A Jet Set Lifestyle: Sleepy Hollow, NY

I have long been a fan of Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Living so close to Sleepy Hollow, NY I always wondered why I never took a visit. Well this past weekend I finally decided it was time. I went to check it out.

I thought there would be a quaint little downtown with shops and restaurants but it was lacking in all of that.

A lot of the Halloween festivities didn’t start until the second weekend of the month so I unfortunately missed them. Perhaps the village is more fun then. But Sleepy Hollow itself was lacking quite a bit. I took a cemetery tour and saw “The Headless Horseman” as well as the site of where the bridge from the legend used to be.

Other than that there were some events nearby in Tarrytown and then the Great Jack-O-Lateran Blaze over in Croton-On-Hudson. The Jack-O-Lateran Blaze sells out quick and I was unable to go.

If you are thinking of going, you certainly don’t need more than a day, if you are from out of town plan on spending the rest of the weekend visiting other sites in New England, upstate New York or in New York City.

A Jet Set Lifestyle: Settlement Exhibition and Saga Iceland

I spent a couple of hours over at The Settlement Exhibition Reykjavík 871 +/- 2. I found it intriguing to see the remains of one of the first houses in Iceland. The house is over 1,000 years old. It really brings to life what the houses looked like at that time. There are plenty of video screens to learn about the migration of people, to the genetic makeup of the Icelanders, to the animals and trees that were native to Iceland and how the first settlers lived.

According to Wikipedia: “The Settlement Exhibition Reykjavík 871 +/- 2 is an exhibition on the settlement of Reykjavík, Iceland, created by the Reykjavik City Museum. The exhibition is based on the archaeological excavation of the ruin of one of the first houses in Iceland and findings from other excavations in the city center. The exhibition is located in 101 Reykjavík, on Aðalstræti 16, on the corner of Aðalstræti and Suðurgata. The focus of the exhibition is the remains of a hall from the Settlement Age which was excavated in 2001. The hall was inhabited from c. 930–1000. North of the hall are two pieces of turf, remnants of a wall which was clearly built before 871±2, hence the name of the exhibition. Such precise data dating is possible because a major volcanic eruption from the Torfajökull area spread tephra across the region and this can be dated via glacial ice in Greenland. The hall is among the oldest human-made structures so far found in Iceland. Also on display are objects from the Viking Age found in central Reykjavík and the island of Viðey.”

Also at the exhibit you can read parts of the Sagas and see some of the actual manuscripts! It is unreal how well some things hold up over 1,000 years. I think it’s a shame things made in this day and day barely last 10 years. Give yourself 2 – 3 hours there and then enjoy the city center as you will be right in the heart of Reykjavík city center.

A Jet Set Lifestyle: The Golden Circle – Iceland

The Golden Circle is an area of Iceland that is on most people’s must do lists when visiting Iceland. My first trip there I missed it. My second trip however I succeeded in heading out there. I would however love to see it in the summer as well.

According to Wikipidea: “The Golden Circle (Icelandic: Gullni hringurinn) is a popular tourist route in southern Iceland, covering about 300 kilometres (190 mi) looping from Reykjavík into the southern uplands of Iceland and back. It is the area that contains most tours and travel-related activities in Iceland. The three primary stops on the route are the Þingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss waterfall, and the geothermal area in Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur. Though Geysir has been mostly dormant for many years, Strokkur, on the other hand, continues to erupt every 5–10 minutes. Other stops include the Kerið volcanic crater, the town of Hveragerði, Skálholt cathedral, and the Nesjavellir and Hellisheiðarvirkjun geothermal power plant.”

On my trip I visited Þingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss waterfall, the geysers Geysir and Strokkur, and Hellisheiðarvirkjun geothermal power plant.

I got talking with a girl that was staying at the hostel and we decided we would rent a car and drive the Golden Circle ourselves. That morning a new girl in the hostel also agreed to come along about 5 minutes after meeting us. We split the cost of the car three ways and including gas it worked out to about 30 USD a piece due to the discount we got from the hostel and from the discount gas card that the car rental gave us.

