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musicfren · 4 years ago

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the presents they measured (the presence she treasured) part 2

HOLY CAKES y’all! 5000 words and infinity pages later, me and @nottesilhouette have finally finished part two of our blind date fluff fiesta (part 1 here) Notte wrote a really big portion of this and deserve so, so much credit for it. She’s an amazing writer <3 Meanwhile I contributed all the many italics :P Happy @felinettenovember y’all!

“Adrien.”

“Felix.”

“I should have known.”

The class presses closer like onlookers at a street brawl, hemming them in. Felix glares at his infuriatingly pretty adversary from across the flimsy classroom table. So here stood the pretender, the imitation, the counterfeit who thinks he can outdo Felix in this game of grandiose. The air between them is taught as a heartstring, dangerously close to snapping, causing irreparable damage to the function of one of their hearts, and it’s a toss-up whose is going to make it out intact.

Felix steels himself. He is not going to lose, and he is not going to break.

At last, Adrien breaks the sharp silence. “So, why are we here?”

And then, from the back of the crowd, a malicious, irritated voice rings out, punctuated with the crisp pop of a bubblegum snapping.

“This has to stop now,” says Chloe, nose red from allergies, immaculate hair ruined by the rushing crowds. She plucks confetti from her hair, crinkling her nose, and dusts ash from her jacket disdainfully, still reeking of cherry blossom candle wax.

“Whatever it is that you’re going through, everyone else is sick of it and we are putting an end to it NOW!”

Felix and Adrien push back in perfect unison:

“But no one’s won yet!”

“How will we know who won?”

Half the class gave them a deadpan look. The other half, less subtle, just outright glared. Chloe checks her nails, and then flinches when she notices one is chipped. She hadn’t even noticed it chipping in the midst of all the chaos, which goes to show exactly how out of hand this has gotten. It needs to get back in hand, and that hand needs a manicure!

“Okay, listen up, you walnuts.” (This was clearly becoming a popular insult around the school) “Cuh-learly this nonsense isn’t going to stop until one of you meatheads gets handed a trophy and told by your daddy you did a good job. So, as surrogate daddy for the day, I am officially announcing the Grande Bataille pour Marinette. SABRINA!”

Sabrina scampers over with a flustered “yes, Chloe!” and a cascade of papers from the stack she carries under one arm. After several seconds of fumbling, she proudly produces an enormous poster, nearly as tall as she is.

“The rules are simple.” (They aren’t.) “You’ll each get a series of clues about something to do with Marinette. What chocolate she likes or something, I don’t care. Anyway, you’ll go where the clue tells you and do your little dance or whatever, and whichever of you gets to the end first will be set up on a blind date with Marinette. Then you can drown her in these stupid roses for all I care. Not my problem”

Felix looks from Chloe to Adrien. Adrien looks from Felix to Chloe. Chloe glares them both down in equal measure. They quail and nod, despite having absolutely no clue what this game is or how it works, because it seems like a good time to get out of that room. But whatever it is, the game is about to begin.

Chloe greets them with an irritated huff in the middle of central park. It’s a calm, sunny day, far too cheerful for the occasion. Felix arrives late, having almost gotten lost on the way twice and sprinting the rest of the way. Adrien chuckles as Felix skids to a halt, panting, already not off to a good start. Felix glares back, but if he has a response it’s lost among his sputtering gasps.

Chloe taps one irritated foot against the grass. Clearly she doesn’t want to be here any longer than she needs to be.

“Late already, I see. Whatever, lets just get on with this.”

Felix, still barely able to breath, raises a hand to tell her wait, but Chloe seems to have no interest in having this take any longer than necessary. With the air of someone picking up a particularly disgusting piece of laundry, she pulls out a sheet of paper with two fingers.

“What is… Marinette's… favorite color?”

Felix’s eyes go wide. They’re going to start with something this simple? And so quickly? This is less a test of knowledge than of reflexes! Oh no... he has to answer now, right now, before Adrien answers first. Okay, um... It was obviously green of course, everyone knew that. It was green right? Right...?

The gifts she got were green. And she hangs out with Chat Noir, right? Marinette had said so often that he was her favorite hero, and she definitely likes black but she says it’s not a real color, and Felix was starting to get dizzy with the lack of oxygen to his brain, and the world was spinning, and he needed to answer right now, and--

No time to think. With all the scarce air left in his lungs, Felix croaks out “Green!”

Adrien looks at him with baffled incredulity. “...Dude, it’s literally pink, have you ever seen her?”

Oh, bother.

Chloe claps with such immense lack of enthusiasm, Felix thinks she might fall asleep right there.

“Bravo, bravo. Adrien, you get a five minute head start. Felix, not gonna lie, that was pretty stupid, I’ll tell you when you can go. Next clue is just in front of Marinette’s bakery. You do know the way there I hope?”

Adrien gives a mock salute and sprints off, leaving Felix to forlornly watch his hopes vanish into the distance.

Despite having more time, more breath, and a considerably higher morale on his side, Adrien manages to arrive at the bakery exactly as Felix does. Silently, he curses his sense of direction. Of course he knew where Marinette’s bakery was. Of course he did. He just… had a moment of confusion during which he needed to look up the bakery by name because he didn’t have the address saved anywhere on his phone. That was all.

Felix is far too out of breath to focus on anything other than remaining alive. He trots weakly up to Sabrina who stands outside the bakery doors, a large official-looking binder tucked under one arm.

“Oh, you’re here. Good.” She flips through her binder intently without looking at them. They wait in tense silence as she searches for the correct page. The wind tosses Felix’s hair into a disheveled mess.

Adrien gives him a wry nudge “Maybe you should take the time to study. You seem to be a little shaky on your basics.”

“Maybe you should learn how to see, Adrien, or did you miss the fact that the bakery is literally in full view of the park?”

“...touché”

“Ah!” At long last, Sabrina has found the appropriate page. With a small, self-satisfied smile, she thumbs the edge of the page and looks up at them.

“Which class does Marinette enjoy the most?”

Felix, by this point, has lost all sense of coherency. What does enjoy even mean, anymore? Well, Felix certainly isn’t enjoying this game he was losing. Losing, losing… What is Marinette good at? That’s got to be something she enjoys, right?

...what isn’t Marinette good at? Felix drifts in his thoughts, flashing through memories of her bright enthusiasm, the flush riding high on her cheeks in every class, the way she chews her pencil when she thinks and the scribbles on her arms, every word a work of art in her hands. The only time he’s ever seen her sink into her seat, hide her face in her hands, turn pallid and pale is…

Gosh, she’s just good at everything isn’t she?

“Everything except physics!” Felix blurts out before his exhausted mind can catch up to him. Sabrina looks at him in bewilderment, finger hovering above her binder. Is he serious? she thinks, mouth starting to hang open in question. Then, five whole seconds after Felix’s brain has crashed over the barricade and careened into the valley below, Adrien’s brain slowly sputters to life.

“Um… I have art with her third period! So… probably that one!”

Sabrina’s gaping mouth hangs a little lower. “What?!” She manages through a wheeze.

Felix jolts. “Wait!!! I thought the question is which is she best at, can I answer again?!”

“...unfortunately, despite having completely awful reasoning, Adrien has gotten the question right. He will progress to Marinette’s favorite fabric store five minutes before you will.”

Felix sulks. Adrien smirks, and looks up the directions on his phone first this time.

It’s awkward standing there with Sabrina waiting for the seconds to tick by. She’s typing away rapidly on her phone, not even acknowledging Felix’s presence, glancing around idly at anything but him. Felix is still trying to work out Adrien’s reasoning. Is that her favorite class because he’s in it? Did they mean which experience does she most enjoy, or which subject? Does Adrien know something Felix doesn’t, about who Marinette likes spending time with, or is he just too sheltered to consider how Marinette exists outside of when she’s with Adrien?

Four minutes and thirteen seconds into his wait, she glances up and then her eyes blow wide. Her typing speeds up more than Felix thought was humanly possible, and her mouth purses into a thin line, her skin pale and clammy despite the unusually warm day. There is an absolute cacophony of text notifications that makes his head spin. At last, she looks up at Felix.

“Okay, go.”

“...what?”

“Go!” She waves a frantically dismissive hand as if that explains things any further.

“Um… okay?” Says Felix, glancing at the watch that still visibly has time left on it. He’s not about to waste one of his precious seconds though, and bolts off towards where he hopes the fabric store is. Time is wasting.

Besides. Sabrina looked about ready to murder him if it got him out of there.

Sabrina watches him go, glancing anxiously from her phone to the bakery window, and calls the class. There’s been a situation.

Marinette is thinking of going for a walk (it is a beautifully calm, sunny day after all) when she spots Sabrina outside the bakery window. Chloe’s friend-turned-servant-turned-friend-again has always been awkward around her, ever since the day Marinette had (temporarily) convinced her to stand up for herself. Still, Marinette thinks it might be nice to have someone to spend the day with, and waves to Sabrina before hurrying out the door.

Sabrina meets her at the door with a “Hi, Marinette!” so aggressive they both nearly fall over backwards.

“H… hey, Sabrina!” She says with an awkward smile. “Um… what brings you around here?”

She’s trying to look over Sabrina’s shoulder, maybe see if anyone came with her, but Sabrina almost instantly slides to block her view.

“Just! Going for a walk! Do you want to… walk… together?”

“I was going to, but you seem to be blocking the door?”

“Oh… yeah…” Sabrina looks over her shoulder and does not move.

“Um…”

About ten seconds of awkward silence later, Sabrina’s wall across the doorframe abruptly vanishes, as she practically yanks Marinette outside. “Come! Walk! Let's do that, where do you want to go?”

Baffled, Marinette takes a minute just to blink in the new light. “I… was planning on going to the park.” She figures that, with the rare beautiful, warm, clear day in December, it would be a good chance to people-watch and sketch ideas in her notebook for new outfits.

“NO!” It’s the most vehement Marinette has ever seen Sabrina and Marinette recoils from the suggestion immediately, not wanting anything that makes her friend uncomfortable. Even if the word friend applies loosely here.

“...or we could just… visit downtown for a bit?”

If Sabrina had it her way, the two of them would go straight up to Marinette’s room and stay there straight up until the date rolled around. Since she doesn’t get to have that, this seems like an acceptable compromise. Downtown is plenty big enough. Right?

Ten minutes later, and it’s too late to stop Marinette from going to her favorite store. To buy fabric.

Sabrina whimpers quietly and sends a few more texts.

By the time Felix gets to the store, Adrien has already answered and slipped out the door. Felix catches him smirking a few steps away from the storefront, but something about it looks off, a little strange. He looks haunted, stricken behind his smugness.

Felix bursts into the store and spots Juleka, and immediately blurts out: “Did Adrien get it right?!”

She shakes her head and ducks behind her bangs, and mumbles, “He said she likes to look pretty. And make other people pretty.”

So Adrien has incurred his first five minute penalty.

...and he’s still ahead!!! Felix growls, and decides on a new strategy. It must be more efficient to focus on getting the answer right than getting it fast at this point, because another five minute delay is irreparable, but a two or three minute delay might still be recoverable. He waits impatiently for the question, but Juleka is engrossed in her texts.

As soon as he opens his mouth to demand fair play, Juleka grabs his arm and yanks him forcibly behind a mannequin. “Why did Marinette start designing for fashion?” she hisses in his ear, pulling him abruptly away and into a new aisle. Felix’s heart leaps to his throat. He can feel a jumble of incoherent words clamoring to burst out. He swallows them, and they taste like bile.

No. He needs a right answer, right now.

It’s hard to think, though, with the way Juleka keeps shoving him around, even going so far as to kick him behind his knees, sending him crashing to the floor in a heap. She makes up for it by helping him back up later, but does it count if she’s the one that put him there, and then held him there for long minutes by kicking at him again when he pushed himself upright?!

Finally, he manages to gasp out between one move and another, “Because… clothes are a representation of who you are, and there are too many people with no choices except the same hyper-idealized body types and colors, and Marinette wants to make them feel at home in their own skin.” He says it all in one rushed, nerve-wracking breath, and forgets to breathe altogether when Juleka nods. It’s his first correct answer. He did it. He did it.

And yet Juleka still doesn’t let him go, her vice-like grip on his wrist not letting up at all. Precious seconds are getting lost, and she wont. Let. Go.

Finally, finally Juleka seems to get the divine signal she had been waiting for, because she hisses the next location in his ear and shoves him through the door. And then, immediately after he steps outside, the worst happens.

Marinette figures, being downtown already, she’ll take the opportunity to pick up the order of fabric she’d placed, since the confirmation email came in this morning. It’ll save her a trip tomorrow, at least.

Sabrina seems to despise this shop with a vengeance, whining and pulling on Marinette’s sleeve to go anywhere else, but it’s Marinette’s favorite. All the complaints only make Marinette more determined to show Sabrina why this one is so good.

Stepping in, Marinette makes her way cheerfully to the counter, where she strikes up a conversation with the now-familiar cashier. The two of them strike up a grand campaign to show Sabrina around the store, making the redhead cringe and quiver with every new section of the store. Her eyes seem hunted, constantly flicking back and forth looking for predators, seeming to track something Marinette never quite manages to catch.

At one point, Marinette swears she sees Sabrina mouthing the name Juleka, and the word run on multiple occasions. But that would be super weird, so she assumes she’s just imagined it.

