May 12, 2024 • 55 mins
Have you ever wondered how a passion for travel evolves once a family comes into the picture? Jamie Edwards, the creative force behind 'I Am Lost and Found,' joins us to unravel this very question. Together, we traverse her family's transformation from avid travelers to adventurers with kids in tow, diving into the immersive and sometimes challenging world of travel blogging. Jamie's candid tales of her family's sojourns, from spontaneous road trips to meticulously crafted vacations, offer a refreshing perspective on how the love of exploration can flourish in any stage of life.
As we venture into the Nordic regions with Jamie, the landscapes of Iceland and the winter wonderland of Finland come alive. Her experiences at Deplar Farm and within the Arctic Circle breathe life into the dreams of any travel enthusiast. She weaves stories of cultural vibrancy, the drama of changing weather, and the warmth of local hospitality that could easily make you feel the chill of the Icelandic breeze or the Northern Lights' ethereal glow. Jamie's narrative transports us, illustrating how the Northern European allure is not just in its stunning scenery but also in the adventures that await every family or solo traveler.
Food, as Jamie eloquently puts it, is a tale of culture in every bite. The culinary journey she describes through Iceland and Finland highlights the significance of local produce and the sheer delight of pastries that linger in memory long after the last crumb. Moreover, she imparts wisdom on the dynamics of family travel, offering insights on the perfect age for kids to join in these expeditions. For anyone considering a Nordic adventure, be it solo or with loved ones in tow, this episode serves as a treasure chest of practical tips, inspirational stories, and the infectious desire to discover the beauty tucked away in the far reaches of the world.
Maps of Iceland and Finland
You can find Jamie's website here: I am Lost and Found
And her Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/iamlostandfound_/
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Hosts
Carol Springer: https://www.instagram.com/carol.work.life
Kristen: https://www.instagram.com/team_wake/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Hi, welcome to our podcast when Next Travel with
Kristen and Carol.
I am Kristen and I am Carol,and we're two long-term friends
with a passion for travel andadventure.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Each episode, we interview people around the
globe to help us decide where togo next.
Jamie, thanks for joining ustoday.
From your where are you locatedright now?
Actually Washington DC,washington DC, but you're a
travel blogger, so you've beenall over the world and today
we're going to focus on Icelandand Finland and just also just
(00:47):
hear your story and how you gotstarted.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
We're very excited to have you, thank you.
Thank you for having me.
I'm excited to be here.
What do you do?
Speaker 1 (00:56):
What's this travel blog?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Sure, I'm happy to explain.
Well, my name is Jamie Edwardsand about five or six years ago,
after raising kids and notquite having as much to do
school-wise with them, decidedto sort of take all of the
things I love food, travel, wine, photography and design and put
(01:22):
it all in one place, and thatis how my website, which is
called I Am Lost and Found, wasborn.
It was really a labor of love,though I wish I could say it was
easy to create, but it did takea lot of blood, sweat and tears
to get it off the ground.
But now, after, like I said, somany years in, I've kind of got
(01:46):
into my groove.
I have about 90 posts now,ranging from restaurant reviews
to luxurious places.
I've been adventurous places,I've been tips and tricks for
travel and packing, so it'sbecome sort of a one go to place
for inspiration for travel.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Nice, and it's beautiful.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
My kids are.
My daughter turned 20 yesterdayand my son is 17.
One out of the house, one onthe way.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Yeah, almost 17 year old and a 19 year old.
So you know I have an 18 and 20year old.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
We're all in the same boat.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
No wonder we're all doing this.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Yeah, well, it's funny because this is how Carol
and I started three years agowas very similar story.
I did do South Korea and Balitwo years ago and then I did
Maui.
I've got a condo in Maui anyway.
I've done some travel, but nota lot yet, cause I that's my
plan.
But how long have you beentraveling Like how many years?
(02:49):
When did you start this blog?
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Well, about six years ago and I can say that I've
always loved travel we lived inTokyo for four years and our
kids were very small when welived there.
So although I didn't get toSouth Korea, I did get to Bali
and a lot of Southeast Asia, andalthough the kids were very
young, we did drag themeverywhere because we found that
(03:13):
how often are we going to havethis launch point of being in a
big Asian city?
And we really just took it andwent with it.
So we spent four years thereand we really just took it and
went with it.
So we spent four years thereand before that we were in New
York City for about 15 years anddid a lot of travel then, and I
think that a lot of peoplethought that once we had kids,
we would stop traveling, and wedidn't.
(03:37):
We just kept going.
It's our family vice.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Yeah, that's fantastic.
So your husband does it withyou.
Yeah, most of it I mean we do.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
I mean I would say I do all sorts of travel.
I take a lot of girls trips.
I take a lot of.
I've taken some solo trips,taken trips with my mom and
sister, personal out with myhusband and most recently, well,
last January, I went with mystepfather to Antarctica.
So I'll travel with anyone.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Wow, you're the third person we've talked to this
year.
In the last nine months I'vebeen to Antarctica Wow.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Yeah, it's really rising in popularity.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Yeah and I'm dying to hear.
So what is a typical year lookof travel for you, and maybe
just on average, how do you planyour trips when?
How far in advance?
Like is it kind of sometimesspur of the moment?
Is it like okay, this eachquarter?
How does that look?
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Well, I think from year to year it does vary.
I think we know we always havea spring break, at least while
our kids have been in highschool, which you, you both know
all too well.
So we had kind of holidaybreaks over the festive season
that were, given that we alwaysplanned for and spring break and
then usually one big summertrip.
But then in between thingswould pop up.
(04:52):
A girlfriend would say, hey, doyou want to go here?
And I would always say yes.
Or my husband and I would say,oh, we have a wedding.
In fact, we have a wedding togo to in the Costa Brava of
Spain.
That just came up.
So I think it's a combinationof some spontaneity and then a
few planned trips.
And I do now use a traveladvisor I never used to, but now
(05:16):
I do because I find that it'svery helpful in case things go
bump in travel, which they dothese days, go bump often.
So I feel like they really havemy back and I don't have to
waste any time with managing anydelays or cancellations.
So that's been a big helpbecause now I can really focus
(05:38):
on my writing and I take ajournal with me and just sit on
the beach or wherever I am andtake a lot of notes and take a
lot of pictures.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
That's great.
So a travel advisor is thatthat's not a travel agent?
Speaker 3 (05:52):
It is.
I think it's just like themodern way you can call it.
They call themselves traveldesigners, travel.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
I actually have a dear friend who who has set me
up on trips and I'm like I amcalling Dina.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Dina because I think that I'm gonna do more of that
because these days people wouldlike to have a travel advisor in
their back pocket.
It's like having a I don't knowany other kind of a person that
helps you get through your,your life highlighting it now.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
That is just so.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
It's not like not like tour companies, but like
literally just an independent,or like booking your right.
Yes.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
In fact the one I use .
Their name is Sire.
They are a boutique travelagency based out of New York and
Maine, but they're under thebig umbrella of, like a virtuoso
and first in service.
So although they're a smallboutique, they get all of the
perks and benefits of the bigparent company, so that all
trickles down to their clients,which that could be free
(06:48):
breakfast, a spa appointment.
It could mean that you get 20%off X, y and Z.
But most importantly, I findthat they end up getting me
finding kind of better prices,especially for air travel, than
I can normally find.
Okay, just take care ofanything that goes wrong.
So one time I was going to booka flight to Seattle so my
(07:12):
daughter could take a collegevisit, and we discovered in the
middle of the night that theflight had been canceled the day
before.
But by the time I woke up I hadalready been rebooked.
So those are the things yeah.
I think it's and plus, Ipersonally don't like the the
little details of picking.
I like to pick my hotel room,but I don't want to have to go
(07:36):
ahead and bother with all thedetails.
So for me, I I feel like Ireally get to focus on what I
consider more important things.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
I love it, you I can't.
It's like an aha for me,because Dina has scheduled like
we took the family to DisneyWorld, we have Disneyland, we're
here in LA, so that's it.
So we did a whole and she'slike this is how you have to do
it.
You're going to do this andthen you need a break in between
.
And I was like like I wouldhave never done any of that.
And then I wanted a Caribbeancruise as well.
(08:06):
And she's like okay, so you goto Disney World and then you sit
on the boat after.
Don't do it before, becausethat's what we did and it was.
It was like the most perfectwhole trip.
Like just we had so much funfor like almost two weeks um, I
also wake surf a lot and so wewent to Nautique and went to the
headquarters there and got tocheck out stuff.
So we like added some things inthere, but it was just like it
(08:29):
ended up being so nice.
And then she like shipped us.
She's like you know the magicbands and it had our names on it
and it was like total conciergeand I've known her for over 10
years and so I really, I agreeit's worth it.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
They've been, they know all the ins and outs, they
know more than we do, and itreally is.
I mean, most travel advisorscharge a small fee, but to me
it's really worth it foreverything you get in return.
So I love to hear you say that,because I, I, I'm a, I'm a
believer.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Yeah, so thank you, cause I'm going to call her.
I texted her actually justright now.
We need to talk.
Ring bank is coming.
I wanted to take my kids to dosomething.
So, oh, that's great.
Yeah, so just curious.
What did you do before this,six years ago?
Were you working?
Were you a stay-at-home mom andwanted to do an adventure?
What was your life like before?
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Well, when I lived in New York, I was in advertising
and design.
I worked for advertisingagencies and some boutique
design firms and then about andI worked up through having both
of my kids and then, when my sonwas six months old, my husband
had this opportunity to move toAsia for work and we said, okay,
let's do it.
(09:41):
And we when I moved to Japan, Ididn't work.
We said, okay, let's do it.
And we when I moved to Japan, Ididn't work.
I led a very nice, fulfilling,expat life, raised my kids and
then from there we moved toWashington DC, which is where we
are now, and I just enjoyedbeing a stay at home mom for all
those years.
I found it really well I meanmostly rewarding, of course,
(10:05):
rewarding enough.
And then and then I guess it wasjust I got really kind of bored
because their soccer teams wereplaying until seven o'clock at
night.
They were out with theirfriends, my husband was working,
and that's when I reallydecided to put all of these kind
of old passions, new passions,together in the website.
(10:27):
And I will say that for anyonewho's starting a any kind of
travel blog or blog of any kind.
I think the key is really beingpatient, because now, all these
years later, the attractionsare really starting to pick up
for the first time and myorganic growth is really high
and I feel like I've gotten thegist of finding my voice is
(10:48):
really important.
I look at my earlier posts oftravel and I'm thinking, oh god,
I sounded terrible and then Ium.
Now I feel like I found alittle bit more of who I am in
my writing and it's a very um.
It's such a nice thing to do,to sit and write.
I really enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
And do you have an end goal in mind?
I don't see like theadvertisers and stuff.
Is that you interested in doingthat, or is it really just
about telling your story andsharing with the world?
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Well, I just I find that advertising can be a little
cumbersome on a site and I'mnot yet ready to go into the
world of having people advertiseon my site.
What's been really wonderfulabout I Am Lost and Found is
that it's been this wonderfulavenue towards writing for other
people.
So I write for a lot of otherwebsites now travel and child
(11:43):
related things.
So I'm I'm actually travelwriting for other people's sites
, so I am getting a source ofincome from that, which is
wonderful.
Not much, I will say.
I mean pays for maybe dinneroccasionally.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
So this is your portfolio now.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Yeah, that's a great way of looking at it.
It's my portfolio, right andbut also.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
I'm thinking, yeah, it's tough, cause I do find it
distracting when there's likethe videos popping up and the
banner.
But I see, like you have whoyou follow, you could have, I
don't know, like just a sponsorpage of other very good idea
People that are good idea.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
I'll give her something You're also good with
that, oh you're a desert of atalker.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
That's great.
Carol comes up with great ideas, you do that, carol.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Thank you, carol.
I'm writing that note down,right now.
I do also write, for I don'tknow if you know the Eagle Creek
is a big luggage company.
Oh yeah, I think I have one oftheir backpacks.
(12:59):
I really only want to writeabout products I stand behind.
So sometimes I get a call fromthat.
