Staying there after our Shetlands trip.

The apartment position is great. Just behind the castle, 4 minutes from a tram line & Steve measured 75 paces to our local pub. Can’t wait to settle for 10 days.m!

We had the night at The Royal Scots Club near Princes St after a tasty Japanese meal. Huge variety of food places here.

A 5.15 am taxi pick up for our 7.20 flight to the Shetlands. I’m sitting in the little plane with only about 20 passengers watching the propellers twirl waiting for take off.

Off to find Jimmy Perez. If you don’t know the tv series take a look (and put the captions on to help with the heavy Scottish accents)

Too good to be true. Not taking off. The Shetlands control tower radio was faulty and had to be checked – so back to the gate for an hour!

The Maitlands visit Thirlstane Castle : home of the Maitland and the Earl of Lauderdale.

August 15, 2023 / brisbanefrannie / 5 Comments

This castle is in the Borders area of Scotland ( meaning it borders England. But just in Scotland !) we were excited to visit as there is a connection with the Maitland family.

No we’re not directly related. Though Steve’s Uncle, Major General Gordon Maitland headed up Clan Maitland in Australia. He was so enthusiastic that many Maitlands joined and made quite a club.

He had been to Lauderdale and I think met the Earl.

Just some of the Earls of Lauderdale. I think they are up to 15.

The castle was built in 1587. And has been added to over the years.

The original castle was this centre piece. Then the two extra turrets were added.

We spent 90 minutes with Gordon & Trish our guides as they took us through room by room. they had many stories about the family , the Earls and the castle itself.

Personal photos of the present Earl and his family.

Gold leaf edged doors. Replaced a few years ago after a fire.

Chairs are draped with the Maitland tartan – rugs, throws. Etc. our little team of people on the tour were very quiet and didn’t ask much so our guide ploughed on with information about the house and the family. He knows his facts!

We climbed up and down stairs and saw the wing that had been turned into accommodation. We thought about staying here but at £1500 a night we decided t to stay at the Black Bull pub in the town of Lauder 5 mins away.

These little Scottish border towns are just lovely, each is distinctive with its castle or abbey or just a very grand house.

Selkirk is home to Walter Scott the novelist & poet.

A pub at Melrose Steve’s sister Marg worked in Melrose when a young nurse.

Street in Coldstream home to the Coldstream Guards.

Road tripping around Scotland is fun. Lots to see and not far between little towns.

And the people. So friendly. We are staying at The Black Bull in Lauder tonight. The owner and Steve hit it off immediately as Steve admired a small stool in the reception area. Turns out he does woodwork on a serious level. He’s a building and loves wood. He made all the tables in the restaurant and the bathroom cabinetry is his work.

Notice the tables. All made by the owner.

They chatted for ages about woodwork!

Then we had a great dinner. And retired to a very comfortable room. Not the Maitland suite at the Castle and I’m not sorry at all!

Our day on Hadrians Wall

August 15, 2023 / brisbanefrannie / 2 Comments

I decided to let the photos do the talking.

Hadrians Wall is a masterpiece of Roman design and execution. Who knew so many Romans made the trip to Britain to build walls & forts.

This timeline explains when and how the Roman occupation of Britain began and ended.

Steve’s walk along the wall.

A very straight section of the wall. Steve clambered into it for this photo.

The tree seen from another point on this looped part of the wall.

Where Steve started and finished his loop of 4 hr walking. The last hour in the rain!

The thistle growing along side the wall.

Along the wall there were sections built as lookouts.

Some sheep keeping a check on the walkers.

I got talking to these two men who are volunteers for the National Trust. They inspect small sections of the wall on a weekly basis.

Vindlanda is another museum and the place where the Romans lived while building sections of the wall. It was a small city with barracks, baths, latrines, kitchens. It was discovered and has like so many ancient sites been dug carefully and exposed.

It’s fascinating how much they uncovered. How it tells about the times they lived there.