Finally, Marinette steps up to the counter to package up the fabrics she’d ordered, plus a few odds and ends she noticed as they had walked around that she liked. There is, behind her, a mad patter of steps and then the chime of the door opening, but by the time Marinette turns to look, the door is swinging empty back and forth.

And then the akuma alarms go off.

Luckily, it’s Mister Pigeon, because apparently the lure of a sunny day was too much for him to resist feeding his pigeons.

Unluckily, this is going to set Felix back ages in the competition.

Still, he does enjoy getting to talk comfortably with Ladybug, since the fight is so repetitive. They’ve both done this a thousand times, and the motions of defeating him feel like slipping into well-worn pyjamas.

“So what’s been bugging you, ma coccinelle?” Her shoulders are tense, movements awkward. He knows her well enough to know it isn’t the akuma that’s causing this stress.

She grimaces. “...this fight is nothing compared to the one in my civilian life.” She shoots him an exhausted grin, and his heart aches at the sight of it. He tries for reassuring and winces as his words fall flat.

“Oh, dear. What’s going on? Certainly nothing a hero like you can’t handle,” he winks, and then flinches away from a barrage of pigeon excrement and his own awkwardness.

“...you ever think about how nice it would feel to have two people love you so much they’d fight over you?”

This, he’s familiar with. Perhaps not the same way, but he’s loved something like that. Loves someone like that. “I’d imagine you’d enjoy them trying to outdo each other for you, putting so much effort into pleasing you, yes?”

Ladybug slips into a corner and calls for her Lucky Charm, then turns to answer him. “You’d think, but this is neither lucky NOR charming. I… I feel like a prize. I don’t even know if these people know me at all, or anything about what matters to me. I thought I’d like having secret admirers, but it feels like more of a mask than ours.” She looks at him fondly through a slew of pigeon feathers. “At least I know who you are, Chaton, even if I don’t know what your name is.”

He has nothing to say to that, so turns to tackle the villain with particular aggression, slapping sharp beaks and sharp talons away from her so she can focus, and so she can keep talking.

“I don’t know. I just want it to end. I want to matter to somebody, I want to be their priority, y’know? I don’t want big gifts that seem more focused on outdoing the last and an audience for my every reaction-- honestly, they’re worse than the press!!” He catches her shooing away a stray reporter, and grins. She grins back. “It’s like I’m the prize at a gladiator fight, and I’m not sure if I’m the woman he marries or the meat the lion gets, and I’m not sure which is better.”

That last line, paired with her sweet, soft grin is what breaks him. Quietly, he answers. “I’m… not sure there is a better.”

She tosses him the akumatized object and he catches it with claws covered with cataclysm. It crumbles in his grip, and he grins weakly as her yo-yo shoots out to catch the corrupted butterfly.

“Yeah, exactly!! I’m glad you know that, even if they don’t. My… my classmates said they’d take care of it for me, so hopefully it’ll be over soon. I’ll be glad when I can stop performing my adoration for these presents that I don’t even really like anymore.”

“You'd rather have someone just be present, huh.”

“...yeah.” Her earrings give off their last warning beeps, and she startles. “I’ve gotta go, Chaton, but… thank you for listening! You… don’t always say much and I know we don’t know a lot about each other, but I know that… you might not know my favorite color, or whatever, but you know the things that matter to me. The things that make me who I am, that drive me. We have the rest of our lives to learn those things.” Impulsively, she kisses her cheek and then swings away before Chat can respond, leaving him gaping useless at the skyline for a solid minute.

When he comes back to himself, he chuckles quietly, and then decides he has enough time on his ring (and enough selfishness in him) to jump through the city as Chat Noir, which brings him to the Farmer’s Market much more quickly than Felix ever would’ve made it on foot.

Adrien, between navigating downtown on his own for the first time and the akuma attack, arrives at quite the same time as Felix, and glowers miserably at his rival for having caught up.

Maybe Ladybug’s luck was rubbing off on Felix after all.

They meet Luka behind a stall of hand pressed apple juice and apple tarts and some very distracted candied apples that Felix eyes, tempted, before focusing on their clue.

…Luka looks at them solemnly for a long moment, and then plays a deep, rich chord. He pauses for a second to let it ring out before playing another, deeper, even richer chord.

No one dares interrupt. Nodding, satisfied, Luka begins playing a melody. It’s staccato, plucky, but gradually shifts into a neatly balanced harmony, before ending on a final, unimaginably rich chord that rings out into the silence. Then he simply looks at them, calmly, expectantly. Clearly neither Adrien nor Felix have worked out what the heck this is supposed to be.

At long last, Adrien ventures to ask, “Um...what’s the clue?” “The answer. Is within. The question.” Says Luka without pause.

Felix, with more emphasis, asks again. Luka, now very grave, responds: “Be wise. And be true. To your love.”

Felix looks at Adrien. Adrien looks at Felix. Luka looks contemplatively at an apple, and then wanders a little ways off following a bird. Adrien and Felix chase after him, and ask as one with great urgency: “What’s the clue?”

Luka lets out the infinitely mournful sigh of misunderstood artists everywhere. “...fine. The question, since you two clearly didn’t understand the first three times, is: what does Marinette want most from her future?”

There is a long pause as both boys try to work out how they were supposed to understand this from any of the previously given information. Then, collecting themselves, they both answer in a rush, tripping over each other to be the first to answer.

“A fashion designer, with three kids and a gerbil!”

Felix is still talking as Adrien finishes, and feels three sizes too big in his skin as he keeps talking, awkward and gangly and ridiculous. “She wants… the ability to be independent and self-sustaining without losing her passion for loving and caring for others.” Then, absentmindedly, he adds, “also, pretty fashion.”

Another painfully long pause. Then Luka abruptly plays a sharp, twangy chord, so loud and sudden that the two boys jump.

“Good job, Felix!” He says, nodding approvingly “Sometimes the song isn’t just about the melody. You get a five minute head start.”

The blue-haired boy leans against a nearby stall and, satisfied, plays a contemplative chord. Then another. Then another. Felix watches him, confused, trying to determine the hidden message until Luka interjects “Four minutes”, and sends Felix scampering off.

He almost gets to the edge of the market before a thought occurs to him and he backtracks for a moment. Marinette had mentioned once the way she had finally, for the first time, eaten a candied apple she liked and fell in love with it, and the ones he’d noticed at the stall are the same gourmet brand she had loved. She had rambled to him for twenty minutes about how cutting the apple into slices had improved the balance of flavors so well, and why had she never thought of that before, and how the caramel was creamy and soft and sweet without being overpowering or brittle or sticky, and how creative the flavor combinations were.

Felix grabs s’mores, which was her favorite, and toffee-dark chocolate, which she had wanted to try but didn’t get to.

Getting this for her is worth losing his lead.

Then he nearly jumps out of his own skin and bones when he notices Marinette just a few steps away, peering at another stall, and panics for a second, but Sabrina (who is by now very frazzled) rushes after Marinette and reminds her that she needs to get home and changed soon, and didn’t she want to pick up some red bean paste before that? Better hurry!!!

Marinette, for the first time all day, doesn’t protest. Felix takes the fastest route to her house, in case her red bean paste excursion goes more quickly than he expects.

In front of her house again, they meet Nino, who is looking uncharacteristically serious.

The question he asks knocks Felix off balance, and by the time he even begins to get his wits around him, Adrien has caught up and Nino is posing the question to him, too.

“What is Marinette most afraid of in a relationship?”

Adrien answers first. “She’s worried she won’t end up with me.” Nino looks at him for a long moment, and then clearly makes a decision. Adrien is asked to elaborate, and he doesn’t hesitate before adding that “Marinette wants someone who’s kind like her, and who knows the little details about her. She’s afraid to be with someone who doesn’t pay attention to her because it shows they don’t care, and she doesn’t want someone who drags her down with heavy, loaded conversations.”

Felix’s heart sinks. Is that true? Has Adrien won before Felix ever even got to attempt the question? His heart rate spikes until Nino, very carefully, says: “It’s Felix’s turn to answer. Whoever is closer wins, unless we decide you’re both tied, in which case you’re you’ll get a chance to answer again.”

“...shouldn’t you have explained that first?!”

Nino shrinks and smiles nervously, scratching the back of his neck. “Uh… haha… oops?”

Felix decides it’s more important to answer. Nino will still be around to traumatize later, after all. He takes another moment, savoring the sensation to have time to think for the first time all day. Recalling the conversation with Ladybug from earlier, Felix realizes that Marinette and Ladybug are similar in a lot of ways. They’re strong, they care so much about the people they love, and maybe they’re both absolutely terrified of being seen as an idol or a pretty face, a trophy or a derivative of their history, or a doormat for their kindness and compassion. They don’t care about knowing something that they can tell someone else between casual conversations through the rest of their lives. They’re worried that they’ll get in a relationship and not be seen, and not be heard.

He says so.

Nino nods, and points Felix towards the park.

He won? He won!!! He--

...he gets to go on a date with Marinette.

Felix is slammed with the realization that he hasn’t won now. He… he knows Marinette, and he knows her well, and that’s not something he thought he would get to be able to say today. It’s more than winning or losing, all of a sudden. It’s friendship.

And, with a little luck and a lot of patience, maybe it’ll be more.

Adrien suddenly bursts in on his revelry. “It’s not fair! That was a stupid question, how was anyone supposed to know that?”

The taller boy steps towards Felix, towering over him. Felix takes an involuntary step back.

“You didn’t deserve to win. She likes me!” Spittle is flying from Adrien's face, his precious model-coiffed blond hair hanging ragged over his face. Felix starts to back away, or point out that he had, in fact, known the answer by asking Marinette questions about herself and listening when she talked, and putting the pieces together, but a kernel of compassion grows in his stomach.

“She does like you. That’s why she’s your friend. And if she likes you more than that, I know she’ll let you know.”

Adrien is looking at him silently, aghast as to how he could have been wrong. Then he storms off, muttering something about lawyers. Felix chooses not to gloat, because there’s nothing to gloat about. He hopes Adrien can get to know Marinette well, too. She’s worth the effort. He knows that now.

He meets Marinette at the park, where the rest of the class has been setting up a picnic date. It’s gorgeous, with soft blankets laid out, pillows strewn across the edges of the blankets bordering a feast of their favorite foods. Candles flicker on nearby benches and fairy lights are strewn up through the trees, and it’s a miracle the weather has cooperated the entire day, honestly.

“You would not BELIEVE what I had to get through to get here,” he starts, knowing how much Marinette loves a good story.

“I’m… Alya just told me what shenanigans had happened today, because I wouldn’t stop asking why Sabrina was having a nervous breakdown by the end of the day. How’d you get that last question right, anyways?” She laughs, somehow bright and awkward at the same time. “I’m not even sure I know the answer!”

Felix feels a blush blooming across his skin. “Well, I thought-- y’know-- it’s just that--” Marinette interrupts him with a hand over his, and he swallows. “...you just… reminded me of someone I know.”

“That’s a pretty special someone you’ve got there.”

“...there’s a pretty special someone I’ve got right here, too.”

They take a minute to eat, and snuggle into each other, and bask in the moment, the warmth of each other and the brisk sharpness of windchill and the twinkling lights of all the love (and maybe desperate frustration) their friends have poured into making this happen.

Hours pass like that, half in comfortable silence, half in excited, rambling chatter. When the wind picks up, Marinette glances at her long-discarded coat and curls up tighter against Felix. He slips his hands into his gloves and holds her tight.

They’re dozing off like that, half asleep in each other’s arms, when Marinette breaks the silence, eyes still closed, mumbling against his shoulder.

“I guess it’s not much of a blind date anymore, but…” She leans in and kisses his cheek, ghosting over the still-warm presence of Ladybug’s kiss. “...I’m glad it was you here.”

#felinette november #felinette #felinette month 2020 #miraculous ladybug #too many italics #guys #she's not a prize #he is so smitten he will discover her deepest fears #and that's valid of him #meanwhile: Adrien's a jackass #and luka's a beautiful space creature #and chloe is a mean girls girl #and every single word is in italics #and the plot don't stop

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elluceromarket · 3 years ago

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Market

Full Address: 2 N Cherokee Ln Lodi, CA 95240

Phone: 209-333-3721

Website: https://www.elluceromarket.com

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Working hours: M-F 4:30am-6pm, Saturday-4:30-5pm, Sunday 7am-2pm

Payment Options: Ebt, Cash, Visa, Amex, Google pay, Apple pay

Business Keywords: mexican bakery, mexican market, mexican snacks

El Lucero Market is a family-owned and operated Mexican Panadería, Convenience Store and Deli, located in Lodi, California. For decades, its owners Jesus and Teresa Lopez have served the Central Valley of CA, providing traditional Mexican dishes, products, and goodies for people to enjoy.

Today, El Lucero Market is a community staple for the entire city of Lodi. You can find anything you are looking for, from hot Mexican food, like burritos, tamales, and tortillas, to groceries and snacks of all sorts, and of course, their famous traditional Mexican bakery, which makes the best pan dulce in town.

In El Lucero, the day starts with an authentic flavor fiesta. The most delicious Mexican baked goods and pan dulce you’ve ever tasted are here, baked fresh daily in the best Mexican panadería on the way from Stockton to Sacramento. If you are feeling hungry, try El Lucero’s unique traditional dishes to-go, like Burritos, Tortas, Tortilla, Chile Relleno, Chile Verde, and much more! The Deli is open daily Monday through Sunday. Stop by and grab a coffee, a burrito, tamale, or all of the above! Everything is authentic, handmade, and prepared fresh daily.

Stop by El Lucero and discover first-hand the treasures hidden inside!