They want me to write abouttheir product or about their
hotel, but it doesn't reallyfall into my wheelhouse of where
what I would recommend to thefollowers I have and the niche,
and so I do turn that down quitea bit.
So I'm not doing it for themoney, but it would be nice to
(13:22):
get you know, recognition andpaid at some point for this.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Well, I have to say I just I brought your website up,
I've got it on the screen and Iwas just looking at
destinations which it looks likethere's at least 25, 30 ish or
so, 10, 20, 25 or so, which, andthey're all super cool
locations.
So this is where you'vetraveled so far.
Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Yeah, it is except, believe it or not, there's
almost no Asia in there, becausewhen I started doing my writing
I really didn't have that much.
It's been so long since I'velived in Tokyo so I'm missing
like 15 or 20 countries thatI'll just have to kind of go
back to yeah.
So yes, I mean, I'm not one ofthose country tickers, I'm not
(14:06):
ticking countries or anything,but I did finally, after after
Antarctica, make it to all sevencontinents, so that was a like
a milestone.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
That is amazing.
And how cool Croatia I see,montenegro, morocco, nicaragua,
slovenia, uganda, uruguay, Imean, you know Botswana, there's
a whole bunch in there.
Which one's been your favorite,or the one I guess that comes
to mind first that pops out.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Well, it's funny because Iceland and Finland are
two of our not only my favorites, but family favorites, and I'm
not much of a cold weatherperson.
Yet lately I've reallygravitated towards these kind of
Arctic and Antarcticdestinations, and I think it's
because, as I've gotten olderand my kids have sort of aged
(14:54):
out of just playing on a beachthat which was great when your
kids are little and you canthrow them in a kid's club where
you can put them, you know, youcan get your book and watch
them on the beach and relax.
I don't need to relax anymore.
I would like some more.
Uh, I want to do some moreadventurous things.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
So I think that's why it's been so appealing okay,
and I was just talking tosomeone the other day about
adventure.
Like how do you defineadventure?
A lot of people define it.
You know some people might justbe going to the UK as like
adventurous because they'venever done it before.
But how would you define anadventure?
Speaker 3 (15:26):
yeah, and you know what?
You're exactly right.
Everyone defines it sodifferently.
Lately, for me, adventurereally takes the I'm the least
adventurous person in my familyof four and that means that I
get pushed into adventures thatI might not even want to take.
For instance, we went toCorsica a couple of summers ago
where we went canyoneering,where you're basically kind of
(15:49):
going down waterfalls and rocksfrom the top of a mountain to
the bottom through water with awetsuit and there are parts
where you're hurling yourselfoff rocks into like 30 feet into
a pool of water and that to me,is adventure.
That is adventurous, right, andthat's not really always my cup
of tea, but I can get talkedinto that pretty easily.
(16:12):
So I like when I get pushed outof my comfort zone and I feel
like my kids and my husbandreally helped me do that and I
really helped push my husbandand kids into some of the more
luxurious things.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
I'm more the outdoor adventure and I need more of the
luxury sometimes too, but Ilove that you do that.
So wait, what was the tumblingthing?
What was that called that?
You guys went to Canyoneering,okay, and where did you do that?
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Well, we've done that .
We did that in Corsica, but wealso did that in Iceland, so
it's a really fun sport for thewhole family.
I didn't think I'd love it, butI really did.
It's like this mountainclimbing and swimming and hiking
all wrapped up into one.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
And are.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
You're in like deep in a Canyon where it's black,
where you have to put like aheadlamp.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
Nope, you're not in caves, you're really just kind
of going over, it's all.
You're outside in the fresh air, going over rocks and maybe
through some boulder caves andthings like that.
There's rushing water.
You're wearing a helmet.
I didn't.
Yeah, we're wearing helmets, soI mean it's safe and we had a
guide, so, and I think thatpeople should always do it with
(17:24):
a guide for a variety of reasons, and it was really fun.
I mean, we're really into theadventure, family adventure,
which is why Finland was such agreat trip, because it was just.
Every single day was adifferent adventure.
Actually, both Iceland andFinland all right.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
So should we start digging into Finland and Iceland
a little bit?
Speaker 3 (17:47):
yeah, it's a natural segue.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, first I have to ask,because when I think Iceland, I
think of Eurovision, the storyof Fire, Saga.
Has anyone seen that?
Speaker 3 (17:57):
No, but I know what that is.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
It's Will.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Ferrell it's a spoof on the Eurovision.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Oh my gosh, it's so funny.
I know, but yeah, it takesplace in Iceland.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Well, I looked on your Iceland thing and I see the
Depplar Farm and the BlueLagoon I've seen and it looks
amazing.
So I definitely wanted to hearabout that and Depplar Farm I
guess that's at the top of yourpage and you stayed there.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
That's right.
So the reason we went toIceland and we went to Iceland
in the summer, so there wasabout 22 hours of daylight.
When we went to Finland, wewent to Iceland in the summer,
so there was about 22 hours ofdaylight.
When we went to Finland, wewent in the winter, so there's
about 22 hours of darkness.
So there's a real contrast,natural contrast, between the
two places.
But Depler Farm is, I mean, Iguess the best way to describe
(18:45):
it.
It's equal parts luxury andadventure, and it's very remote
and hard to get to and pricey,uh.
So it only has 13 rooms andit's a converted sheet farm.
So really, when you're thereand it's so isolated that say
it's full, 13 rooms are full, 35people, there's no other
(19:08):
tourists around, so you reallyhave the entire landscape to
yourself in the peninsula, theTroll Peninsula it feels like,
and you're assigned anexperience manager who really
essentially helps curate yourday-to-day adventures, and
because the daytime lasts untilmidnight, you really don't have
(19:30):
to wake up at the crack of dawnfor any reason.
It's all very bespoke.
So our experience manager hername was Emily.
She was great for our family.
Do we want to play archery andthen go fly fishing and then
after that, do we want to cookthe Arctic char at the river
house and then have um, take adip in the thermal pools?
(19:52):
Or do you want to go horsebackriding, kayaking?
I mean, there is just endlessadventures to be had, Wow, and
everything is really done toperfection there.
I mean, as it should be.
It's a like.
I said it's.
It's an expensive place, Uh,and you do really feel like you
get your money's worth, though.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
And is it?
Is the summer actually warm?
It's like in the seventies, or?
Yeah, the summer is warm.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
The weather's changeable.
So anyone who thinks they'regoing to Iceland in the summer
to go, you know, get a suntan,is probably you're in the wrong
place.
But we went expecting that fromone day to the next it could be
misty and foggy and rainy, andthen the next day sunny.
It turns out that we had reallynice weather I would say in the
sixties high sixties lots ofsunshine.
(20:42):
But I would never even say tosomeone that I think that the
weather means nothing in Iceland.
You don't not do anything therebecause of it.
You're still going to kayak,you'll still go whale watching,
puffin watching, you'll do allof these things.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
And it's really unique.
So when I'm looking at thepicture and it's just like some
green, brown hills and it's justrolling and it looks like you
know the house or farm, whatever, and then it looks like there
is nothing around it.
But I'm just seeing just thislittle framework of that picture
.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
There's nothing around it.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, and so to do all of the experiences that you
just mentioned, how far are youin a car to get to those Good?
Speaker 3 (21:23):
question.
You know what?
Unbelievably close.
So the kayak 10 minutes away,there's a lake 10 minutes away.
Everything's really close.
The things that were a littlebit of a drive were to go whale
watching, but I'm pronouncingthat incorrect.
But it's an entire island, arocky, jagged island that
(21:55):
thousands and thousands ofpuffins live and other birds and
birds of prey, and we were theonly ones there with kind of the
gatekeeper of the island, whosename I'm sure was like Thor, I
can't remember.
These puppins are so adorable.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
I know the puppins are so cute, that's also from a
Will Ferrell movie right, thelittle puppins and birds.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
So the experiences to be had in Iceland, I think, are
so unique and they really caterto anyone, not not just
families, but very familyfriendly.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Oh, it's really great .
I'm looking at some photos andit's beautiful and the cute
little puffins are around.
There's someone actually.
It looks like they're in a bigjacuzzi that's man-made.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
I don't know what that is, but they have the life.
They have the life there.
It's a spectacular place, yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Or actually there's a human person in that, in the
big jacuzzi kind of thing withrocks or something like that,
but I don't know, it's probablycold in there.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
And did you guys go around the whole Iceland country
?
I mean, how big is it?
Or?
Speaker 3 (23:05):
does everyone kind of ?
Speaker 2 (23:06):
just hang out by Reykjavik or whatever that's
called Well for anyone thinkingof going.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
I kind of liked the way we did it.
People do it two different ways.
Reykjavik is the capital andthat is, I think it's the
northernmost capital in theworld capital city and it's a
small city and it's reallysocially progressive, colorful,
culture-filled, unique things,but you can see it in two days.
(23:34):
It's a, it's a pretty easy onfoot city to see.
And then a lot of people take atour of what's called the
Golden Circle and that is sortof during the south loop and I
believe it has just lots ofbeautiful waterfalls.
And then where we went was weflew up to the northern part of
Iceland.
But I mean, I would suggest, ifyou had two weeks, to try to
(23:59):
see as much of the island as youcan, because you can hop on a
helicopter from Reykjavik and goon top of a glacier, which we
did, you could go overwaterfalls, which we did, and
it's just an incredible vantagepoint to see it from above, and
then you get to see, you get tojust see so many things, uh,
from that view.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Which is pretty, which is beautiful the capital
has, uh, it looks very uheuropean.
I don't know, it's just on allthese beautiful colored
buildings and maybe is it highspire churches or there's some
tall yeah yeah, they're really.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
It's very, um, it's very edgy and progressive uh,
much more than I thought.
And, yes, european and thepeople there are.
People there are so nice.
It's very safe place to be.
I think I heard this when wewere we're in.
And it's very safe place to be.
I think I heard this when wewere we're in Iceland.
It's it's a very small countryand a lot of the population
lives in Reykjavik and they havean app that you can plug in a
(25:01):
name so that you don't date yourcousin.
That's hilarious.
Oh no, that's so true.
I can imagine Incestuous,incestuous in a way, like you
just want to be careful whoyou're dating because everybody
could be related.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
Oh my gosh, that's awful.
You're like oh no, that's myfirst husband.
He's too cute.
And what's the golden circle?
Speaker 3 (25:23):
So we didn't do the golden circle, but it's a bit of
a route, a tourist route totake, where you get to see a lot
.
You get to see waterfalls,glaciers iceland is referred to
as the land of fire and ice forjust for that reason, for the
volcanoes.
So there's so much you can do.
We we did not do the um, thegolden circle, but there's still
(25:44):
time.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
We'd like to go back so I have a question about that
farm, the dupler farm.
So, since there's not so fewpeople, is everyone on the same
schedule, like everyone comes,or is there people coming and
going all the time?
People are always coming andgoing, oh, okay.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
So what was kind of nice, though it's very communal.
So although meals are not,dinner is all at 8 pm, around 8
pm.
So everybody goes into thehouse, drinks first at the bar,
plays games, and then you'recalled to dinner at, say, eight
and it's communal dining.
But for lunches and forbreakfast you can kind of come
(26:19):
and go as you please.
But it was nice because it's sosmall that you meet people from
all over the world there, andthat was that was really nice
about.
There's no locks on any of thedoors in the entire place and it
feels like you're in a home, ifyou.
It just looks like a beautifulhouse.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Yeah, and how long did you stay there for?
Speaker 3 (26:42):
We stayed there for eight days and I will say that
we became known sort of as theeight, eight dares, because
nobody stays that long.
We became known sort of as theeight dayers, because nobody
stays that long.
Really it felt like family bythe end.
I think partially.
There's a.
The reason a lot of peopledon't stay eight days is because
typically it's hard to get.
There's only 13 rooms.
It books up really quickly.
(27:03):
It would be hard to get eightconsecutive days but because I'm
such a planner and knew Iwanted to stay there when I
booked, I was able to get asmany days as I wanted.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Nice.
