Iceland. London. Paris. Nice. Rome. Barcelona. Six cities, five countries, eighteen days, and eye bags for miles. My last European adventure was 2 years ago, a month before I started PA school. It was only fitting that I plan another trip to commemorate graduation and hopefully passing my boards (which I had to take a couple of days before I left for Iceland). We were a group of five, four of us newly graduated, and our personalities I would say were across a wide spectrum. Yet somehow, we made it work. I was better prepared for this trip by bringing along a travel planner—the Wind Blows Travel Planner from MochiThings—that I used to keep track of daily expenses and jotting down things I knew I wanted to remember for later. So without further ado, my attempt at recapturing the latest European adventure!

ICELAND.







This land was pure magic. The scenery was breathtaking, the sights and sounds practically seared into my eyes and ears since the sun never went down in the evenings. The airbnb I booked for our group was in Reykjavik, more specifically, our place was just a five minute walk from the Hallgrimskirkja church. The place looked fantastic, as you can see both rooms we used pictured above. The first was a room I shared with J, puffin stuffed animal included. This was the only country where we rented a car (an absolute must if you want to get around Iceland!) but we had a major misunderstanding at the beginning—it was only a stick shift! The place we picked up our car, ominously called Rent-a-Wreck, was still staffed with one of the nicest fellows we've ever met. He took the time to help M remember how to drive stick shift, and he drove with us part of the way to Reykjavik just in case our car stalled along the highway. We actually did stall several times after he left, even so far as having to flag down a driver when he hit a steep part of the road. M was mortified but I think everyone found a lot of humor in the situation. We meet a traveling couple who had just arrived from Spain. The boyfriend drove our car up to our bnb, parked it, and advised us to wait for our friend D who actually knew how to drive stick shift. Sage advice, of course, but much kudos to M for getting us to our bnb in one piece. Maybe I can add learning how to drive stick shift to my future endeavors?

We were aware of the exorbitant prices of food in Iceland, but it didn't really sink in until we were sitting in a tapas restaurant called Public House where we split three tiny tapas plates and half-off drinks... but still walking away with almost $20 bill each. We resolved to head to the grocery store and bought pasta, spaghetti sauce, bread, and peanut butter. Since we spent the first day just exploring Reykjavik and sleeping off our jet lag, the next days were spent hiking. We started off visiting the Seljalandsfoss where we walked up and behind the roaring waterfall. Eventually, we drove to Skógar village where we started the Fimmvörðuháls hiking trail. The whole trail is about 14 miles towards ice-capped mountains, but we only ventured somewhere between 3-5 miles of it. There was a good amount of climbing and slowly picking our way through rivers. It was my first time drinking glacier water from the streams I walked past. It truly was the best water I've ever tasted in my life.

We eventually headed back and continued our drive, heading towards Jökulsárlón, a glacial lake that was a beautiful sight. There was a seal that popped its head out to greet us as we slid down to reach the water's edge. It bears mentioning that throughout this trip we ducked into almost every souvenir shop we could find. I found two cute luggage tags (one for Ben), a leather bookmark, an Iceland magnet, and a couple sketches of memorable locations in Iceland! Before we committed to the long drive back home, we decided to drive down towards Vik, southern side of Iceland, where we could walk along the Reynisfjara shore which boasted black sand beaches! You could see the basalt sea stacks called Reynisdrangar in the distance from where we stood.

Our last day in Iceland, based on our earlier information gathering, we set aside for visiting the Blue Lagoon. I had reminded the others about one of the bakeries I had read about in Reykjavik called Sandholt bakarí, and L, the early bird, grabbed us all pastries so we could sleep in a bit. The drive to the geothermal spa was easy and the wait to get inside was not long at all. The weather was not as chilly as I feared and thanks to some winter training from Chicago, I found the weather perfect for the spa. We had to put a protective conditioner in our hair before wading in. Apparently, the silica in the water would make our hair brittle for weeks without it! Having never enjoyed a geothermal spa before, this lagoon felt like a small slice of heaven. Add the complimentary mud masks and raspberry slushies and the day was complete. I must remember to bring Ben back to this spot!

After innumerable hours enjoying in the waters, we eventually departed, languid and pleased. We had two more locations we wanted to hit before saying farewell to the country. We drove part of the Golden Circle road to get to the Geysir and Gullfoss waterfall. Both areas were breathtaking and the strong smell of sulphur was not as troubling as it was on our first day. By this point, we had already finished our grocery goods. We ended up eating at the Gullfoss restaurant where they had unlimited lamb soup. It was delicious and hearty. We didn't get much sleep since we had an early flight to London around 2 AM (layover in Cologne, Germany) but we tried to grab sleep where we could. I was also keenly looking forward to London because I expected to receive my results for boards that very day...