Our night at Twice Brewed was great. Just made top score of 3 bed 🛌 🛌 🛌 Location excellent particularly for walkers. Restaurant on site. Dinner great. A fun bar. Breakfast included and was terrific. Our room was small ( that’s what I picked) but so well organised. A drying room for wet clothes. All in all 🛌🛌🛌

Today ended up being wet ! Rain ☔️ do we drive into Newcastle. For those who watch Vera on ABC this is the area she is from! When she’s not in the countryside solving murders.

Our hotel The Vermont is in a great spot. But too wet for us to go out. It has big rooms , a terrific bar with cocktails two for 1 price and a nice little restaurant. Steve is too tired to go out so we’ll stay in tonight.

Good decision!

And breakfast was terrific.

Walking Hadrian’s Wall

August 13, 2023 / brisbanefrannie / 4 Comments

After a few detours we left Glasgow and headed south. The countryside is green, lush and covered in wind veins. All over the countryside ? What do you think of them?

Did a brief drive through Carlisle and then out to Hadrians Wall. Steve has been in training for his few days walk. Will his knees carry him along the wall ?

First stop was Birdoswalk Roman Fort. It has been uncovered in recent years and is a popular place for families. Lots of child related activities.

We called into the Roman Army Museum.

Such a great place. Lots of displays about how the wall was built. The huge number of soldiers who were moved here to build it in AD 122 l. Hadrian built it to secure the border of what was called Britannia.

There was a great movie. Everyone sitting with their 3D glasses marvelling on how these poor soldiers did it.

From here Steve launched into his walk. He planned on 12 km. Along the wall up and down and making new friends along the way.

The stretches for 73 miles from Newcastle to Carlisle

Some people walk for 4-5 days. Others do sections. Steve choose two days to walk. Tomorrow will be longer.

I chose to drive the little roads around the area. Up and around I went. Names like Haltwhistle, Bardon Mill, Greenhead. It’s a beautiful part of the country. I love looking at the walkers. Big walking sticks and determination written all over their faces. It gives a sense of community.

I arrived at our hotel for the night. It’s right on the wall and called Twice Brewed ! They have a brewery on site called Once Brewed.

Steve was ready for a beer and a hearty meal. We tend to have breakfast and maybe miss lunch. So a big dinner for Steve tonight.

It was roast night. Sensibly they offer a half serve which I had.

I forgot to rank our room in Glasgow. A 2 🛌🛌it was roomy but the bathroom was quite old fashioned and there was noise from the back alley!!hundreds of bottles being collected and smashed each night!

Breakfast was good though and Leslie our breakfast waitress looked like she could be an extra on Downton Abbey.

Tonight a small room at Twice Brewed.

Last Day in Iceland : Blue Lagoon

August 10, 2023 / brisbanefrannie / 5 Comments

I’m a little sad we are leaving tomorrow. When planning this holiday we had so many things we wanted to do and we thought 6 days here would give us a good taste. Now I would love to do more. To go north. A little more exploring. But I still consider myself lucky to spend 6 beautiful days here in the land of Fire & Ice.

We set off in brilliant sunshine though as always there were amazing clouds. Streaky ones, fluffy white ones & grey snowy ones. The sky is interesting here. I think coming from Queensland where we have such bright blue skies ( unless it’s stormy) this is a contrast.

We searched for the basalt stones. This series of columns Kirkjugolf. ( the Church Floor) is a series of eroded and shaped columnar outcrops where only the top of these basalt columns can be seen.

The columns were formed by lava flow and the way it cooled then eroded smooth by the weather. There is no evidence a church stood here but perhaps was an area occupied by Irish hermits in the years before Iceland was settled !

Sellfoss is one of the larger centres in Iceland. it was very small but has grown to over 4,000 residents. And lots of tourists

We went volcano hunting by choosing the coast road toward the Blue Lagoon. We saw the turns offs to car parks with walks into view the volcano. But I could spot it from the car park. Big black and imposing. But no firey lava.

We were early for our 5 pm Blue Lagoon booking but the lady took pity on my crutch and let us in.