How far in advance did you planthat?
Speaker 3 (27:18):
I probably planned that almost a year out because I
knew that we really wantedspecific dates and my husband's
entire family lives in the UK.
So we were.
We were tacking it on to adifferent trip, so I knew I had
specific dates in mind.
But I think I have friends whohave gone to Depplar since me
and I I'd recommend I mean, Ithink, ideally five nights.
(27:40):
I think if you had four or lessyou'd be disappointed, you were
leaving.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
Got it.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
By the time you finished with eight, were you
like okay, we're, we're good,like you know.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
I was.
I mean, I definitely was readyon the one hand, but we still
there were activities we did notget to do but it was.
But I think eight days wasplenty.
Is there an?
Speaker 2 (28:01):
airport on the Northern side, or you just okay
there is there's.
Speaker 3 (28:05):
So we flew from you, fly into the international
airport, which is near, not farfrom the Blue Lagoon, and then
we drove to Reykjavik to theregional airport and then flew
up to Akurey, which is in thenorth and Akurey, I believe, is
our fourth largest city.
So it was a short flight andthen maybe an hour and a half
(28:26):
drive from so it's not easy toget to which I think filters out
a lot of people.
If you don't want to have toput that much travel into your
destination, there's lots ofother places in the world to go
to.
But it sounds like definitely akind of almost a bucket list
right To go to Iceland andreally and really I thought so
(28:47):
especially when it was sort ofthe midnight sun, when the sun
wasn't really setting untilmaybe almost midnight and then
by 2, 3 am the sun it reallynever set completely.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Yeah, and then I have to ask about the Blue Lagoon.
Of course, right when I hear it, I think of Brooke Shields and
the Blue Lagoon.
But I was curious how long didyou spend there?
What did you?
I'm assuming it was a day tripor so, and how far was it from
the Deplar Farm?
Right?
Speaker 3 (29:24):
Well, that was so the Blue Lagoon is.
It's so different from the restof Iceland landscape wise.
It's all lava and geothermalpools and sort of the smoke that
kind of rises from the milkywater.
It's right outside of theairport.
Maybe it's 20 minutes from theairport on your way to Reykjavik
, okay, so I think that, andsome people stay there for a few
days and they do trips thereand they just stay at the blue
lagoon.
But what we decided to do was,since our flight wasn't till
(29:47):
late at night, to come back toDC on our way back to the
airport, we stopped there for aday trip and booked ourselves
into a part of the Blue Lagoonis called the retreat, and you
can book that in advance and youcan book it for four hours and
you have this special area ofthe Blue Lagoon that is just for
(30:08):
the people who book into theretreat.
Nice, that's a special thing todo.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
And so what was your experience?
What did you do when you werethere?
Speaker 3 (30:17):
Well, so the Blue Lagoon is enormous, really big,
and, like I said, it's just sortof this more boutique hotel
part of it called the retreat,and they have these subterranean
caves where you can take mudbaths, meditation rooms, its own
restaurant.
There's a variety of things youcan do there that are all
(30:38):
meditation and relaxationfocused, without having
thousands of people in the poolswith you or walking around and
that you have your showers, aprivate bathroom and it's just.
It was a really nice way to endthe trip.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
And was it?
Is it expensive?
I'm actually just bringing up.
It said tours and things likethat.
I think there's a variety.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
What we did was probably the on the more
expensive side because we bookedfor these four hours, but I
don't remember it being crazyexpensive, I think it was more
that they only have a certainamount of space.
So, again, booking advance isimportant.
I will say overall, Iceland isan expensive country to visit.
It really is.
(31:21):
I think the airfare tends to beinexpensive, but then you get
there and you're like, wow, it'spretty expensive here.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
Was the food expensive, lodging expensive,
everything, yeah, everything wasexpensive.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
Even the hotel we stayed in in Reykjavik, which
was a modest hotel right in thecity, was still very expensive
per night.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
What cost-wise?
What's expensive?
What number?
Speaker 3 (31:47):
Well, for a small hotel room in the city, I think
we were talking about maybe $700a night, which I thought was
expensive.
Farm much, much more expensive.
But it's a completely differenttype of experience and each of
the rooms at Depplar the 13rooms range in size and have
different price points.
So while it's expensive I meanI don't know for sure now we
(32:11):
went quite a few years ago Ithink some of the less expensive
rooms were around the $2,000per night range.
Oh my gosh, does that?
Speaker 1 (32:19):
include dinner and meals and any experiences as
well, that you did.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
It included just about everything.
Just the things that did notinclude were the whale watching
boat ride out to the whalewatching and that puffin Island
I was talking about.
But everything else was prettymuch included, almost everything
.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
And that's for the whole family.
2000 a night right.
So it's, like you know, 500 aperson, ish or something yeah, I
mean it's, it's.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
I mean we would never say it was, uh, inexpensive,
but you do get a lot for it okay, sounds good, okay, yeah,
what's?
Speaker 2 (32:54):
the language.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
There is it all English well, yes, they all
speak English and I know thatIcelandic is a language, but
generally I feel like everywherewe went, english was spoken.
Okay, cool.
And then I guess we should alsotalk about Finland.
(33:15):
So we went to the UK forChristmas to visit my family
there, probably two or threeyears ago it was right after the
pandemic, and in fact it wassort of just on the tail end of
the pandemic, because I rememberwe were in Oslo airport still
getting tested to get on theairplane, so, and then from
there we went to spend a weekaround New Year in northern
Finland.
(33:35):
So we flew into Helsinki Ishould say Helsinki and then we
flew and it was probably maybe afour hour flight all the way up
to the northern part of Finlandand it was within the Arctic
Circle.
So it was pretty pretty farnorth.
(33:56):
And you did it in February itwas January and because we were
so far north, it was we probablyhad two hours of daylight a day
, two to three hours of daylight, so it's like the complete
opposite of our summer inIceland.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
Yeah, I'm Swedish and Sweden's right next to, of
course, finland, and so it's thesame there, and they have the
ice hotel, you know, in Sweden.
Speaker 3 (34:21):
Yeah, have you been to one.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
No, I haven't.
I haven't yet.
I definitely am planning to go,and we went in 2015 to go see
all my family and spent a lot oftime there, and then I, even in
college, went there and then Idid this ship that takes you
from Stockholm to Helsinki.
So you like, go in the evening,have dinner, um, hang out and
(34:44):
have fun on the ship, go tosleep and then wake up in
Helsinki, spend the day thereand then get back on the ship at
dinner time, take the you know,eat dinner, do the same thing,
go to sleep and then you're backin Stockholm.
So it's like a 24 hour thingyeah, but this looks really
amazing and I I've wanted to goin the winter and yet you know,
(35:05):
kind of don't at the same time,right, cause it's just dark all
the time.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
It's funny you say that, because when I told people
here at home, or anyone forthat matter, that we were going
to Finland in the middle of thewinter, most people thought we
were off our rockers or like whywould you do that?
And I I wrote this in my postselfishly I really wanted to see
the Northern Lights.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Oh, that's what I was going to ask next if you have a
chance to see that I had abucket list for me.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
That's me too.
Convinced my family why who?
I was really the only one in myfamily who had any interest in
the Northern Lights, and on topof that, they're so elusive that
you're never really evenguaranteed to see them Right,
even in a place like Finlandwhere, from what I read, the
odds are the best.
So I had to come up with someother reasons why we were going
(35:54):
to have a great time in Finland,and, as it turned out, we
really.
The darkness just doesn'tmatter at all.
You do everything you would bedoing during the day, but you do
it in darkness, and it kind ofmade it even more fun for the
kids.
I mean, we're dog sledding andit's dark, and we're
snowmobiling and it's dark, butit's only, you know, noon or one
(36:16):
in the afternoon.
And the sky turns all thesebeautiful colors, so it's not
like a light switch, of course.
I mean you get all thesebeautiful variations in the sky
Purple, lavender is pinks, thetrees are beautiful, everything
is snow covered and we went icecarting and the way that they do
(36:36):
all the activities there.
They know that people get cold,so everyone is dressed well.
They give you all the gear soyou don't have to worry that you
haven't packed a park.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
Oh really, no, that's neat.
Speaker 3 (36:48):
A lot of the lodges know, because they don't want
their guests to be cold anduncomfortable and in between
they have breaks with you know,whether it's like warm hot tea,
or the warm juices for the kids,or'd grill sausages over an
open fire.
They work hard to make theexperience welcoming.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
Nice, that sounds like fun.
And then I just remember, likeat the ice hotel, you sleep in a
reindeer skin or something likethat, and it keeps you warm,
even the glasses.
I can imagine how was yourexperience First off.
What was the temperature?
How cold was it?
Speaker 2 (37:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
Yeah, it was cold.
It was cold.
It was definitely below zero,quite a bit like maybe 10, 15
below, and that's just not mycomfort zone at all, no one's
comfort zone.
But again, we were dressedreally well.
You're never doing an activitylong, so long that you feel like
you are not going to make itWait a few days.
(37:50):
We're hovering around, you know10 degrees, but even so it's so
exhilarating.
Dog sledding is exhilarating,it's.
The dogs are yapping andscreaming and barking their
heads off waiting to be released, and once they're released, I'm
cold.
I'm cold.
Yeah, they just off waiting tobe released and once they're
released.
I'm cold, I'm cold.
Yeah, they just they're soexcited to run and then they
start running and they're quiet.
(38:12):
The landscape is justcompletely hushed and it's like
being on the moon.
It's so quiet and beautiful.
So I mean, my kids will say andI think when we went they were
probably 15 and 17.
Okay, one of their favoritetrips.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Oh really, tell me what was a typical outfit to
during, and how did that changeduring the day?
Speaker 3 (38:39):
Right when it was cold you're moving.
Yeah Well, so depending on theactivity, so if we were going
snowmobiling, we go into thegear hut and you were put in
these snow suits.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
that they had.
I was thinking like skiing,right, you're just wearing like
ski gear instead.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
Yeah, just like that.
But they have everything foreverybody's size.
They've got boots, they've gotthe helmet, they've got the
thermal gloves.
You bring your base layers,just of course, um, but they and
goggles they give you, they'llgive you everything you need.
So the chances of being coldare really, are really slim, and
(39:16):
there were times that we evengot warm.
Uh, the only activity we nevergot warm was when we went ice
carting, which is really kind oflike going around an Indy 500
track.
All four of us had our own icecart.
Oh, it was so much fun.
It's not bumper cars, likepeople are like, oh, you're
bumping each other.
No, you're definitely notwanting to bump each other.
(39:36):
It's a go-kart and you're goingaround and around the track and
I think my son was so young hedidn't, he.
I mean we were worried thatwhen he got his driver's license
he was going to be a menace tosociety, but it was really fun.
But that was our coldest dayand because you're in a go-kart
and you're not really, I mean,you're not doing anything
(39:58):
aerobic, you're just driving.
That was the day we werecoldest, but every other day we
were fine and by the end of theday, because of the sauna
culture which I'm sure, uh,kristen, you know a bit about
because of Sweden.
They um love their saunas andyou get into a sauna at the end
of the day and relax, and I meanthey're called the happiest
(40:20):
country for a reason, I think.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
Did they do the happiest country?
Pardon, they're called thehappiest country.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
I think it's known to be one of the happiest
countries on earth, isn't there?
Well, there's uh, okay, so it'sinteresting because Sweden has
the highest suicide rate,something like that, and then I
know from it is Finland and I'mcurious unless I'm wrong, but I
was just doing some research and, uh, I think that there is a
little bit of controversy aboutwhat means by the half, what it
(40:50):
means to be the happiest countryyes, but I think it's also just
because they're outdoors or so,uh, like they're.
75 percent of the country isforest.
Yeah, covered, but no, that'dbe worth me re-looking into, but
I do recall that Bhutan wassupposed to be the happiest
country on earth, so maybethey're competing yeah, okay,
and do they do the cold plunge?
Speaker 2 (41:12):
that's what you always hear about.
Yeah, sauna, cold plunge didyou do that?
No, I didn't know, yeah.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
I think you're just in general.