We started out at about 11 in the morning and stopped at the supermarket for snacks. From there we made our way to the power plant which will be it’s own separate blog post. From there we hit Geysir and Strokkur, Gullfoss waterfall, and Þingvellir National Park. It was February when we went and so we didn’t spend a lot of time at the waterfall or at the park. So we were able to be back in Reykjavik by about 6 PM. If you have the option I would suggest doing The Golden Circle in the summer.

We got to Geysir and Strokkur. Geysir is the original geysir and what all other geysir’s are named after. Geysir has been inactive for quite some time as of writing (2016) however Strokkur just a couple minutes walk away is very active and erupts every 5 – 10 minutes or so. There are ropes around the geysirs and other areas by the geysirs and please heed the call to stay behind the ropes and the written warning signs. They are for your protection. It may have been cold in February but that water gets extremely hot and you can easily burn yourself. This will sound contradictory but there are areas by the geysir in February that are frozen and thus slippery. If you have crampons, I’d suggest bringing them along.

From there it is a short drive up to Gullfoss waterfall. It is massive. Again, please heed the signs and ropes. It is slippery and you could fall off the side of the cliff to get a super close up view of the waterfall. However, you probably wouldn’t live to tell anyone about it. And you probably wouldn’t enjoy it as your life very well may be flashing before you instead. I would have loved to have gotten closer to the waterfall, but I didn’t go passed the ropes. I may break some rules, but when my life is at stake, that can be a different story. There were a good 20 people that I could see that had passed under the rope and got close. Good for them if they lived. The risk was not worth it to me. Against, perhaps go in the summer. The waterfall was mostly frozen and that was an interesting sight to see however.

We didn’t spend long at the waterfall due to the icy winds blowing us about. (Another reason why I didn’t want to take the icy patch passed the rope… too cold.. too windy.. to icey.)

So we made our way onward to Þingvellir National Park. According to Wiki Travel:  “The Þingvellir area forms part of the volcanic fissure zone running right through Iceland, In turn, this zone is part of the tectonic plate boundaries of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which extend the length of the Atlantic from north to south. The Þingvellir plains are the westernmost part of a rift valley stretching from the mountains in the northeast and down towards lake Þingvallavatn. The horsts delimiting the valley are the cliffs of Almannagjá fault to the west and the Heiðargjá fault to the east. Over the past 10,000 years the valley’s appearance has been shaped by the spreading and sinking of the Earth’s crust. The tectonic plates west of Almannagjá and east of Heiðargjá are gradually moving apart by an average of 3 mm per year. Measurements suggest that the graben (the floor of the valley) has widened 70 meters in the space of 10,000 years, and sunk by 40 meters at the same time – the difference between the top of Almannagjá and the plains below. As well as moving gradually, the land displaces at intervals of several hundred years. In 1789 Þingvellir was struck by a wave of earthquakes lasting ten days. The valley floor between Almannagjá and Heiðargjá sank by almost 2 meters then, mostly in the middle, and spread considerably too.”

Again, due to the weather we didn’t stay long at the park. If it were the summer I could have spent hours there. And luckily in the summer there’s almost no night time so you very possibly could spend hours there!

After the park we journeyed our way back home feeling accomplished and cold. I know I said it was cold more than once and that you should go in the summer more than once. Burt if you are only ever going to have one opportunity to go, and it happens to be in the winter I’d say still go! It is worth seeing!

