What Baasje Learned Today

I learned to play tennis on clay.

A Postcard from Across the Pond: Odds & Sods in Merry Old England

Camden High Street

We've been in England for almost two weeks now - we spent ten days in London and are now at the tail end of our four-day stay in Oxford, with a day trip to Cambridge. Unlike our visit to Iceland, we received very few recommendations for places to see and activities to take in while we're here. I think it's because it's such a familiar place to so many people and very tourist-friendly.

The recommendations we did receive were unexpected and eclectic. One friend recommended wandering Shoreditch to check out the street art. We did this on a Saturday and it was an unforgettable experience. The pieces we came across ranged from graphic political statements and territorial tagging, to giant murals that were as much fine art as graffiti.

My cousins also took us on memorable tour of London's markets including the obvious tourist-packed haunts - Covent Garden and Camden Town - and a few markets where we enjoyed a more local experience - Burough Market, Brick Lane, and Columbia Road Flower Market. Of these Brick Lane's Sunday Market was the one I loved the best. We fought the crowds to tour the busy stalls with London's urban hipsters and recent immigrants, had a delicious lunch of grilled lamb and vegetable curries, and sampled sweets in the Bangladeshi dessert shops on the high street.

Burough Market

Buying Cheese at Burough Market

Crowds at Burough Market

The High Street Outside Camden Market

Brick Lane Market

Dessert Shop on Brick Lane

For the past couple of days we've been hanging out in stately Oxford and Cambridge, visiting friends, appreciating the gorgeous architecture, perusing the collections at many fine museums - including the world's oldest museum, the Ashmolean - and stopping to take a break at a few to the towns' more notorious watering holes - such as "The Eagle and Child" where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien used to exchange ideas over pints back in the days when they were colleagues at Oxford.

Speaking of pints, I'm off to grab one more before we bid a fond cheerio to Oxford (and England altogether, as a matter of fact). Onto France and the Loire Valley tomorrow!

Until next week!

Joyce

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Our good friend Aaron McGill has been sharing a weekly update of our travels with his listening audience on London, Ontario's "Inspiration Station" 99.9FM. If you're in London, Ontario you can tune in every Monday at 9-10pm EST to hear our updates on the air (repeats air every Wednesday at 10-11pm EST) and folks in other parts of the world can listen in online via the live stream.

Updates from London, England coming to you on the airwaves from the "other" London! Tune in tonight!

Doing the tourist thing in London, UK. Clockwise from top:
Trafalgar Square, a typical London phone booth, Big Ben,
tourists in London's West End.

For the past month or so, our good friend Aaron has been sharing a weekly update of our travels with his listening audience on London, Ontario's "Inspiration Station" 99.9FM. If you're in London, Ontario you can tune in every Monday at 9-10pm EST (a repeat airs every Wednesday at 10-11pm EST) and folks in other parts of the world can listen in online via the live stream.

This week's update is about our experiences in London, England. It also turned out to be a love letter of sorts to the "other London",  London, Ontario. Given the subject matter, I thought I'd share this week's update here along with some supplementary pics showing side-by-side comparisons of the two cities.

Cheerio from London, England!

It's hard to believe that a whole week has passed since we arrived at Heathrow! We've been filling our days visiting the city's many attractions. After all the extraordinary experiences we had in Iceland - our previous stop on our around the world journey - it's feels a bit anti-climatic to be treading the beaten path of regular tourist haunts, but we're having a fine time, nonetheless! So far we've enjoyed most of the usual touristy "must-dos" - Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, the National Gallery, Oxford Street, etc. If you have visited, or know anyone who has visited London, England, I expect you're familiar with the routine.

Coming from the "other" London, our interest in these iconic attractions is heightened by our curiosity about how the "originals" compare to the familiar "facsimiles" we hold near and dear to our hearts. How does the first Covent Garden Market compare to our Covent Garden Market located in downtown London, Ontario? Will we find counterpart versions of our favourite London, Ontario Covent Garden Market eats? Gelato? Yes. Sushi? Yes. Burek? No.

