Breathtaking Iceland !

Yes I know what you are all thinking, WHAT she went to Iceland this month? Didn't she go to Peru last month? Yes, yes and yes, but I can promise you this, no more holidays for this year (good thing the year is almost over, hehe). Iceland, where to start, there are no words to describe how amazing and beautiful the nature is in Iceland. But also, it is one of the most expensive countries I have ever been. We flew from Dubai to Oslo and from there we took Icelandair to Kefjavik Airport, where we wanted to rent a car, we got one of those really cute Volkswagen Up. From the airport it was about 45 minute drive to our hotel. We could already see the landscape, the mountains and the fresh air was just amazing. The hotel we stayed in was pretty much back to basic, but what else do you need when you're only there to sleep, just 3 single beds and a small bathroom, which was fine. We did argue all the time about the temperature in the room, since I don't get cold that easily where the other girls were cold all the time, haha, but we managed. That night we found a supermarket close-by where we did some groceries for the next day, some yoghurts, chips, candy, nuts and water. The first day we drove down to the Geysir, which is a natural source of literally boiling water, Iceland is basically an island make from volcanos, so that's the reason why the sometimes there are these little eruptions of hot water. I think most people have seen it from tv or videos but in real life it's just a whole different story, and astonishing how the earth works. We took some good photos, mostly on Valerie's phone, the sun came out as well, just one of those happy moments in life. The whole Iceland holiday was one amazing happy moment in life, that I will never ever forget and so blessed that we were able do this. After the Geysir we drove down to the Gullfoss waterfalls, just driving around was already pretty cool to see a country in this way. The waterfalls were nice, but, I know it sounds very odd, compared to the Niagara waterfall, this one was super small, still beautiful though. Sometimes while we drove around we stopped to take photos because the landscape was worth taking a photo. After the waterfall we drove up north-west, just to hope and to see if the weather would clear up a bit so we could see the northern lights, one of the main reasons why people go to Iceland. From a small town called Akranes (where there is literally nothing to do) we took our little UP a bit off road, and then we found the perfect spot to wait and see for the northern lights. However, we waited for about 1.5 hour (good thing we were prepared with our snacks) and basically didn't stop talking the entire week, three girls together, we all know that talking is our main hobby and we are very good at it as well, haha. The sun went down and slowly it started to get dark, but not dark enough, and then at one point, we saw GREEN!!!!! The shape was more a rainbow style, but you could see the color green moving a bit. It wasn't as clear as we hoped but at least we managed to see something, because the rest of the week our chances would be very low to see anything. That night we were all so tired, almost every night we were in bed by 22.00/22.30, so tired! Being on the road all day, the cold air and sightseeing takes a lot of energy. We all slept so well the whole week, every night 8/9 hours, our daily trip to the supermarket to get our local yoghurts, which we all eat in the car, was a good way to start the day early and save some money. Between 9 am and 6 pm we had to pay for the parking spot, so we decided just to leave every day around 9, just early enough to be ahead of all the other tourists. The second day we drove down south to see the Selfoss waterfall, where you could walk behind as well, eventhough we got really wet, everything for a good photo haha! After the waterfall we drove to the black sand beaches, which looks very weird odd. There was a strong wind that day as well so we had to really hold ourselves in order to get blown away, I don't think my 51kg would help me that much. That night we ate something in Vik, tried to drive a different way but then we realized we were actually not allowed to take this little off road with the car so we had to go back, again by 10pm we were all so tired. The next day was a bit more stressful then planned. Before going to Iceland I contacted a girl I knew from university who lives in Reykjavik and works for a tour operator, we booked the Glacier Lagoon Tour at her company, but for some reason we thought it was on a thursday, which was on a wednesday, and we almost missed it by 5 minutes. Hilarious how sometimes you take an hour to get ready but when you have to you can get ready in 5 minutes or even less. The tour brought us all the way to the glacier lagoon, and from there we would get on a boat of about 40 minutes with a guide. It looked so unrealistic, and some ice parts were more then a thousand years old, so cool! We even tasted it. After the lagoon tour we stopped at another black sand beach, a cute little church, and even a canyon. Iceland had so much to offer, unbelievable. We even experienced hurricane winds, the hurricane came from America and then even in Reykjavik, good thing that we didn't have to drive ourselves that day because that would have been very dangerous! By the time we were back in the hotel we decided to take a little chill day the next day. So we walked around Reykjavik for a bit, had a nice breakfast, saw some shops and then last minute we decided to drive up to this natural hot spring. A natural hot river, not knowing we had to hike for about 40/45 minutes to this place, and it was pretty cold by this time. Once we finally got to the destination it was freezing and we did NOT want to go into the water, but what's the point of hiking all the way and then don't go into the water, so there we went, into the water, which was surprisingly really nice and warm. We couldn't stay too long otherwise the sun would be down and it gets really dark, especially on a path without any lights. On the way back we got soaking wet!!! Then straight to our favorite restaurant of Iceland, called XO (hugs and kisses), the food was so fresh and healthy, we loved it. Friday was our last day in Iceland, and we booked the blue lagoon later that day, we couldn't go earlier unfortunately. So if you see a photo on facebook, it's from google, just to give you guys an impression how it looked during the day. The water was so nice, we had a package with a free drink and I had a lovely Proseco while being in the water, such a lovely experience! Then we had a reservation at the LAVA restaurant, where we had the best beef tenderloin I had in a while, just an amazing way to end a perfect holiday. So happy we went, and I must say, I had the best travel buddies anyone can ask for, thank you for everything Valerie and Selma (dutch maffia on tour). Can't wait for our next adventures together girls, it wouldn't have been this unforgettable without both of you <3. We flew back via Amsterdam, where we did some grocery shopping in the Albert Heijn, had our frites with peanut butter sauce, got delayed for 6 hours, but now save and sound back in the desert.