A Jet Set Lifestyle: Saga Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland

The Saga Museum in Reykjavik, Iceland is a lot of fun. I’ve read some of the Sagas and to see the stories brought to life is helpful for a person like me who is a visual person, especially with names that are not traditional to my culture. At the Saga museum they’ve made wax figure depictions of the characters/historical figures of the sagas (think Madam Tussard’s style) and stylize an area for them. There for you to read is a brief synopsis of the saga that they are from. Here you can learn about the first settlers, when the plague hit Iceland, etc. For free you can get a little audio guide that gives you more information on each saga as well (They do have it in a few different languages). In the end there are viking wares to try on to take photos (I did this at another museum so I didn’t do it here as well), there is a gift shop, and a cafe. I read each and every sign and listened to each audio recording and I was out of there in less than 2 hours. There’s a nice bar/restaurant near by and you are right near the harbor.

These wax figures are not for this description

This description is not for these wax figures

A Jet Set Lifestyle: National Historic Museum of Oslo

The National Historic Museum is a wonderful museum in Oslo. As most museums it has installations that are there for couple a few months and permanent exhibitions. At the National Historic Museum permanent exhibitions included items from other countries and culture’s histories and my favorite part, Viking era items.

Of course the big museum to check out for Viking era items would be the Viking Ship museum to see actual ships from the Viking era, but the National museum is where you can see other items such as clothing, day to day items used in the home, etc.  It is unbelievable how well preserved the items in the museum are.

This museum is open on Sundays and is right in central Oslo so if you’re staying in central Oslo you can easily walk to the museum. It is also close to the Ice Bar so if you wanted to check that out you could do both in one day without a problem.

A Jet Set Lifestyle: Viking Ship Museum – Oslo

The Viking Ship Museum located in Oslo, Norway, (outside of the city center) not far from the Kon-Tiki Museum, houses archaeological finds from Tune, Gokstad (Sandefjord), Oseberg (Tønsberg) and the Borre mound cemetery. On display you will find beds, a horse cart, wood carvings, among other items. But the items people most marvel at are the Oseberg ship, Gokstad ship and Tune ship. The Oseberg ship was found almost completely intact thanks to the type of clay it was buried in that preserved the wood for hundreds of years.

Upon the writing of this (May 2016) they have been 3-D imagining the items in the museum to preserve the information for generations to come.

I suggest you take a guided tour of the museum (I usually enjoy going to museums solo) but I took a guided tour through part of the museum and to learn about the history of the ships through 20th century is pretty fascinating. Norway played a part in World War II and to learn what happened to Norway during the war, left me with a heavy heart. My school system didn’t do a lot to teach us much from 20th century history and the little we got basically didn’t cover areas outside the US or mainland Europe. But I find learning to be a very important tool  to become a well-rounded human being. So if your school system was as bad as mine I suggest reading up on Hilter’s occupation. I’m done and will get off my soapbox now. Back to the ships.

I thought the Oseberg ship was beautiful. I cannot believe it was buried in 834 and was found practically whole in 1904. If you go to Oslo and don’t go to this museum you are sorely missing out. You can see replicas of some of these ships elsewhere in the world but to see the actual ships right there in front of you with your own eyes I still can’t wrap my head around the fact they are over 1,000 years old.

A Jet Set Lifestyle: Bar Options in Reykjavik, Iceland

I’ve talked about about the Reykjavik bar scene throughout many previous posts. But I never really gave a breakdown of the different bar options the great city has to offer. This does not cover all of the options and places open and close frequently like in any city so this is a breakdown as of writing (March 2016). Also these places pretty much never have a cover charge. On Friday’s they usually get going around 11 PM or midnight, on weekends about an hour to an hour and a half later than that. Sunday – Thursday they close at 1 while Fridays and Saturdays they are open until 4 AM in the morning. Remember they don’t use “excuse me” and will just shove you out of the way if they want to get by. And don’t try to sneak your drink out like a rookie, just ask for a to go cup if you want to move on to somewhere else!