It’s a very well organised operation. It’s expensive – there are two packages you can take. The Comfort: includes entry, a towel , 1 drink and a silica mud mask and well equipped bathrooms with good shampoos , conditioners and body creams.

Or you can take the Premium: entry, towel, a robe, 2 drinks 2 masks. We thought the Comfort package was fine so that’s what we did.

I was excited ! we scanned our wristbands and in we went. You use the band to scan any extra drinks , masks, food or products you buy.

The shower area is well set up with lockers you scan to access. You change , shower ( I thought it was in the nude like other spas but this one allows you to dress in swimwear first )

They encourage you to put conditioner in your hair as the water can make hair dry and brittle. I lathered it on

Then out to the pool I was pleasantly surprise it wasn’t as crowded as I thought it might be. We slipped in. Delightfully warm

Pictures don’t do the colour justice. Ut was a milky blue.

After a good soak I move over to the mud house. You are given s big scoop and you apply it all over your face. It was strange seeing lots of people with white or mud faces.

Its supposed to give you beautiful soft skin!

We got our free drinks. Water and a rather good carrot apple ginger juice. No beer for us! So healthy!

After about 2 hours of being constantly in the warm water where my knee felt wonderfully light and not sore we dragged ourselves out.

Unfortunately back on hard floors it was indeed still sore! I had a long warm shower using lots of the included shampoos etc. the shower room has individual shower stalls. Unlike l when we went to the spas in Budapest where it’s all communal.

We drove to a little apartment I had found in Keflavik because we have to return the car and get to the airport early tomorrow. It’s only about 10 mins from the airport.

What a nice surprise. It was such a comfortable place. The bonus was the great view over the water and the beautiful shower and bed. Luckily we had brought dinner with us so enjoyed staying in.

It was lovely place to stay so a 🛌🛌🛌. 3 bed rating. SOL Apartment. it’s on booking.com

Iceland : Glacial World

August 9, 2023 / brisbanefrannie / 8 Comments

After a good night in out little cabin we were ready for some ice.

I have noticed lots of cabins and hotel seemingly in the middle of nowhere. It’s because they are away from lights because when the northern lights arrive you don’t want any light around.

Driving to our first stop I can’t stop looking at the landscape. the contrast between lava fields, glacial tracts the cloud formations. Like nothing I’ve seen anywhere else.

View from my car seat of not only of Steve but …. A glacier.

You can see when an attraction is coming up because of the cluster of cars parked and a small sign. Not big signs here. No billboards. ( they’d probably blow over). But very little visual pollution to compete with the landscape.

There is a 4 km round trip to view this waterfall so Steve headed off on his own and I sat quietly observing people and writing a postcard to my grandsons. Who writes postcards any more. Not usually me but I think the boys will enjoys getting them.

Back to the people. All nationalities, all types of gear, all sizes and definitely all levels of fitness. Steve said a few struggled with the sometimes steep path.

Not Steve. He had taken over bring the walker in our family.

Back on the road towards the Glacial Lagoon. Here they offer boat trips up the lagoon to the wall of the glacier. We nearly missed out on a seat as they book out so quickly.

As you cross the bridge you can see large icebergs all around. the landcover is barren and brown which contrasts with the pearling white water and the icebergs.

We checked in at the truck for Jokulsarlon Ice Tours truck and told to come back in 30 minutes to ‘suit up’ This gave us time for a quick bite from one of the food trucks offering fish ‘n chips , lobster soup or lobster rolls , hot dogs or pancakes. All pretty good and all expensive. I have to stop thinking $$

Our group arrived for suiting up and Adam our Swedish guide helped fit us out. Shoes off , suits on , shoes on, cameras in pockets. Life jacket on then onto the bus for a 5 min ride to where the boats come and go on the hour.

It was quite cool but we were lucky as the sun was out most of the time. The suits keep you pretty warm and a hat helps for when the boat picks up speed for the 7 km ride through big and little chucks of ice broken off from the main glacier.

The glacier lagoon opens to the sea so seals and fish can enter the lagoon.

The ice chunks are like sculptures & look amazing.

