We booked this trip the week before Luke & I flew to Florida, it’s something we really wanted to do so just did it, and I knew it was a trip I wouldn’t regret.

We literally packed so much into our 4 days, that we couldn’t leave feeling like we hadn’t done something we really wanted to (okay apart from the blue lagoon, but that was down to Mother Nature and the volcano!)

In 4 days we had done: – all of which fyi I recommend)

The Beluga whale sanctuary

Whale watching

Fly over Iceland experience

Lava experience

Strokkur Geysirs

Gullfoss Falls

Raufarhólshellir lava tunnel

hveradalir geothermal area

kerid crater

Passed the blue lagoon and þorbjörn volcano (the one due to erupt anytime, but we HAD to see it one time whilst we were here.

Brimketill lava rock pool

Gunnuhver hot springs

Reykjanes lighthouse

Volcano man keyboards (if you know, you know)

Bridge between 2 tectonic plates (where the North American plate meets the Eurasian plate)

I mean seriously, we packed a lot into a short trip!

The 2 main things I personally struggled with the most was the currency – like everything is thousands, and I just couldn’t get my head around it. And secondly was the veggie options, on any menu I looked at there was only 2 veggie options available, everything in Iceland is very meaty! But honestly that wouldn’t put me off of coming back here in a heartbeat.

PS – They have a bath & bodywork’s in the airport – yes I was extremely happy and had to make another purchase on top of the hundred and something dollars I spent in Florida, but can you ever have too many hand sanitisers?

46,811 total steps

21 miles walked

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page – Life is short, and the world is wide”

Check out the travel vlog here

The post Iceland Roundup appeared first on Lifestyle Lisa.

Wednesday morning as usual started with my Goldilocks porridge (seriously this girl LOVES her porridge) So we had always planned to head to the blue lagoon, unfortunately we decided not too, and had also been advised not too, in fact they had also stopped selling tickets to the blue lagoon, so even if we wanted too we couldn’t. And of course that was due to the could erupt any day volcano and earthquakes, that were happening just under and around the lagoon. I “heard” you have about 3 minutes to evacuate should anything happen while you’re there – so no thanks, I gave that a pass.

Instead we headed to Raufarhólshellir an underground lava cave created by a volcanic eruption over 5,000 years ago! I got my helmet and headlamp and couldn’t wait to head down into the cave which was pretty epic, and very interesting and lasted just over an hour.

Jumping in the car and heading a little further to the Hveradalir Geothermal Area, ‘the Valley of the Hot Springs,’ which is precisely what its name suggests—a fantastic destination with great photo opportunities. Although I have to say the sulphur smell was so bad, it was at times unbearable (and I don’t like eggs at the best of times) however it was all well worth it.

From there we headed to Kerið, a 6,500 year old volcanic crater lake located in the Grímsnes area in south Iceland, not only did we visit it, we all got to walk around an actual volcanic crater! It’s a must for anyone heading to Iceland.

Spending the rest of the late afternoon walking around reykjavik (which is so pretty) and having a look around Hallgrímskirkja cathedral, we ended the day with dinner and an ice cream. Before heading off to sit outside and wait for the northern lights to appear – and they certainly did not disappoint.

I had fallen in love with this absolutely beautiful country although most of the names of places I couldn’t pronounce. But it is a stunning destination, and I hope to return one day.

12,605 steps

6 miles walked

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The post Iceland November 2023 Day Three appeared first on Lifestyle Lisa.

So day 2 of my amazing Icelandic adventure and we were heading off on about a 2 hour drive to see the strokkur geyser which has been around since about 1789, as well as some other geysers. I wasn’t sure how WOW I would find them, but actually up close they are amazing, I mean that is all a natural occurrence, so that was some definite WOW factor.