• B5 is a club more than a bar. I’ve heard they have a stricter dress code than most of Reykjavik and that ladies you should be in heels. But for me this is all hearsay as I haven’t actually gone there myself. (Heels in winter in a walk able city and I are not friends).
•  American Bar and English Pub are tourist hot spots. But you can find Icelanders in them, mainly when they want to pick up tourists.  You will find dancing at both. Both are pretty large spots but still will get backed during the weekend nights.
  • English Pub almost always has live music in the form of a 2 or 3 person cover group. Earlier in the night there’s room to dance and with your friends without getting that “club” vibe but as the night wears on the place gets overcrowded. You can find futbol matches on there.
  • American Bar will do live music earlier and switch over to DJs who spin Top 40 hits later in the night on weekends. If you’re looking to hear the current hits this is where to go, but ladies don’t be surprised to have dudes coming up and grinding on you. American bar as a front and back bottle service area like any good american bar will have. So if you’re into that sort of thing. Also things like the Superbowl are played there.

• Prikið is the hip-hop spot. A lot of Reykjavik’s hip hop artists will hang out there and the music is all hip hop spanning the decades. The space is 2 floors and though the music pumps through to the second floor is really just for tables and chillin’ out while the 1st floor is packed to the gills.
• Kofinn has DJs spinning electronic music, small space, not very crowded.
• Bravó also goes down the electronic path as the night wears on. Be careful of the step as you enter (or exit), it’s gotten me twice (once going in and once going out).
• Húrra has electronic music, a stage area to dance as well as the dance floor, and most people seem to be rolling face there.
• Kaffibarinn will had electronic in the front room but it’ll be music free in the back room. This is one of my favorite spots to chill out, back room style as I’m not a club person and usually like to be able to sit and chat (if I’m not dancing) but get there early for seats.
• Lebowski If you are a fan of the movie you need to check this place out. Also, there’s like 3 rooms and the back one is usually where you can find people dancing. The music isn’t normally the best, but it’s dance-able to some extent.

• Bar Ananas is a tiki bar and because of that obviously also has a kitschy feel to it. It always looks like summer in there! It’s nice during those long winter nights. It’s one of my favorite spots to chill out in. They have free wifi too!
• Kiwi is a gay club. I have not been in myself, so I can not attest to the scene inside.
• Shooters is the Gentlemen’s Club.
• Bjarni Fel Sportbar You can find futbol on as well as UFC fights and probably other sports as well, however it’s all that I have seen in my couple of times in there.
• Hressó in front there’s long booths to sit in and eat. On weekends they have live music up front as well. There’s some small tables and the bar too. If you down to the back room on weekends there’s a DJ and you can hear a lot of dance-able music. So if you want to get your dance on you can give it a shot.
• Boston Bar it’s pretty divey in there, but they have free wi-fi.
• Dillon is a rock bar and a whisky bar. The whisky’s are good and the music ranges from rock, hard rock, to the more metal side of things. I myself have nly seen live music there on weekends, I’ve been in once or twice during the week and it was pretty quiet.
• Skuli Craft Bar if you like craft beers check this one out.
• Micro Bar also a craft beer spot, though I think I enjoy Skuli better.
• Dubliner is a total dive bar.
• Paloma you can find live music in as well. And as most places in Reykjavik the live music is of the harder style because that is what’s quite popular in those Nordic countries.
• Gaukurinn depending on the night you can find stand up, trivia, karaoke, live music, etc.
• Danski Barinn Pretty relaxed atmosphere and the wallpaper in the fall by the bathrooms feels like velvet, seriously.
• Íslenski Barinn I’ve heard has decent food though I haven’t tried it myself. I’ve gone in once and it has a mixture of small tables, booths, and bar seating. Not a place to go if you’re looking to party as it has a more chill vibe from what I’ve noticed.

Have you been to any of these places? What are your thoughts and opinions? Did I leave out your favorite spot? Tell me and the readers about it! Comment below.

A Jet Set Lifestyle: Local foods Part IV Meat Soup – Reykjavik, Iceland

We all know how much I love those hot dogs from Iceland. But apparently Icelanders make this thing called meat soup that is supposedly bomb as well. One day when I was in town and starving and not sure I’d be able to make the 45 minute walk home before I passed out from hunger pains and I decided it was time to try the meat soup. I didn’t have much time to research (again, hungry!), so I ended up going to a place close by, The Old Iceland Restaurant. (Upon further research I learned the best meat soup is from Cafe Loki, so I guess I’ll need to give that a shot next time I’m in the area.)