You're in a cold plunge all thetime.
Right, exactly, I don't seewhat's the?
Speaker 3 (41:26):
point to me was just not my cup of tea, but the sauna
.
The sauna was great and I thinkthat our guide had told us to
bring a beer into the sauna andpour that over the rocks and
then it kind of makes thisreally nice.
I mean, I'm not a huge fan ofbeer, but that yeasty beer smell
, kind of fills the fills theair.
Cool, my husband, my husband,liked it.
(41:49):
Did it give you a buzz?
Yeah, exactly it did.
It was different.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Yeah, no, the sauna.
Actually I have a sauna at mygym and I swim twice a week for
a mile and it's cold, it'soutdoor and all I think when I'm
like right now too, it's kindof cold.
So I just think, go to thesauna as soon as I finished my
swim, get warm.
Um, so I see this picture youhave here with the dog sled and
(42:14):
it's uh, and it is light, itlooks beautiful.
Speaker 3 (42:19):
What time of day was that?
I mean, I'm guessing that thatwas probably around 11 or 12,
because that was really the onlytime of day that it was light
at all, and then it would justget increasingly dark.
I remember I think I took somepictures of my son and husband
had gone snowshoeing from thelodge with headlamps at around
(42:41):
one or two because it wasgetting dark, and there they
were two o'clock.
I was really wondering if theywere gonna get lost out in the
wilderness, but they made itback.
Speaker 1 (42:52):
Yeah, good thing.
Speaker 2 (42:53):
Wow, all right, well, so I think we're gonna get into
the rapid fire questions.
So I totally switched them upfrom our normal.
But, kristen, feel free ifthere's any other questions you
have for Jamie.
Speaker 1 (43:06):
How much money should someone put aside for doing
something similar to your whatyou did for Finland and then for
Iceland?
Like budget wise, yeah.
Speaker 3 (43:17):
Huh, well, that's a very good question.
I mean, there's a lot ofdifferent price points that you
can do these trips and, like Isaid, iceland tends to be pretty
expensive.
So for a week, I mean, if youwant to do it sort of the way we
did, I would say you could belooking at, you know, $20,000.
I mean not that you can't do itfor less, and you can certainly
(43:37):
do it for more.
And then for Finland, I think alot of Finland was a lot more
reasonable, so definitely lessthan that.
And there are so many differenttypes of Arctic hotels you
could stay in that you can seethe Northern Lights while you're
sleeping in your bed lookingout.
So I think there are morereasonable choices to be had in
Finland.
Speaker 1 (43:58):
Yes, and I forgot.
Where did you see the NorthernLights?
How did it look?
How long was it going?
Did it?
Was it just spectacular?
Speaker 3 (44:06):
It really was.
We had two nights where we sawthe Northern Lights and they, I
mean just like green swashes ofpaint through the sky.
I mean exactly.
I will say not to burstanyone's bubble with their
photography, but the iPhones andyour cameras make the colors
look much brighter than they arewhen you're in person.
So that was a little bitsurprising, but it was really
(44:29):
spectacular to see.
And, in case I didn't say itearlier, I know that the reason
I wanted to go there was to seethe Northern Lights, but it's
really more just a bonus.
I think that there's so muchelse to do there that go to
Finland to see the beauty ofFinland and then, if you see the
Northern lights, consideryourself fortunate.
Speaker 1 (44:48):
Yeah, and then I was going to ask food wise, but I
don't know if Carol's going totalk about that too Cause.
Speaker 2 (44:52):
I'm not going to talk about food, well, just just one
yeah, one yeah.
Speaker 1 (44:56):
I was just curious, like what were the foods like in
both places?
What was a typical thing, I'massuming, like stews and soups?
Speaker 3 (45:04):
A lot of that, I would say, in Iceland.
A lot of the food was.
There's a lot of fish, ofcourse.
In Iceland we had a lot ofArctic char, salmon, things that
we fished right out of thelakes and then cooked a lot of
lamb, a lot of vegetables likemushrooms, and then they have,
like their famous yogurt skewer,s-k-y-r skewer yogurt icelandic
(45:28):
yogurt and for finland it wasalso a lot of fish, but then, um
, believe it or not, reindeer.
So they have reindeer farmswhere they you can ride, rain,
ride on sleds where reindeer arepulling it, but then they also
you finish by eating them.
Yeah, hopefully not the one youjust rode.
Yes, reindeer is, um, it'sapparently a very lean, healthy
(45:51):
meat and that's something thatis an important part of, uh, the
diet there is.
It, is it gamey?
It is, uh, not a gamey gal.
Yeah, I think it takes a littlegetting used to, but apparently
good, a healthy, lean meat witha lot of barbecue sauce, a lot
of a lot of spices yeah, wedefinitely pushed uh our kids
(46:14):
comfort zones with with food inboth of those places and I think
they appreciated it yeah, andso finland had reindeer and fish
and what were.
Speaker 1 (46:23):
Did they have a lot of vegetables, or did they have
other things too?
I don't know if it was there.
Speaker 3 (46:27):
They import it?
They had a lot.
They did they have.
I mean, I I'm that's a verygood question.
I don't know what they import,but I know that they, because so
much of the uh, so much of thecountry is forest covered that
I'm sure that there's a lot ofvegetable, a lot of mushrooms
and things like that.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
Yeah, in Sweden they have amazing strawberries.
I went there in July.
Everyone takes the whole monthoff.
I don't know if that's the samein Finland, but probably.
But they did have a lot ofproduce and I what I always uh,
what stood out and it was like along time ago, like 30 years
ago, but it was, um, everythingwas just smaller ago, like 30
years ago, but it was, um,everything was just smaller.
Everything's small there andand actually it's more normal
(47:05):
and we are super sized, yeah.
Speaker 3 (47:08):
That's what I remember.
Everything's bigger here, butyeah, I think that they are um,
have a lot of fruit, uh, andvegetables, berries, things like
that.
In fact, now that I recall whenwe were in Iceland, one of the
breakfast would be this skeweryogurt, some really that.
In fact, now that I recall whenwe were in Iceland, one of the
breakfast would be this skiryogurt, some really thick,
hearty oatmeal, and then lots ofberries and things to put on
(47:28):
top of it.
All local, lots of fresh herbs.
Speaker 1 (47:32):
Oh yeah, yeah, we did .
There was a lot of dill inSweden and, I'm assuming,
probably there too, and then didthey have assuming breads,
pastries, anything famous thatwas really popular, that in both
places that you were like, wow,I would love to have this again
and it was really yummy the.
Speaker 3 (47:49):
There was a pastry shop in Reykjavik called
Broudenko and the line wouldform.
We were told this in advance.
You had to get there, maybefirst thing in the morning,
whatever that was, and there'dbe a line around the block for
their pastries and I would tellyou what they're called, but I
can't pronounce any of theirnames at all.
They just were like 14 to 20letters with like almost no
(48:10):
vowels, and, uh, you would justgo to the window and point to
the things that looked good andeverything was delicious uh
filled with butter.
What was the pastry shop calledfilled with butter?
What was the pastry shop calledBroud and Co?
B-r-a-u-d.
Broud and Co.
Speaker 1 (48:31):
And because Reykjavik's so little, it's just
very easy to find.
Yeah, oh, that sounds good.
And then so that was Iceland.
Was there anything in Finlandthat stood out?
Speaker 3 (48:38):
I mean, I think that there were also pastries, but I
can't recall anything standingout like that.
I mean of course, the thingthat stood out the most for me
was the was the reindeer.
Just you know, mentallythinking about what I was eating
and I'm not a big fan ofherring and those types of
really strong fish, but herringwas very popular.
I'm not opposed to trying itbut, fishy fish or not, it's not
(49:01):
my style I agree that's great.
Speaker 1 (49:06):
Well, no, thank you so much um super interesting and
loved to see um your picturesand what you've done and yeah,
sounds very.
Yeah, I thanks for you openedmy eyes for my, my friend, dina
travel agent too All right.
Speaker 2 (49:23):
So let's talk about my final question set.
So what do you think is thebest age to go to Iceland?
You know, because some thingsare better when the kids are
young, Some is just not greatfor kids period.
Any advice on that?
Speaker 3 (49:37):
Both Iceland and Finland are great for kids of
most ages, but if you reallywant to have family adventures
where you're all taking part insome of these dog sledding,
snowmobiling, maybe you'd wantyour kids to be sort of over 10
or 12, depending on the kid, ofcourse, and how adventurous they
are.
Younger than that, you mightnot be able to do some of these
(49:58):
things, and maybe it's nice towait until they're a little bit
older.
So I definitely think and Imean I believe that my kids at
17 and 20 would go back to bothof these places tomorrow and do
the exact same thing.
So I don't think.
I don't think you grow out ofit.
Speaker 2 (50:14):
Okay, and then, if you had to choose Iceland or
Finland, to go back, to whichone would you choose?
Speaker 3 (50:23):
to choose Iceland or Finland.
To go back, to which one wouldyou choose?
Oh, iceland, I think Iceland,although.
I it's a very hard choice, butyeah, back to Iceland because I
have not yet seen sort of allthe volcanoes and the waterfalls
and I'm very much into wildlifeand I think that I'd like to go
back and photograph some of thewildlife there.
Speaker 2 (50:42):
Is the volcano active ?
Speaker 3 (50:45):
There are, from what I understand, hundreds of
volcanoes, and yes, I think thatthey are, and I think one just
in the news not that long ago inIceland.
So, yes, there's activevolcanoes.
Speaker 2 (50:57):
And what was the hardest thing about the
nighttime in Finland, theextended nighttime, I should say
.
Speaker 3 (51:03):
I'd say for me, waking up, because when you're
waking up, even if you're wakingup at 9 am, it's pitch black
outside.
So I found that challenge towake up when it was dark and are
they?
Big on coffee there.
Speaker 2 (51:17):
Are they tea country?
Speaker 3 (51:18):
Oh no, the coffee was in the room.
I mean, I really I think frommy bed I could reach the machine
, turned it on.
I was not getting out of bedwithout a coffee.
But I think that they're bothtea.
I don't know if as a countrythey are coffee drinkers,
definitely tea, but when you'rea tourist I think they know that
we need our coffee Right.
Speaker 2 (51:39):
Okay, and what kind of money did you have in Iceland
and how did you exchange it?
Speaker 3 (51:44):
Oh, I would tell you that we needed to carry very
little money.
Credit cards taken everywhere,in both places.
Speaker 2 (51:51):
Okay, okay great, not a problem.
Speaker 3 (51:53):
I mean, I think that in Finland it's the Euro and in
Iceland it's the IcelandicKroner, but credit cards really
taken everywhere.
Speaker 2 (52:01):
Okay, just the final question of like a this or that,
or beach or a mountain vacation.
What do you prefer?
Mountain, I used to say beachbut now mountain.
Oh, that's interesting.
That's funny Cause I guess Iget older.
I used to be all about thebeach and hot and then, as I get
older, I'm like definitelysomething nice about.
Speaker 3 (52:18):
Yeah, I grew up in Redonda beach my whole life you
had that every day.
And now mountains.
Where are you going next?
Well, uh, for spring break, weare going to the caribbean.
Speaker 1 (52:34):
We are going to saint bart's in about two weeks, so
fun, very excited been therebefore.
Speaker 3 (52:38):
I have been there before.
We are, uh, we're going, as, uh, three of our four members of
our family are going with somefriends for spring break and
it'll be a nice, relaxing, nicerelaxing trip.
But finally, since we'retalking about arctic, um, my
daughter and my stepfather and Iare going to arctic, uh, norway
next June, a year from thisJune, so maybe in the future we
(53:01):
can talk about polar bears.
Speaker 2 (53:03):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (53:04):
Okay, absolutely, I, yeah, I'd love to talk about the
trip they sound like fun trips?
Speaker 2 (53:12):
Yeah, all right.
And so where can people findyour blog and your Instagram and
all that good stuff?
Speaker 3 (53:19):
Sure.
So my website isIamLostAndFoundcom, and that's
where all my writing is and allmy inspiration for travel, and
my Instagram is IamLostAndFoundunderscore, and those are really
my two main channels, my socialplatforms.