Thank you Iceland for being such an astonishing destination, everybody should go at least once in their lives to understand what I am talking about!!

Friends are for life!

Having friends is so important, either in the Netherlands or all over the world, I would not know what I would do without every single one of them. It is so important to have close friends you can talk to. For most of you this life I live is this big party but it can be lonely sometimes. 

But here's a shout out to all my friends from the Netherlands, who have always been there for me and value our friendship, make time to see me when I'am home for a short period of time. It is not that they have to drop everything they are doing if I'am home, but I feel blessed that I can say that I have so many good and close friends, that distance doesn't matter. It's like a long distance relationship, or at least I like to believe it feels like this. It needs to come from both sides, otherwise it would just not work. I'am such a lucky girl. The fact that many of my friends also visited me in Dubai to see where I live and how my life looks like, gives me such an amazing feeling. To be honest, I try my best to stay in touch and in their lives as well, I love to know what's happening with their jobs, relationships, family, this gives me a feeling that I'am still part of their lives as well.

Obviously I cannot forget the friends I have made all over the world. It's absolutely amazing to be able to catch up with friends who live in Hongkong, Buenos Aires, Los Angeles, Perth, Osaka, Geneva, Liverpool, Manchester, Cape Town, London, Spain, Boston, Sydney, Auckland, st. Petersburg, Bali, Tokyo and many more (a few I still need to visit in their cities)... I learnt it's not about how many Facebook friends you have, as long as the friends you have are true friends. It feels lovely as well if you know somebody in a destination, so that this person can show you around, and you don't have to introduce yourself anymore, because this person actually knows you. Sometimes it is exhausting to tell over and over again who you are, what you did before flying, where you live etc etc. Of course people ask you this out of interest and I do exactly the same, mostly to kill time, but still, it is just nice to meet up with somebody who knows you for you. I have met some amazing people on board as well, sometimes you just meet somebody and it clicks, you both laugh about the same jokes and you just get each other, then after the flight, you're the one who decides if you wanna stay in touch or not, if you do, perfect, if not, fine as well. You just do whatever you feel like doing, and I can tell you this, if feels amazing.

Nor can I forget the ones I have met in Dubai in the past 2.5 years. Because let's be honest, it's been something, adventure would be the right word here I guess. I love spending time with them, if it's either going for a fancy night out or just an old school pyjama party and doing face masks all night (and maybe brush each others hair, just kidding). Many amazing trips have I done with my friends from Dubai, and many more will follow. The next one will be Iceland with Valerie and Selma (two amazing dutch girls).

Not bad ey...

Some friends of mine already left the desert. They have resigned and either moved back home or decided life took them on another path somewhere in this world. 

There is this saying; Once you have travelled there is not one place you can call home, because your friends live all over the world.

I so agree on this one, there will never be a day that all of them will be together, maybe if I ever get married they will make it to the big day. That's also why Facebook comes in handy all the time. Without seeing each other you can still stay up to date with their lives.

Again, thank each and every one of you for being my friend, and listen to my crazy stories, and just listen in general. I don't say this all the time, but now you know I really do value our friendship and I cannot wait to give, again, each and every one of you a big kiss and a hug!!! <3