If we need a rest, should we seek out a quiet green place along the River Thames as one might along the Thames River in "our" London? We found out the answer to this one is yes…and no. We did manage to find a bit of green space, but there were plenty of camera-toting tourists around to keep us company. In this London's West End, St James's or Hyde Park are better places to seek out a bit of greenery and solitude.

As expected, the first and "original" London actually has very little in common with our beloved "other" London. A multitude of namesakes aside, one could go on and on about how different the two cities are. Of the many differences, the most important is that London, England is a fabulous city to visit as a tourist and London, Ontario is where we go to reconnect with our roots and spend time with our amazing friends and family, including you, Aaron! Miss you guys!

'Til next week.

Joyce

Covent Garden Market in London, UK on the left,
Covent Garden Market in London, Ontario on the right.

River Thames in London, UK on the left,
River Thames in London, Ontario on the right.

Beyond my wildest dreams in Reykjavik, Iceland

It turns out we know a lot of people who have been to Iceland. Who knew? We've received more tips about what to see and do in Iceland than any other spot we've visited so far. Before I go adding my own two cents to the mix, I thought I might take a moment to pass on some of the advice given to us by friends who've made the trip before us.

Getting to Iceland

Did you know you can stopover in Iceland for up to 7 days for FREE when you fly Icelandair to Europe (meaning, there are no additional airfare fees involved)? It gets even better - flying with Icelandair is relatively inexpensive. In fact, when we were looking to purchase tickets to England from Halifax, Icelandair offered the cheapest prices around. Thanks for the tip, Beth!

Activities

Our friend Diane was kind enough to put us in touch with a number of local contacts - so many that it actually felt like we'd connected with a significant percentage of the population. One helpful Icelander who shared insights on what's currently hip and happening in Reykjavik was Sibbi. Below is a re-print of his advice on things to do in and around the city:

For a day trip outside of Reykjavik, you can try the famous Blue Lagoon, a natural geothermal spa rich in silica and sulphur. The mineral rich water has been known to help people with several ailments, but most people go there just for the fun of it.

Reykjavik itself has several geothermal swimming pools, where the water is naturally hot (i.e. not heated).  Most note-worthy is the Laugardalslaug.  An outdoor Olympic size swimming pool with several spas and steam rooms.  A great place to unwind for a small admission. You can also get a massage.

Another great day trip is the so called Golden Circle which takes in the hot springs at Geysir, the awesome waterfall Gullfoss and the Thingvellir National Park.

If you want to get a snapshot of the country, this would be the one trip to take.

Geysir is the Icelandic version of Old Faithful and actually the hot spring that all the other ones are named after. It erupts rarely these days, but there are other springs that shoot up around there every few minutes.

Gullfoss is an fantastic specimen of awesome power of the water that cascades from the glaciers and provides the country with practically 100%  of its electric power.  An impressive sight.

Thingvellir is the spectacular meeting point of the Eurasian and American tectonic plates and the seat of the world's oldest parliament (established in 930 AD).

When at Þingvellir, I would not miss Almannagja and Oxararfoss. Almannagja is the fault in the ground where the tectonic plates rub up against each other. Technically it is possible to stand with one foot in America and one in Europe. The view from the ridge of Almannagja over the nearby lake (Thingvallavatn) is stunning.

Take time to stroll along the fault (gja) from the bridge, heading east. Once you're past the waterfall (Oxararfoss), you are past the beaten path and into a very secluded part of the fault. The silence and the peace in there is a beautiful thing to experience, You can walk all the way to where the road cuts through the fault and then walk back to the parking lot along the road. (This takes maybe two hours, but is worth it). Alternatively, you can just walk past the waterfall for about 20 min. and then return the same way).

The south-eastern part of Iceland is spectacular, and the location of the volcanic eruptions in recent years the seemed to bring the world to a stop. The whole drive towards Jokulsarlon (a glacial lagoon with icebergs) is spectacular and not easily forgotten. Stopping at briefly at Skogarfoss and Seljarlandsfoss waterfalls. The former is spectacular, the second is unique in the sense that you can walk behind it. 


You can also take time when you are in the town of Vik to walk the black sand beach. Almost all beaches in Iceland are black sand, but the one at Vik is easily accessible and has a view of the Reynisdrangar rock formation.