Speaker 2 (53:38):
Great.
Okay, we'll put those in theshow notes as well, so people
can follow you.
So thank you.
Speaker 1 (53:42):
So much this was so much fun.
I really appreciate your timeand insight into um.
We've not seen Iceland andFinland and uh, really
eyeopening, and uh, on my bucketlist for sure.
Speaker 3 (53:54):
Oh, thank you so much , I'm really glad.
Speaker 1 (53:57):
Absolutely All right.
Have a great weekend, thank you.
Speaker 2 (54:00):
Bye.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed the podcast, canyou please take a second and do
a quick follow of the show andrate us in your podcast app, and
if you have a minute, we wouldreally appreciate a review.
Following and rating is thebest way to support us.
If you're on Instagram, let'sconnect.
We're at where next podcast.
(54:22):
Thanks again.
Hi, welcome to our podcast when Next Travel with
Kristen and Carol.
I am Kristen and I am Carol,and we're two long-term friends
with a passion for travel andadventure.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Each episode, we interview people around the
globe to help us decide where togo next.
Jamie, thanks for joining ustoday.
From your where are you locatedright now?
Actually Washington DC,washington DC, but you're a
travel blogger, so you've beenall over the world and today
we're going to focus on Icelandand Finland and just also just
(00:47):
hear your story and how you gotstarted.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
We're very excited to have you, thank you.
Thank you for having me.
I'm excited to be here.
What do you do?
Speaker 1 (00:56):
What's this travel blog?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Sure, I'm happy to explain.
Well, my name is Jamie Edwardsand about five or six years ago,
after raising kids and notquite having as much to do
school-wise with them, decidedto sort of take all of the
things I love food, travel, wine, photography and design and put
(01:22):
it all in one place, and thatis how my website, which is
called I Am Lost and Found, wasborn.
It was really a labor of love,though I wish I could say it was
easy to create, but it did takea lot of blood, sweat and tears
to get it off the ground.
But now, after, like I said, somany years in, I've kind of got
(01:46):
into my groove.
I have about 90 posts now,ranging from restaurant reviews
to luxurious places.
I've been adventurous places,I've been tips and tricks for
travel and packing, so it'sbecome sort of a one go to place
for inspiration for travel.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Nice, and it's beautiful.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
My kids are.
My daughter turned 20 yesterdayand my son is 17.
One out of the house, one onthe way.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Yeah, almost 17 year old and a 19 year old.
So you know I have an 18 and 20year old.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
We're all in the same boat.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
No wonder we're all doing this.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Yeah, well, it's funny because this is how Carol
and I started three years agowas very similar story.
I did do South Korea and Balitwo years ago and then I did
Maui.
I've got a condo in Maui anyway.
I've done some travel, but nota lot yet, cause I that's my
plan.
But how long have you beentraveling Like how many years?
(02:49):
When did you start this blog?
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Well, about six years ago and I can say that I've
always loved travel we lived inTokyo for four years and our
kids were very small when welived there.
So although I didn't get toSouth Korea, I did get to Bali
and a lot of Southeast Asia, andalthough the kids were very
young, we did drag themeverywhere because we found that
(03:13):
how often are we going to havethis launch point of being in a
big Asian city?
And we really just took it andwent with it.
So we spent four years thereand we really just took it and
went with it.
So we spent four years thereand before that we were in New
York City for about 15 years anddid a lot of travel then, and I
think that a lot of peoplethought that once we had kids,
we would stop traveling, and wedidn't.
(03:37):
We just kept going.
It's our family vice.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Yeah, that's fantastic.
So your husband does it withyou.
Yeah, most of it I mean we do.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
I mean I would say I do all sorts of travel.
I take a lot of girls trips.
I take a lot of.
I've taken some solo trips,taken trips with my mom and
sister, personal out with myhusband and most recently, well,
last January, I went with mystepfather to Antarctica.
So I'll travel with anyone.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Wow, you're the third person we've talked to this
year.
In the last nine months I'vebeen to Antarctica Wow.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Yeah, it's really rising in popularity.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Yeah and I'm dying to hear.
So what is a typical year lookof travel for you, and maybe
just on average, how do you planyour trips when?
How far in advance?
Like is it kind of sometimesspur of the moment?
Is it like okay, this eachquarter?
How does that look?
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Well, I think from year to year it does vary.
I think we know we always havea spring break, at least while
our kids have been in highschool, which you, you both know
all too well.
So we had kind of holidaybreaks over the festive season
that were, given that we alwaysplanned for and spring break and
then usually one big summertrip.
But then in between thingswould pop up.
(04:52):
A girlfriend would say, hey, doyou want to go here?
And I would always say yes.
Or my husband and I would say,oh, we have a wedding.
In fact, we have a wedding togo to in the Costa Brava of
Spain.
That just came up.
So I think it's a combinationof some spontaneity and then a
few planned trips.
And I do now use a traveladvisor I never used to, but now
(05:16):
I do because I find that it'svery helpful in case things go
bump in travel, which they dothese days, go bump often.
So I feel like they really havemy back and I don't have to
waste any time with managing anydelays or cancellations.
So that's been a big helpbecause now I can really focus
(05:38):
on my writing and I take ajournal with me and just sit on
the beach or wherever I am andtake a lot of notes and take a
lot of pictures.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
That's great.
So a travel advisor is thatthat's not a travel agent?
Speaker 3 (05:52):
It is.
I think it's just like themodern way you can call it.
They call themselves traveldesigners, travel.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
I actually have a dear friend who who has set me
up on trips and I'm like I amcalling Dina.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Dina because I think that I'm gonna do more of that
because these days people wouldlike to have a travel advisor in
their back pocket.
It's like having a I don't knowany other kind of a person that
helps you get through your,your life highlighting it now.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
That is just so.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
It's not like not like tour companies, but like
literally just an independent,or like booking your right.
Yes.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
In fact the one I use .
Their name is Sire.
They are a boutique travelagency based out of New York and
Maine, but they're under thebig umbrella of, like a virtuoso
and first in service.
So although they're a smallboutique, they get all of the
perks and benefits of the bigparent company, so that all
trickles down to their clients,which that could be free
(06:48):
breakfast, a spa appointment.
It could mean that you get 20%off X, y and Z.
But most importantly, I findthat they end up getting me
finding kind of better prices,especially for air travel, than
I can normally find.
Okay, just take care ofanything that goes wrong.
So one time I was going to booka flight to Seattle so my
(07:12):
daughter could take a collegevisit, and we discovered in the
middle of the night that theflight had been canceled the day
before.
But by the time I woke up I hadalready been rebooked.
So those are the things yeah.
I think it's and plus, Ipersonally don't like the the
little details of picking.
I like to pick my hotel room,but I don't want to have to go
(07:36):
ahead and bother with all thedetails.
So for me, I I feel like Ireally get to focus on what I
consider more important things.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
I love it, you I can't.
It's like an aha for me,because Dina has scheduled like
we took the family to DisneyWorld, we have Disneyland, we're
here in LA, so that's it.
So we did a whole and she'slike this is how you have to do
it.
You're going to do this andthen you need a break in between
.
And I was like like I wouldhave never done any of that.
And then I wanted a Caribbeancruise as well.
(08:06):
And she's like okay, so you goto Disney World and then you sit
on the boat after.
Don't do it before, becausethat's what we did and it was.
It was like the most perfectwhole trip.
Like just we had so much funfor like almost two weeks um, I
also wake surf a lot and so wewent to Nautique and went to the
headquarters there and got tocheck out stuff.
So we like added some things inthere, but it was just like it
(08:29):
ended up being so nice.
And then she like shipped us.
She's like you know the magicbands and it had our names on it
and it was like total conciergeand I've known her for over 10
years and so I really, I agreeit's worth it.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
They've been, they know all the ins and outs, they
know more than we do, and itreally is.
I mean, most travel advisorscharge a small fee, but to me
it's really worth it foreverything you get in return.
So I love to hear you say that,because I, I, I'm a, I'm a
believer.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Yeah, so thank you, cause I'm going to call her.
I texted her actually justright now.
We need to talk.
Ring bank is coming.
I wanted to take my kids to dosomething.
So, oh, that's great.
Yeah, so just curious.
What did you do before this,six years ago?
Were you working?
Were you a stay-at-home mom andwanted to do an adventure?
What was your life like before?
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Well, when I lived in New York, I was in advertising
and design.
I worked for advertisingagencies and some boutique
design firms and then about andI worked up through having both
of my kids and then, when my sonwas six months old, my husband
had this opportunity to move toAsia for work and we said, okay,
let's do it.
(09:41):
And we when I moved to Japan, Ididn't work.
We said, okay, let's do it.
And we when I moved to Japan, Ididn't work.
I led a very nice, fulfilling,expat life, raised my kids and
then from there we moved toWashington DC, which is where we
are now, and I just enjoyedbeing a stay at home mom for all
those years.
I found it really well I meanmostly rewarding, of course,
(10:05):
rewarding enough.
And then and then I guess it wasjust I got really kind of bored
because their soccer teams wereplaying until seven o'clock at
night.
They were out with theirfriends, my husband was working,
and that's when I reallydecided to put all of these kind
of old passions, new passions,together in the website.
(10:27):
And I will say that for anyonewho's starting a any kind of
travel blog or blog of any kind.
I think the key is really beingpatient, because now, all these
years later, the attractionsare really starting to pick up
for the first time and myorganic growth is really high
and I feel like I've gotten thegist of finding my voice is
(10:48):
really important.
I look at my earlier posts oftravel and I'm thinking, oh god,
I sounded terrible and then Ium.
Now I feel like I found alittle bit more of who I am in
my writing and it's a very um.
It's such a nice thing to do,to sit and write.
I really enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
And do you have an end goal in mind?
I don't see like theadvertisers and stuff.
Is that you interested in doingthat, or is it really just
about telling your story andsharing with the world?
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Well, I just I find that advertising can be a little
cumbersome on a site and I'mnot yet ready to go into the
world of having people advertiseon my site.
What's been really wonderfulabout I Am Lost and Found is
that it's been this wonderfulavenue towards writing for other
people.
So I write for a lot of otherwebsites now travel and child
(11:43):
related things.
So I'm I'm actually travelwriting for other people's sites
, so I am getting a source ofincome from that, which is
wonderful.
Not much, I will say.
I mean pays for maybe dinneroccasionally.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
So this is your portfolio now.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Yeah, that's a great way of looking at it.
It's my portfolio, right andbut also.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
I'm thinking, yeah, it's tough, cause I do find it
distracting when there's likethe videos popping up and the
banner.
But I see, like you have whoyou follow, you could have, I
don't know, like just a sponsorpage of other very good idea
People that are good idea.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
I'll give her something You're also good with
that, oh you're a desert of atalker.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
That's great.
Carol comes up with great ideas, you do that, carol.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Thank you, carol.
I'm writing that note down,right now.
I do also write, for I don'tknow if you know the Eagle Creek
is a big luggage company.
Oh yeah, I think I have one oftheir backpacks.
(12:59):
I really only want to writeabout products I stand behind.
So sometimes I get a call fromthat.
They want me to write abouttheir product or about their
hotel, but it doesn't reallyfall into my wheelhouse of where
what I would recommend to thefollowers I have and the niche,
and so I do turn that down quitea bit.
So I'm not doing it for themoney, but it would be nice to
(13:22):
get you know, recognition andpaid at some point for this.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Well, I have to say I just I brought your website up,
I've got it on the screen and Iwas just looking at
destinations which it looks likethere's at least 25, 30 ish or
so, 10, 20, 25 or so, which, andthey're all super cool
locations.
So this is where you'vetraveled so far.
Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Yeah, it is except, believe it or not, there's
almost no Asia in there, becausewhen I started doing my writing
I really didn't have that much.
It's been so long since I'velived in Tokyo so I'm missing
like 15 or 20 countries thatI'll just have to kind of go
back to yeah.