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insincerelycrowley · 4 years ago

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Setting The Alarm Clock

Summary: Crowley has finally woken up from his Lockdown nap, only to find that something very strange has been happening in his flat.

Word Count: 1980

Warnings: N/A

A/N: My contribution to to #AwakeTheSnake

Crowley hated mornings. So, it was particularly irritating that it happened to be a morning when he woke from his nap. At least, he thought it was morning, judging from the noise of birds nesting outside his window – annoying little buggers.

Crowley was just about to roll over and check what time (month?) it was, when he noticed something…odd. There was a strange smell to his flat. It almost smelled like someone had been - baking? That couldn’t be right though, could it?

Finally opening his eyes and levering himself out of bed, Crowley found that the smell was just the start of some unusual occurrences. Taking a good look around his bedroom he saw…almost nothing. All his furniture and belongings were gone apart from the bed and the bedside table. The table itself held nothing but his phone and a glass of water (which had not been there before he went to sleep).

Confusion mounting, Crowley left his bedroom, and promptly tripped over a pile of boxes left just outside the doorway. This was another thing that had definitely not been there before his nap. Peaking inside the box at the top of the pile, he saw that it was filled with some of the smaller items from his office. His globe, various astronomy books, and his prized sketch of the Mona Lisa were all stashed away inside. Something weird was going on here.

Intending to check his office for himself, Crowley stopped as he passed his plant room. Something was wrong. There was a distinct lack of fear coming from inside. Peeking into the room, he was horrified to find that it had been completely cleared out. There was nothing left but a few (still pristine) leaves on the floor. Something that felt a lot like anger clenched in his gut at the sight.

Pushing away from the door, Crowley entered his office and felt the clench in his stomach grow tighter. His throne was gone. Someone had taken his throne. If he was angry before, he was furious now. Gritting his teeth Crowley stomped back out of the office, and immediately doubled back when he noticed yet another empty space from the corner of his eye. Staring at the bare hallway floor where his statue of good and evil…wrestling…had once been, Crowley found himself thoroughly perplexed at how anyone had managed to get something like that out of the building without him noticing.

He was broken out of his confused musings by the sound of humming originating from his kitchen (absently he noted that it resembled Beethoven’s Symphony no. 6). Snarling and just barely resisting the urge to summon hellfire, Crowley went to confront whoever had invited themselves into his flat.

Striding into the room with as much swagger as a demon in silk pyjamas could muster, Crowley’s eyes widened when he found almost every available surface covered in cake. Looking around what had once been his kitchen, his gaze landed on the figure facing the oven.

“Angel?”

Aziraphale jolted at the sound and turned around. Catching sight of Crowley, he broke into a brilliant smile that made the demon’s heart stutter in his chest.

“Crowley! Oh, my dear I’m so glad you’re finally awake!”

Crowley stared for a moment, willing his brain to switch back online. He tried desperately to make sense of the scene in front of him, but after a few moments had to admit defeat and ask “Angel, what’s going on?”

Aziraphale’s smile only seemed to get brighter.

“Well I did tell you I’d taken up baking before you went to sleep dear.” Seeming to notice the state of the kitchen he chuckled and added “although I admit, I may have gotten a little carried away.”

Crowley blinked. “Yes, I can see that, but what are you doing here?”

Aziraphale seemed unfazed by the question.

“Oh, of course – well, it occurred to me that you’ve acquired a lovely collection of plants over the years. I was dreadfully concerned about what would happen to them in your absence, so I just popped in to check on the poor dears. I fully intended to go straight back to the bookshop when I was done, but…”

“But?”

The angel fidgeted slightly. “I may have become a little distracted, and never actually got around to leaving…”

Crowley fought hard to push aside the warmth blossoming in his chest. “So, you’ve just been living here while I was asleep then?”

“For the most part, yes. I have been out once or twice to attend to some important business, but I’ve always seemed to find my way back here.”

“I thought you said visiting was against the rules?”

“It was! The rules have been somewhat relaxed now. Households can meet under certain circumstances…and…I got worried when you didn’t call. I had to make sure you were safe.”

There was that warmth again, it was harder to push aside this time. Crowley sniffed and tried to appear nonchalant. “I left you a message.”

“I know, but I had to make sure – if only for my own peace of mind. However, once I was here, I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving you. I didn’t want you to be alone.”

Crowley felt a lump come to his throat. As he was trying to swallow past it, a thought suddenly occurred to him. “Wait – did you pack all my things?”

Aziraphale smiled and nodded. “Yes, of course.”

Crowley blinked again. The angel admitted it so easily, as though turning up to someone else’s flat and packing up all their belonging while they slept was a perfectly reasonable thing to do. “I-I’m gonna regret asking but –”

“Well I didn’t exactly know how long you would be asleep for dearest. I thought it best to just make a start and hope everything would be ready for when you woke up.”

Crowley had the impression he was missing a vital piece of information. “What – Angel, what on earth are you talking about?”

Aziraphale seemed to consider his answer for a moment. “While you were asleep, I started thinking about how there’s still so much that can keep us separated. This lockdown is just the latest in a long list. I know we’ve been apart before, and this shouldn’t be any different – but it is different now Crowley. I want it to be different now.”

“Different how?” The words felt heavy on Crowley’s tongue.

Aziraphale smiled. “The solution is obvious when you think about it my dear. After all, no one could ever object to us seeing each other if we lived together, now could they?”

The angel looked immensely proud of himself as he finished speaking. Meanwhile Crowley was having an extraordinarily hard time processing what had been said. He let out a string of cut-off noises before finally forcing out “So, what? You’re planning on moving me into the bookshop then?”

Aziraphale scoffed. “Of course I’m not moving you into the bookshop my dear – the living space is much too cramped for both of us. No dearest, the bookshop wouldn’t work at all I’m afraid. Although I’m not sure that I can bare to part with it completely…no, I think I’ll keep hold of it as extra storage for my collection. Oh, and it would be awfully convenient for us to have somewhere to stay for night or two on the occasions we come back to London. You should certainly have the option of not driving back straight away if it’s late. Of course I suppose we could just as well stay here on those occasions – if you want to keep hold of the flat that is.”

Crowley felt like he and Aziraphale were having two vastly different conversations, but he was making a valiant effort to piece them together. “Whoa, Whoa, Angel slow down – what do mean when we visit London? And If I keep hold of this place? I’m trying to keep up here, really I am, but you’re gonna have to help me out a little.”

“Well I just thought that we’d need a little more space, and it might be nice to get out of the city – go somewhere quieter. Here.”

Aziraphale produced a travel agents’ brochure from underneath a plate of scones. Flicking the brochure open, he turned it towards Crowley, showing him an advertisement for a beautiful cottage. Voice brimming with enthusiasm, Aziraphale continued. “It has a garden, and plenty of space for my most treasured books - the view is simply breath-taking! It’s just down the road from the most delightful little bakery! Oh, and it’s close to a valley called Devil’s Dyke – I thought you would appreciate that.” He gave Crowley a wry smile.

Opening and closing his mouth a few times Crowley tried again to grasp where the angel was going with this. “Angel – I still have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. Why are you showing me pictures of a cottage?”

“Well because it’s ours of course!”

“What do you mean it’s ours?”

“I bought it.”

“You – you bought a cottage?”

“Well – yes.”

“For us?”

“Yes.”

“To live in – together?”

“Yes, obviously to live in together Crowley, I wouldn’t buy a cottage just for myself, now would I?”

Crowley was silent for a long time, just staring at Aziraphale. Long enough that Aziraphale’s smile faded and he began to fidget under the scrutiny.

“You’re not happy.” The angel stated bluntly. “I knew I should have waited – and I definitely should have asked before just packing up your belongings! I had no right to do that. I shouldn’t have just assumed you would want the same thing. I’m so sorry…I-I just got excited, and I fear I’ve gotten rather carried away…”

“Angel, Angel, stop – I didn’t say I wasn’t happy, did I?”

Aziraphale wrung his hands together. “You’re not upset with me?”

“Of course I’m not – I’m just…. surprised. It was a surprise, that’s all.”

The angel hesitated for a moment before venturing “a good one?”

Crowley smiled softly. “The very best.”

Aziraphale visibly sagged in relief. He smiled at the demon before jolting upright with a sudden realisation. “Oh! I completely forgot – you’ve only just woken up. You must be hungry. Sit down and I’ll get you some cake.”

“I’m fine Angel.” Crowley tried to protest, but Aziraphale was already ushering him to sit at the breakfast bar.

“Nonsense – you’ve been asleep for months; you may be a demon, but you still need to eat something.” Aziraphale said placing a slice of sponge cake and a cup of coffee next to him. Crowley instantly lifted the cup to his lips to hide the ridiculous smile forming there at the Angel’s fussing.

“So, when did you want to move in?” The demon asked.

Aziraphale froze for a moment. “You’re sure Crowley? You’re not just indulging me? Because if you need more time…”

“I’m sure Angel, there’s nothing to think about. Just say when and we’ll go.”

Aziraphale lit up at immediately. “We can go whenever we want. I’ve been popping out to the cottage whenever I can to get it ready and move things over – there’s barely anything left to do. We could go now if we wanted!”

Crowley chuckled – “Well maybe we can wait until after breakfast, but if you want to go today then we will.” He paused. “So, go on then – I know you’re just dying to tell me all about it down to which curtains you’ve picked out.” He teased.

Aziraphale was all too happy to comply, and launched into excited chatter about their cottage as the demon felt the smile he’d been holding back break free.

Crowley didn’t need to see the cottage to know that it would be perfect. Anywhere the angel picked out for them would have been. The building and the location didn’t matter, Crowley’s home had always been Aziraphale.

#GoodOmens #good omens fanfiction #good omens #AWAKE THE SNAKE #Aziraphale #crowley #crowley's nap #fanfic

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toojaysrestaurant · 4 years ago

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TooJay’s Restaurant in Vero Beach

Originally posted here: https://www.toojays.com/location/vero-beach-restaurant-treasure-coast-plaza/

TooJay’s Deli, Bakery and Restaurant is located in Vero Beach, Florida at 555 21st Street, in Treasure Coast Plaza, west of Indian River Boulevard and east of U.S. Highway 1 and near the intersection of 6th Avenue and 21st Street. TooJay’s menu offers a wide variety of delicious options from the best burgers in Vero Beach like the Burger á la TooJay’s, Pastrami Burger and Patty Melt, to traditional deli favorites like the Reuben, hot Corned Beef and Turkey Breast sandwiches. A selection of classic comforts, made-from-scratch soups, salads, hot handhelds and desserts also are available. TooJay’s Restaurant in Vero Beach is a great place to grab a bite to eat after a day spent enjoying the beach or at South Beach Park, golfing at Quail Valley Golf Club or Riomar Country Club, running errands at the AT&T Store on Treasure Coast Plaza or The UPS Store on Treasure Coast Plaza, shopping at Publix Supermarket at Treasure Coast Plaza, The Fresh Market on 21st Street, Edible Arrangements or ABC Fine Wine & Spirits on 21st Street, banking at Space Coast Credit Union on 21st Street, Chase Bank on Indian River Blvd. or Bank of America on 21st Street, or vacationing at the Hampton Inn & Suites Vero Beach Downtown or Howard Johnson by Wyndham Vero Beach / Downtown. TooJay’s also serves popular breakfast and brunch items, including a variety of Eggs Benedict, skillets, mimosas and omelets. TooJay’s also offers take-out and catering for your office or family event. TooJay’s award-winning menu has been acknowledged with the 2019 Best of Palm Beach County Award for Best Sandwich Shop and Best Dessert from The Palm Beach Post, the 2018 Best of the Menu Tracker for its Nova Latkes from Nation’s Restaurant News, the 2019 and 2018 Restaurant Neighbor Award as a State Winner from the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation for its work with Feeding Florida, and the 2019 and 2018 Dining Award for Best Deli from Orlando Magazine. Directions

#florida #restaurant #vero-beach #delivery #food #burgers #breakfast

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jlf23tumble · 5 years ago

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Hi! How are you? Random question but i love hearing people's stories so i wanted to ask you how did you became a fan of the boys? And have you haver seen them live? Also, a very important question, which are your favourites hairstyles of all of them? And your favourite 1d album?

Hey, there--I’m good! How ‘bout you??? And yessssssss, I love random questions, let’s do this! I became a fan through my personal fave of faves, @alienfuckeronmain. We met in another fandom, and one of our hobbies is hanging out in coffee shops and talking fic porn loud and proud, baby, so summer 2016, she heard about the bakery tweets disappearing and dove down deep into what was going ON...and it was a LOT, lmao. She immediately wanted to write fic, and since I love beta’ing for her, she wanted me up to speed on characterization, so she created the world’s most amazing timeline (complete with photos! I treasure it to this day!!), and I got sucked in but good, the end.

I’ve only seen Niall and Harry, I would pay seriously good money to see Zayn, but I’m fine with that not happening, can’t wait to burn some serious cash on Louis (and Liam, but I’d push that dollar harder on Louis). My fave 1D album is a tough one, down to Up All Night or Four, and, honestly, depends on my mood (roadtrip destination).

Now for the important bit...best hair ever! I’ll dump it under the cut to calm down the scroll ragers.