Our guide Paulina was a great source of information and kept us entertained and informed us about glaciers. And how we need another ice age as the glaciers are melting and receding at an alarming rate.

We saw some Arctic tern birds who journey each season from the Antarctic to here each season. Quite a journey.

I couldn’t resist selecting an ice cube for my scotch tonight!

We were out in the lagoon for about 1 hour 30 and it was breathtaking.

The colours changed. The blue , the grey , the ash embedded in the ice giving it a striped appearance.

Finally time to return. And I thought how lucky we were to experience this one such a beautiful day.

Back in the car Steve , my Australian driver husband said ‘let’s continue on to Hofn’. This is a little fishing town about another hour up the road.

It was a pretty little harbour town

The thing about these towns is that they appear so quiet. Everything is designed for cold weather. Freezing weather so the buildings are block like. No verandahs, no decks, no outdoor living. Not much in the way of gardens. Few trees , stark buildings.

We found a lovely looking restaurant. Went in. Sat down. Checked the menu. Got up with an apologetic voice said we actually wanted some lobster. They only had a bisque. Steve wanted some lobster. Went to Ossin down the road and had a lovely meal before our nearly 3 hour drive back to our cabin.

But it’s no problem here. It stays light until around 10pm.

Our special day was complete.

Falling for Waterfalls in Iceland

August 8, 2023August 8, 2023 / brisbanefrannie / 11 Comments

We woke to silence. Not a noise from outside. Sleeping in a yurt is a great novelty. Unfortunately no thermal pool on site. I didn’t appreciate when booking that I should have looked for place that offered their own hot tub. I thought the various bigger spa would be great. But they are so crowded.

We had breakfast in the main yurt. It was just great. And had such a great chat to the manager.

Breakfast was on a wheel in the centre of the yurt.

Rating for this place Nattura Yurtel would be 🛌🛌 missed a 3 because of having to go to the shower room.

Saying good by to the horses we headed 6 minutes up the road to Gullfoss waterfall. Wow. It’s stunning. The noise warned us we were close – thundering! The spray caught us and there it was. You could view from above you walk down lots of stairs to see it up close.

It was quite warm after our walk so back into the car to head towards the coast to Vik. We passed horse riders. It’s big here in Iceland. There are so many horse centres offering riding. You mostly see girls ! Girls seem to love horses !

Driving through the valley towards the coast was beautiful. Green fields , wildflowers Neatly rolled and packed hay for the winter and lovely homes.

Around every corner there’s another waterfall. And quite a few people. It always amuses me the variety of gear worn – suitable or otherwise. There’s the intrepid pole wielding ‘hikers’ , the out for a stroll sandal walkers, the families in coordinated gear, the young old and adventurous.

You could even walk behind. The spray was incredible.

We wanted to visit the Skogar museum. The other museum we had in mind – the Saga Centre was closed.

The The Skogar museum is an outdoor village style depicting how people lived. It was almost empty as there had been a downpour and scared people away. We visited the indoor museum first, viewing the tools, arts & crafts, fishing gear used by the locals years ago.

All the long cold nights led to a lot of tapestry.

I love the social history of a society and I didn’t know much about Icelandic history. It was a relatively late settled country from the Norse Viking people around 870-900. There was no one living here then. I can’t imagine how hardy those people had to be. Even today it would be difficult living with the dark and the cold.

Lunch at Freya’s, the museum’s restaurant was delightful. A great coffee set the tone. Steve had prawn pasta and I had avocado with smoked salmon. Both were great. A light dinner tonight. I browsed the very good bookstore and bought a few picture books. They love their trolls, ogres and rather gruesome folk takes here in Iceland but I found some I think won’t scare the grandchildren too much.

Our next stop was the black sands beach. Reynisfjara Beach. It featured in the SBS tv series Black Sands. It’s famous, not just for its black sand and the basalt column sitting up in the water but also for its ‘ sneaky waves’. There are several deaths a year. Always tourists.

The signs point out the danger and today was an yellow alert with lines drawn on a map showing how far you could go towards the waters edge. Did this stop the tourists.