So yes, I mean, I'm not one ofthose country tickers, I'm not
(14:06):
ticking countries or anything,but I did finally, after after
Antarctica, make it to all sevencontinents, so that was a like
a milestone.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
That is amazing.
And how cool Croatia I see,montenegro, morocco, nicaragua,
slovenia, uganda, uruguay, Imean, you know Botswana, there's
a whole bunch in there.
Which one's been your favorite,or the one I guess that comes
to mind first that pops out.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Well, it's funny because Iceland and Finland are
two of our not only my favorites, but family favorites, and I'm
not much of a cold weatherperson.
Yet lately I've reallygravitated towards these kind of
Arctic and Antarcticdestinations, and I think it's
because, as I've gotten olderand my kids have sort of aged
(14:54):
out of just playing on a beachthat which was great when your
kids are little and you canthrow them in a kid's club where
you can put them, you know, youcan get your book and watch
them on the beach and relax.
I don't need to relax anymore.
I would like some more.
Uh, I want to do some moreadventurous things.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
So I think that's why it's been so appealing okay,
and I was just talking tosomeone the other day about
adventure.
Like how do you defineadventure?
A lot of people define it.
You know some people might justbe going to the UK as like
adventurous because they'venever done it before.
But how would you define anadventure?
Speaker 3 (15:26):
yeah, and you know what?
You're exactly right.
Everyone defines it sodifferently.
Lately, for me, adventurereally takes the I'm the least
adventurous person in my familyof four and that means that I
get pushed into adventures thatI might not even want to take.
For instance, we went toCorsica a couple of summers ago
where we went canyoneering,where you're basically kind of
(15:49):
going down waterfalls and rocksfrom the top of a mountain to
the bottom through water with awetsuit and there are parts
where you're hurling yourselfoff rocks into like 30 feet into
a pool of water and that to me,is adventure.
That is adventurous, right, andthat's not really always my cup
of tea, but I can get talkedinto that pretty easily.
(16:12):
So I like when I get pushed outof my comfort zone and I feel
like my kids and my husbandreally helped me do that and I
really helped push my husbandand kids into some of the more
luxurious things.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
I'm more the outdoor adventure and I need more of the
luxury sometimes too, but Ilove that you do that.
So wait, what was the tumblingthing?
What was that called that?
You guys went to Canyoneering,okay, and where did you do that?
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Well, we've done that .
We did that in Corsica, but wealso did that in Iceland, so
it's a really fun sport for thewhole family.
I didn't think I'd love it, butI really did.
It's like this mountainclimbing and swimming and hiking
all wrapped up into one.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
And are.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
You're in like deep in a Canyon where it's black,
where you have to put like aheadlamp.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
Nope, you're not in caves, you're really just kind
of going over, it's all.
You're outside in the fresh air, going over rocks and maybe
through some boulder caves andthings like that.
There's rushing water.
You're wearing a helmet.
I didn't.
Yeah, we're wearing helmets, soI mean it's safe and we had a
guide, so, and I think thatpeople should always do it with
(17:24):
a guide for a variety of reasons, and it was really fun.
I mean, we're really into theadventure, family adventure,
which is why Finland was such agreat trip, because it was just.
Every single day was adifferent adventure.
Actually, both Iceland andFinland all right.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
So should we start digging into Finland and Iceland
a little bit?
Speaker 3 (17:47):
yeah, it's a natural segue.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, first I have to ask,because when I think Iceland, I
think of Eurovision, the storyof Fire, Saga.
Has anyone seen that?
Speaker 3 (17:57):
No, but I know what that is.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
It's Will.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Ferrell it's a spoof on the Eurovision.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Oh my gosh, it's so funny.
I know, but yeah, it takesplace in Iceland.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Well, I looked on your Iceland thing and I see the
Depplar Farm and the BlueLagoon I've seen and it looks
amazing.
So I definitely wanted to hearabout that and Depplar Farm I
guess that's at the top of yourpage and you stayed there.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
That's right.
So the reason we went toIceland and we went to Iceland
in the summer, so there wasabout 22 hours of daylight.
When we went to Finland, wewent to Iceland in the summer,
so there was about 22 hours ofdaylight.
When we went to Finland, wewent in the winter, so there's
about 22 hours of darkness.
So there's a real contrast,natural contrast, between the
two places.
But Depler Farm is, I mean, Iguess the best way to describe
(18:45):
it.
It's equal parts luxury andadventure, and it's very remote
and hard to get to and pricey,uh.
So it only has 13 rooms andit's a converted sheet farm.
So really, when you're thereand it's so isolated that say
it's full, 13 rooms are full, 35people, there's no other
(19:08):
tourists around, so you reallyhave the entire landscape to
yourself in the peninsula, theTroll Peninsula it feels like,
and you're assigned anexperience manager who really
essentially helps curate yourday-to-day adventures, and
because the daytime lasts untilmidnight, you really don't have
(19:30):
to wake up at the crack of dawnfor any reason.
It's all very bespoke.
So our experience manager hername was Emily.
She was great for our family.
Do we want to play archery andthen go fly fishing and then
after that, do we want to cookthe Arctic char at the river
house and then have um, take adip in the thermal pools?
(19:52):
Or do you want to go horsebackriding, kayaking?
I mean, there is just endlessadventures to be had, Wow, and
everything is really done toperfection there.
I mean, as it should be.
It's a like.
I said it's.
It's an expensive place, Uh,and you do really feel like you
get your money's worth, though.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
And is it?
Is the summer actually warm?
It's like in the seventies, or?
Yeah, the summer is warm.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
The weather's changeable.
So anyone who thinks they'regoing to Iceland in the summer
to go, you know, get a suntan,is probably you're in the wrong
place.
But we went expecting that fromone day to the next it could be
misty and foggy and rainy, andthen the next day sunny.
It turns out that we had reallynice weather I would say in the
sixties high sixties lots ofsunshine.
(20:42):
But I would never even say tosomeone that I think that the
weather means nothing in Iceland.
You don't not do anything therebecause of it.
You're still going to kayak,you'll still go whale watching,
puffin watching, you'll do allof these things.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
And it's really unique.
So when I'm looking at thepicture and it's just like some
green, brown hills and it's justrolling and it looks like you
know the house or farm, whatever, and then it looks like there
is nothing around it.
But I'm just seeing just thislittle framework of that picture
.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
There's nothing around it.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, and so to do all of the experiences that you
just mentioned, how far are youin a car to get to those Good?
Speaker 3 (21:23):
question.
You know what?
Unbelievably close.
So the kayak 10 minutes away,there's a lake 10 minutes away.
Everything's really close.
The things that were a littlebit of a drive were to go whale
watching, but I'm pronouncingthat incorrect.
But it's an entire island, arocky, jagged island that
(21:55):
thousands and thousands ofpuffins live and other birds and
birds of prey, and we were theonly ones there with kind of the
gatekeeper of the island, whosename I'm sure was like Thor, I
can't remember.
These puppins are so adorable.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
I know the puppins are so cute, that's also from a
Will Ferrell movie right, thelittle puppins and birds.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
So the experiences to be had in Iceland, I think, are
so unique and they really caterto anyone, not not just
families, but very familyfriendly.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Oh, it's really great .
I'm looking at some photos andit's beautiful and the cute
little puffins are around.
There's someone actually.
It looks like they're in a bigjacuzzi that's man-made.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
I don't know what that is, but they have the life.
They have the life there.
It's a spectacular place, yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Or actually there's a human person in that, in the
big jacuzzi kind of thing withrocks or something like that,
but I don't know, it's probablycold in there.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
And did you guys go around the whole Iceland country
?
I mean, how big is it?
Or?
Speaker 3 (23:05):
does everyone kind of ?
Speaker 2 (23:06):
just hang out by Reykjavik or whatever that's
called Well for anyone thinkingof going.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
I kind of liked the way we did it.
People do it two different ways.
Reykjavik is the capital andthat is, I think it's the
northernmost capital in theworld capital city and it's a
small city and it's reallysocially progressive, colorful,
culture-filled, unique things,but you can see it in two days.
(23:34):
It's a, it's a pretty easy onfoot city to see.
And then a lot of people take atour of what's called the
Golden Circle and that is sortof during the south loop and I
believe it has just lots ofbeautiful waterfalls.
And then where we went was weflew up to the northern part of
Iceland.
But I mean, I would suggest, ifyou had two weeks, to try to
(23:59):
see as much of the island as youcan, because you can hop on a
helicopter from Reykjavik and goon top of a glacier, which we
did, you could go overwaterfalls, which we did, and
it's just an incredible vantagepoint to see it from above, and
then you get to see, you get tojust see so many things, uh,
from that view.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Which is pretty, which is beautiful the capital
has, uh, it looks very uheuropean.
I don't know, it's just on allthese beautiful colored
buildings and maybe is it highspire churches or there's some
tall yeah yeah, they're really.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
It's very, um, it's very edgy and progressive uh,
much more than I thought.
And, yes, european and thepeople there are.
People there are so nice.
It's very safe place to be.
I think I heard this when wewere we're in.
And it's very safe place to be.
I think I heard this when wewere we're in Iceland.
It's it's a very small countryand a lot of the population
lives in Reykjavik and they havean app that you can plug in a
(25:01):
name so that you don't date yourcousin.
That's hilarious.
Oh no, that's so true.
I can imagine Incestuous,incestuous in a way, like you
just want to be careful whoyou're dating because everybody
could be related.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
Oh my gosh, that's awful.
You're like oh no, that's myfirst husband.
He's too cute.
And what's the golden circle?
Speaker 3 (25:23):
So we didn't do the golden circle, but it's a bit of
a route, a tourist route totake, where you get to see a lot
.
You get to see waterfalls,glaciers iceland is referred to
as the land of fire and ice forjust for that reason, for the
volcanoes.
So there's so much you can do.
We we did not do the um, thegolden circle, but there's still
(25:44):
time.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
We'd like to go back so I have a question about that
farm, the dupler farm.
So, since there's not so fewpeople, is everyone on the same
schedule, like everyone comes,or is there people coming and
going all the time?
People are always coming andgoing, oh, okay.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
So what was kind of nice, though it's very communal.
So although meals are not,dinner is all at 8 pm, around 8
pm.
So everybody goes into thehouse, drinks first at the bar,
plays games, and then you'recalled to dinner at, say, eight
and it's communal dining.
But for lunches and forbreakfast you can kind of come
(26:19):
and go as you please.
But it was nice because it's sosmall that you meet people from
all over the world there, andthat was that was really nice
about.
There's no locks on any of thedoors in the entire place and it
feels like you're in a home, ifyou.
It just looks like a beautifulhouse.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Yeah, and how long did you stay there for?
Speaker 3 (26:42):
We stayed there for eight days and I will say that
we became known sort of as theeight, eight dares, because
nobody stays that long.
We became known sort of as theeight dayers, because nobody
stays that long.
Really it felt like family bythe end.
I think partially.
There's a.
The reason a lot of peopledon't stay eight days is because
typically it's hard to get.
There's only 13 rooms.
It books up really quickly.
(27:03):
It would be hard to get eightconsecutive days but because I'm
such a planner and knew Iwanted to stay there when I
booked, I was able to get asmany days as I wanted.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Nice.
How far in advance did you planthat?
Speaker 3 (27:18):
I probably planned that almost a year out because I
knew that we really wantedspecific dates and my husband's
entire family lives in the UK.
So we were.
We were tacking it on to adifferent trip, so I knew I had
specific dates in mind.
But I think I have friends whohave gone to Depplar since me
and I I'd recommend I mean, Ithink, ideally five nights.
(27:40):
I think if you had four or lessyou'd be disappointed, you were
leaving.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
Got it.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
By the time you finished with eight, were you
like okay, we're, we're good,like you know.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
I was.
I mean, I definitely was readyon the one hand, but we still
there were activities we did notget to do but it was.
But I think eight days wasplenty.
Is there an?
Speaker 2 (28:01):
airport on the Northern side, or you just okay
there is there's.
Speaker 3 (28:05):
So we flew from you, fly into the international
airport, which is near, not farfrom the Blue Lagoon, and then
we drove to Reykjavik to theregional airport and then flew
up to Akurey, which is in thenorth and Akurey, I believe, is
our fourth largest city.