If you go to the Snaefellsnes peninsula, Hótel Budir used to have a very good restaurant and probably still has.

A lot of the restaurants you're going to encounter in the countryside are going to be burger joints (individually owned, not chains). The beef in Iceland is good quality, but you might want to opt for fish or the lamb which is much lauded. 


If you're having a burger and fries, or anything with fries, be sure to ask for 'cocktail sauce', which is a stir-up of ketchup, mayo and mustard).

The one activity in Iceland recommended over others is horseback riding. The Icelandic horse is a very gentle, well-tempered animal. They're small compared to other breeds, somewhere between horse and pony in size), but very sturdy. Laxnes a horse rental close to Reykjavik offers guided tours.

The National Museum in Reykjavik (Thjóðminjasafnid) has an excellent permanent exhibition on founding of the country and its history of it through the ages.

Maria, another one of Diane's friends, invited us to meet for a drink at a super hip bar near the harbour called Slippbarinn and gave us the skinny on where to shop in Reykjavik. Maria recommended Kirsuberjatred for Icelandic design and handicraft, or checking out the art and design shops along Skolavordurstigur. She also pointed us in the direction of the city's main shopping street, Laugavegur, which was great for people watching.

And on the day we spent city sightseeing - our chosen stops included Perlan, Hallgrimskirkja, and the old harbour - Baasje's school friend Hofi suggested two additional must-do activities that were missing from our itinerary, taking the elevator to the top of Hallgrimskirkja and stopping for a hotdog complete with "the works" from Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur.

The best of the rest

Finally, our good friend Ruth sent us these words of wisdom that cover two areas of key importance, proper clothing and finding a good read:

…Bookshops are super good too, so you can always buy more reading material, if you run out! Finally, we learned that layering is key. Weather was very unpredictable -- we were there this time last year, and had every type of weather you can imagine!

Takk fyrir (that's how you say, 'thank you' in Iceland)

Thanks one more time to all of you who've sent us tips and advice not just about Iceland but about other places we've visited and are planning to visit. You guys rock our world!

If you have any additional tips, keep 'em coming. We'll be in this amazing country for 2 more days!

Travel checklist jitters in Halifax, Nova Scotia

The moment has finally arrived! Today we hit the global highway bound for Reykjavik, Iceland (via Boston) and boy, are we ready! At least I think we're ready.

Though we've technically been on the road for two months now, I must admit we haven't completely pulled out of the station just yet. Take note, potential around-the-world traveler! It seems when you begin an around-the-world trip in your own country, you get an extended grace period during which to address that all-important list of to-do items. You know the one I'm talking about, the one you add three items to for every one you cross off. 

Here's what our list looked like, more or less. Somehow we've managed to check every item, which is making me nervous.

• Give notice to our landlord
• Cancel internet, hydro
• Move out of apartment
• Store belongings
• Make sure immunizations are up to date
• Set up mail forwarding
• Update address info with contacts
• Purchase tickets and travel insurance
• Make reservations in advance for tours/special events where required
• Check passport expiry date/renew passport
• Check details on landing requirements
• Check camping equipment make any necessary repairs, purchase replacement parts
• Download travel apps
• Put cell phone plan in vacation mode
• Get cell phone unlocked
• Clear old files from laptop and devices, takes steps for keeping laptop and devices safe while traveling
• Come to terms with the fact I don't have space to bring all the camera equipment I'd like to bring
• …or my guitar
• Purchase electrical adapters
• Make sure our first aid kit includes everything from malaria pills and diarrhea medication to band-aids and calamine lotion (Did you know you can purchase calamine lotion with antihistamine by the way? I just found that out and it's AWESOME!)
• Pick up a bit of currency for our destination country (most banks in Canada require you to order Icelandic krona in advance, in case you're wondering)
• Pack
• Check the weight of packed bag…cut the amount of reading materials in half and pack again

Voila! I think...

If we missed any thing, feel free to leave a comment and we'll hopefully have a laugh about it when we reach Iceland early tomorrow morning.

Onward!