No. Of course not! We stood for awhile in the stiff breeze watching and kind of wanted a ‘sneaky wave ‘ to appear.

We gave up and went back to the car, careful not to lose the car door in a freak wind. We were warned by the car rental place not to open the door with only 1 hand.

Iceland is full of danger. A bit like Australia but different dangers.

I managed to spot a bride veil blowing in the breeze. They were Japanese so I think it was more a honeymoon with wedding photos thrown in.

Bride and Groom outside the sweetest church

Vik is a small town on the coast and we drove up the hill to a church and looked back to the basalt columns off the black sands beach. impressive.

Vik in the foreground with the basalt columns from near the beach.

Talk about amazing landscapes. The next half hour we drove through what looked like ash covered rocks. Then flat plains where glaciers has been. You could see the glaciers where they are now standing back up the slope a little. Frozen!

Our next stop is for two nights. It’s a little cottage guesthouse. Quite new in a nice location. The cottage is beautifully fitted out and has a little kitchen which suits us as brought some cheese and beer to have for our light dinner. After lunch at Freya’s we didn’t need much.

Have I mentioned how expensive everything is? Wise friend Patsy who has been here a few days before us sent a message saying don’t try and convert into $$$$ – you’ll get too much of a shock. Eat, drink and enjoy. We are Patsy!

But out of interest – a one course dinner with one drink each – a beer is around $100 Aus $!

Tomorrow we go on a zodiac onto the Glacial Lagoon. I am very excited about it.

Rainy Iceland

August 7, 2023August 7, 2023 / brisbanefrannie / 4 Comments

Despite the cool rainy morning we got going early. Lots to see before heading out of Reykjavik. People say not to spend much if any time here so we decided to check it out.

Breakfast at nearby Kactus. I was only going to have coffee but decided I’d try their marriage cake! It’s rough and knobbly outside and all sweet inside. A bit like a marriage really. It’s a well know Icelandic traditional cake. In fact I think it was mentioned in Hannah Kent’s Buriel Rites book.

Next it was up the hill to the big imposing church. Hallgrímskirkja. Started being built in 1842 it took until 1986 to complete.

The church is stunning in its size simplicity especially compared to the ornate but beautiful cathedral in Strasbourg. It reflects the personality of Iceland. Clean simple lines, stunning to look at.

The bell tower has gorgeous views across the city.

We were to have a short organ recital. Not the grand organ. The smaller one.

We walked slowly down the street from Leif Ericsson statue. Lovely quirky shops and lots of ceramic. Then a beautiful coloured rainbow finishing to the end of the street.

Looking back up to the Cathedral. It’s THE land mark spotted from around the city.

By now having walked awhile in rain with lots more to see we decided to do the hop on hop off bus. It was great. Just an hour.

The Perlan Museum was good. We went into an ice cave and the Planetarium for a show on the Northern nights . We’re not going to see that display in August . The best months for the Northern lights are late Sept Oct and early November.

We were on the road for Geysir after a delicious lunch at the old bus terminal – now home to a variety of mini restaurants. We had some fish and prawns

It doesn’t take long to leave Reykjavík and get out into the landscape. The first part of today we passed large areas of flat green field. No real evidence of crops or animals.

On the road to Thingvellir National Park

Our first stop was Thingvellir. It’s a National Park. – we’ll it seems all of Iceland could be considered a NP. Here there is evidence of the tectonic plates. And a waterfall. One of many in this country of high mountains lots of snow and volcanoes.

The Icelandic names are so hard to say …. And spell

We walked a kilometre to the waterfall but we’re a little underwhelmed. I know tomorrow we’ll see some big waterfalls.

We called into Fontana Spa. I had high hopes for a thermal plunge. A wallow……Only problem was there were too many people wallowing already.

There are several pools but 5pm is probably a busy time as hikers have finished their walks and are ready to soak in one of the hot tubs.