Whilst in the area we also took a drive to Gullfoss Falls, which is probably one of the most beautiful places I have visited! The two-tiered waterfall has a total cumulative height of 32 metre (105 feet). It is also the largest volume waterfall in Europe. But much more than those facts, it’s STUNNING!! But it’s also oh so very, very cold! I’m sure I’ve gotten frost bite on at least 3 occasions during this trip! But still I am having the best adventure, Iceland is just dreamy, picturesque, beautiful, stunning I could go on and on, but really it is everything. Oh and the people are pretty friendly here too.

Really couldn’t seem to get my head around the money though, everything is thousands, luckily I have a Luke (everyone needs one of those)

Finished off the day with a meal at A Hanson and an ice cream from the parlour, because when it’s freezing out, get an ice cream right.

Total steps – 12.419

Miles is walked – 5 1/2

Check out the travel vlog here

The post Iceland November 2023 – Day Two appeared first on Lifestyle Lisa.

After a decent breakfast we headed into reykjavik where we firstly did the fly over Iceland experience (think Epcot soarin’ with less scents pumped into it, and this time you fly over Iceland instead of California and the world) But we absolutely loved it, Luke said it was better than Soarin’ I don’t quite agree with that but it was good.

Next it was the Whale watching tour which I was so so excited for, this had been a huge bucket list wish for a very long time, so I couldn’t wait to get out on the albeit slightly choppy water. Firstly the boat was much bigger than I expected, I saw Jane McDonald do this in one of her cruising shows and her boat was much smaller and faster, ours in comparison was pretty big – but I wasn’t here for the boat, I was here to see some whales.

So before we went out we all got told the sea was pretty rough (don’t worry I did a quick scan for the life boats) and informed Luke that the waters were way too cold for sharks so should we capsize the worst thing we are going to get is hyperthermia, and not eaten at least. I love to give some reassurance. To be honest I didn’t find the sea that rough, I love boats, the motion makes me chilled and sleepy. However the cold was on another level, it was beyond freezing! My face was frozen and I could barely talk, my fingers I’m sure got frost bite and that was with thermal gloves on. It really was unbearable. BUT it was so so SO worth it, when we saw the humpback whales just doing their thing, I mean what an experience, it’s one I will never forget. I mean I can say that now but at the time when I was getting frost bitten I wasn’t so enthusiastic! Once we started to head back to the docks I found a small window of opportunity to sleep, I think I had a sweet little 15 minutes, the motion of boats, planes and cars makes me so sleepy, so I grabbed a cheeky cat nap (I wasn’t the only one!)

Before dinner we managed to go and see the lava experience which was pretty interesting, and only took about an hour, it’s all indoors and when they actually release some lava the whole room you sit in turns really really warm (something I am totally here for)

For dinner we headed to Le Kock, I did struggle slightly with the menus as I think Icelandic people just love to eat meat, the veggie/vegan options are limited. Still I did have a lovely tomato salad at the le kock so I can definitely recommend!

This cold cold weather had me CRAVING a hot chocolate so Luke found a little gelato place so I could order a pistachio hot chocolate (with whipped cream, living dangerously in Iceland!) and sit in the warm and enjoy it.

It was so cold, it was unreal, the cold consumes you as soon as you step outside, so anytime I could go in somewhere and get warm, I was grabbing that opportunity!

On a side note there was a lot of activity with one volcano not too far away! Another larger earthquake – this time measuring magnitude 3.6 – was recorded on November 6th on the Reykjanes peninsula. The tremor follows a series of earthquakes in the area (who knew!) as magma continues to collect beneath Mt. Þorbjörn.

The siesmic activity is located near the town of Grindavík, the Svartsengi power plant and the Blue Lagoon. We definitely needed to keep an eye on this.

Total Steps – 9897

Miles walked – 4

I officially love Iceland!

Watch the vlog here

The post Iceland November 2023 – Day one appeared first on Lifestyle Lisa.

It was a super cold Sunday morning on the 5th November and a very early start for Luke and I when our journey began. We left Essex for Luton airport at 01.30am boarded our no fuss easyJet flight at 06.15 am and 3 short hours later I found myself in a very cold, but very beautiful Iceland.

