Iceland & Scotland Day 5: Shetland Island Traffic Jam

We spent all of 8 hours on the Shetland Islands, but even in that time we managed to see up close 15 pigs, 6 bunnies, 0 whales, 34 ponies, 6 puffins, 1 otter [crossing sign], 30++ lambs and 1 seal, according to Lucy’s spreadsheet.

When I heard we were taking a guided tour of the island, I immediately envisioned a tour bus packed with rubber-necking tourists (and Stella apparently envisioned a cranky old lady), but instead we got our own personalized tour with Sarah, an older Yorkshire woman who had lived on Unsk for 23 years, guided for 17, and knew a wealth of information about Scotland and the Shetlands – both past and present.

Iceland & Scotland Day 4: I'm on a Ferry

I’m currently out to sea as I write this, and I mean that literally. Today was one of many travel days on this trip, beginning with a mini bus taxi and ending on a ferry with a rented van in between.

We left civilized Edinburgh this morning to explore what I’m hoping is more wild country like in romanticized tales of Scotland. A taxi driver picked us up in what can only be called a bus (a small one) to take us to the airport so that we didn’t have to attempt to drive on the wrong side of the road through city traffic. The cabby was great, particularly insightful in the local opinion of Brexit wherein the Scots’ opinion on their own freedom is concerned. It is quite interesting to hear how people from other countries stereotype those from other countries than them, and our driver exclaimed that he’d be happy to be free of the British because they’re mean; when he was last in London the people on the street cast their eyes down and frowned – a far cry from the friendly Scots.

Iceland & Scotland Day 2: View From the Top

Today started off slowly with a leisurely nutella-on-toast-and-tea breakfast in the beautifully sunny dining room. I think perhaps my very favorite part of vacation is getting to sit down for a long breakfast and slowly sip my tea, easing into the day rather than immediately jumping into work or a workout like I do at home. Tongue in cheek, I packed the outfit I bought in Paris when we arrived without luggage, thinking it would be kind of funny to have to wear it again for the same reason. Turns out, it's just as "funny" as I thought it would be.

Iceland & Scotland Day 1: Always a [Mis]adventure

Ordinarily, I would begin my blog post with “We’ve arrived in Iceland!” However, we only managed to stay in Iceland for 12 hours before departing for Edinburgh as our primary Icelandic stay will be at the end of the trip. Nonetheless, at the time of this posting, we will have arrived somewhere that is definitely not North Carolina.

Prints from Paris

Aside from the visceral experience of adventuring, my favorite part of travel photography is getting to enjoy those experiences and moments in time long after the trip is over. My apartment is covered with my favorite photos from each of my trips, not only serving as aesthetically pleasing decor, but allowing me to relive the stories that the images tell, be them of my own experiences or the subject(s) in the photos.

Family Vacation on Black and White Film

When most people hear vacation, they think "break from work," but for me, I always think "photography adventure." The annual Etheridge Family Beach Trip is one of my favorite times to explore new ways of documenting daily life since my family is now probably numb to me sticking a camera in their face.

Paris Day 7: Cross-checking the List

Our last of Paris dawned warm and beautiful and we awoke to greet the sun… for all of 5 seconds and then fell back into an exhausted sleep. Exhaustion was certainly the word of the day, although we tried as hard as we could to fight the tiredness from our last few days and sadness of the day to come. Nonetheless, we were able to make our last day in Paris a successful and enjoyable one.

Paris Day 6: Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Our first impression of Reims was getting turned around (not to be confused with “lost”) in the train station, the second was trying to use hand signals to a non-English-speaking audience to ask directions to the cathedral and the third that the locals must be made of steel because they had no fear of crossing the street right in front of a speeding car. Our fourth impression was the overall theme of the city: the interesting mix of the old - bordering on ancient - city mixed with the new and modern.

Paris Day 5: Paris Street, Rainy Day

We woke up this morning intent on watching the sun rise over the Seine, but that didn’t really happen. Our goal was to use the Vileb bike rental system to cycle to Pont des Arts, but unfortunately the morning dawned cold and rainy, so there was no sunset to be had. We did at least enjoy a bike ride, although it was equally as terrifying as it was thrilling. While Paris is certainly a bike-friendly city, locals must be much more comfortable riding in the street mere inches from being sucked under a bus. We coasted down main roads with bike lanes and sprinted up side streets between moving vehicles, no destination in mind just trying to stay upright. Thought we tried to observe the rules of the road, we did get yelled at by a bus driver. We just think he was complimenting us on our exemplary cycling skills.

Paris Day 4: A Lot of Eiffel Tower Pictures

Both of us have run across the Holy Chapel in our studies, so we thought we knew what to expect, but when we crossed the threshold into the Gothic cathedral we both inhaled sharply, momentarily stunned. It is not just the impeccable Rayonnant architecture giving the structure a sense of weightlessness it surely does not have, but the bright and ornate colors touching every single surface that is truly dazzling. Every inch of the interior that is not stained glass is painted with scenes of saints and martyrs, decorated with trefoils, or made to look like fabric hanging along the wall.

Paris Day 3: Goes to Paris, Sees Deadpool Movie

We decided today to take a more “relaxed” day to make sure we didn’t burn out on jet lag and continual adventuring. After sleeping in again - yet, in reality, getting up at 5 a.m. in the time that we’re used to - we headed to Montmartre. Though the metro would’ve taken us right there, we decided to enjoy a 40 minute stroll there instead, grabbing a couple apples from a corner market on the way. As my minuscule amount of roaming data is already exhausted, we had to navigate almost the entire day (and from here on out!) with just a map, road signs and our intuition. Fortunately, all three added together took us right where we wanted to go.

Paris Day 1: Always an Adventure

The best way to begin your adventure of a lifetime is to have issues checking in for your flight, give your carry-on luggage to the baggage attendant when he thought it was checked then forget to pick it up when disembarking because you had to sprint across the entire airport to get to your connecting flight (which ended up being delayed), be told your luggage was found and would be put on the plane and then land sans change of clothes and toothbrush. Well, that's what we thought, apparently.