The two hardest for me are Zayn and Harry because I love all the different ways they’ve switched it up, but the edge goes to Zayn because he never did the table runner, plus he’s not afraid to die it, buzz it, undercut it, grow it, and it’s always stunning, STUNNING, I say. I can’t decide, it’s THAT STUNNING. Sigh. So because 1D Day Zayn is ethereal and unreal on every level, I’m going to cop out and just pick him on that blessed day...he’s the only calm, level-headed adult in the room, and he’s sweet and brilliant and hilarious and gorgeous, so here’s my fave (just know that I could pull together full zodiac posts on his hair alone, it’s that varied and beautiful...pisces is the undercut):

I’m a tremendous fan of long-hair Harry because every outfit he wore with it is personal style hashtag goals (from head to toe, bun to beachy waves). I love that he’s growing it back out, the curly wurlies are upon us, and he’s STILL hashtag goals for the pant colors alone. Anyway, this is tough, but I’m gonna pick this one (just know that there’s ANOTHER full zodiac post for his hair, too, and pisces is the controversial black/white suit that started it all):

...okay, I lied, this is my fave:

Louis’s another one who’s hard to pin down, and he’d be my all-time hair fave except for that goddamned cinnamon roll, I know it’s an Unpopular Onion, but that look is not for me. I’m quiff/turtleneck ride-or-die if we’re speaking of the sacred olden times, but why live in the past, I’m here for him in the here and now, I mean, Louis last WEEK had the best hair ever, god. But if we’re gonna split hairs (ha), it’s XFUK, all the livelong day...god, he was GLOWING, and we know now that he was dealing with some challenging family issues, but as he said from day one,

...and you know what? He did. Every outfit, all the styling, better than the last...PERFECTION.

Now’s the point where it gets harder because I find Niall and Liam to be pretty dull in the hair department, then and now. I liked Niall’s purple dye job for 1D Day, but he didn’t, so it was more like his hair was wearing him? He’s loving his floof these days, though, and I’m all for self-love, especially when he gives me the perfect opportunity to post this Renaissance painting come to life:

I find that I like all these boys with a quiff, tbh, but Liam’s veers WAY into David Beckham uncanny valley territory, so my heart was gladdened in more ways than one when he had that intense six months of ALL-CAPS OFF-THE-RAILS STYLEtm, I just took it for granted, goddammit:

He looks damned good with a buzz is what I’m sayin’.

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celsiaflorist-blog · 5 years ago

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The Best of Skagit Valley: A Visitor Guide

Growing with Landscape FabricHere in the Skagit Valley, the tulip fields are about to burst into the most phenomenal show of color. Even after living in this area for nearly 20 years, I still can’t get over how beautiful it is. No wonder every year over a million people come from all over the world to experience the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. This annual event started as a three day festival and has grown into a month long celebration that now features art shows, concerts, street fairs, bike rides and more.

Today I’m excited to share our guide for visiting this incredible area. As our farm is closed to the public, I’m happy to share some of our favorite restaurants, shops, and other places of interest. There are so many wonderful things to do in this area! You could easily spend a few days exploring and having fun. If you can’t make it for the Tulip Festival, not to worry since all of these spots are great any time of the year.

A few things to take note of when visiting the Skagit Valley during tulip season:

Weekdays are best! We’ve found that the traffic can be pretty bad on the weekends, so try to plan for a mid-week adventure if you don’t want to spend hours in grid lock. If you brave the weekend crowds be sure to pack snacks and note that there are limited restroom facilities along the way.

Respect the signs, farms and notices around the tulip fields. There are designated areas to stop and enjoy the beauty. Please don’t go walking into any fields that are marked “No Trespassing” just for a photo. The tulip fields are a photographer’s dream, just be sure to enjoy them in the designated areas. Information for seeing the tulips can be found vancouver florist.

Check ahead. As always, hours of operation are subject to change so before you head out, verify your plans with the businesses you intend to visit.

Places to visit with your kids

Padilla Bay Research Reserve: As a living field laboratory with support facilities and professional staff, Padilla Bay Reserve has a free indoor aquarium with lots of opportunities for kids to see what plants and animals are native to this area. Be sure to call (360) 428-1558 for their hours of operation. You’ll also find lots of wonderful nature trails and places to explore.

Drive or hike up Mount Erie: Either drive to the top, or enjoy a hike. Mount Erie is a favorite for the locals and the views at the top are incredible! If you’re in the Anacortes area, you’ll enjoy this spot.

Visit Deception Pass: One of our personal favorite places in the park is Rosario Beach. My grandfather was a biologist and taught there, so I’ve been visiting this amazing place as long as I can remember. It’s worth planning to spend at least a few hours exploring the park and the beaches. If your family enjoys camping, you’ll want to come back in the summer.

Please note that you’ll need a Discover Pass to access the Washington state recreation lands.

Storvik Park, Anacortes: This playground has a huge place for the kids to run, climb and get all their energy out. During the summer it’s a favorite, as there’s also a splash pad for the little guys.

Washington Park, Anacortes: Located along the water, this is a beautiful place to bring your picnic. Enjoy views of the boats going in and out, while the kids play on the playground.

Places to go for a walk or enjoy views of the valley

Padilla Bay Trail: Stroller and bike friendly, you’ll enjoy a beautiful and flat walk along the bay, where the Skagit River meets the Salish Sea.

Little Mountain Park: A covered viewpoint provides a spectacular look at the Skagit Valley, San Juan Islands, Olympic Mountains, and the tulip fields. The park also provides miles and miles of hiking trails.

A few must-dos when you visit this area

Christianson’s Nursery:. One of my all time top favorite places, this is the ultimate stop for every gardener. In addition to having an amazing selection of plants, they have a beautiful garden themed gift shop, vintage glass greenhouses and the largest selection of potted garden roses in the state. Bring your checkbook and plan to stay a couple of hours!

Enjoy Chuckanut drive: This 24 mile curvy route hugs the Chuckanut mountains. Chuckanut Drive overlooks Samish Bay and offers gorgeous views of the San Juan Islands and Chuckanut Bay.

Take a ride into the San Juan Islands on a ferry: From Anacortes you can park your car and walk on the ferry for a fun day trip. Enjoy a relaxing ride, while watching for whales. You can also drive on and then spend the day or take a longer vacation exploring one of the islands.

The Red Door Antique Mall: Located in historic downtown Mount Vernon, this is one of the best places to look for unique treasures. The gals who own it are a riot and I always find so many wonderful things to take home. With 20 vendors under one roof, inventory changes on a daily basis and the selection is unmatched. Many of the props and vases that we use in our studio and photoshoots come from the Red Door. If you get a chance to visit tell the ladies we sent you!

Recommended places to eat

Seeds Bistro in LaConner: Featuring seasonal fruits and vegetables from local farms, free-range chicken, grass-fed beef, and fresh seafood from our local fishing community, there are a million reasons to visit this charming place. It’s one of our favorite restaurants in the area.

LaConner Pub and Eatery: For the best fish and chips and a beautiful view while you enjoy your meal, LaConner Pub and Eatery is the place to be. Call ahead of time and have them save you a spot right on the water.

Nell Thorn in LaConner: A little jewel of northwest! They offer a fresh, daily menu of artisan made, sustainable, farm to table NW fare, craft cocktails, fine wines, & microbrews on tap. Awesome food with incredible views!

COA Mexican Eatery: We love this place! Everything is super fresh and they have awesome margaritas. Locations are in LaConner and Mt. Vernon.

Il Granaio: If you’re craving amazing Italian food, this is your place. Having earned the reputation as the Skagit Valley’s best authentic Italian restaurant, Il Granaio incorporates the flavors of fresh, local ingredients into traditional Italian recipes. The bonus is that it’s located in the old grainary building of Mount Vernon. A true beauty!

Skagit Valley Food Co-Op: If you’re looking for a sustainably sourced deli or some wonderful grocery items, go here. This is the natural marketplace for our community and it features something perfect for everyone.

Valley Shine Distillery: Valley Shine Distillery provides an inviting atmosphere to enjoy small batch spirits, craft cocktails and unique tapas. They offer a delicious lunch and dinner menu that they refer to as “Farm to Market Classic Comfort Food with a Twist”. All ages are welcome.

C•Square and Third Street Cafe: C•SQUARE is a wonderful marketplace of specialty food shops and a farm-to-table restaurant, the Third Street Cafe. Bonus tip- try their coffee!

Snowgoose Produce: Known for their “Immodest Ice Cream Cones” Snowgoose Produce is a seasonal, family run, country market located in the Skagit Valley. They offer incredible organic produce and local fare such as fresh and smoked seafood, baked breads, artisan cheeses and carefully selected wines. When you stop by be sure to tell the owner Vico hello! What a nice guy he is!

The Donut House, Anacortes: A fun little stop before heading to a park or onto one of the San Juan Island ferries. This shop has a huge selection of fresh baked goodies and very affordable prices.

Taylor Shellfish: If you like oysters, you’ll love this spot. Since the 1890’s Taylor Shellfish has been farming high quality, sustainable shellfish. Feast in the waterfront picnic area, or take your goodies to go.

Slough Foods, Edison: Awesome for wine, fancy meat and cheese. Our good friend John owns it- tell him we sent you!

Breadfarm, Edison: Located in the small village of Edison, Washington, just off of scenic Chuckanut Drive in beautiful Skagit Valley. Breadfarm is an artisan bakery focusing on naturally leavened breads, rustic pastry and pantry staples. Every item is beautifully handcrafted.

Tweets Cafe, Edison: Tweets has great food, especially breakfast and ice cream. Featuring an artisan cafe, organic coffee, and farm to table northwest cuisine. Cash or check only!

As you enjoy the beauty of Skagit Valley, I hope these ideas help you feel welcomed, and a little bit more like a local.

And if you’re from around here, and you have a few favorite places you’d like to share, please post them in the comments below!

Read more: Growing with Landscape Fabric

#vancouver florist

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clubdogs-blog1 · 5 years ago

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10 Best Places To Visit In Italy

1: Naples

Naples is the busiest city within the metropolitan country. it's the capital of the

Campania region. Which is found in southern Italy? Naples city is legendary for its vibrant atmosphere, historic sites, shops, restaurant and a tremendous view of Naples city nightlife venues. Naples city offers his visitor to the treasure of trove artworks.

In Naples city, there are many Italian dishes which originated here which are spaghetti, Pizza, and parmigiana. Naples city takes seriously about these dishes to growth the local ingredients in feature fresh.

There are several top-rated sites in Pompeii and Bay of Naples. Which is that the present idea of a city to remain. While exploring the world of Naples city.

2. Italian Lake District

This city is found across the stretches of northern Italy. during this city the northern side with filled with amazing mountains or lakes which are deep into alps and therefore the southern side filled with hottest lakes which are relatively flat.

The Italian Lake District is popular for tourist for 100 years, and therefore the combination of Italian lakes are good of attractive scenery.

There are several lakes within the city but Garda is one of the large and largest lakes. Which attracts the tourist to amazing scenery. Especially the mountain of northern stretches to the Italian Lake District.

Mountain is stunning to directly slope frosted rising to the sting of the water. within the west of the town, the Maggiore isn't popular. It’s beautiful for its stunning and famous resorts.

3. Sicily

Sicily is one of the most important islands within the Mediterranean. The meaning of Sicily is the region that incorporates many smaller isles in Italy. the town of Sicily is legendary or rich for his history and art from Palermo’s baroque churches to the temple of Agrigento’s Valley. one of the foremost important things about Sicily island is a feature of striking geological to mount antenna. Which is that the source of the active and tallest volcano.

4. Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre’s meaning is “Five Lands” Which is that the comparison of the five villages of Cinque Terre. The name of those villages is Monterosso, Manarola, Corniglia, Riomaggiore, Vernazza.

This city is found within the northwestern Italy region of coastal in Liguria, which is villages in Cinque Terre the foremost beautiful country landscapes which include wine terraces and cliffside to dating back thousands of years ago.

There are many gems in Cinque Terre which boast the oldest century complex hiking paths during which someone has stunning coastal views of Italy. In Cinque Terre, there's a blue trail paved trail which is connecting all the five villages and every one of its suitable ages.

5. Milan

Milan may be a city that's filled with reconstructed. In WWII the town of Milan is all most nearly to destroy for the heavy bombing. Now the town is one of the simplest and wealthiest cities in Europe.

Today Milan city is understood because of the mega fashion center in designer shops. Milan attracts tourists or visitors to its famous world treasures. like La Scala opera, Leonardo Leonardo, Sforza Castle, The Last Supper and last one but most vital is that the world’s largest Gothic. Sometimes Milan show less compared to an Italian country instant of historic cities.

The much glamorous city to the fashionable day of recent architecture.

6. Amalfi Coast

Amalfi coast situated in Campania which is within the southwestern region of Italy. the town is legendary for its beauty which is extraordinary which the most reason this place is one among the highest tourist attractions and destinations in Italy.

On the southern side of 30miles stretching to the side of the Sorrento peninsula, Amalfi coast is surprised for his coastline picturesque which is lemon gardens, shimmering bays, multicolored villas, craggy cliffs, and ritzy resorts.

Positano is one of the topmost posh and romantic towns within the Amalfi coast with scenic mountains, pebbled beaches, and pastel houses.

Ravello is that the featured town is Amalfi for his restaurants and amazing plazas lined. Ravello is very recommended for artworks, beautiful villas, and gardens.

7. Pompeii

This city is one of the top-rated and top tourist visited destinations in Italy. Pompeii city may be a famous Roman city. In 1700 years after the Pompeii city is buried. There are several feet under the volcanic ash. when the cataclysmic eruption of Vesuvius.

