ICELAND!!

Okay, so I suppose the amazingly beautiful strike of lightning I saw from the Airtrain was an ominous sign of what was to come. Instead of leaving JFK at 835pm (sorry no colons, I can´t find the button), my plane departed around midnight, which led to my being stranded in Iceland--for 6 hours. I suppose that is better than most, AND they fed us, even though the delay was due to weather. I suppose at this point Icelandair and Iceland needs all the business they can get and cannot afford disgruntled customers. Futhermore, those who have missed their flights to Stockholm, etc. are actually being put up for free in London hotels. Now that´s service for you.

A few observations...(damn you colon button!)

1. It´s eerily quiet over here. I´ve never been to a more deserted airport. In the hallways I can hear the pitter patter of my little feet hitting the ground hard. Also, some sort of purple flower, heather?, grows in abundance here--or at least around the airport

Purple fields of flowers from Reykjavik (Airport!)

(I can't figure out how to flip my video,  so just tilt your head to the left!)

2. From the airport I see Icelandair hangers and nothingness. Very flat, barren, desolate.

3. One thing the disastrous economic, financial crisis has personally done for me is to make the dollar strong to the Icelandic KR. So YAY DUTY FREE SHOPPING!

4. Even in Iceland, the minorities mop the floors, while those descendent from the mightly Vikings have to more posh jobs of manning the cash registers. Okay, that´s not too too fair, since all I have is anecdotal evidence, not at all a statistically significant result as my sample size is too small (one).

Now time to take some pictures, so you all can join me in my Iceland fun!

Long Time Coming

Finally, I'm getting somewhere. I've rounded up all of my trip 'necessities' and will be on my way to the airport in a few hours. I've packed my backpack, which weighs a ton. I think it's all the travel size shampoos and conditioners, sunscreens, and cortizones I bought. Also I managed to fit an empty backpack in my backpacker's backpack, so I can bring back treasures (Yeah Scott, you're birthday is just around the corner when I get back). UGH I want to be on the plane already or better yet soaking in the Reykjavik sunlight...at least I'll be halfway to London then.


We Shall Overcome: Bumps along the way.

1. Negra. Oh Negra. Somehow I ended up taking care of my roommate's cat for three weeks: the cat he shouldn't have. He went off to the Caribbean and left another roommate in charge who then went off to San Francisco. With a cheery note slipped under my door, the responsibility of keeping a black ball of fluff alive fell upon my shoulders. Luckily, at the last moment, Girl With a Conscience and Big Heart swooped in to rescue the poor neglected cat. (And she and her roommate took the litter box! HAHAHA)

2. MyAir.com. Somehow, I'm still not sure how this happened, but I booked my Istanbul-Bari, Italy ticket for the wrong day. Actually on the same day I'm leaving for Cairo from Istanbul. I attribute it to the fact that both days fall on a Friday? TGIF mindset? Eh! Luckily Myair.com allows you to change your ticket, even when you by a MyLow ticket for 23 Euros, as long as you change it 2 1/2 hours before takeoff or something like that. Only catch: the 5 Euro credit card transaction fee. I can write rant after rant about the hidden fees siamese twin connected to budget airlines. Online check-in fee Ryanair? Really? Anyway...

3. Attire. Seeing as I will be traveling to sweltering hot and rather conservative countries, the question of what to wear come to the forefront. What to wear what to wear? My usual summer garb is a skimpy summer dress--bra optional, which wouldn't fly in Egypt. Solution: Forever 21's scoopneck Ts, oh so soft and airy. At $4.50 a pop and a variety of colors, you can't go wrong. Paired with my (parachutesque) black pants, I hopefully won't die of heat exhaustion. Plus that solves the conundrum of how to go from Day Look (traipsing around Pharaonic Egypt) to Night Look (going out in Cairo where the elite carry handbags that rival those seen any New York hot spot). With a spot of YSL fushia lipstick, I'm all set.

4. Money. There are Citibanks in London, Istanbul/Fethiye/Antalya, and Cairo/Alexandria. No ATM fees, although there is always that pesky 2-3% for currency exchange. Barclays and Bank of America have an agreement so there are no fees (in the UK only). And I kind of want to try my hand at haggling for currency in the Istanbul markets. I knew my envelope of 20s under my bed would come in handy.

The Day Before

Once again it's way too late in the evening, and I'm still up. But I promise, I've been productive. I'm nearly packed (two t-shirts and a bikini down, the rest to go). I'll go to bed soon.

This will be my third pitiful attempt to create a blog. Just like my many attempts to keep a travel journal, after a few entries in said blogs and journals, my creative juices abandon me, or rather I get too caught up in the real world and abandon any initiatives to get my musings and memories down on 'paper'. Hélas what knowledge the world has missed, lost forever in the jumble that is my mind and poor self-reflection powers.

Nevertheless, once again I commence a blog. A travel blog to entertain all the insomniacs of my acquaintance, to keep track of my movements and thoughts, full of tips on vagabonding around the world on a barely there budget (June 20th was my one year anniversary of being unemployed!) and 'Kiyomi' stories.

Not sure how regularly I'll be online, mais bon.

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY BRETT!