GRATITUDES + BREAKTHROUGHS // MARCH 15, 2016

Gratitudes

 This destination has been on my short list for years, but trying to find the time to squeeze it in between working, finishing up my graduate degree and starting my business was tough. When I opened my eyes this morning I was in Iceland. I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am to wake up in a place that I’ve been so hell-bent on seeing. I’ll be here for almost a week with my boyfriend and a couple of friends. We rented this amazing cottage near the Golden Circle where we will explore the national parks, local hot springs and I’m crossing my fingers for a sighting of the Northern Lights. From there we will skip around Reykjavik and enjoy the Nordic streets and culture while popping in and out of coffee shops, restaurants and bars. I have so many ideas and hopes for this trip but I am positive it’s the right time, with the right people and the right adventures.

I’ll be posting images from my daily wanderings on Instagram so make sure you follow me at @normanphotoandpaper.

Also that amazing image above isn’t mine. My dear friend Alicia Bruce of Love Knot Photo visited this island and her images are incredible. While your already at your computer, take a few minutes to see Iceland through her eyes here -> A Photo Tour of Iceland.

Breakthroughs

Every time I travel I learn something knew about the process in traveling, each trip helps me build confidence in navigating through airports, cities, language barriers and more. This trip so far I’ve learned to pre-pay for checked bags. I’ve always been able to travel fairly light, taking the essentials. I figure if I need anything else bad enough I can buy it while I’m there. Although for Iceland – and fear of being cold – I over packed. We got an insane deal on our flight over for $99 but that usually means they charge for everything else. So two of my bags were checked for $135 – ouch! Thankfully, with a little kindness I was able to keep my backpack with all of my equipment (1 computer, 2 bodies, 3 lenses) on board with me!

As always, thanks for reading. xoxo.