ICELAND: Exploring Reykjavik - The Smoky Bay

We flew into Iceland overnight (and with a 4-hour time change) it was around 7 am when we landed. After going through customs and picking up our rental car we were on our journey through what seemed like a pre-historic wonderland on an overcast day. Our first day was to be spent in Reykjavik exploring what the city has to offer. The city, which is home to 2/3 of the islands population is located 40 minutes from the airport. We got there early enough to get a great parking spot next to our first location, Hallgrímskirkja.

Hallgrímskirkja

Hallgrímskirkja is the center point of the city and an amazing piece of architecture that is hard to miss. It was opened in 1986 as a Lutheran Parish church and is the tallest structure in Iceland. The architecture of the building was inspired by the basalt formations which can be found in other parts of the island. After paying a small fee for a ticket, we were able to use the small elevator to visit the top floor. The top of the church provides the best view of the city below, and is a great stop for photos or to see the colorful rooftops of the city.

Sun Voyager statue 

The Sun Voyager Statue is a stainless steel structure near the ocean. The steel reflects the sky's colors, providing an excellent focal point for sunset photos (although we stopped by while it was quite overcast). 

Laugavegur

The main shopping street of downtown Reykjavik is located within a short walk from Hallgrímskirkja. The street is also home to most of the bars and nightlife of the city. While we don't typically do much shopping while traveling, one of the best parts of wandering through Reykjavik is spotting all of the great street art along the way (and the local cats!).

Harpa
Harpa is the concert hall, and is recognizable due to the geometric glass designs that texture the entire building like a beehive. Harpa is hard to miss, and inside you can find some info on display about Iceland. 

Food & Drink

In Iceland, it is a little difficult to find affordable food. We ended up eating at The Noodle Station, and having a drink at the Lebowski Bar - a Big Lebowski themed bar with craft beer and a menu full of white Russians. Due to the cost, we didn't eat much local food within the city, and we only went out that first night. 

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ICELAND: Travel Checklist

We're going to Iceland on Friday! We couldn't be more excited. We've been planning this trip for months, and we've come up with a list of things that we absolutely must experience on our travels. Needless to say, we can't wait to share our photos with you! Have you ever seen a more photogenic location?

Here's our Iceland Travel Checklist:

Relax in the Blue Lagoon

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Venture to the top of Hallgrimskirkja Church for a view of Reykjavik

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See the Northern Lights (hopefully!)

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Explore the sights of the Golden Circle - Geysir, Gulfoss waterfall, Thingvellir National Park, Brúarfoss and the Kerid Crater.

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See some historic Turf Houses

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Stop by the Budir Black Church

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Try some local foods:

• Icelandic hot dogs (this is a goal of Josh's, since Kaili is a pescetarian)
• Fresh fish (we are going to pass on the fermented shark, puffin and whale, thankyou)
• Geothermal bread
• Ice cream!
• Craft Beer

Glacier Hike!

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Visit the Jokulsarlon lagoon & black sand beach

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View Vesturhorn Mountain

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Pet Icelandic Horses (they're so cute!)

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Visit Mt Kirkjufell on the Snæfellsnes peninsula

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Have you been to Iceland? Tell us about your trip! 

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NEW YORK: A Morning in Central Park

On our final morning of vacation in New York, we decided to explore Central Park. Located in the heart of Manhattan, Central Park is an amazing piece of planning and beauty. Established in 1857 and  at almost 800 acres of land, it takes up a lot of the cities real estate space and separates the cities upper east side and upper west side basically in half. It is also one of the most filmed and visited sites in the world.

Luckily for us we got to visit at the peak of the Autumn season to see all the colors of the fall. This is like no other park in the world. Besides the beautiful scenery and people watching, there are 29 amazing sculptures/statues in the park including many historic figures. There is also Belvedere Castle and "the mall" which is a walkway seen in various movies throughout the years. You can literally spend all day exploring this park, and still find new things. 

Early morning was a great time to visit. While the park was still busy, it was easier to capture photos with less crowds.

While Central Park is gorgeous year round, we heavily recommend seeing it in the fall.

33 MORE DAYS TILL WE VISIT ICELAND!
You can read our other entries about New York here.  

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NEW YORK: Our Tour of New York City

With approximately 48 hours to spend in New York City,  we set out to see as much as possible in what time we had. Although we had both been to the city before, we had never gone together. We set out to find some good food & coffee, and visit all of the tourist-y destinations within walking distance of our hotel. 