In 1748 when the excavation of Pompeii is begun and this site isn't able yet to unearth.

During the tour of Pompeii, the tour offers a tremendous insight fascinating into the lifestyle of the past Roman world. When tourists enter the road of Pompeii then they see remains of brothels, shops, bakeries and baths of the Roman world.

8. Venice

surrounded by the Adriatic and built upon a lagoon.which is found on the northwestern side of Italy. In Venice, there are quite 120 islands. All of this island is connected to the hundred of scenic canals and delightful bridges.

The grand canal is one among the highest canals which are split Venice city into the 2 sections.

Historic architecture and picturesque waterways make Venice city to at least one of the foremost romantic cities within the world. In Venice, you ought to take a gondola ride along to at least one and its many canals.

9. Tuscany

This city is one of the foremost famous regions of Italy. In Tuscany, you ought to take many images of the gorgeous cypress trees, olive groves, rolling hills, and therefore the vineyards. It’s your pleasure if you taste the wine Chianti Tuscany. This city holds a tremendous or excellent work of Renaissance art. and his historic center is one of the tops visited place in Italy. Pisa may be a world-famous Leaning Tower in Tuscany city.

10. Rome

We all know that Rome is the capitals of the Roman Empire. Or nowadays Rome is the capital of Italy.

Rome is found within the Lazio region of the country.

Rome is that the complex and vast city to the fashionable and historic to an equivalent time. In Rome, the structure of homes is an ancient Roman structure. there's an excessive amount of you ought to watch and see in Rome that would take one month or a year to ascertain.

In your opinion which is that the best place to go to in Italy write within the comment section below.

We hope you wish this amazing overview of the ten Best Places to go to in Italy. Which is that the better of your knowledge while you visit Italy. If anything during this overview was wrong so please tell us so we'll improve it. Stay connected with us.

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michelemoore · 5 years ago

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Takhuk

June 25,2019

Michele Moore Veldhoen

Seven Gems on (or near) the Crowsnest Highway

Have you ever travelled the Crowsnest Route? Otherwise known as Highway 3, this 700 mile long blaze of wanderlust is a tribute to the landscapes of southern BC and Alberta and is scattered with gems. Its’ mountains and prairies, valleys and coulees, canyons and creek side rest stops, lakes and forests and rivers, collectively deliver an epic view of what this part of Canada is all about.

The genesis of this highway was a route called the Dewdney Trail which was built to connect gold rush towns throughout much of southern BC. (And resist American gold diggers pressing in from the south.) Beginning in the Fraser River valley outside of Vancouver, the route takes you east from Hope, B.C., through the Cascade Mountains and into the southern portion of the orchard rich Okanagan valley anchored by hot hot Osoyoos. Over Anarchist Mountain (which if coming east to west may finish off your vehicle’s brakes), it winds for miles and miles through, say these names out loud, the Monashees, Selkirk and Purcell sub-ranges of the Columbia Mountains. Don’t you love the sound of those names? The Mountain Show finale begins east of Cranbrook, where the first sight of the towering Rockies comes into view and commands your attention all the way to and beyond Fernie, the ski resort town so many Albertans love. Entering the Crowsnest Pass east of Fernie, passing the world’s biggest truck, watch for the appearance of the singular cloud calling Crowsnest Mountain, which owns the northern side of the highway here, a sentinel marking the end, or beginning, of your journey through this unique portion of the Crowsnest.

When heading east and home as I was a couple of weeks ago I always feel a certain melancholy as I pass through the little towns of the pass - Coleman, then Blairmore, after which Crowsnest Mountain fades in my rearview mirror. The boulder sea birthed by Turtle Mountain and known as the Frank Slide adds to the sense of something different, an ending. Soon though, hints of the coming prairie can be seen as the mountains diminish around Bellevue, the last little town of the Crowsnest Pass. Depending on the weather, the view beyond Bellevue can be inspiring or terrifying. An entire universe of pure radiant green and blue, all wide open and ready to receive you, or frozen wind stripped barrens with no obvious shelter. Either way, the remainder of the Crowsnest Highway offers a reminder of the vastness of the prairie and the courage of the people who farm and ranch and live on that land. The route travels through the vibrant small cities and cliff and hoodoo studded river valleys of Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. When you reach the Hat you have come to the end of this inter-provincial highway and seen a truly incredible variety of places and landscapes.

A couple of weeks ago I travelled west for about 500 miles of the Crowsnest beginning at the junction of highway 22 and 3, and ending in Grand Forks, BC. I made this trip to visit my father. This is one of many, many trips over the last ,35 years that I have taken along the Crowsnest to Grand Forks to visit family. Growing up, I lived in the Grand Forks and Christina Lake area and travelled the route east to come to Calgary and visit family here. I also went many times west from Christina Lake, down the brake burning Anarchist Mountain and on into the Fraser Valley and the coast, passing through Hope when it was still a long way from Vancouver, to visit my grandparents who lived in the heart of that coastal metropolis.

Thousands and thousands of miles, back and forth along the Crowsnest, over a lifetime. Autumn trips to Vancouver, launched at midnight so that we would arrive at my grandmother’s big round oak table just in time for breakfast, those trips made in the backseat of my father’s cars, the one I remember best an emerald green Riviera with white leather seats. My father commenting on the sunrise over the Fraser River and the sparkle of the water which he never painted but would have if he had had the time. Winter trips through all those mountain ranges to get from Christina Lake to Calgary to celebrate Christmas with my mother’s sister and my cousins. In the backseat clutching my book which I couldn’t concentrate on due to the terror I felt. It was the snow and ice on the roads, the vapour of the big logging trucks that made the world hard to see, the tension in my mother’s shoulders. I do not like driving that highway in winter but I did it anyway, when I was raising my kids, because I wanted them to have those memories of Christmas’ with their cousins, who grew up back in Grand Forks. People I love have always lived in Grand Forks, it seems.

But the summer trips! The summer trips through those mountains and valleys and along that piece of prairie. The treasures to be found, some hidden, some right on the highway, some just a few miles up another road.

Here are Seven Gems of the Crowsnest:

Hell’s Gate during hummingbird migration. Less than an hour north from Hope, Hell’s Gate is a spectacle unlike anything I’ve seen anywhere else so far on this planet. The crashing and ripping of the Fraser River through this canyon is in itself an experience, but it’s the spring hummingbird migration that takes Hell’s Gate to a whole different level. It’s like standing in the middle of an avian war zone. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of hummingbirds of various species take over the airspace of the platform which is hung with dozens of feeders. And every one of these master flyers are on a single minded mission to fatten up. Standing amongst them, it feels dangerous to move because your body might end up punctured with a sharp beak. It only feels that way though. These birds are aerial acrobats. Despite masses of them all working in the same confined space, they never crash. They fight, but they don’t crash. Spectators like me stand watching and speechless, as these birds zip by like electric currents, from feeder to feeder. It’s an incredible sight.

Keremeos peaches and cherries. Keremeos is a little village on the cusp of the Okanagan region. Aside from the interesting geography – moist cedar and fir forested Cascades meet semi-arid, stone and pine studded hills, the peaches and cherries grown here are indisputably the biggest, juiciest, and sweetest peaches and cherries you will ever taste. The soil and climate, the terroir, of this region known as the Similkameen Valley, must have something to do with it. Really, their fruit is beyond delicious. And as far as I know, none of it comes to Alberta. You have to go there to experience it. Go there.

Greenwood’s Copper Eagle and Deadwood Junction cafes. Greenwood is a pretty little town on the route with an irresistible main street. A short walk to look at the classic western style false fronts and a longer look at The Greenwood Hotel and Saloon which epitomizes the character of this streetscape. I’ve never stayed or eaten there because it’s just a few miles away from Grand Forks, but I always stop at either the Copper Eagle next door, or the Deadwood Junction around the corner. In terms of pie, cinnamon buns, or some other wickedly delicious sweet to go with a cappuccino or latte, both of these coffee shop/bakeries/cafes can hold their own with big city coffee shops.

Castlegar and the area just north off the Crowsnest is a paradise for summer exploration. The jewel within the region, Valhalla Provincial Park and Slocan Lake. Swimming in this lake is a quintessential southern BC interior experience. Nothing like the crowded Okanagan or the Shuswap (which are nevertheless also divine). Slocan Lake water is warm, clear and clean, and surrounded by the beautiful Valhalla range of the Selkirks, which has been protected through the park designation due to the mountains unique topography and vegetation. Truly a hidden gem.

Truscott Farms in Creston. This fruit stand has it all. Every BC fruit in abundance, along with all the vegetables, always fresh and all grown on the slopes right behind the fruit stand. A big outdoor sink area to wash the fruit, next to a setting of picnic tables under the cooling shade of densely leafed trees. A huge herb and flower garden to wander through and stretch your legs. A lunch counter in the back of the fruit stand where you can get a delicious sandwich made with locally baked bread, a piece of pie, locally made sausage, a coffee, whatever you want. Go sit in the shade with your own packed lunch and a basket of cherries. Oh, there’s also an additional shop full of preserves, pickles, jams. And, if you’re pulling a camper, the parking is a breeze. This operation has had decades to figure it all out and invested in making their fruit stand a perfect place to enjoy the summer bounty of this region.

Almost any BC Rest Stop. Pick one that has a creek, which most appear to have, and a trail that disappears into the woods. These places are so thoughtfully done, scattered picnic benches under the forest canopy, nothing more to distract from the simple natural beauty. So peaceful. There’s a really special one going east out of Christina Lake, on the big long straight stretch portion of the hill toward Paulson Bridge. There’s a tiny wooden bridge that allows you to cross from the paved and motorized world into the tranquil universe of plants and animals. It’s magic, like the kids that disappear into Narnia through the back of the wardrobe but better, because there’s no evil witch, just peace and quiet. I have not stopped there in years but in the past I went there in August and picked wild blackberries.

Fort Macleod. I just love this town. The importance of its’ history, which the fort itself interprets so well, its’ immaculate downtown streets, its’ friendly and interesting residents, its’ old stately houses and yards filled with tough prairie trees and plants and flowers, and, my memory of the first time I saw a prairie sunrise. I had come alone at the age of nine or ten on the Greyhound bus from Christina Lake to Calgary to stay for a summer vacation with my aunt. The bus rolled into Fort Macleod just as the sun was rising and I can still remember the feeling of awe I experienced as the entire world seemed to be painted and lit in the golds and pinks and tangerines of a Keremeos peach. I believe it was that trip that forged my love of travel.

Wishing you a wonder filled, peachy summer.

www.thetreeswallow.com

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juniorformulamotorsport · 6 years ago

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Friday, 3rd May 2019 – Walk from Euston Station to Borough Market via the City, London

You see the oddest things when you walk through London, even just the small quarter that tends to represent my regular beat. Sometimes there’s just no explanation for them, the most notable being the pink elephant in the Brunswick Centre, because no matter the amount of digging I’ve done, I really don’t know why it’s there; it’s a very fine elephant regardless of its purpose (or otherwise).

Slightly more explicable is the statue of Euterpe in one of the small parks along the way between the station and the office. Though I’m not sure who put the crown on her.

Back in March there was also some fabulous blossom to be seen.

However, I didn’t pass any of those things on this walk in early May, from London Euston station to Borough Market by way of the office and the City. I did find a lot of other things I didn’t know about though, starting with the Fortitude Bakehouse on Colonnade (or Colonnade Mews as it’s apparently sometimes known). Before you get to that though, there is the Horse Hospital on the corner with Herbrand Street. This is now a theatrical costume store, but was originally what it says on the tin. It dates from around 1890, and the “site has had a long history of equestrian use since its initial construction by James Burton in 1794-97. It was occupied by veterinary surgeons and farriers before being used as a print shop until 1988. The Horse Hospital is a rare survival of double-decker inner-city stables.” There is a ramp inside between floors, which presumably makes dragging rails of costumes around, and which I assume would have been used to move the equine patients around. The mews itself is one of the wider ones I know of in London, and very handsome.

It also contains the aforementioned bakery which specialises in sourdough cakes and breads, but which also produces a frankly magnificent cinnamon bun (as it should be at a price of £3.45 per bun – that’s €3.96, or $4.43 to those of you outside the UK looking for a reference). They are very, very good, sticky and chewy and best eaten hot or at least warm, and they were just pouring syrup over them when I arrived at their door. I bought one and went on my way along the mews.

Mews have a long history in London (and elsewhere I would imagine) and were formerly places where hawks were kept while they moulted. It’s since come to mean stables since 1548 when the royal stables were built at Charing Cross on the site of the royal hawk mews, and now means a service road for those stables and the houses above and in front of them (or more precisely “a property in a Mews – a lane, alley, court, narrow passage, cul de sac or back street originally built behind houses in the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries to provide access for stables or coach house accommodation (often with associated living accommodation)”. These properties are now very desirable and any remaining mews contain lots of interesting and different houses and offices. “In 2015 a survey of the Mews in London estimated that there were 433 Original/Surviving Mews properties still in existence.”

Colonnade Mews itself has been in existence since at least 1801, and provided stables and lodgings for the coachmen who worked for the owners of the houses on Guilford Street. In 2011 nine new townhouses were built there and were sold at prices from £999000 to £1295000, but you can test the desirability of the location out if you want (https://luxuryservicedapartments.com/properties/colonnade/) without having to pay out a fortune! The other properties in the mews seem to now be film or TV studios of some sort.

Anyway, brown paper bagged bun in hand, I went on my way, stopping to admire some of the flowers running rampant at the end of the mews, just by the 2011 houses.