With our hire car collected (which was all sorted before we we travelled) we had an about 5 hours until we could check into our hotel. So after a quick google we decided that we HAD to make the 2 hour 15 minute drive to Seljalandsfoss and then the 45 minute ferry ride to Vestmannaeyjar, off the south coast of Iceland to go and see little grey and little white at the whale sanctuary (don’t get whale sanctuary and Sea World confused, because we all know my views on the latter)

The Sea life trust beluga whale sanctuary is only open at weekends out of peak season and was free, but during peak season it’s about £30 but is open everyday. I was honestly lost for words when I came face to face with my most favourite animals on earth, and yes I did cry, but I’ve never seen anything like it. They are wonderfully amazing and you are so close to them. I spent ages just watching them swim around. I knew all about the beluga whales at the sanctuary because I watched a documentary all about there rescue a few years back (well worth a watch) it was an epic task to rescue them from a Shanghai water park where they had been cruelly kept.

We spent about and hour and a half at the sanctuary, and because it was quiet we pretty much had the place to ourselves with the exception of a few other families. The journey was long to get to the island but honestly so worth it.

Finishing up at the sanctuary we walked around the island with the name I cannot pronounce honestly had problems with the name pronunciations in Iceland, before making the ferry ride and car journey back to reykjavik to check into our hotel.

We were booked into the Hotel Viking, and had the cutest (seriously) cutest little cabin that was like something straight out of a fairytale, it even had little wooden beds. The whole cabin although small and compact was warm and inviting and I instantly just fell in love with it. After checking in a random guy from next door knocked on our cabin door and told us the Northern lights were visible!! So grabbing our camera’s were stepped outside and were then absolutely blessed when we saw the northern lights, it was like OMG there they were! And they were breathtaking!

Anyways a quick meal later and that was us tucked up in our little wooden beds just like Goldilocks or Snow White, the day had been long and we had survived on 2 hours sleep maximum.

But I couldn’t wait to wake up Monday and explore this beautiful place.

Check out the full vlog on YouTube

The post Iceland November 2023 Travel Day appeared first on Lifestyle Lisa.

We booked our trip on the 28th December 2023, and although we had been talking about it for a year it was still pretty impromptu. And that’s what I love – not thinking too much about it, just living in the moment and doing it.

Jet lag was a killer, the worst I have ever had it, and we both struggled so much especially during the evenings, the cold weather (I’m not exaggerating) didn’t help with that though. And don’t get me wrong we had some absolutely beautiful weather too but it does seem to rain every day though (pretty much like it does in Florida, but I always travel prepared)

Over the course of our 8 days (not including travel) We did 114,066 steps and walked 55 miles. The days were long and tough going with the jet lag, but as a couple we knew that and Luke and I are not ones to waste our time sleeping in when there is a world of adventure to be had and memories to be made.

I didn’t see a single highly venomous (will kill you in 30 minutes) snake or spider, which was something that I was really worried about – more so spiders than snakes. I didn’t see any great white sharks although I swear I did see a few people with missing limbs and your mind can’t help to wonder if that was a shark attack…… likewise I didn’t see any wild crocodiles either (pretty sad about though)

I think the final part of this blog post has to be dedicated to Luke, the best husband, friend, travel buddy not to mention my inspiration – in the whole world. No matter how short our time is in any place he makes sure that we don’t miss out on anything, he knows all the best spots, he does his research and above all this he always makes sure that my happiness comes before anything. I just adore all of our many adventures together, and I look forward to many many more.

But for now it was time to say goodbye, and get ready for the long journey home – 1 train & 3 planes – it was long! But I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Life is too short, so make the planes and travel,

“Live life with no excuses, travel with no regret.” – Oscar Wilde

The post Australia you were amazing appeared first on Lifestyle Lisa.