After dropping off our rental car and traversing in an Uber into Manhattan, (a great means of travel - sign up here for $20 off your first ride!) we dropped our bags off at our cute little hotel and were on our way to being tourists in one of the biggest cities in the world. We stayed at The Pod - a cute, compact, accommodation within about a mile from Central Park. The room was the tiniest hotel room we had ever shared, but we spent majority of our time walking the city. The location of the hotel allowed us to save money on transportation, as most destinations within Midtown were within walking distance. Make sure to do your research when booking a hotel in a major city: it is sometimes worth it to spend a little extra money and have easier access to the places you plan to  visit during your trip. 

Museum of Modern Art
As we are both artists, we decided our first stop was going to be the Museum of Modern Art (the MOMA). Choosing between the MOMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET) was difficult. In the end, we chose the MOMA because of its wider array of artists that are a little more current. We recommend going early to avoid the crowds - though the museum was still pretty busy despite our early arrival.
Make sure to book tickets in advance because this place is one of the most visited sites in NYC. We came during the week so it was busy but not too bad. Getting through the crowds to view some of the more popular paintings (such as DaVinci's Starry Night) was a little bit of a pain but worth it.

Last Rites Gallery
Continuing with the art theme, we made our way to Last Rites Gallery. Last Rites Gallery is free to enter, and hosts a rotating exhibition of contemporary surrealism and dark art. This is an absolute must-see for anyone that enjoys tattoo art and culture. For us, it was incredible to see the work of these artists (which we follow on instagram) in person. You can see some of the art we saw here.

St. Patricks Cathedral
One of the most recognizable landmarks in the city, St. Patricks was built in 1879 and is a beautiful piece of Neo-Gothic architecture. Try to arrive early to beat the crowds. When it comes to photos, I find that aiming your camera upwards can provide plenty of great photos of the architecture minus the people. Shoot in manual without flash, and have patience to get the shot right.  

30 Rock & Rockefeller Center
Home of NBC, this massive building and surrounding area are full of tourists taking pictures and ice skating (in season). It's worth a stop to pay tribute to pop culture, but otherwise this isn't a place we would ordinarily seek out.

Times Square

Probably Manhattan's most famous area, Times Square is located at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue, and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. While we don't really like to shop on our travels, we had to stop by this epicenter of consumerism for the sake of checking it off our tourist list.

On our final day in NYC, we spent our morning in Central Park, which you will be able to read about soon. 

You can read our other entries about New York here.  

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OREGON: The Search for the Wizard's Hat

I'm sure you've all probably seen photos of this iconic rock structure - the wizards hat. Being as I'd seen it all over Flickr, I figured it was a pretty popular spot for photographers in Oregon. On the contrary, we discovered that no one we met had any idea what we were talking about. This strange rock ended up bringing us on quite an adventure.

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With a little research, we discovered that the Wizard's Hat was located on the shore of Bandon, Oregon. With the help of photography communities on Flickr, we were able to find exact coordinates which we plugged into our Google Maps. While the coordinates gave us an idea of where to find the Hat, it did not at all help us find somewhere to park. After a little driving, we were able to find a location a little further down the beach that had parking available.

Upon pulling up to the beach, we looked along the shore but didn't really spot it. We asked the other beach-goers, and no one seemed to know what we were talking about. Apparently it's not as iconic as the internet would make it seem.

We wandered down the beach until we finally found it, among several larger formations.

And so of course, we promptly got to posing in ridiculous poses along side it to celebrate.

The sky was overcast that day, and so the lighting wasn't ideal for the dramatic photographs we had seen throughout the internet. Regardless, we decided to continue exploring the beach and see what else we could find.

We were exploring between a few rock formations, when suddenly the tide started to come in. One moment I was walking along a sandy beach, and the next I found myself waist-deep in the ocean. Josh, upon the wave hitting his ankles, promptly scurried up the nearest rock to safety. Holding my camera over my head, I tried to climb up and dropped my cell phone into the wave in the process. With a little searching (read: splashing around in the water in a blind panic), I was able to find my phone and get out of the water to safety, soaked from the belly down, with my boots full of fresh Pacific Ocean water. We decided to call it a day for coastal wandering.

Lessons learned:
1. The ocean is not to be trusted
2. Samsung Galaxy phones are surprisingly durable
3. Waterproof boots are only waterproof to a certain depth

At the moment, this was terrifying. We had never seen a sneaker wave, and there was no warning. We promptly learned to be more careful while exploring the Pacific Beaches. In the end, the phone recovered, no one was hurt, and it makes a pretty funny memory.

What are some of your funniest travel memories?

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NEWS: Let's Get Social

Social media is a huge part of our culture, so we've decided to finally embrace it with our blog. While we don't want to take over every aspect of social media, the following are some great places where you can reach us or see more of our work. If you're interested in following our work, we thank you! Please comment so we can say hello :)