Reykjavik: Part One

As you obviously know, I’ve returned from my vacation about three weeks ago.  I have been busy with work ever since, but I did have some time to reflect on my time away.  I have been reading my new book-of-the-month “Six Months Off- How to plan, negotiate, and take the break you need without burning bridges or going broke”, as well as catching up with my friends and family.  Now it’s time to recap!

I had an absolutely WONDERFUL TIME AWAY!  I cannot downplay this trip this even if I wanted to.  I realized that the last time I flew out was for my best friend’s wedding, and although we made some good memories; there was a really BAD one, too.  I think I figured out why I loved this trip so much.  I fell into solo traveling because of my friend in Italy.  It was by chance that she backed out on my very first trip to Paris, and that’s how it all began for me.  Now that I’ve managed a few trips on my own, I crave my solitude away. 

I had a voucher I needed to use because it still had a balance on it.  This trip cost me a bit more than the last, so I’m back on my tight budget for now until all of my cards are paid off.  But I cannot wait to do this again.  I’m hooked.  As for now, I do not have any ideas on where to go next.  Until then, I will cherish the process of planning trips, because it truly brings me joy and strengthens my perspective in life.

I was pretty lucky on booking a late flight.  Takeoff time was at 11:30pm Chicago time.  I worked a full day and made my way home.  I was very nervous as usual.  It was close to 90 degrees that day.  I had a bite to eat and made my way to the nail salon for a quick mani.  I figured I’ll jump on the blue line early since I didn’t want to ride the train to the airport so late.

I’m glad I did get there early.  I’m always surprised at security check since it’s hard to predict how fast the line will be going.  That night it was a mess!  Two ladies were complaining to the officers that they were going to miss their flights (and they probably did).  Others were upset at how backed up they were.  Waiting around didn’t make my nerves calm down.  You can see the desperation on people’s faces, but security did not care.  I went through with no problems, but did not realize I missed the cutoff time at the currency.  I wanted to change my money but it was too late.  They were closed.

I waited at my usual spot at Hub 51 for my glass of wine.  Two guys were giving each other a hard time.  It seems one of them left the other one back at the hotel, but luckily he got to the airport.  I can see there was tension between the two since the guy didn’t appreciate his friend leaving.  With everyone’s nerves around me on high alert, I ordered another glass of red.

I wanted to knock out on this flight.  As of now, I did not book a hotel stay in Reykjavik (more on that later).  I wanted to sleep but also realized I had to be fully rested if I wanted to make a full day in Iceland.  Once we boarded, I’m proud to say we had a smooth flight.  This time I brought my neck pillow and it helped me a lot.

Let's Play in the Park!

I've been getting my things ready for my big trip.  I opted not to get a haircut because apparently the weather right now in Athens is in the high 90s!  Yikes!  I probably will be wearing my hair up to be practical.  We didn't get that high up in the temperatures in Chicago, but last week was just as hot.  On Thursday I ended up meeting my friends in Millenium Park for a concert.  We were dripping in sweat while we heard the sounds of African rock.  We even decided to checkout Cindy's rooftop for a cocktail and it was still very humid up there as well!

Packed crowd at Millenium Park!

Last weekend I basically caught up on all of my laundry and chores around the apartment.  I went through my closet and pulled out some pieces for my trip.  I didn't want to get bombarded this weekend with those details.  My friend in Italy has given me a short list of things to get her when I meet her.  She loves her MAC products but in Italy it costs 3x as much.  Who knew?
I was invited to a birthday party in the evening and met up with my friends at Roka Akor.  They had been out on the boat all day but I opted not to go.  I knew I wouldn't get things done if I had joined them.  I also skipped out on dinner because I need to stay on my budget for my trip.  I knew they were planning on going out afterwards and figured I'll celebrate with the birthday boy there. 
We had a big group and things started to get a little hectic when we couldn't decide on what to do.  I ended up back at Cindy's rooftop with a group, only to find out the other half of the group stayed behind on Hubbard street.  One thing about me is, I'm pretty flexible when it comes down to partying with friends.  Some people are not.  Trust me, crazy things can go wrong but that's to be expect when there's alcohol involved.  lol.  I felt some tension because of the mix up, but the important thing was for us to start celebrating to get passed the frustration.  After all, we were out for the birthday boy!

I caught up with my friends at Roka Akor...

We came back to Hubbard and ended up in Hub51.  It was very crowded, but we made the most of it there.  Afterwards, we decided to walk down the street to see what else was happening.  That's when we stumbled upon Disco upstairs from Celeste.  I loved it!!  It has a very 70s Saturday Night Fever vibe to it, and the music was amazing!  We couldn't stop dancing! 
We closed out downstairs at Celeste and that was our evening.  I hope the birthday boy had fun because I sure did!

