Miss me? I'm Back!!

Well, hello there.... remember me?

I know... I haven't posted in over 2 weeks! Eek! Well, I'm Christy in case you forgot and I apologize for my absence. I was on vacation.

I know... sometimes I have been able to post on past trips and sometimes really organized bloggers get all that action ready before they leave. Not me apparently. 

So today I just wanted to share with you about some my adventures and let you know.... I'm baaaaack!

I love to travel. Love it. And I won't spend time lecturing... because no one likes that. But I do want to just give a little of my philosophy on the whole thing. Traveling is good. That's it really. That's my philosophy.

Seriously though - it is good for your soul and good to see what other people and cultures are like. It's good to learn that your way isn't the only way to do things. It's good to leave your comfort zone just a bit and maybe feel a little out of place or a little different... and then see that is all good after all! It makes you realize how big, how amazing and how special this planet that we live on is. 

It also makes you appreciate home. Sure there are things I have found while traveling that I want to buy a lifetime supply of! And I often return with an extra bag or suitcase {yikes!!} of treasures I have found abroad...Plus, I can justify buying when I shouldn't because I may never have the opportunity to again...right?

But there are little things I miss about home and it makes me appreciate them a little more.... I am not even talking about people.... but traveling also makes you miss and think of all the wonderful people in your life.

I am definitely an international traveler when possible, but I also believe it is very important to travel domestically too - whether you are from the U.S. or any country... I think everyone should learn about their own little part of the world. I have been to 38 states and 34 countries. 

The best thing I ever did was teach abroad one year in England - you can read about that HERE - I also did a series of other posts sharing old stories written by me back in 2004-2005 when I did live abroad...click HERE to read the first one and if you enjoy then there is a link to the next one at the bottom of each post. I was away for over 365 consecutive days and since then I have gotten on a plane as often as possible.

This time it is was Iceland and France with one of my best friends. My hubby is in school working about 14 hours a day with almost no days off, so he was happy to see me go...well, not happy.... but you know what I mean. A little happy because maybe he could focus a bit more and because he knows how much I love going places.

Here we are at the airport ready to start our adventure to Iceland and France!

Weird combo of countries you may say.

Here was our thinking... we wanted a new place neither of us have ever been before and an oldie but goodie. Iceland was new and France is a place I have spent one Christmas, 2 New Years and where I was married...... I am basically obsessed with the place and was happy to go back {Yes, I was also there last summer! I love it...what can I say?}

Iceland is beautiful. 

I don't know if I could be a reading teacher there.... really! I always tell my kids "English can be tricky" and sure.....we have some strange things. But I TRIED to learn a little Icelandic.... but man it was hard.

One rule: If the first of the consonants is either p, t, k, s and the second one is j, v, r then the vowel is long. What vowel? And why is this so hard? 

What?!? 

Thankfully almost everyone spoke English there. The people are educated, kind, helpful and just wonderful... but take a moment to check out this map. I don't think I can pronounce one of these street names. 

The first thing you may read about Iceland is the very touristy destination: Blue Lagoon. And yes, this was on a season of the Bachelorette, which is how I {sadly} had first heard of it. But it really did live up to all the hype.

Here I am in the lagoon. It is raining...okay, well sprinkling. And don't think I am inside, oh no 100% outside!! But somehow it was still wonderful and to be honest, I suggest going there on a rainy day since it may be a little less crowded, but still an awesome experience.

Iceland is north.... very north. And this explain the LONG summer days. We were even there for the summer solstice on June 21, the longest day of the year. The sun apparently would set at about midnight and rise at 3:00 a.m.

Even during those short hours of "night" it was never completely dark. This picture was taken from my hotel room about about 12:30 a.m.



Another famous Iceland treat is all the geysers! I learned that "geyser' is actually an Icelandic word that was the proper noun for one geyser and then just became our word for all of them.



I was going to share about France today too.. but I think this is long enough. For now, here I am taking a selfie on the Mediterranean in Juan les Pins.  I'll post about my love for France tomorrow!