As always breakfast come first, and of course it was another açai bowl for me with a banana smoothie. Which set me up perfectly for a day of exploring Brisbane, and seeing what this beautiful vibrant city had to offer. For the most part it was a pretty chilled day, just walking along the river and taking it all in, sometimes it’s just about living in the moment. We did the Brisbane wheel to get some unspoiled views of the city, we had a walk around the botanical gardens and indulged in a little retail therapy later on in the afternoon.

Of course the whole day couldn’t be chilled, because where’s the fun in that right?! So we decided to finish off the day and holiday with a twilight climb over the Story bridge – we couldn’t decided if we wanted to do the Sydney Harbour Bridge or the Story, but eventually decided on the Story Bridge. The climb was so much fun (although the incline was pretty hard going!) but the views were incredible, and doing the walk at twilight took it to another level. Brisbane is truly stunning.

After that mini work out, it was back to the apartment for dinner and bed.

Luke and I had a very early start in the next morning and our journey back to the UK would begin and take us over 40 hours door to door.

The post Brisbane day 8 appeared first on Lifestyle Lisa.

So after an amazing sleep it was a super exciting Sunday as we were heading off to Australia zoo – home of the crocodile hunter (crikey) It was an hour and a half train journey to get there, followed by a shuttle bus, but totally worth the journey. The zoo was massive, you could walk around it without being on top of other guests, and I wholeheartedly admire the conservation work that they do, it’s just a pure inspiration. It was lovely to see that Steve Irwin although no longer here was still a huge part of Australia zoo, and I couldn’t help feeling sad about his untimely death, I mean what a huge inspirational person, the world would be a better place with more Steve Irwin’s in it.

The highlight for my sister and I was definitely the koala experience, we could only book 2 spaces unfortunately but luckily for us our husbands took a backseat and wanted us to do the experience rather than them (forever grateful) because it was a bucket list thing to do and I got to tick it off. Bookings are done direct on the Australia Zoo website, in advance.

The day was a hot and humid 28 degrees, with lots of tropical downpours – I swear Australia is far wetter than Florida, I mean honestly never been to a country that rains quite this much. However I still absolutely love it here. And the tropical climate makes it feel so much warmer even with the at times heavy downpours.

Spending the entire day at the zoo, we left just before closing for the long journey home. It was an Uber eats kind of night whilst watching episodes of the crocodile hunter on YouTube!

I felt sad knowing my time in Australia was almost over, but was ready to enjoy my last day on Monday.

The post Brisbane 2004 day 7 appeared first on Lifestyle Lisa.

On this particular wet Saturday morning it was time to pack up our suitcases and check out of our lovely apartment on the 29th floor, and board a train to Brisbane.

Obviously we made time for breakfast before travelling, and I stand by what I say and that is Australia really does do the best breakfast’s! I mean the açai bowls the overnight soaked oats the granola bowls and smoothies are just literally (chefs kiss) We ate at Elk Espresso which is a walk in establishment only and is extremely popular, so be prepared to wait, but it’s definitely well worth the wait.