From Colonnade Mews, I made my way into Lamb’s Conduit Street, another very historic address in London. The whole area was originally part of the Bedford Charity Estate, founded in 1564 by Sir William Harpur (1496-1574) for the benefit of Bedford School. The neighbouring fields included conduits that supplied water to the City of London, one of which was financed to the tune of £1500, by William Lamb (or Lambe), who also provided 120 pails for poor women. The conduit, or pipe, was rebuilt to plans drawn up by Christopher Wren, after being damaged in the Great Fire of London. The street became fashionable in the nineteenth century, Charles Dickens counting as a local (the Charles Dickens Museum is close by). You can see the remains of the head of the conduit on the side of a 1950s building on the corner between Lamb’s Conduit Street and Long Yard but that’s as close as you can now get.

One of the more notable building is The Lamb pub, where Lynne and I used to occasionally drink back in the 1980s. It’s a very fine public house from both inside and out and dates from the 1720s. Being in Bloomsbury, it’s not short on literary associations, with claims that Dickens drank there, and that Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath were known to meet there (Hughes was a regular).

Halfway along I turned off and walked down the very short Great Ormond Street where someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to make it a riot of glorious planters, with flowers bursting out all over, and some even embedded in to earth around one of the roadside trees. There’s a link here with another school, this time Rugby School, founded in the sixteenth century as a result of a bequest made by Lawrence Sherriff (or Sherriffe), a Rugby-born London grocer. He owned an eight-acre pasture in Conduit Close, which could not be built on at the time because it was half a mile outside the London city walls.

It might not have appeared very valuable at the time (it was let for the not very princely sum of 8 shillings a year), but by 1807 the annual rental income was over £2000, and I’m pretty sure it’s worth a fortune now. Some of the land was sold off to what is now Great Ormond Street Hospital, and although the school failed to redevelop a lot of the rest of the houses on the Rugby Estate I cannot imagine they are not making money from the leases. The next street along is Rugby Street which is also rather lovely and contains some very expensive shops. The oldest house still on Great Ormond Street is No. 49, and there’s an interesting article about it here.

Rounding the corner into Great James Street, there is an interesting contrast between the old and the relatively new, and there is also a blue plaque (there are a lot in Bloomsbury needless to say) indicating that Dorothy L. Sayers lived and worked at No. 24.

Frome here I crossed Theobalds Road, trying not to get run over, and trekked down another mews, this time Jockey’s Fields, which runs behind properties along Holborn and Gray’s Inn enclosure. These mews were originally built around 1720 and served as stables for the houses on Bedford Row, though they were heavily damaged by a direct hit from a German bomb in WWII. From here there is a small gateway into Gray’s Inn and its gorgeous gardens.

Gray’s Inn is one of the four Inns of Court (the others are Lincoln’s Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple), which were originally associated with the Inns of Chancery, a major component of legal education since the fourteenth century. These lesser inns (the Inns of Chancery) were originally for young men at the start of their legal education, where they could learn the basic elements of the law before entering an Inn of Court to study law in greater detail. It’s very peaceful in the early morning hours, and you can get a look at The Walks through the railings that shut them off from idly curious people like me (though they are open to the public for a couple of hours around lunch time).

They are apparently one of the largest privately owned gardens in London at almost 6 acres, and they date back – in their current layout – to the early 17th century when Sir Francis Bacon was Treasurer of the Inn. There are smaller garden areas within South Square and Gray’s Inn Square too, and these are not fenced off. I need to nip back one lunchtime for a closer look though.

I finally battled my way out of the Inn (there’s a lot of work going on at present which means that several of the entrances/exits are out of action for the time being) and onto High Holborn, coming out just along from the end of Gray’s Inn Road and the mad fruit seller who thinks you should make sure you get your 5-a-day (at least)!

High Holborn is close to the London end of the A40 road which runs all the way to Fishguard so it’s historic in its own right. It’s also the site of Staple Inn which was one of the two Inns of Chancery associated with Gray’s Inn.

It’s a somewhat ricketty part-Tudor building used as the London venue for meetings of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, and is the last of the Inns of Chancery still standing, largely intact. It is believed that the building was once the wool staple, a place where wool would be weighed and taxed, and it has survived a great deal including the Great Fire of London, though not the Luftwaffe. The building was substantially restored after WWII and it has a timber-framed façade, a cruck roof and a Georgian internal courtyard, with the ground floor being let as commercial premises. Apparently it also featured on tins and pouches of Old Holborn tobacco, which I vaguely remember from when I was a child and my Dad went through a pipe smoking phase, frustrated by the fact that he could never keep one alight!

I headed down High Holborn towards Saint Paul’s, stopping to admire the viaduct over the Farringdon Street and the now subterranean River Fleet. It was built between 1863 and 1869, as a part of the Holborn Valley Improvements, and cost £2 million at the time (around £181 million at 2018 rates). As anyone who travels through this part of London will tell you, it no longer succeeds in its stated aim to improve the flow of London traffic. It was opened by Queen Victoria wuith a coach procession on 6th November 1869.

If you’re on foot you can get between the street levels through some very fine pavilions at each side and either end, and it’s worth a quick detour to investigate these and the restored (post-WWII) statues on the viaduct itself. In addition to being possibly the world’s first flyover, it was also home to the world’s first coal-fired power station, the Edison Electric Light Station, opened on 12th January 1882, three years after the invention of the carbon-filament incandescent light bulb. It ran at a loss for just over four years, when the lamps that it powered were converted back to gas and the station was closed.

At the next crossroad I turned off High Holborn and headed down towards Smithfield. The Golden Boy of Pye Corner marks the spot where the 1666 Great Fire of London was stopped. The statue is made of wood and is covered with gold. The building that incorporates it is Grade II listed and sits on the corner of Giltspur Street and Cock Lane, a small street in Smithfield, leading from Giltspur Street in the east to Snow Hill in the west. “Cokkes” Lane was the site of a number of legal brothels in medieval times and is reputedly haunted, though I doubt that. The Golden Boy himself was originally part of the front of a public house called The Fortune of War before it was pulled down in 1910. He’s a fine but small piece of history.

From here you can cut through or walk round Saint Batholomew’s Hospital. Or at least you can normally; there’s a lot of work going on there too so it’s not as easy as it might be to cut through the hospital grounds or in fact walk around the outside. Bart’s is a very old institution, dating back 1123, and is now a teaching hospital run by Barts Health NHS Trust. It was founded by Rahere, a courtier of Henry I, who was also a prebendary of St Paul’s Cathedral and an Augustinian canon regular. The hospital survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries, before being refounded by Henry VIII in December 1546. It is the oldest hospital in Britain still providing medical services on its original site and although a lot of it is modern, there are a number of historically and architecturally important buildings including the Henry VIII entrance, with with the only extant statue of the king in London. The pigeons seem to like him!

The main square, by James Gibb, was built in the 1730s and three of the four blocks survive to this day. The first wing built was the North Wing, which contains murals by William Hogarth. 120 years later a fountain was placed at the square’s centre, and it is still there and it still works.

There’s also museum showing the development of medical care over the centuries and looks interesting if I can get round the somewhat restricted opening hours.

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the hospital precincts were designated as an Anglican ecclesiastical parish, and the lovely St Bartholomew-the-Less became the parish church, the only one of five chapels to survive the Reformation.

Outside, but associated with the hospital, is St Batholomew-the-Great, which was the Priory Church, founded as an Augustinian priory in 1123. It was also founded by Rahere in gratitude for his recovery from fever. Despite the Reformation, part of the main entrance to the church remains including its half-timbered late 16th-century, Tudor frontage.

From this gatehouse to the west door of the church, the path runs where the south aisle of the nave was although there is very little left of the original monastic buildings. Later it fell into disrepair, was occupied by squatters, and was finally restored in the late 19th century. The Lady chapel had been used for commercial purposes and it was there that Benjamin Franklin worked for a year as a journeyman printer, while the north transept had been used as a blacksmith’s forge, so the restoration wasn’t easy. It did however escape damage during WWII, not something that could be said of most of the surrounding buildings.

On the other side of the street from the gateway is a small memorial to William Wallace. Smithfield was, in its past, one of the most important places in London for entertainment which included jousting, summer fairs and executions. William Wallace was executed here on 23rd August 1305. he was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence, and was tried for treason in Westminster Hall, despite his probably not unreasonable claim that he could not be guilty, because he had never sworn fealty to Edward I. It didn’t save him and so he is memorialised on the outer wall of St Barts.

From there I needed to cross over to the wonderfully, tiny, splendidly eccentric Postman’s Park. I love this park. It’s quiet, shady, full of interest. It’s part of the site of the former headquarters of the General Post Office (GPO), hence the name, and provides one of the largest open spaces in the City of London, though it’s not exactly enormous. Prior to opening as a park in 1880 it had been the churchyard and burial ground of St Botolph’s Aldersgate. A shortage of space for burials in London meant that corpses were often laid on the ground and covered over with soil, which is why the park is higher than the streets around it.

If you find yourself in the park you mustn’t miss the splendid Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice, which is just wonderful in an odd, and oddly moving, sort of way. The wall was opened in 1900 and basically commemorates ordinary people who gave their own lives to save others. It was begun by George Frederic Watts, and uses plaques designed by leading tile designer William De Morgan.

Only four of the planned 120 memorial tablets were in place at the time of its opening, and a further nine tablets were added during Watts’s lifetime. His wife, Mary, managed the project after his death in 1904 and a further 35 memorial tablets were installed. Later she became disillusioned with the new tile manufacturer and only added five further tablets. In June 2009, Jane Shaka, through the Diocese of London, added a new tablet, the first new addition for 78 years.

The gardens are well kept and tended and it’s a lovely place to sit and think.

There’s also a deeply cheeky squirrel.

From the park I was now very close to work, just a matter of crossing Aldersgate Street, a road which runs north from the old Aldersgate gate. The name is more modern than the gate it applied to, which was Roman and 2nd or 3rd century. The name is first recorded around 1000 as “Ealdredesgate”, the gate associated with a man named Ealdrād. The old Roman gate was taken down in 1617, and rebuilt the same year, before being damaged by the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was repaired once more and remained in use until 1761. There’s not a great deal left of it now and it can get very traffic-choked, making getting across something of a challenge.

I scooted off down Gresham Street towards Pewterer’s Hall, where my employers usually hold their summer party, the garden of which used to be the site of the church of St Mary Staining. Staining seems to refer to Staines, implying that the landowner was from there.

There was certainly a church on the site in 1189. Oat Lane, on which it stood, was probably the site of an oat market in the C16th, before the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. The garden is a raised area of lawn with a large plane tree, a path on two sides and tombstones ranged along the back. It is overlooked by Pewterers’ Hall, which was built here in 1959-61 after the Company’s hall in Lime Street was demolished in 1932. The Pewterer’s Hall is surprisingly attractive given its age (it’s the same age as me), and has some very interesting artefacts inside if you ever get the chance to go in. It’s a shame the 1496 hall no longer exists though.

And so to the office, escaping at lunchtime for a trip to Borough Market. I went a different route to the market for once, going past the Bloomberg Building and stopping to take pictures of the Walbrook, another of London’s mostly underground waterways. I think they missed a trick with this because it now looks like it’s the overflow from someone’s washing machine. It’s really not as attractive as I suspect it was in the artist’s head, or as it was originally! Because make no mistake, this is an installation by the artist Cristina Iglesias. It’s called “Forgotten Streams” and “The revelatory landscape is woven through three different plaza spaces, evoking the Lost Rivers of London, namely the Walbrook”. If she says so… I fully expect that at some point, Ben Aaronovitch is going to have something to say about this; I’m not sure it will be complimentary.

I cut towards the Thames from there, passing the Tallow Chandlers Company hall. The Tallow Chandlers used to regulate oils, ointments, lubricants and fat-based preservatives and to manage candle making using tallow (animal fats). They have been around since 1300 or so, and were granted a coat of arms in 1456 by Edward IV, and gained full livery status in 1462. They have owned the site since 1476, with the current hall dating from 1672. The hall was undamaged in WWII and has not really changed substantially since its completion. It’s rather swish, as so many of the livery companies’ halls are.

And so, via the Hanseatic Walk, over the river to the old “stewes of Southwark” via the old Bear Gardens and to the market for some serious food shopping.

Travel 2019 – Lunchtime Tourism, Day 5, Walk from Euston to Borough Market, London Friday, 3rd May 2019 - Walk from Euston Station to Borough Market via the City, London…

#2019 #Arts #Bloomsbury #Churches #Europe #Fortitude Bakehouse #Holborn #London #Lunchtime Tourism #Museums #Photography #Smithfield #Travel #UK

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tamboradventure · 6 years ago

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Visiting Iceland in 2019: Detailed Itineraries for the Land of Fire and Ice

Posted: 1/24/2019 | January 24th, 2018

Windswept volcanoes. Black sand beaches nuzzled against rugged coastlines. Secret hot springs hidden in misty valleys while majestic waterfalls cascade from every hill.

Welcome to Iceland.

It’s a destination unlike any other in Europe. Its unique landscapes and natural wonders perfectly complement the modern capital of Reykjavik with its café culture and boozy, rambunctious nightlife.

Iceland is known as both the Land of Elves and the Land of Fire and Ice. It’s a country where you’ll find smoldering active volcanoes and vivid blue glaciers side by side. Horses and sheep dot the countryside, colorful puffins flock along the cliffs, and whales breach the choppy Atlantic waters that envelop this tiny island.

