GRATITUDES + BREAKTHROUGHS // MARCH 22, 2016

I’m back from Iceland with a bad case of jet-lag and ready to share gratitudes and breakthroughs from the week!

Gratitudes

I am thankful for a safe trip, especially with the recent news of Brussels. Traveling has always had a way of neatly placing some of life’s hardships and annoyances into perspective for me. The added heaviness that follows a terrorist attack on a historical European city tends to taint the romance and adventure of traveling with fear. For today, while I am reminiscing of rides through the Icelandic mountains I am sending my thoughts to those with tender hearts in Brussels.

This trip was the first that I decided to fully book accommodations through AirBnB and it did not disappoint. If you aren’t familiar with the company, it allows property owners to rent their homes, apartments, rooms to visitors. It’s a great alternative to hotel or resort living, as it offers a look into real life living situations of the country you are staying in. The country cottage and cozy apartment in the capital were exactly what I was looking for; each was uniquely decorated to show the taste of the host and the culture. For your next trip I would highly recommend looking into booking with a local.

As I mentioned in my previous GratiTuesdays, Iceland has been on my short list for years, so I’m overly grateful for the opportunity to make this trip possible. It was everything I anticipated multiplied by 100 times the greatness and vastness of the ever-changing landscape. It’s no surprise why photographers and outdoorsmen flock to this place it is truly one of the Earth’s best kept secrets. I’ll be sharing a full blog post soon on my experiences there – you won’t want to miss it.

And lastly, to the 3 people who boldly took the chance on this trip; thank you for coming with me over to an island filled with lava rock, active volcanos, jagged mountain ranges, hot springs and ancient glaciers. The time we spent together added a richness to the trip that is unforgettable: the bottles of wine, intense laughter, homemade dinners, failed pancake attempts, road trips with Mexican folk music, and more.  Thank you.

Breakthroughs

As I was enjoying a quiet up of tea from our country cottage, I thought about my Grandma Jean. She and my Grandpa were traveling last week as well, but further south in the Caribbean enjoying the sunshine and frozen cocktails. It was in that moment that I realized I inherited her incurable wanderlust. Together they have galavanted all over the world, with very few places left to see. When I was small they used to tell tales of their recent trips, share albums, toss around foreign coins and gift us grandkids trinkets. It was always mesmerizing and I longed to see the places she had visited. As I got older the urge to travel was growing and she encouraged me to go – sometimes supporting me financially – and other times letting me borrow her travel guides with handwritten notes of things she felt or loved while she was aboard. It’s easy to see the resemblance in our features, but for me it’s even more special to know she passed along something that while invisible is a real and authentic bond between us.

As always, thanks for reading. xoxo.