After finishing up breakfast we were not quite ready to get our train, so Luke and I decided to do something crazy and spontaneous and kind of out of character. We headed off to Mermaid beach and got – Tattoo’s – SERIOUSLY TATTOO’S (sorry mum) she absolutely hates tattoos. To be honest it wasn’t a completely random thing to get done, Luke has 2 tattoos already and I had been thinking of getting one for a while, I even have an entire Pinterest board full of tattoo ideas. It was actually a rainy day in Sydney when Luke and I walked past a tattoo shop and Luke said we should go in and get one (not sure if he was half joking or not) but it kind of planted the seed that I wanted to do this spontaneous totally out of character thing whilst in Australia. After a bit of research Luke and I headed off to Westside tattoo to see if we could get a walk in appointment for our impromptu tattoos. So of course this was my first tattoo and once the super friendly guy behind reception told us that we could have our tattoos done today, the nerves started to sink in. It was a mix of anxiety, nerves and thoughts of “am I going to regret this” Our tattoo artist was called Nadja and she was just so lovely, so chatty and friendly and instantly put me at ease, and of course I went first because that gave me zero chance of backing out. After all the prep work was done I sat there heart pounding watching her every move as she started doing my fine line tattoo. Now for everyone who’s got tattoos you all what it feels like, but for those who don’t all I can say is – it really DOESN’T hurt! I had talked myself into being super painful and was surprised to find it didn’t, sure it wasn’t like this nice sensation, it was irritating and almost scratchy. But not the unpleasant sensation I thought it would be. The whole thing took about 10 minutes and when it was finished I just absolutely loved it. I think sometimes Luke and I are seen as this very serious responsible couple but actually we’re pretty goofy most of the time, and love doing completely spontaneous things. And what’s more spontaneous and memorable than getting your first tattoo in Australia. It’s a permanent reminder of an amazing trip with my husband. My design was simple but so pretty and represents my love of travel and being beside the ocean and the sun represents Luke who is the sunshine in my life and when I look at it it kind of makes me feel like I am capable of conquering the world, it’s a weird confidence boost but I’m here for it. Luke’s tattoo is our initials and the date of our wedding and I just love it, it’s so special. I mean there are worse things I could do right, I don’t really drink, I don’t smoke, a little tattoo is a minor thing. Although I did spend the whole of the first week after getting it done thinking I had definitely made a mistake and looking at foundation to cover it – thankfully I’m over that stage now, and I love my cute little bit of ink.

So after getting inked it was eventually time to head to the train station early afternoon, and an hour and a half later we were in Brisbane, where it was also raining. Okay it was just rain and a little rain never hurt anyone – cue absolute downpour! On a plus it was a lot warmer in Brisbane than in Sydney and Gold Coast, so I’ll take that rain and heat any day!

We checked into our apartment at the sky tower (the name just gives it away really) where we were given our room on the 79th floor! That’s right – 79th! The views were just insanely ridiculous, I could have sat watching out of the window for hours, I am forever obsessed with the views.

As none of us had actually eaten since breakfast we decided to head to eat street to try out some of the street food. The place was such a boujee vibe and I was totally here for it! I loved it so much, and would absolutely recommend.

After wondering around for a good few hours, it was time to call it a day and head back to the apartment so I could watch out of the window and obsess over the view.

I was very much looking forward to waking up in Brisbane on Sunday.

The post Gold Coast & Brisbane day 6 appeared first on Lifestyle Lisa.

After breakfast it was time to head out onto the water for some adrenaline – which honestly I have come to realise that I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie in terms of high speed roller coasters , like nothing phases me! (Am I ready to sky dive? – NEVER) Still a good way to get some adrenaline action was to head out on the jet boat xtreme tour, which we all literally loved, got pretty soaked and wanted to go faster! The whole tour lasted about an hour and was booked through the viatour app.

By the time the jet boat ride was over it had not surprisingly started to rain, so we headed to Pacific Fair for a spot of retail therapy. There was nothing I particularly needed or wanted, and I was always forever mindful of the 3 planes back to the UK and luggage weight allowance. But still I did enjoy looking in all the shops and I did manage to find myself a jumper, and I know I keep saying it, but it did get chilly every now and then, and I just really feel the cold.

Whilst in Gold Coast it was my sister’s husband’s birthday, so we wrapped things up early and headed back to the apartment to get ready for a little birthday celebration. We finished off our Friday with a lovely meal at Edgewater Dinning It was a beautiful restaurant with lovely food, my sister booked it before we even landed in OZ, as the reviews are very good, so we didn’t want to miss out. I also had a perfect view of the bats flying in and out of the trees, I then saw one land on the branch, which is like totally boring to everyone, but I just love bats so it was a big deal for me.

We all headed back to the apartment ready to sleep. Our time in Gold Coast was short but enjoyable and memorable. Saturday I would be heading to Brisbane for the final part of my trip.

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