Roaming Raos

We had saved a trip to the Dalmatian region for our last big European vacation (big because it marked our 15th wedding anniversary :P) before moving back to the states. We wanted to go there at a very specific time and we wanted to visit very specific places so it took quite a bit of planning. It was not easy, but I think given the days we had and all the places on our wish list for this trip we were able to come up with a very productive itinerary. It was like we were playing connect the dots on a map of Dalmatia. Take a look! :)

The last time we visited the Canadian Rockies was almost  a decade ago. I don't know why it took us as long as it did to revisit a place that gorgeous when we had all the reasons in the world to. Canada and its Rocky Mountains finally made it on our travel list again this Summer (thanks to the emotional black mail of our six year old who did not think it was fair for him to have seen so many cool places in the world, yet to never have been to his favorite fellow Lego fan cousin's house in Canada :P) Don't you just love it when you have family to visit in amazing places? :)

Crazily Captivating Corsica  We had another 3 day weekend to visit Corsica and while we would have liked to explore various towns and beaches of the island, we really wanted to visit Calvi. The flights into Calvi were considerably expensive, few, and far between. We ended up finding a great flight deal to Bastia so we decided to fly into Bastia Poretta airport, renting a car and driving to Calvi instead. We would have needed the car anyways to visit some of the beaches on our list. Even though the drive was only a little more than an hour we would essentially be driving from the north east end of the island all the way across to the north west of the island. We figured it would be a nice way to see more of the island, given our time constraint.

On day four of our trip, having checked-off most of the sights on our list, it was finally time to explore the Icelandic capital - Reykjavik where we had been staying since our arrival. It is a pretty small capital (population approx. 120K) with a big heart. It offers such a unique blend of contrasts with all the buzz of a big town, and all the enchantment of a small town. So colorful and full of life, yet so sophisticated and cultured.

We have all seen Justin Bieber's "I'll Show You"  and/or Bollywood's "Gerua" and wondered about the magical locales these videos were shot at and wished we could go there someday. And, if you have not, you need to. Believe it or not, these two videos have quite a big role in the tourism boost that Iceland is experiencing lately. So much so, the guides and operator mention both the videos on their tours. Although, I had to correct our guide when he said Shahrukh Khan was a pop star :P Anyways, Iceland's South Coast is probably the only place in the world where one can stand behind a waterfall, walk on a black sand beach, and touch a glacier on the same day. If that is not reason enough for anyone to put Iceland on their must visit list, I am not sure what is.

While planning for our Iceland trip, one of the most important things to decide for us was if we wanted to rent a car and drive around ourselves or take a couple of tours instead. There are pros and cons to both, and it really depends on how long your trip is, how extensively you want to explore, and what you value more - flexibility and cost effectiveness or convenience and efficiency.