So we moved onto Geyser. Walking from the car we could see the stream rising from the Geysirs. There are a few but Stokker is the most active and spurts the highest. Every 8-10 minutes. We waited patiently finger hovering on the camera button. Looking …..looking at the water until …. Bubble bubble up he went.

I got the beginning of a very high spurt.

With satisfaction we headed for our room for the night. A yurt. A Mongolian yurt. The owner thought the design would work here so painstakingly had 10 yurts built. I thought it would be a novel bed for the night.

It was. Very comfy with a toilet and lovely basin. The shower however was in an adjacent small building. Fine. As it’s summer and the top of 15 is balmy. But I wouldn’t want to be shuffling to the shower in rain snow or high winds!

Our view from the yurt towards the snowy fields

It was fun unpacking into the yurt. Lots of room! Dinner was a short walk down hill to Skoll tavern which had a camp ground. Most people had vans but a few hardy souls were pitching tents. Brrrr.

Further along the road was a horse farm. You could stay there and go riding for a day overnight or a week trail ride.

The yurt had a heated floor so was cosy and with the rain putter patter on the canvas roof was the only sound we heard as we drifted off into a sound sleep.

https://www.natturayurtel.com

I ❤️ Paris

August 5, 2023 / brisbanefrannie / 7 Comments

What makes a great hotel? I’m going to be an expert by the end of this holiday. We’ll be staying in 32 different hotel beds over this holiday.

I’m going to be rating them as I go. I’ll keep a list and publish at the end. I’ll keep the rating simple 3 🛌🛌🛌 ( very good would highly recommend) 2 🛌🛌 ( not bad would stay again) 1 🛌. ( didn’t like it. Wouldn’t stay or recommend )

Remember these are not 5 star hotels. I’ve chosen mostly on location & value for money, but the rating includes room comfort, the way it’s planned , things working! Bed comfort , access ( lift).

Last night Boma Hotel If you’re visiting Strasbourg I’d recommend it. Modern but so well planned. 3🛌🛌🛌

https://www.boma-hotel.com/?utm_source=googlemybusiness

Tonight a new one in Paris. We were to stay with friends but they are away on holiday so we changed to one near the station. We arrived today by train from Strasbourg.

Tonight it is Este Hotel. One month old it also looks good. https://www.hotelesteparis.com/en/

Strasbourg this morning was fine then once again raining by lunch time. Steve went on a boat cruise on the river that circles the town of Strasbourg. I did this last time I was here so opted to move around town and observe people.

We had a salad lunch before heading to the station for the 2hr trip to Paris. If you haven’t been to Strasbourg I’d recommend it. It’s in a great part of France. The Alsace region. Lots of lovely villages around to investigate.

Even arriving at a train station can’t dampen the Paris effect. There’s just something about the trees. And the light. We’re about to head out for a drink and dinner by the Canal St-Martin. It’s a lovely afternoon so I’ll finish later …….

Walking down towards the Canal we passed many of the cafes so famous here.

Glimpsed the station another very elegant building.

And saw some wall art ( and a shop that sold all the spray cans needed to create the art)

There was cool breeze coming from the canal where people sat on the steps chatting, smoking, listening to loud music 🤫 or smooching. It is Friday night.

I avoided taking pictures with people. But the canal is a peaceful strip within a busy city

We sat at L’Atmosphere, selecting a table just inside the door. Amazing how many people still smoke here. It’s banned inside but the footpaths tables are all awash with smoke.

View from our table across to it’s extra outside seating and the canal.

The waiters here must easily get their 10.000 steps in. They were running all evening.

Shops and apartments across from the canal. Very colourful for Paris.

I had sea bass and ratatouille which was good and Steve had pepper steak and green beans. Of course with a glass of wine!

We walked back through the little park and saw a park guard on his bike stop a lady who was walking her dog off lease. He directed her sternly to leave the park. The French are strict in so many ways ( take the citizens vote to ban the lime scooters) but they challenge everything as well.

And so to bed in our little Parisian hotel.

Barely any floor space for bags and Steve’s morning exercises, but beautifully planned.

frans travel tales

come along with me

Month: August 2023