It’s easy to see why Iceland has become such a popular destination in recent years (all those cheap stopover flights have helped greatly too).

And, while it’s not the most budget-friendly country in the world, there are still ways to see the sights without breaking the bank!

If you’re planning a weekend getaway or want to drive the entirety of the island, this list of Iceland itineraries will ensure that you see the best the country has to offer!

Table of Contents

One Weekend in Reykjavik

Four Days in the South

Four Days in the North

One Week: Golden Circle and Southern Iceland

Two Weeks: Exploring the Ring Road

One Month: Everything!

What to See and Do in Iceland: One Weekend in Reykjavik

Day 1

Take a tour of the city I always like to start my trips with a free walking tour. They’re a fantastic way to see a destination, learn about its history and culture, and get all your questions answered by someone who knows what they’re talking about. City Walk and Free Walking Tour Reykjavik both offer great free tours of the city. They’ll help you get a sense of Reykjavik so you can decide what you want to revisit later. The tours are donation based, so just make sure to tip your guide!

Explore Laugavegur When you’re in need of a coffee or snack, go for a stroll down Laugavegur, a shop- and café-lined street in the center of the city. This is the oldest (and coolest) street in Iceland, and you’ll find everything from expensive couture to dollar stores here. Be sure to stop in a bakery for a pastry or a coffee. My personal favorite is Mokka Kaffi.

Visit a museum After that, make your way to the National Museum of Iceland, where you will learn everything you need to know about this tiny Nordic nation. The most famous piece in the collection is the Valþjófsstaður door, a piece carved in the Middle Ages that illustrates the saga of the lion and the knight. The museum does a fantastic job of giving you a robust history of the country without being boring.

If you’d rather visit a more unconventional museum, consider a visit to the Icelandic Phallological Museum instead. Colloquially known as the Penis Museum, this small institution is home to the world’s largest collection of penises and penis-themed art. Yes, you read that right! There are almost 300 items in the museum, including whale penises and (allegedly) troll penises! It’s a small museum, but it’s actually incredibly informative — if you’re not too shy!

National Museum: Suðurgata 41, +354 530-2200, thjodminjasafn.is. Open daily 10am-5pm (closed on Mondays in the winter). Admission is 2,000 ISK (1,000 ISK for students/seniors).

Icelandic Phallological Museum: Laugavegur 116, +354 561-6663, phallus.is/en. Open daily 10am-6pm. Admission is 1,700 ISK per person.

Go for a swim Once you’ve gotten tired of walking, go for a refreshing swim in the Laugardalslaug Geothermal Pool. Swimming and saunas are how locals relax and unwind after work. It’s basically a national pastime. This pool is Iceland’s largest and was built in 1968. It’s actually a whole complex with hot tubs, a thermal steam bath, a waterslide, and even mini golf! If you have extra time, check out the nearby garden and zoo too.

Sundlaugavegur 105, +354 411-5100, reykjavik.is/stadir/laugardalslaug. Open weekdays 6:30am-10pm and weekends 8am-10pm. Admission is 625 ISK, though if you have the Reykjavik City Card, it’s free!

Take in the nightlife End your day enjoying the city’s famous nightlife back around Laugavegur. This is one of the best party cities in the world, so there’s something for everyone. Just make sure to go during happy hour so you don’t blow your budget (alcohol in Iceland is not cheap!). Here are a couple of my favorite hotspots in Reykjavik:

Kaffibarinn – This café transforms into a dance club on the weekend, and it’s a great place to party. The space is divided into three different sections (bar, dance floor, and lounge), so you can find a section for however you want to spend your night out. It’s small, so seats can fill up quickly. Bergstaðastræti 1, +354 551-1588, kaffibarinn.is.

Lebowski Bar – Yes, this is a Big Lebowski–themed bar. The inside looks like a vintage American diner and bowling alley. And, since The Dude drinks a lot of White Russians, its menu includes a wide variety of different ones. Its signature Lebowski cheeseburger is pretty good too. Spin the prize wheel to win up to 10 free beers! Aim for happy hour, which is held daily 4pm–7pm, as drinks are cheaper then. Laugavegur 20b, +354 552-2300, lebowskibar.is.

Slippbarinn — This is the first proper cocktail bar in the city and boasts live music and DJs several nights a week. Happy hour is daily 3pm-6pm. Myragata 2, +354 560 8080, slippbarinn.is.

Where to stay in Reykjavik: Hlemmur Square – If you’re looking to splash out, this is both a cozy hotel and an upscale hostel, so you have options for your type of stay. There’s a great bar here, plus traditional Icelandic communal dinners several times a week.

For a more standard hostel, stay at Kex Hostel. It has a café and bar with an awesome happy hour, a comfy lounge, and a heated patio.

Day 2

Explore the Golden Circle The Golden Circle — comprising the Gullfoss waterfall, the Strokkur geyser, and Þingvellir National Park — is the biggest tourist draw in Iceland, so you’ll want to start your second day early and head out of town in a rental car (or on a tourist bus). As tourism booms in Iceland, these sites can get a little crowded, so make sure you get there early (especially in the summer and on weekends).

The round-trip journey is around 250km, so plan accordingly when it comes to food and fuel (if you’re driving). If you’re driving, you’ll also be able to stop regularly to see the many Icelandic horses that you’ll pass by.

Experience the famous Blue Lagoon This is one of the most iconic destinations in Iceland. The pools are quite large, and the whole area is steamy, with the water a stunning milky-blue color that is rather photogenic (which is why the lagoon is so popular on social media). It’s a beautiful and luxurious way to end the day, and a great place to relax right before you depart.

Personally, I think the place is a bit overhyped, as there are tons of free, secluded hot springs all around the country. Of course, if you’re short on time and don’t plan on leaving the city, then it’s the perfect way to end your trip!

Fun fact: The Blue Lagoon is simply runoff from the nearby geothermal plant. Icelanders just found a way to monetize it for tourists! Thank you, Instagram? Ha!

Norðurljósavegur 9, +354 420-8800, bluelagoon.com. Open daily, but hours vary, so check the website for an up-to-date schedule. Admission starts at 9,990 ISK per person, but it can be cheaper if you go during certain hours.

READ MORE: How to save money in Reykjavik

What to See and Do in Iceland: Four Days in the South

In addition to the itinerary above, here are some activities you’ll want to add if you plan on getting further outside of Reykjavik to explore the southern region of Iceland.

Day 3

Experience nature Head southeast on the Ring Road from Reykjavík to scout out some waterfalls. Be prepared and bring swimsuits, towels, a waterproof camera, and a jacket.

Reykjadalur – Stop in the town of Hveragerði to visit the Reykjadalur hot spring (or hot pot, as they are known locally). It offers a gorgeous backdrop of rolling hills and mountains, and it’s free to enjoy. You’ll need to hike a bit to get there (30-40 minutes), but it’s worth it! Keep in mind that there’s not a private changing area here, so you may want to wear your swimsuit under your clothes.

Seljalandsfoss – Continuing on the Ring Road, you’ll come to the picturesque Seljalandsfoss waterfall. It has a drop of 60m and is another highly photographed spot in Iceland, so try to get there early before the tourist buses. You have to pay for parking, but otherwise it’s free. If you’re hungry, there’s a food vendor that sells delicious lamb stew (among other things).

Skógafoss – Another epic waterfall is Skógafoss. Legend says that you can find a treasure chest behind this massive waterfall. This is also the starting point for a long, multi-day hike, but you can also just climb to the top and walk for as long as you’d like before returning. There’s a small museum nearby as well if you want to learn more about the history of the waterfall.

Seljavallalaug – This hot pot is located a short walk off the Ring Road. It’s not super hot, and the change room has seen better days, but it’s secluded and it’s worth it just for the scenery, as its located at the bottom of a deep valley.

Make Your way to Vík Head to the charming little town of Vík and spend the night there. Vík is a seaside village with a glacier that covers the Katla volcano. It’s also home to some amazing black sand beaches and a DC-3 plane wreck in Sólheimasandur (located on the coast between Skógafoss and Vík).

Where to stay in Vík: Vík HI Hostel – This charming hostel has a café/bar, a female-only dorm, rooms for families, and a kitchen so you can cook your own food if you’re on a budget.

Day 4

Chill at the beach Wake up in Vík and go for a stroll on the otherworldly Reynisfjara black sand beach. There are some offshore rock formations you can see from the shore and from the cliffs above if you feel like a hike. If you’re here from May through August, you may even get to see some puffins!

Take in the view If there’s time, head up the hill to see the small Vík i Myrdal Church. It overlooks the town and gives a complete view of Vík and the ocean. Grab a coffee at a local café and enjoy the scenic vista.

Head for home Head back to Reykjavik. See more sights, chill in more cafés. Do whatever you want before you head home! (sad)

What to See and Do in Iceland: Four Days in the North

If you want to get away from the crowds, go north. Northern Iceland is one of the least-visited regions of the country and has a lot to offer the intrepid adventurer, including majestic hikes, more varied landscapes, whale watching, fewer people, and a better chance to see the Northern Lights!

Day 1

Travel north to Akureyri Start your adventure off by flying north to Akureyri from Reykjavik. If you don’t want to fly, it’s a 5-6-hour drive from Reykjavik up the west coast, which can easily be done in a day. You’ll just want to factor in a few stops along the way to sightsee!

Explore Akureyri Take a self-guided tour of the town, visit the Akureyri Botanical Gardens, get an espresso from the picturesque Laut Café, hop in the local swimming pool, or just explore the relatively small town and sip on some kaffi (coffee) and “happy marriage cake” (rhubarb jam–filled pastry with a buttery oat crust) from Kristjánsbakarí. Soak up local life as much as you can before you go!

Where to stay in Akureyri: Akureyri Backpackers – This is a laid-back hostel with a cool bar, great staff, and really hot showers!

Day 2

Visit the Waterfall of the Gods Make your way to Goðafoss, the Waterfall of the Gods. It’s a majestic semicircular waterfall that’s close to Akureyri on the Ring Road. The waterfall is over 12m tall and 30m wide, and (not surprisingly) is highly photogenic! Enjoy the view before heading onward to Mývatn.

Head to Mývatn Spend the day in Mývatn, starting off with a hike around Lake Mývatn. There is an easy trail you can follow that lets you stretch your legs and enjoy the natural beauty of the region. You can easily hike the lake in a few hours if you go at a leisurely place. Then head to the Mývatn Nature Baths geothermal pool, which is much quieter (and cheaper) than the Blue Lagoon.

There’s not much else to do here. It’s a quiet town for relaxing, but the lack of lights makes it a wonderful place to see the northern lights!

Spend the night in Mývatn at one of the many Airbnbs, guesthouses, or farm stays in the region.

Day 3

Pretend you’re on Mars Next, you’ll want to head toward the coastal town of Húsavík. On your way there, stop at Hverir and Krafla, two geothermal areas with Martian-like craters and lakes. Steaming sulfur fills the air, giving this whole area an otherworldly ambience. You can just stop to take photos or go for another hike.

Visit Dettifoss Next, head to Dettifoss, Europe’s most powerful waterfall. There are two roads leading here from the Ring Road: 862 and 864. The latter is ridden with potholes, but in my opinion offers the better view. Just drive slowly and keep an eye on your tires! Enjoy a snack by the waterfall and take in the scene. When you’re ready, drive to Húsavík (you can take the 864 north from Dettifoss).

Visit the Whale Museum Whaling has been a part of Icelandic culture for centuries. And while there is a global moratorium on hunting whales, it’s still worth learning about these massive creatures, their habitat, and their impact on the country. They also have a full blue whale skeleton!

Hafnarstétt 1, +354 414-2800, hvalasafn.is/en. Open daily with hours varying depending on the season. Admission is 2,000 ISK per person, with discounts available for seniors, families, and kids. If you go whale-watching with Gentle Giants, you’ll get 20% off your museum ticket.

Where to stay: Spend the night in sleepy Húsavík at a local guesthouse or Airbnb. If it’s northern lights season, stay at Arbot HI Hostel. The hostel is in a relatively secluded spot outside of town so you’ll have a great view of the dancing lights without having to worry about light pollution.

Day 4

Watch the whales and explore the coast Wake up early, head to the coast, and go whale-watching. There are a few different companies you can book tours with here, including Gentle Giants, who have a partnership with the Whale Museum (see above). Whale-watching tours usually last around 3 hours. Expect to pay around 10,400 ISK for adults and 4,400 ISK for children.

When you’re done, explore the hiking trails around Húsavík. You can find a list of the trails on the Visit Húsavík website. Pop into some of the local shops and cafés to get a sense of small-town life here in Northern Iceland.

See some unique architecture Travel to nearby Laufás, which is located west of Húsavík. Here you’ll get to see the old turf houses, traditional Icelandic homes that are timber framed and covered in grass. The furnishings are from around 1900, and you’ll feel like you’ve traveled back in time. While in Laufás, take a small detour and check out the church. Inside is a decorative pulpit from 1698!

Have an Icelandic feast Go back to Akureyri to explore the city and dine on fresh fish and chips from Akureyri Fish & Chips. Don’t forget to sample the country’s famous ice cream from Brynja too!

Note: I know it sounds like a lot, but if you have a car, this itinerary is very doable.

What to Do In One Week in Iceland: Golden Circle and Southern Iceland

Day 1-2

Head East Fly into Keflavík International Airport and rent a car (SAD Cars and Car Rental Iceland are the companies I recommend). Head east from Reykjavík along the Ring Road to start your adventure!

