Coffee in Hampstead

My eighth day in London. I am sitting in this quaint little coffee shop called Ginger & White, whose claim to fame is an appearance in Somebody Feed Phil. And the claim to fame is well deserved, going by the coffee I am sipping on. Reading this book called American Marriage, and as is true for all relationships on paper or in person, it ain’t easy. A story about a wrongfully incarcerated man and his wife. Over a long (and the best kind of) dinner with Aaki, we were talking about why do we seek relationships in the first place. Wasn’t being single easy? Well I guess it was. But then you remember the meals you cooked, and there was no one to tell you that it lacked a bit of salt but was the best chicken ever. You remember the times when you laughed at a line you are reading in your book, and it was just you grinning at your book. You remember that you have a preferred side of bed now, and the warmth on the other side is the best thing you wake up to. You laugh. At inside jokes, at the most mundane things, at my unkempt hair and her stories. You laugh till your belly aches. Till life feels light. Till growing older feels like a fun thing to do. So, I guess, yes being single was damn easy. It was happy too. But someone very wise once said that when you find someone who makes you laugh, that’s a keeper.

Continue reading “Coffee in Hampstead”

London Summer

It’s the summer solstice day. It’s a day full of light. The beginning of summer. The yoga teacher asked me to think about all the love and joy in my life. And that’s how I started my morning. In a warm, cozy bed in a quaint hostel in Camden. It is also International Yoga day and no, that’s not why I was doing yoga today. This London trip has quickly become a food tour, and I figured that doing something healthy in the morning might at least make my (health) conscience feel better.

Jökulsárlón – East Coast of Iceland

I was yet again, apprehensive about the drive from Vik to Jökulsárlón. The day promised to be sunny, yet my 2WD did not inspire enough confidence. So, I again started scouting for co-travelers on Couchsurfing, but with no luck. Woke up early morning, stuffed myself with the usual breakfast of eggs, bread, milk and bananas and started gearing up (layering up) for the day. Just when I was about to leave, this girl named Belinda from Singapore who was finishing her breakfast, asked where am I headed. Told her about my plan and she jumped in (because glaciers). 🙂 So, I had Belinda following me in her car through the way. Continue reading “Jökulsárlón – East Coast of Iceland”

Golden Circle

I think I am living in a refurbished bathroom. No kidding. I see pipes running down by the side. Throwback to first year of engineering where I had to jump over a table to get to my bed, because there was just no space! The only difference being that I am paying friggin’ 50 euros for this hole. Anyway, the town more than makes up for it. Writing this post from Vik. A small town on the South Coast of Iceland.

Going over the last couple of days. I woke up super super late day before, after telling myself that I will wake up super early and head out to the Golden Circle. Woke up at noon (!) and ran for it. Reached my car and had a parking ticket slapped to it. Ugh. Clearly, the day was going my way. Picked milk and bananas and started driving. The point being that I am living it cheap, wherever I can. The day’s itinerary was Pingvellir National Park, Laugvartn Fontana (bread place), Geysir and Gullfoss. The rye bread place had to be parked for later, because late etc.  Continue reading “Golden Circle”

Northern Lights!

The guide said there are three things required to see Northern Lights.

  1. Solar flares
  2. Clear sky
  3. Dark night

Yesterday, all the three lined up. Took a guided tour, as I wasn’t too sure about where to go or whether the roads were okay to drive in the night. Remember my comment in my last post about my large parent set?  I don’t like being responsible for myself! Anyway, on hindsight, I should have booked a guided tour with lesser number of people. But for starters, this was pretty great.  Continue reading “Northern Lights!”

Chasing Northern Lights in Iceland

So, check in to the hostel is at 3 pm, which to my utmost distress, is still 1 hour 9 minutes away! Sitting in a street facing cafe in Reykjavik, as I type this. Watching people go by. The girls next to me are eating chicken tacos, which makes me a tiny bit homesick. Yes, LA is home nowadays and yes, tacos do represent that city. Make peace with it.

Landed in Reykjavik today, amidst snow, a pitch dark morning and -1 degree Celsius temperature. Ecstatic. Not. Sun rise happens at 9.45 am here. Since I have friends who behave like parents on top of my own set of parents, I decided to wait for sunlight before I started driving from Keflavik to Reykjavik. Continue reading “Chasing Northern Lights in Iceland”

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