So it was a short flight andthen maybe an hour and a half
(28:26):
drive from so it's not easy toget to which I think filters out
a lot of people.
If you don't want to have toput that much travel into your
destination, there's lots ofother places in the world to go
to.
But it sounds like definitely akind of almost a bucket list
right To go to Iceland andreally and really I thought so
(28:47):
especially when it was sort ofthe midnight sun, when the sun
wasn't really setting untilmaybe almost midnight and then
by 2, 3 am the sun it reallynever set completely.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Yeah, and then I have to ask about the Blue Lagoon.
Of course, right when I hear it, I think of Brooke Shields and
the Blue Lagoon.
But I was curious how long didyou spend there?
What did you?
I'm assuming it was a day tripor so, and how far was it from
the Deplar Farm?
Right?
Speaker 3 (29:24):
Well, that was so the Blue Lagoon is.
It's so different from the restof Iceland landscape wise.
It's all lava and geothermalpools and sort of the smoke that
kind of rises from the milkywater.
It's right outside of theairport.
Maybe it's 20 minutes from theairport on your way to Reykjavik
, okay, so I think that, andsome people stay there for a few
days and they do trips thereand they just stay at the blue
lagoon.
But what we decided to do was,since our flight wasn't till
(29:47):
late at night, to come back toDC on our way back to the
airport, we stopped there for aday trip and booked ourselves
into a part of the Blue Lagoonis called the retreat, and you
can book that in advance and youcan book it for four hours and
you have this special area ofthe Blue Lagoon that is just for
(30:08):
the people who book into theretreat.
Nice, that's a special thing todo.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
And so what was your experience?
What did you do when you werethere?
Speaker 3 (30:17):
Well, so the Blue Lagoon is enormous, really big,
and, like I said, it's just sortof this more boutique hotel
part of it called the retreat,and they have these subterranean
caves where you can take mudbaths, meditation rooms, its own
restaurant.
There's a variety of things youcan do there that are all
(30:38):
meditation and relaxationfocused, without having
thousands of people in the poolswith you or walking around and
that you have your showers, aprivate bathroom and it's just.
It was a really nice way to endthe trip.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
And was it?
Is it expensive?
I'm actually just bringing up.
It said tours and things likethat.
I think there's a variety.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
What we did was probably the on the more
expensive side because we bookedfor these four hours, but I
don't remember it being crazyexpensive, I think it was more
that they only have a certainamount of space.
So, again, booking advance isimportant.
I will say overall, Iceland isan expensive country to visit.
It really is.
(31:21):
I think the airfare tends to beinexpensive, but then you get
there and you're like, wow, it'spretty expensive here.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
Was the food expensive, lodging expensive,
everything, yeah, everything wasexpensive.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
Even the hotel we stayed in in Reykjavik, which
was a modest hotel right in thecity, was still very expensive
per night.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
What cost-wise?
What's expensive?
What number?
Speaker 3 (31:47):
Well, for a small hotel room in the city, I think
we were talking about maybe $700a night, which I thought was
expensive.
Farm much, much more expensive.
But it's a completely differenttype of experience and each of
the rooms at Depplar the 13rooms range in size and have
different price points.
So while it's expensive I meanI don't know for sure now we
(32:11):
went quite a few years ago Ithink some of the less expensive
rooms were around the $2,000per night range.
Oh my gosh, does that?
Speaker 1 (32:19):
include dinner and meals and any experiences as
well, that you did.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
It included just about everything.
Just the things that did notinclude were the whale watching
boat ride out to the whalewatching and that puffin Island
I was talking about.
But everything else was prettymuch included, almost everything
.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
And that's for the whole family.
2000 a night right.
So it's, like you know, 500 aperson, ish or something yeah, I
mean it's, it's.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
I mean we would never say it was, uh, inexpensive,
but you do get a lot for it okay, sounds good, okay, yeah,
what's?
Speaker 2 (32:54):
the language.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
There is it all English well, yes, they all
speak English and I know thatIcelandic is a language, but
generally I feel like everywherewe went, english was spoken.
Okay, cool.
And then I guess we should alsotalk about Finland.
(33:15):
So we went to the UK forChristmas to visit my family
there, probably two or threeyears ago it was right after the
pandemic, and in fact it wassort of just on the tail end of
the pandemic, because I rememberwe were in Oslo airport still
getting tested to get on theairplane, so, and then from
there we went to spend a weekaround New Year in northern
Finland.
(33:35):
So we flew into Helsinki Ishould say Helsinki and then we
flew and it was probably maybe afour hour flight all the way up
to the northern part of Finlandand it was within the Arctic
Circle.
So it was pretty pretty farnorth.
(33:56):
And you did it in February itwas January and because we were
so far north, it was we probablyhad two hours of daylight a day
, two to three hours of daylight, so it's like the complete
opposite of our summer inIceland.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
Yeah, I'm Swedish and Sweden's right next to, of
course, finland, and so it's thesame there, and they have the
ice hotel, you know, in Sweden.
Speaker 3 (34:21):
Yeah, have you been to one.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
No, I haven't.
I haven't yet.
I definitely am planning to go,and we went in 2015 to go see
all my family and spent a lot oftime there, and then I, even in
college, went there and then Idid this ship that takes you
from Stockholm to Helsinki.
So you like, go in the evening,have dinner, um, hang out and
(34:44):
have fun on the ship, go tosleep and then wake up in
Helsinki, spend the day thereand then get back on the ship at
dinner time, take the you know,eat dinner, do the same thing,
go to sleep and then you're backin Stockholm.
So it's like a 24 hour thingyeah, but this looks really
amazing and I I've wanted to goin the winter and yet you know,
(35:05):
kind of don't at the same time,right, cause it's just dark all
the time.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
It's funny you say that, because when I told people
here at home, or anyone forthat matter, that we were going
to Finland in the middle of thewinter, most people thought we
were off our rockers or like whywould you do that?
And I I wrote this in my postselfishly I really wanted to see
the Northern Lights.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Oh, that's what I was going to ask next if you have a
chance to see that I had abucket list for me.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
That's me too.
Convinced my family why who?
I was really the only one in myfamily who had any interest in
the Northern Lights, and on topof that, they're so elusive that
you're never really evenguaranteed to see them Right,
even in a place like Finlandwhere, from what I read, the
odds are the best.
So I had to come up with someother reasons why we were going
(35:54):
to have a great time in Finland,and, as it turned out, we
really.
The darkness just doesn'tmatter at all.
You do everything you would bedoing during the day, but you do
it in darkness, and it kind ofmade it even more fun for the
kids.
I mean, we're dog sledding andit's dark, and we're
snowmobiling and it's dark, butit's only, you know, noon or one
(36:16):
in the afternoon.
And the sky turns all thesebeautiful colors, so it's not
like a light switch, of course.
I mean you get all thesebeautiful variations in the sky
Purple, lavender is pinks, thetrees are beautiful, everything
is snow covered and we went icecarting and the way that they do
(36:36):
all the activities there.
They know that people get cold,so everyone is dressed well.
They give you all the gear soyou don't have to worry that you
haven't packed a park.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
Oh really, no, that's neat.
Speaker 3 (36:48):
A lot of the lodges know, because they don't want
their guests to be cold anduncomfortable and in between
they have breaks with you know,whether it's like warm hot tea,
or the warm juices for the kids,or'd grill sausages over an
open fire.
They work hard to make theexperience welcoming.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
Nice, that sounds like fun.
And then I just remember, likeat the ice hotel, you sleep in a
reindeer skin or something likethat, and it keeps you warm,
even the glasses.
I can imagine how was yourexperience First off.
What was the temperature?
How cold was it?
Speaker 2 (37:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
Yeah, it was cold.
It was cold.
It was definitely below zero,quite a bit like maybe 10, 15
below, and that's just not mycomfort zone at all, no one's
comfort zone.
But again, we were dressedreally well.
You're never doing an activitylong, so long that you feel like
you are not going to make itWait a few days.
(37:50):
We're hovering around, you know10 degrees, but even so it's so
exhilarating.
Dog sledding is exhilarating,it's.
The dogs are yapping andscreaming and barking their
heads off waiting to be released, and once they're released, I'm
cold.
I'm cold.
Yeah, they just off waiting tobe released and once they're
released.
I'm cold, I'm cold.
Yeah, they just they're soexcited to run and then they
start running and they're quiet.
(38:12):
The landscape is justcompletely hushed and it's like
being on the moon.
It's so quiet and beautiful.
So I mean, my kids will say andI think when we went they were
probably 15 and 17.
Okay, one of their favoritetrips.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Oh really, tell me what was a typical outfit to
during, and how did that changeduring the day?
Speaker 3 (38:39):
Right when it was cold you're moving.
Yeah Well, so depending on theactivity, so if we were going
snowmobiling, we go into thegear hut and you were put in
these snow suits.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
that they had.
I was thinking like skiing,right, you're just wearing like
ski gear instead.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
Yeah, just like that.
But they have everything foreverybody's size.
They've got boots, they've gotthe helmet, they've got the
thermal gloves.
You bring your base layers,just of course, um, but they and
goggles they give you, they'llgive you everything you need.
So the chances of being coldare really, are really slim, and
(39:16):
there were times that we evengot warm.
Uh, the only activity we nevergot warm was when we went ice
carting, which is really kind oflike going around an Indy 500
track.
All four of us had our own icecart.
Oh, it was so much fun.
It's not bumper cars, likepeople are like, oh, you're
bumping each other.
No, you're definitely notwanting to bump each other.
(39:36):
It's a go-kart and you're goingaround and around the track and
I think my son was so young hedidn't, he.
I mean we were worried thatwhen he got his driver's license
he was going to be a menace tosociety, but it was really fun.
But that was our coldest dayand because you're in a go-kart
and you're not really, I mean,you're not doing anything
(39:58):
aerobic, you're just driving.
That was the day we werecoldest, but every other day we
were fine and by the end of theday, because of the sauna
culture which I'm sure, uh,kristen, you know a bit about
because of Sweden.
They um love their saunas andyou get into a sauna at the end
of the day and relax, and I meanthey're called the happiest
(40:20):
country for a reason, I think.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
Did they do the happiest country?
Pardon, they're called thehappiest country.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
I think it's known to be one of the happiest
countries on earth, isn't there?
Well, there's uh, okay, so it'sinteresting because Sweden has
the highest suicide rate,something like that, and then I
know from it is Finland and I'mcurious unless I'm wrong, but I
was just doing some research and, uh, I think that there is a
little bit of controversy aboutwhat means by the half, what it
(40:50):
means to be the happiest countryyes, but I think it's also just
because they're outdoors or so,uh, like they're.
75 percent of the country isforest.
Yeah, covered, but no, that'dbe worth me re-looking into, but
I do recall that Bhutan wassupposed to be the happiest
country on earth, so maybethey're competing yeah, okay,
and do they do the cold plunge?
Speaker 2 (41:12):
that's what you always hear about.
Yeah, sauna, cold plunge didyou do that?
No, I didn't know, yeah.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
I think you're just in general.
You're in a cold plunge all thetime.
Right, exactly, I don't seewhat's the?
Speaker 3 (41:26):
point to me was just not my cup of tea, but the sauna
.
The sauna was great and I thinkthat our guide had told us to
bring a beer into the sauna andpour that over the rocks and
then it kind of makes thisreally nice.
I mean, I'm not a huge fan ofbeer, but that yeasty beer smell
, kind of fills the fills theair.
Cool, my husband, my husband,liked it.
(41:49):
Did it give you a buzz?
Yeah, exactly it did.
It was different.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Yeah, no, the sauna.
Actually I have a sauna at mygym and I swim twice a week for
a mile and it's cold, it'soutdoor and all I think when I'm
like right now too, it's kindof cold.
So I just think, go to thesauna as soon as I finished my
swim, get warm.
Um, so I see this picture youhave here with the dog sled and
(42:14):
it's uh, and it is light, itlooks beautiful.