Me and the birthday boy at Disco! 

Checkout the names of those cocktails!

I'm glad I wore my gold sequined purse for Disco! 

As far as this past week goes, I've caught up with all of my work and feel good about it.  I saw my mom on Tuesday and went over the details on my trip with her.  I also met up with a friend on Wednesday and did the same drill.  I don't want anyone to worry about my whereabouts.
Today I've been messaging my friends in Italy and in Greece.  I'm getting very nervous again, but as long as I have everything ready this weekend, I should be fine.  I can't let my anxiety get the best of me!  I want to see the world and there's no way to do that but to get on a plane!  Until then, wish me luck and I'll be back in September!  ciao ciao... 

 
 

Gearing up for the New Year!

I am currently reading "A Technique for Producing Ideas" by James Webb Young.  It was based off the recommendation of the last book I read, "It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to be."  I've been reading self-help/ motivational books to help me stimulate my mind.  Sometimes you get into the funk of a routine, and get lost in trying to achieve the goals you want for yourself.  I feel it jolts my mind to be more creative, thus awakening my potential to try new things.  Since it's an easy read and a very short book, I feel it will help me start off the New Year in the right direction.
I grew into a funk with my life when me and my ex broke up 3 years ago.  It took some time for me to reflect on what happened.  I never worked so hard in trying to something I treasured so much.  But despite my efforts, our relationship ended, and I've been trying to figure out where to begin building my life again.
Everything seemed to slowly move to a new direction of singleton.  I was finally beginning to feel myself again when my mom's husband got diagnosed with a terminal disease.  This time around, I felt the urge to take care of my mom, but as the months went on, I started to get depressed.  Seeing him suffer and watching my mom cry was wearing me down.  I felt I was sinking again.  Yet since I'm on my own now, I had my friends who tried their best to comfort me, and the rest I had to figure out on my own. 
Blogging has been a source of output for me whenever I feel things are bottling up inside.  It gives me the chance to vent, and get things off my chest.  I never imagine how rewarding it could be.  I will try my best to improve the content of my blog, but for now, it's sole purpose is to express my feelings on life.  My life.  I know I lack depth in my writing, and I promise I will try to improve on my skills to tell stories.  But know that my freedom of expression is my right to come here and spill my guts.  And to tell you that everything is going to be alright.  I promise.  There were times I felt so alone, but everyone at some point or another has felt the same way I did.  I'm here to tell you that it will pass, and you will see your worth in a whole new light.  Life is a blessing and it's important you learn to appreciate it's valuable existence.
Back to finishing up October events.  Since we're coming up New Year's eve, I'm going to mention Halloween!  I was super excited to dress up this year.  It's funny looking back on it because I bought my costume when I returned from my trip to Paris and Italy.  I wanted to get a head start.  This year I was a French Maid!  lol.  Last year I was a Roman Empress, so it's only suiting to continue my travel theme.  That Halloween weekend started pretty weak, since not many people were dressed up on Friday.  I assumed because it fell on a Saturday this year, there would have been more people dressed in costumes.  About 20% of the crowd were dressed up that night.  I started out at National 27 for some cocktails then made my way to the Wit to join up with some friends who were visiting from out of town.  We hung out there for a bit before we decided to go to Hub 51.  Although we were disappointed in the low turn out for costumes, we knew Saturday was the day to go all out.
We started out at a house party around 9:30pm.  We figured we could show off our costumes and take some pics.  After a while we grew restless and wanted to head out and get into the action.  There were so many people out!  Lines were forming and it was barely 11pm.  We decided to go to Mercer 113 since it seemed easier to get our group in.  I had so much fun inside!  We danced and joked around so much.  I was having a blast!  Some of our friends started to head home, so our group got smaller.  We made our way to Ybar and it was insane in there!  By this point it was already 1:30am.  We danced some more.  We walked over to Soundbar and that's where I said my goodbyes.  I stayed there for a bit, but since that day was daylight savings time, clocks went back an hour at 2am.  Once it was 3am, technically it just turned 2am.  My feet couldn't handle it.
I loved seeing the goofy costumes that night, and I had so much fun with my friends, too.  It was probably one of the most memorable nights this year.  I'm glad nothing bad happened, (since Halloween can be a crazy night).  I cannot wait to see what the new year has planned for me and my friends.  Let the good times roll!

I'm a French maid!

Having fun at The Wit

I also made my way to Cuvee on Friday night, but again, not many people were in costumes.

Saturday Night for Halloween!  Our first stop at a house party. 

Ran into the Left Shark at Mercer 113...

The incredible Hulk was at y bar...

Who doesn't like a box of wine?  lol