The Old Iceland Restaurant I got to about 15 minutes before it opened so I went into one of the shops across the street to hang out until 5. I went over when they opened for dinner service and there were already a few tables seated in the small restaurant and more with reserved signs. I was luckily able to get a table as some more groups came in after me and soon people were being turned away at the door. I looked at the menu in the charming restaurant space though I knew what I would be ordering.

Now I’m one that cooks and so I know the difference between a soup and a stew, but for whatever reason in my head I thought the soup with have a stew consistency to it. It did not. It had a soup consistency as the name would suggest. My bad. The soup seemed simple enough with chunks of potatoes, carrots and lamb meat, as well as herbs. I enjoyed my soup, the server was a lovely young woman, and the restaurant was quaint. If you wanted to go I’d suggest you make a reservation.

Would I go back for the meat soup? Probably not. Again, it was good, but not outstanding. I’ll try Cafe Loki next time. Would I give the restaurant another shot at another dish? Yes. Have you been to the Old Iceland Restaurant? Have you tried the meat soup there, at Cafe Loki, or elsewhere in Iceland?  What are your thoughts?

A Jet Set Lifestyle: Reykjavik on a budget.

The last three weeks (1, 2, 3) I was telling you about my trip to Iceland. The week before that I told you about my love for Iceland. This week I’ll tell you how to cut corners and see Iceland on a budget.

Let me start off by saying I am a woman and I do have a friend in Iceland. So because of these two facts I did have some drinks bought for me as well as some meals. But even if I added in those drinks and meals that were paid for by others I am sure I would still be under $1,000.

It all started in late September, early October when I was attempting to do classwork and realized I was terribly bored as I found myself looking at flights instead. I noticed a flight that was during Thanksgiving break and coming back the following week from Boston to Iceland for $263.39 (All prices will be in USD). I have never flown from Boston. But I decided to look into how one would get to the Boston airport. I was able to get two one way megabus tickets that were 20.50 and 6.50. This is cheaper than my train and subway to the New York airports.

Before I knew it my credit card info was in the Wow! Air site as well as the Megabus site and I had booked a flight and RT travel to and from the airport. I was going to Iceland.

Iceland had been on my bucketlist for quite some time, but I had gone to Europe in May and had just gotten back in September. The last thing I needed to do was go on another trip to Europe so soon. But what’s done is done, so now it was time to plan on how to not spend a ton of money as I didn’t have it to spend.

I immediately jumped on hostelworld and checked out what options there were. I found one that looked to be right near downtown and had a female only dorm. I paid $35.23 in a hostel deposit and felt safer I knew where I would be laying my head each night.

The final important thing to get done was getting my transport to and from the airport in Iceland. I did a search for city buses, trains, etc and realized taking a shuttle bus was the best option. I booked my Reykjavik Excursions bus to take me to and from the airport. My shuttle bus cost $37.95.

Everything I could take care of ahead of time was taken care of. In total I had spent $363.57 on my trip thus far.

Fast forward to getting ready to leave for my trip.

I didn’t pay for extra baggage on my Wow! Air flight so I was only allowed to bring 11 pounds. 11 pounds! That’s not much at all. So I made sure to buy a scale so I could weight my bag prior to my journey. I knew it would be cold so I would need to bring heavy layers with me. Heavy layers = more weight. I thought this could be a problem.

So I packed 2 pairs of jeans (I wore a 3rd pair), packed 2 shirts (wore a third), packed a blazer, my HeatTech under layers, a pair of flip flops, enough undies and socks for the trip. I also packed a little cloth shoulder bag that folded down flat and a few snacks.  I weighed and I came in just under 11 pounds. Success!