Speaker 3 (42:19):
What time of day was that?
I mean, I'm guessing that thatwas probably around 11 or 12,
because that was really the onlytime of day that it was light
at all, and then it would justget increasingly dark.
I remember I think I took somepictures of my son and husband
had gone snowshoeing from thelodge with headlamps at around
(42:41):
one or two because it wasgetting dark, and there they
were two o'clock.
I was really wondering if theywere gonna get lost out in the
wilderness, but they made itback.
Speaker 1 (42:52):
Yeah, good thing.
Speaker 2 (42:53):
Wow, all right, well, so I think we're gonna get into
the rapid fire questions.
So I totally switched them upfrom our normal.
But, kristen, feel free ifthere's any other questions you
have for Jamie.
Speaker 1 (43:06):
How much money should someone put aside for doing
something similar to your whatyou did for Finland and then for
Iceland?
Like budget wise, yeah.
Speaker 3 (43:17):
Huh, well, that's a very good question.
I mean, there's a lot ofdifferent price points that you
can do these trips and, like Isaid, iceland tends to be pretty
expensive.
So for a week, I mean, if youwant to do it sort of the way we
did, I would say you could belooking at, you know, $20,000.
I mean not that you can't do itfor less, and you can certainly
(43:37):
do it for more.
And then for Finland, I think alot of Finland was a lot more
reasonable, so definitely lessthan that.
And there are so many differenttypes of Arctic hotels you
could stay in that you can seethe Northern Lights while you're
sleeping in your bed lookingout.
So I think there are morereasonable choices to be had in
Finland.
Speaker 1 (43:58):
Yes, and I forgot.
Where did you see the NorthernLights?
How did it look?
How long was it going?
Did it?
Was it just spectacular?
Speaker 3 (44:06):
It really was.
We had two nights where we sawthe Northern Lights and they, I
mean just like green swashes ofpaint through the sky.
I mean exactly.
I will say not to burstanyone's bubble with their
photography, but the iPhones andyour cameras make the colors
look much brighter than they arewhen you're in person.
So that was a little bitsurprising, but it was really
(44:29):
spectacular to see.
And, in case I didn't say itearlier, I know that the reason
I wanted to go there was to seethe Northern Lights, but it's
really more just a bonus.
I think that there's so muchelse to do there that go to
Finland to see the beauty ofFinland and then, if you see the
Northern lights, consideryourself fortunate.
Speaker 1 (44:48):
Yeah, and then I was going to ask food wise, but I
don't know if Carol's going totalk about that too Cause.
Speaker 2 (44:52):
I'm not going to talk about food, well, just just one
yeah, one yeah.
Speaker 1 (44:56):
I was just curious, like what were the foods like in
both places?
What was a typical thing, I'massuming, like stews and soups?
Speaker 3 (45:04):
A lot of that, I would say, in Iceland.
A lot of the food was.
There's a lot of fish, ofcourse.
In Iceland we had a lot ofArctic char, salmon, things that
we fished right out of thelakes and then cooked a lot of
lamb, a lot of vegetables likemushrooms, and then they have,
like their famous yogurt skewer,s-k-y-r skewer yogurt icelandic
(45:28):
yogurt and for finland it wasalso a lot of fish, but then, um
, believe it or not, reindeer.
So they have reindeer farmswhere they you can ride, rain,
ride on sleds where reindeer arepulling it, but then they also
you finish by eating them.
Yeah, hopefully not the one youjust rode.
Yes, reindeer is, um, it'sapparently a very lean, healthy
(45:51):
meat and that's something thatis an important part of, uh, the
diet there is.
It, is it gamey?
It is, uh, not a gamey gal.
Yeah, I think it takes a littlegetting used to, but apparently
good, a healthy, lean meat witha lot of barbecue sauce, a lot
of a lot of spices yeah, wedefinitely pushed uh our kids
(46:14):
comfort zones with with food inboth of those places and I think
they appreciated it yeah, andso finland had reindeer and fish
and what were.
Speaker 1 (46:23):
Did they have a lot of vegetables, or did they have
other things too?
I don't know if it was there.
Speaker 3 (46:27):
They import it?
They had a lot.
They did they have.
I mean, I I'm that's a verygood question.
I don't know what they import,but I know that they, because so
much of the uh, so much of thecountry is forest covered that
I'm sure that there's a lot ofvegetable, a lot of mushrooms
and things like that.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
Yeah, in Sweden they have amazing strawberries.
I went there in July.
Everyone takes the whole monthoff.
I don't know if that's the samein Finland, but probably.
But they did have a lot ofproduce and I what I always uh,
what stood out and it was like along time ago, like 30 years
ago, but it was, um, everythingwas just smaller ago, like 30
years ago, but it was, um,everything was just smaller.
Everything's small there andand actually it's more normal
(47:05):
and we are super sized, yeah.
Speaker 3 (47:08):
That's what I remember.
Everything's bigger here, butyeah, I think that they are um,
have a lot of fruit, uh, andvegetables, berries, things like
that.
In fact, now that I recall whenwe were in Iceland, one of the
breakfast would be this skeweryogurt, some really that.
In fact, now that I recall whenwe were in Iceland, one of the
breakfast would be this skiryogurt, some really thick,
hearty oatmeal, and then lots ofberries and things to put on
(47:28):
top of it.
All local, lots of fresh herbs.
Speaker 1 (47:32):
Oh yeah, yeah, we did .
There was a lot of dill inSweden and, I'm assuming,
probably there too, and then didthey have assuming breads,
pastries, anything famous thatwas really popular, that in both
places that you were like, wow,I would love to have this again
and it was really yummy the.
Speaker 3 (47:49):
There was a pastry shop in Reykjavik called
Broudenko and the line wouldform.
We were told this in advance.
You had to get there, maybefirst thing in the morning,
whatever that was, and there'dbe a line around the block for
their pastries and I would tellyou what they're called, but I
can't pronounce any of theirnames at all.
They just were like 14 to 20letters with like almost no
(48:10):
vowels, and, uh, you would justgo to the window and point to
the things that looked good andeverything was delicious uh
filled with butter.
What was the pastry shop calledfilled with butter?
What was the pastry shop calledBroud and Co?
B-r-a-u-d.
Broud and Co.
Speaker 1 (48:31):
And because Reykjavik's so little, it's just
very easy to find.
Yeah, oh, that sounds good.
And then so that was Iceland.
Was there anything in Finlandthat stood out?
Speaker 3 (48:38):
I mean, I think that there were also pastries, but I
can't recall anything standingout like that.
I mean of course, the thingthat stood out the most for me
was the was the reindeer.
Just you know, mentallythinking about what I was eating
and I'm not a big fan ofherring and those types of
really strong fish, but herringwas very popular.
I'm not opposed to trying itbut, fishy fish or not, it's not
(49:01):
my style I agree that's great.
Speaker 1 (49:06):
Well, no, thank you so much um super interesting and
loved to see um your picturesand what you've done and yeah,
sounds very.
Yeah, I thanks for you openedmy eyes for my, my friend, dina
travel agent too All right.
Speaker 2 (49:23):
So let's talk about my final question set.
So what do you think is thebest age to go to Iceland?
You know, because some thingsare better when the kids are
young, Some is just not greatfor kids period.
Any advice on that?
Speaker 3 (49:37):
Both Iceland and Finland are great for kids of
most ages, but if you reallywant to have family adventures
where you're all taking part insome of these dog sledding,
snowmobiling, maybe you'd wantyour kids to be sort of over 10
or 12, depending on the kid, ofcourse, and how adventurous they
are.
Younger than that, you mightnot be able to do some of these
(49:58):
things, and maybe it's nice towait until they're a little bit
older.
So I definitely think and Imean I believe that my kids at
17 and 20 would go back to bothof these places tomorrow and do
the exact same thing.
So I don't think.
I don't think you grow out ofit.
Speaker 2 (50:14):
Okay, and then, if you had to choose Iceland or
Finland, to go back, to whichone would you choose?
Speaker 3 (50:23):
to choose Iceland or Finland.
To go back, to which one wouldyou choose?
Oh, iceland, I think Iceland,although.
I it's a very hard choice, butyeah, back to Iceland because I
have not yet seen sort of allthe volcanoes and the waterfalls
and I'm very much into wildlifeand I think that I'd like to go
back and photograph some of thewildlife there.
Speaker 2 (50:42):
Is the volcano active ?
Speaker 3 (50:45):
There are, from what I understand, hundreds of
volcanoes, and yes, I think thatthey are, and I think one just
in the news not that long ago inIceland.
So, yes, there's activevolcanoes.
Speaker 2 (50:57):
And what was the hardest thing about the
nighttime in Finland, theextended nighttime, I should say
.
Speaker 3 (51:03):
I'd say for me, waking up, because when you're
waking up, even if you're wakingup at 9 am, it's pitch black
outside.
So I found that challenge towake up when it was dark and are
they?
Big on coffee there.
Speaker 2 (51:17):
Are they tea country?
Speaker 3 (51:18):
Oh no, the coffee was in the room.
I mean, I really I think frommy bed I could reach the machine
, turned it on.
I was not getting out of bedwithout a coffee.
But I think that they're bothtea.
I don't know if as a countrythey are coffee drinkers,
definitely tea, but when you'rea tourist I think they know that
we need our coffee Right.
Speaker 2 (51:39):
Okay, and what kind of money did you have in Iceland
and how did you exchange it?
Speaker 3 (51:44):
Oh, I would tell you that we needed to carry very
little money.
Credit cards taken everywhere,in both places.
Speaker 2 (51:51):
Okay, okay great, not a problem.
Speaker 3 (51:53):
I mean, I think that in Finland it's the Euro and in
Iceland it's the IcelandicKroner, but credit cards really
taken everywhere.
Speaker 2 (52:01):
Okay, just the final question of like a this or that,
or beach or a mountain vacation.
What do you prefer?
Mountain, I used to say beachbut now mountain.
Oh, that's interesting.
That's funny Cause I guess Iget older.
I used to be all about thebeach and hot and then, as I get
older, I'm like definitelysomething nice about.
Speaker 3 (52:18):
Yeah, I grew up in Redonda beach my whole life you
had that every day.
And now mountains.
Where are you going next?
Well, uh, for spring break, weare going to the caribbean.
Speaker 1 (52:34):
We are going to saint bart's in about two weeks, so
fun, very excited been therebefore.
Speaker 3 (52:38):
I have been there before.
We are, uh, we're going, as, uh, three of our four members of
our family are going with somefriends for spring break and
it'll be a nice, relaxing, nicerelaxing trip.
But finally, since we'retalking about arctic, um, my
daughter and my stepfather and Iare going to arctic, uh, norway
next June, a year from thisJune, so maybe in the future we
(53:01):
can talk about polar bears.
Speaker 2 (53:03):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (53:04):
Okay, absolutely, I, yeah, I'd love to talk about the
trip they sound like fun trips?
Speaker 2 (53:12):
Yeah, all right.
And so where can people findyour blog and your Instagram and
all that good stuff?
Speaker 3 (53:19):
Sure.
So my website isIamLostAndFoundcom, and that's
where all my writing is and allmy inspiration for travel, and
my Instagram is IamLostAndFoundunderscore, and those are really
my two main channels, my socialplatforms.
Speaker 2 (53:38):
Great.
Okay, we'll put those in theshow notes as well, so people
can follow you.
So thank you.
Speaker 1 (53:42):
So much this was so much fun.
I really appreciate your timeand insight into um.
We've not seen Iceland andFinland and uh, really
eyeopening, and uh, on my bucketlist for sure.
Speaker 3 (53:54):
Oh, thank you so much , I'm really glad.
Speaker 1 (53:57):
Absolutely All right.
Have a great weekend, thank you.
Speaker 2 (54:00):
Bye.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed the podcast, canyou please take a second and do
a quick follow of the show andrate us in your podcast app, and
if you have a minute, we wouldreally appreciate a review.
Following and rating is thebest way to support us.
If you're on Instagram, let'sconnect.
We're at where next podcast.
(54:22):
Thanks again.
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