LONDON. 










I assumed role of tour guide for the next three cities, starting with London. This city was the only one we booked a hostel which was called The Horse & Stables. Ours was conveniently located by the train station and was attached to a pub that gave us a 15% discount on all food and discounted drinks. The sticky toffee pudding at this pub was also extremely good. I can still vividly recall everyone's expression when I urged them to try the dessert I ordered. One bite and they were hooked! But I digress, when we first arrived, we decided to find a hole-in-the-wall fish&chips place while waiting to check-in to our hostel. I was hungry enough to finish my food but could barely sit still because of the anxiety of waiting to check if I passed. After much trepidation, hand-wringing, and D finding internet so I could check it on her phone, I steeled myself and checked... PASSED. I don't think I've ever been so nervous until that moment but once I saw the words, I felt immense relief. D passed me a tall beer and the day was already looking brighter.

We eventually checked-in to our hostel, took a short nap, and D and I led everyone down to Trafalgar square, after walking past The Eye and the Jubilee Gardens. We crossed Westminster bridge, walked down the Pall Mall, and gaped at the Parliament and Big Ben. We eventually meandered down to Buckingham Palace before the night chill finally bade us to return back to our rooms.

The next day, due to the rain, I led everyone to Harrods where we proceeded to purchase Longchamp totes. As hilarious as it was, the sale was too good to pass up. And while we looked extremely strange to be carrying longchamp totes, I think everyone was pleased. I had to make a small detour afterwards to pick up some perfume at Jo Malone for my mother. The rain was still going strong so we opted for another indoor activity, the British Museum. I think I was the most excited member of our party but no one seemed surprised. I suppose my energy kept the good vibes going? Hopefully? I wished I could have spent more time exploring the museum but eventually our tired feet and hungry stomachs forced us to leave. I had made reservations at a place called The Footman which turned out a little fancier than I had anticipated. There were a lot of well-dressed men at the pub but we were led up one more flight of stairs to the empty dining area. I ordered the Roast rump of lamb with pommes anna, aubergine puree, French beans, and green olive jus. Divine! For dessert, we ordered two plates of sticky toffee pudding and probably devoured the two in five minutes. The server was certainly surprised. We had plans to head out later that night but I think we ended up grabbing drinks at a nearby pub and calling it a night.

Our last day in London, the weather was a little forgiving so we started with the Thames River Cruise. It was nice to get off our feet for a change. The boat dropped us off at Tower Hill. We didn't plan on purchasing tickets to it but at least we got to see the Tower Bridge in all its glory. A hop, skip, and train away, we found ourselves at the western side of Hyde Park. Earlier that morning, D and L heard about a free Harry Potter walking tour, and when I confessed my nerdy obsession, everyone had agreed that we should do it. Bless them! We had to walk briskly through Hyde Park and couldn't make a stop at the Kensington gardens because we were getting dangerously close to missing the start of the tour. Our guide split us into houses and asked trivia questions as we walked around. I, somewhat embarrassed, answered the majority of them. As D said, I wouldn't see these people again, so who cares! She led us down to locations that inspired scenes from the books and films. I would definitely recommend it to any Harry Potter fan, especially given the fact that it's free! By the end of the tour, we were all starving. Before we said our goodbyes to the tour guide, she sold us discounted tickets for a Pub Crawl that very night. I had my reservations (no surprise there), especially since our flight to Paris was the next morning, but I threw caution to the wind and decided to join. Since the pub crawl didn't start till later that evening, we had time for dinner. I had planned on taking everyone to Dishoom for dinner. Since they don't take reservations, I was hoping we stood a chance but sadly no. We ended up heading to another Indiana restaurant nearby that still satisfied our appetites. I ordered the lamb saffron korma and a side of garlic naan. As I write this, my mouth is watering at the memory of the food! Bellies full, we headed to the first of five pubs. In a bid to save money, I only partook in the free shots while the rest tried their best to get inebriated. Many drinks and random photos later, we finally dropped back at the hostel to get ready for our flight to Paris!

And this is where I stop the post because it's getting way too long! Four more cities to go, either 1 or 2 more posts left to chronicle this European adventure. My face is hurting a little from all the smiling I'm doing when I look at these photos. My cup is full. Until next post!