Planning #1 on My Travel Bucket List

A few weeks ago, whilst I was procrastinating on Facebook, I saw a sponsored ad. It was one of those things where my friends had 'liked' something so FB showed it to me but ultimately it was a commercial. Anyway, it happened to be for Icelandair and it was basically a promo for reduced fare flights to various cities from $449.

It was fate because I had been toying with booking flights for our trip to Iceland this autumn and the best I had found so far was $555 and even that was a hacker fare (where the flights to and from would be booked separately to save $100) and I had even signed up for notifications (through Kayak) for any price decreases. 

Basically, the sale was only for a handful of european cities. But, the great thing about Icelandair is that you can plan a layover (up to 7 days) in Reykjavik either to or from your destination. So, I gave us 24 hours in Copenhagen and almost 7 days in Iceland. The flights really did end up being $449 for round trip tickets including fees and all that jazz.

This is extra exciting for me because I specifically picked Iceland as a little birthday trip for myself (in addition to being our annual Kim family vacation where my sister and I treat our papa to a nice holiday). I will be turning 30 this year - excuse me while I go nervous-vomit and cry about aging - and I wanted to do something kind of big. I wanted to knock my #1 bucket list item off as a huge hurrah: I want to see the northern lights.

I still have loads of research to do, namely, navigating the Ring Road in the autumn/winter, the best landscapes from which to enjoy aurora borealis, and a reasonable itinerary for a weeklong trip. I already know that it will be a bit cold when we're there, but I also read that we're pretty much guaranteed to see the northern lights at that time of year so I'm hoping my birthday wish comes true.

Anyway, I'm trying really hard not to get distracted by this trip because I still have a long list of things to tackle for our trip to Greece in August but it's difficult not to get anxious-excited. I'm anticipating this trip so eagerly that I was putting together a Polyvore with sweaters and flannels and I was researching thermals... in the middle of July.

I loved ending our little Florida Keys weekend with a day at the spa so I plan on spending our last day in Reykjavik, more specifically at the Blue Lagoon. I've heard it's stupidly touristy and not quite worth the money, but to have glowing skin and refreshment before hopping on a flight and going home is just the ideal way to end a holiday.

Again, I always feel like a little kid because of how giddy I get anytime I book a new trip but I just can't help it. I love traveling that much.

xoxo.