But what about winter boots, coats, scarves, gloves, toiletries, makeup, camera, chargers, adapters, etc?

Well I had never flown with this airline before, but I figured if it was like any other airline when you go to check in, they’ll weight your bag. So I was banking on that being the case.

I opted to wear my snow boots, I could kick them off during the flight, I also decided to wear my winter coats (puffy vest, puffy coat, waterproof shell). I’d be hot for the short moments when I had to have them all on at the airport but otherwise I could stop them in the overhead bin and be done with it. I also carried my gloves, scarf, and tundra hat. From there since I had so many coats on it was time to fill those pockets with my heavy items. My adapter in one, my liquid items in another, my locks (for my bag) in another, my camera in another, etc. I was weighed down, but again it wouldn’t have to last long.

I went up to the ticket counter to check in. I was carrying my outer layers by this point. She took my bag alone and weighed it. And it was still just under 11 pounds. I got my ticket went through security and then went out re-packing my bag. I had enough room left in my bag to empty out my pockets which I set forth doing. Once boarding the plane I threw my coats in the bags, took out the small fold up bag and place in it my charger, eye mask, melatonin, and other things I would need during the flight and threw the bag on top of my coats. All had worked out perfectly.

Upon arrival at my hostel I was told if I bought a hostel international card I would get a discount on my stay. The price of the card and the amount of my discount worked out so that even with paying for the card I was paying less for the room than if I didn’t buy the card at all. So I bought it. It’s good for a year and I get discounts at any other hostel international locations I stay at within the year. My hostel and the price of the card came out to $212.25.

My hostel had free food in the kitchen. There was cereal and than any things let over from when people left. So I opted to have cereal each morning, which would require milk. Then I decided I would have pasta each night. So I went out and checked out the local markets to compare prices. I then picked up a carton of milk, a box of pasta, and a can of sauce. I usually eat much healthier but having to be on a budget due to not working much and having to get a new car the month before, my car insurance going up due to said car, and having to pay my union dues, I knew I had to be careful. Over the course of the trip this and a packet of ramen noodles and a yogurt would be all that I would buy to cook. I had a few snack bars I had taken with me, those became my lunch.

There re many companies that do northern lights tours. I myself chose Gray Line much because of the price point $45.97.

I don’t have a breakdown of the prices for everything here, but I do know everything else that was bought:

During my time there or at the airport (to or from) I bought 4 sandwiches, 3 hot dogs, 2 bottled water, and a partridge in a pair tree. (I’m kidding about the partridge.) … (and the pear tree) I also bought a burger and friends with two beers ($27.04), 1 vodka tonic ($10.55), 2 vodka tonics ($11.31 each) , a double vodka tonic ($18.86), 1 kleinur, a piece of candy, a beer for a friend,

I also ended up having to buy razors and toothpaste while away. I went to a pool so I brought admission and rented a suit and towel. I went to two museums (paid the student price for both), took home a shot glass, Christmas ornament, and 2 kids plates.

Finally I took the T train to and from the airport from the bus terminal in Boston and a taxi ($42.62).

Just in case you were wondering for free during my trip I had be bought: 4 beers, 2 shots, 1 vodka tonic, a smirnoff ice, brunch, pizza, pasta, and a cupcake. Also my friends family drove me outside of Reykjavik one day and a friend paid for my  bus fare on another occasion.

If we don’t include the flybus or hostel I spent $280.75 on the ground. If we don’t include the taxi ride to visit a friend (as it wasn’t necessarily a tourist “thing”) on the ground I spent a total of $238.13. If we include flights, megabuses, deposits on the hotel, etc I spent a total of $856.57 on my trip to Iceland for 8 nights.

So if you want to do it, you can. You need to watch your money and cut some corners, but it’s possible to stay on a very low budget in the very expensive country of Iceland. In February I am off to Oslo (another expensive one) and it looks like due to some personal things here in the states I will be low on cash once again. I’ll of course fill you in all about Oslo!