Icelandic Adventure: Skaftafell to Vik

Svartifoss waterfall

So, after we left Jökulsárlón and Fjallsárlón, we made our way west on Ring Road (AKA Route 1) towards Vik, visiting some sights along the way. We had a pretty action-packed day (made even longer when we took a 2-hour detour for cheeseburgers), but that's how you make the most out of 21 hours of sunshine (well sunshine is a little bit of a misnomer--it's mostly cloudy with a chance of rainbows). Yes, Iceland is one of the few places on Earth that experiences midnight sun for some handful of weeks each summer! Assuming the sun does come out. The sun would basically set around midnight and then rise again around 3 am while we were there. In between, it would get dusky but never dark!

Jökulsárlón, Iceland

Icelandic Adventure: Jökulsárlón & Fjallsárlón

So I'm back from an epic adventure in Iceland (which I had concocted and dreamed about for over a year) and finally getting over jetlag. Still working on sorting through the thousands of photos that we took, but I'm definitely ready to start churning out regular blog posts again. I'll be peppering my regularly scheduled programming with Iceland posts over the next few weeks, so if it's something that interests you be sure to check back!

First off, we have Jökulsárlón, which is a glacier lagoon in Southeast Iceland, about a five-hour drive east of Reykjavik (the capital of Iceland). It's quite a famous and well-known spot, as movies have been filmed there (Tomb Raider, Die Another Day) and there are day tours you can book that from Reykjavik that will take you there during the summer months. We drove there ourselves, and getting there is quite easy, as it's right off of Route 1, the main highway that circles the entire country. I can't even tell you how awe-inspiring it is to catch the first glimpse of those milky blue icebergs floating in the water! We parked our car in one of the lots right before the bridge, as the one across the bridge looked quite packed. We mostly had the area west of the bridge all to ourselves, and it was very peaceful to watch the icebergs do their thing. If you stay there long enough you can see (and definitely hear) icebergs calve and melt, and it's pretty cool!

Page, AZ, USA

Navajo Nation

A road trip to Page, Arizona to see the spectacular sights of Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend has long been on my bucket list. Unfortunately when we finally took the trip, the weather was not quite on our side, so the box remains partially unchecked for now. Since we only had a night to spend after staying a night in Vegas, we decided to stay at Shash Dine over one of the many generic Comfort Inn-type hotels available in Page. Shash Dine is unique glamping B&B located on a Navajo ranch just south of Page with no running water or electricity, and staying there was an experience in itself.

Indio, CA, USA

Coachella 2016

Coachella has become a bit of a spectacle in recent years but that doesn't mean it's not still a great time. Somehow despite the heat, the dust storms, and the crowds, tickets continue to sell out every year before the lineup is even announced. It's also the top-grossing music festival in the world which is saying something. This year, I attended Weekend 2 which is supposedly more relaxed, though I still thought it was pretty darn packed. My fiancé and I weren't in the mood to brave the heat or the mobs so we relaxed in our air-conditioned rental until late-afternoon before heading to the festival each day and found ourselves unwilling to brave the tents (especially the crush of people inside and around the Sahara Tent after a couple of our friends got pick-pocketed there the first night). Instead, we mostly just hung out by the main stages after dusk where there was a lot of open space. FYI, that's where Alessandra Ambrosio likes to hang out, too. We saw her dancing with her daughter there and they were so cute. Didn't get to see all of the acts we wanted to see but we still had a great time and experience overall. The thing about Coachella is that no matter how you feel about the line-up, there's bound to be a set or two that will blow your mind and make your weekend. For me, that was probably Zedd! I also enjoyed catching snippets of amazing performances by artists I previously hadn't heard of like Lemaitre and Alessia Cara (yeah yeah, what do I, live under a rock??)

Playsuit, Spell Designs. Sandals, Skechers. Fringed crossbody, Rebecca Minkoff. Wool hat, H&M.

Tank top dress, Free People. Belt, Loft. Knit bucket bag, Boohoo. Suede ankle boots, Zara. Wool hat, H&M.

Navy gauze top, Free People. Denim shorts, One Teaspooon. Knit bucket bag, Boohoo.

THE FOOD

Pinches tacos...this was pretty good. I would've rather have had Mexicali but it was a trek so I made do with Pinches in a pinch...hehe.

You know how much I love my fried chicken sandwiches from Free Range LA! Somehow, it tasted even better in the desert.

Anyone who goes to Coachella needs to try the Spicy Pie! Although I'm not personally a big fan of spicy pizza, I'll admit it's pretty good and more importantly, it's a Coachella tradition!