A hidden suburban gem

On January 26 I stumbled across a beautiful garden and lunch venue, Tudor Barn, in Eltham in the suburbs of London. I happened to stumble across Tudor Barn by chance as I was on my way to get some shopping.

Originally the building was owned by John Roper, the husband of Margaret Roper (Thomas More's daughter). The building was built in the 16th century and served original purpose as a manor house with beautiful grounds. Now it is a gastro pub and gardens. Margaret Roper was an English writer and translator born in 1505. 

Iceland in Review! Day 5

DAY 5

We spent the morning of our last (half) day in Iceland at the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik. The Harpa has intriguing architecture and is the main concert hall in Iceland, with fantastic views of the city from the top floor.  

We then went to Perlan, an exhibition centre just outside the city of Reykjavik with more beautiful views over the city as seen above. The Perlan was an unplanned visit but it was one of the best attractions I had been to in the Reykjavik. There's lots of informative information on Iceland's geothermic and geological history, which is great for geography and science fans. If you're like me and are not particularly scientific orientated, the Perlan is nevertheless a fun and informative way of learning about Iceland and the country's nature. There is also a cafe with delicious food and interesting tea flavours - always a bonus!

The Perlan is also home to a man made ice cave which is just as good as the natural equivalents in Vatnajokull and Lofthellir, which are pretty pricey to visit (we also didn't have enough time to go on a separate tour to see them). 

See you soon, Iceland! (Hopefully.) I'd definitely recommend the country if you ever get the chance to visit, it's such a beautiful and fascinating place and the Icelanders are some of the friendliest locals I've met on holiday. I would recommend seeing the country via tours because they're safer and easier ways to see a lot of the country. 

Iceland In Review! Day 4

DAY 4

On the  fourth day of our trip to Iceland, we went on a tour with Reykjavik Sightseeing (a fantastic company who are definitely worth booking with - the guides are very friendly and informative, and for photographers and Instagrammers there's fantastic internet on board the coach with free photography services such as tripods for the Northern Lights tour) to Pingvellier National Park just outside the city. We arrived just as the sun was rising at about 11:30am (the sun rises very late and sets just a few hours after it has risen. Pingvellier was the site of the first Icelandic Parliament (the name Pingvellier literally means "Assembly Plains"), the Alping, which was founded in 930 and continued to meet at Pingvellier until 1798. 

This is a photo of the "Drowning Pool" at the national park, which was used as a form of punishment by the Vikings and afterwards. 

We then visited the Geysir in the southwest of the country, which we saw erupt 7 times in total for the 30 minutes that we were watching it. The Geysir has been active for almost 10,000 years and was first reported in 1294 as there were earthquakes in the local area. 

We then visited Gullfoss, a waterfall also in the southwest of Iceland. Afterwards we saw the snow ponies in nearby Blaskobyggd. 

Iceland In Review! Day 2

DAY 2

We spent the earlier half of our second day wandering around Reykjavik again to explore the city more and get used to it. We had a tasty afternoon snack at C is for Cookie, a cute retro cafe in the centre of the city, where I had a chocolate pudding in a coffee cup with some coffee on the side. We then visited Fotografi, a vintage photography shop displaying old photos of Iceland, and a selection of old cameras on the walls.

It was then time to go to the Blue Lagoon, which I already would love to go back to! The Blue Lagoon is one of the twenty five wonders of the world and is a pool consisting of geothermal sea water. The geothermal heat gives the pool a naturally warm temperature, meaning that it was perfect to swim in during the cold outdoor temperatures!

That evening we went to Reykjavik Streetfood - a warm, cosy restaurant in the centre of the city (Reykjavik is a small city, so everything is fairly easy to find). The "plates" were made out of bread and the meal was inside the bread; which I thought was very fun!

Iceland In Review! Day 1

DAY 1 

We arrived at our destination on December 17 just as the sun was setting in the afternoon. As we had half a day to explore and we had just arrived, we looked around Reykjavik where we had afternoon tea at the Kattakaffihúsið (Cat Cafe), where we tried some delicious Sarah
Bernhardt biscuits (originally a Danish recipe named after the actress).

The Kattakaffihúsið was next to our Airbnb, which was a converted shed 
that had been turned into a cosy city cabin. 

After we had checked out our Airbnb we wandered around the city again,
looking at shops and buying Skyr at the local supermarket. 

We passed Hallgrimskirkja on our way back to our Airbnb which was lit up
at night. 

Then it was back for a home cooked meal and then to bed!