Soak in the hot springs and search for puffins Head east for a soak in the Reykjadalur hot springs in Hveragerði. Camp or stay at the hostel nearby so you can get another soak in before heading onward.

To get a bit off the beaten trail, take the ferry to the Westman Islands for the afternoon or an overnight stay (you’ll find plenty of puffins here during the summer season!). There are very few tourists here, so it’s a nice way to escape the crowds and relax.

Chase some waterfalls Venturing onward along the Ring Road, head to Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls. At Skógafoss, the 29km Fimmvörðuháls Trail begins. If you want to hike the entire trail, you can stay at the Volcano Huts at the end of the route and then take a bus back to Skógafoss in the morning. If you’re fit, you can do this hike in a day. Otherwise, you’ll need to bring tents and camp halfway. If an epic hike isn’t in the cards, stroll around the area before continuing east toward Vík.

Tour a crash site Before you get to Vík, you’ll want to check out the DC-3 plane wreck in Sólheimasandur. It’s about a 45-minute walk from the Ring Road, but it’s worth it to see the crash up close (you can no longer drive directly to the site). Dress appropriately, as it can get windy near the coastline.

Spot puffins Continue on to Vík and stop to see the black sand beaches. There are also two short hikes nearby that take you up the cliffs. They offer incredible views of the areas, and if it’s the right season, you can go puffin spotting!

Where to stay: For your first night, stay at the Hot Springs Hostel in Hveragerði (right near the hot spring). That way you can wake up early and go for another soak before you leave. If you’re on the Westman Islands, stay at Aska Hostel (or book one of the many private guesthouses for a cozy local experience). When you get to Vik, stay at Vík HI Hostel.

Days 3-4

Hike Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon This 2km-long canyon dates back to the Ice Age. It’s over 100m deep and makes for a great place to hike or have a picnic and enjoy the view. The road to get there is full of potholes, so drive carefully.

Explore Vatnajökull National Park Hike in the Skaftafell wilderness area to see the glaciers of Vatnajökull National Park. There are plenty of hikes here, both long and short, for outdoorsy types. For a shorter hike, head to Svartifoss, another photogenic waterfall surrounded by long columns of black basalt (the waterfall’s name literally translates to “the black waterfall”).

Klapparstígur 25-27, +354 575-8400, vatnajokulsthjodgardur.is. The park itself is open 24/7 however the Skaftafell visitors center has limited hours (usually 9am-7pm in the summer and 10am-6pm in the winter). See the website for more details, including camping information and weather updates. Parking is 750 ISK per vehicle per day.

Visit Jökulsárlón Lagoon The Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon borders the national park, and you don’t want to miss it. The waters are blue, and there are huge icebergs from the nearby glacier floating in the water. The lagoon flows into the Atlantic Ocean, and you’ll see lots of seals in the winter. You can follow the stream out to sea and watch the glaciers as they meet the ocean. Best of all, this is right on the Ring Road and it’s all completely free (though if you want to take a boat out into the lagoon, you’ll have to pay — I don’t think it’s worth doing, though!)

Tour the coast Continue on the Ring Road to Höfn or Djúpivogur, two tiny coastal towns. Get a taste of what life is like in small-town Iceland while exploring the winding coastline. There’s a hidden hot spring outside of Djúpivogur to reward you for making it so far up the coast too!

Where to stay: If you’re ending your day in Höfn, stay at Höfn Hostel. You can see the Vatnajökull Glacier from the town, and everything is within walking distance. If you’re heading on to Djúpivogur, Airbnb will be your best choice.

Days 5-7

Return to Reykjavík Hop in the car and head back to the capital city. Stroll the cozy streets, take a free walking tour, and enjoy some of the city’s plentiful happy hours.

See the Golden Circle Wake up early and drive out to see the three main sites of the Golden Circle. The sooner you start, the better, as you’ll be able to beat the tourist buses there and get some photos without the crowds. You’ll also have time to hike in Þingvellir National Park if you want to stretch your legs. Stock up on snacks for the day in Reykjavik to save some money (the cheapest supermarket is Bonus, so shop there!).

Relax at the Blue Lagoon If you’re craving another dip in a hot pot, head to the Blue Lagoon before your flight home. You’ll be able to end the trip on a very relaxing note!

Two Weeks: Exploring the Ring Road

With two weeks, you will be able to drive the entire Ring Road without rushing too much. You’ll have time to enjoy the rugged east coast and places like Seydisfjordur, explore the second-largest city Akureyri, hike around the Snæfellsnes peninsula, and maybe even dip into the Westfjords.

Start in Rekyavik, head east, see Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, explore Vík, visit the Jökulsárlón Lagoon, detour over to Seyðisfjörður, then head over to Dettifoss, Mývatn, Goðafoss, and Akureyri.

After exploring Akureyri, continue west to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula for some hiking. Make sure you stop off to see the iconic Kirkjufell mountain, which is one of the most photographed spots in all of Iceland (plus, it’s where they filmed some Game of Thrones scenes, too). Snæfellsnes National Park is home to Snæfellsjökull, a 700,000-year-old volcano capped by glaciers. You can book a glacier hike here or just explore the rest of the park on your own. It’s right along the coast too, so you’ll be met with some gorgeous views. Stay at The Freezer hostel (it has great live music.)

If you have time and want to get off the beaten trail, detour into the Westfjords in the northwest, or visit the Westman Islands off the south coast.

If you want to be more focused on your trip, you can split Iceland up into smaller geographic areas. One fun route to take is to head west to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, then up into the Westfjords for some hiking and relaxing before flying back to the capital. This will be the most remote part of the country, so you’ll have a lot more space and privacy to enjoy your trip.

One Month: Exploring All of Iceland

With one month, you can see the entire island of Iceland. I’ve met quite a few people who have decided to spend this amount of time in the summer months. They’ll rent a car or camper van, pack a bunch of camping gear, and drive the Ring Road at a leisurely pace. But even if you aren’t renting a van or car, you can get around by bus, air, or hitchhike!

Take multi-day hikes, visit to the less-explored Westfjords, an area many tourists skip due to a lack of time (and paved roads); visit Hrísey and/or Grímsey, the very remote islands in the north with fewer than 100 inhabitants each; or the Westman Islands, or explore more parks in the interior of the country (it’s very remote, very unvisited, and very, very awesome).

If you’re traveling on a shoestring budget and planning to camp and hitchhike in Iceland, you’ll need this longer travel time to make sure you aren’t rushed, as sometimes you’ll be waiting awhile for a lift.

But with a month here, there’s very little you can’t explore!

***

Iceland really does have something for everyone. Whether you’re visiting for a weekend or spending an entire month exploring this rugged landscape, you’ll be able to have an amazing experience.

While it’s not cheap, there are tons of ways to save money in Iceland to make these itineraries doable for even the most frugal budget traveler. But don’t take my word for it. Get out there and explore the Land of Fire and Ice for yourself!

WANTMORE? GET ALL MY TIPS AND ADVICE WITH MY GUIDEBOOK TO ICELAND!

Want to plan the perfect trip to Iceland? Check out my comprehensive guide to Iceland written for budget travelers like yourself!

It cuts out the fluff found in other guides and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel and save money in one of the most beautiful and exciting destinations in the world.

My favorite things to see and do

Money-saving tips

Budget advice

Transportation advice

My favorite non-touristy restaurants, markets, and bars

And much more!

Click here to download the Iceland guide now!

Book Your Trip to Iceland: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines, because they search websites and airlines around the globe, so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay elsewhere, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use these all the time. My favorite places to stay in Iceland are:

Hlemmur Square (Reykjavik) – A posh hotel with a great bar and traditional Icelandic communal dinners several times a week

Kex Hostel (Reykjavik) – Has a café and bar with an awesome happy hour, a comfy lounge, and a heated patio

Akureyri Backpackers (Akureyri) – A laid-back hostel with hot showers, a cool bar, and helpful staff!

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Looking for more information on visiting Iceland? Check out my in-depth destination guide to Iceland with more tips on what to see and do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

Photo credits: 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12

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Visiting Iceland in 2019: Detailed Itineraries for the Land of Fire and Ice

Posted: 1/24/2019 | January 24th, 2018

Windswept volcanoes. Black sand beaches nuzzled against rugged coastlines. Secret hot springs hidden in misty valleys while majestic waterfalls cascade from every hill.

Welcome to Iceland.

It’s easy to see why Iceland has become such a popular destination in recent years (all those cheap stopover flights have helped greatly too).

And, while it’s not the most budget-friendly country in the world, there are still ways to see the sights without breaking the bank!

If you’re planning a weekend getaway or want to drive the entirety of the island, this list of Iceland itineraries will ensure that you see the best the country has to offer!

Table of Contents

One Weekend in Reykjavik

Four Days in the South

Four Days in the North

One Week: Golden Circle and Southern Iceland

Two Weeks: Exploring the Ring Road

One Month: Everything!

What to See and Do in Iceland: One Weekend in Reykjavik

Day 1

National Museum: Suðurgata 41, +354 530-2200, thjodminjasafn.is. Open daily 10am-5pm (closed on Mondays in the winter). Admission is 2,000 ISK (1,000 ISK for students/seniors).

Icelandic Phallological Museum: Laugavegur 116, +354 561-6663, phallus.is/en. Open daily 10am-6pm. Admission is 1,700 ISK per person.

Sundlaugavegur 105, +354 411-5100, reykjavik.is/stadir/laugardalslaug. Open weekdays 6:30am-10pm and weekends 8am-10pm. Admission is 625 ISK, though if you have the Reykjavik City Card, it’s free!

Slippbarinn — This is the first proper cocktail bar in the city and boasts live music and DJs several nights a week. Happy hour is daily 3pm-6pm. Myragata 2, +354 560 8080, slippbarinn.is.

For a more standard hostel, stay at Kex Hostel. It has a café and bar with an awesome happy hour, a comfy lounge, and a heated patio.

Day 2

Fun fact: The Blue Lagoon is simply runoff from the nearby geothermal plant. Icelanders just found a way to monetize it for tourists! Thank you, Instagram? Ha!

READ MORE: How to save money in Reykjavik

What to See and Do in Iceland: Four Days in the South

In addition to the itinerary above, here are some activities you’ll want to add if you plan on getting further outside of Reykjavik to explore the southern region of Iceland.

Day 3

Experience nature Head southeast on the Ring Road from Reykjavík to scout out some waterfalls. Be prepared and bring swimsuits, towels, a waterproof camera, and a jacket.

Where to stay in Vík: Vík HI Hostel – This charming hostel has a café/bar, a female-only dorm, rooms for families, and a kitchen so you can cook your own food if you’re on a budget.

Day 4

Head for home Head back to Reykjavik. See more sights, chill in more cafés. Do whatever you want before you head home! (sad)

What to See and Do in Iceland: Four Days in the North

Day 1

Where to stay in Akureyri: Akureyri Backpackers – This is a laid-back hostel with a cool bar, great staff, and really hot showers!

Day 2

There’s not much else to do here. It’s a quiet town for relaxing, but the lack of lights makes it a wonderful place to see the northern lights!

Spend the night in Mývatn at one of the many Airbnbs, guesthouses, or farm stays in the region.

Day 3

Day 4

Have an Icelandic feast Go back to Akureyri to explore the city and dine on fresh fish and chips from Akureyri Fish & Chips. Don’t forget to sample the country’s famous ice cream from Brynja too!

Note: I know it sounds like a lot, but if you have a car, this itinerary is very doable.

What to Do In One Week in Iceland: Golden Circle and Southern Iceland

Day 1-2

Days 3-4

Days 5-7

Return to Reykjavík Hop in the car and head back to the capital city. Stroll the cozy streets, take a free walking tour, and enjoy some of the city’s plentiful happy hours.

Relax at the Blue Lagoon If you’re craving another dip in a hot pot, head to the Blue Lagoon before your flight home. You’ll be able to end the trip on a very relaxing note!

Two Weeks: Exploring the Ring Road

If you have time and want to get off the beaten trail, detour into the Westfjords in the northwest, or visit the Westman Islands off the south coast.

One Month: Exploring All of Iceland

But with a month here, there’s very little you can’t explore!

***

Iceland really does have something for everyone. Whether you’re visiting for a weekend or spending an entire month exploring this rugged landscape, you’ll be able to have an amazing experience.

WANTMORE? GET ALL MY TIPS AND ADVICE WITH MY GUIDEBOOK TO ICELAND!

Want to plan the perfect trip to Iceland? Check out my comprehensive guide to Iceland written for budget travelers like yourself!

It cuts out the fluff found in other guides and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel and save money in one of the most beautiful and exciting destinations in the world.

My favorite things to see and do

Money-saving tips

Budget advice

Transportation advice

My favorite non-touristy restaurants, markets, and bars

And much more!

Click here to download the Iceland guide now!

Book Your Trip to Iceland: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Hlemmur Square (Reykjavik) – A posh hotel with a great bar and traditional Icelandic communal dinners several times a week

Kex Hostel (Reykjavik) – Has a café and bar with an awesome happy hour, a comfy lounge, and a heated patio

Akureyri Backpackers (Akureyri) – A laid-back hostel with hot showers, a cool bar, and helpful staff!

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for more information on visiting Iceland? Check out my in-depth destination guide to Iceland with more tips on what to see and do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

Photo credits: 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12

The post Visiting Iceland in 2019: Detailed Itineraries for the Land of Fire and Ice appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/iceland-itineraries/

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