Tag Archives: graffiti

May27

Wandering around Reykjavik

Posted on by
Standard
Wandering around Reykjavik

Thursday and Friday, 09-May and 10-May-2024
Monday evening, 13-May-2024
Saturday through Tuesday, 18-May to 21-May-2024


Hello from Iceland!

To give a quick overview of my plans for the country, I’ve got a rather fun itinerary planned – A quick evening in Reykjavik (originally intended to be three days, but… thanks, Covid), followed by 8 days traveling around the country by van, followed by three more days in Reykjavik.

I’m aiming to cut my blog posts into the single-set adventures that I’ve had – one post for Reykjavik itself, then a post for the van adventures, and then individual posts for various spots, like waterfalls and museums. Let me know if you have any opinions on this; it’s a new idea for me, but I think I like it.


I didn’t quite get as long in Reykjavik as I’d planned, at least for the first part… but what I did get was quite fun, and definitely worth the single-evening stay in a small 1-bedroom Airbnb.

My first evening was relaxed – just got in, grabbed some pizza (I was craving pizza, okay? Don’t judge me), then wandered around a bit while catching people back in the States up on the excitement and events. The first morning was equivalent – relaxed, grabbed a grilled cheese for breakfast, and got myself to the van pickup spot. No issues, no hassles, simple and easy.

As a bonus, I got my first taste of the art of Reykjavik as I walked around hunting down my dinner. Reykjavik has a TON of street art – painted on the sides of buildings, in alleyways, and on garage doors.

Pretty views, good food, wandering… You know what? That’s exactly what my goal for this trip is. First evening in Iceland = great success!

For your first gallery viewing pleasure – The Street Art of Reykjavik!



My second chunk of time in Reykjavik was equally quick – Just an evening with Bri and Jake after a day of snorkeling in a nearby national park. We wandered, got some amazing dinner at a “tasting dishes” restaurant called ROK, then wandered around a bit more. I drove the campervan into the city for the evening, but drove back out to Thingvellir to camp for the evening… it wasn’t as bad as I’d worried it’d be – while the van was definitely a bit challenging to drive through the city streets, I didn’t have to do any 50-point turns, and was able to find parking quite easily! I wouldn’t recommend it, if it can be avoided, but for a quick evening dinner… not a bad option at all!


For your second viewing pleasure – Random shots from my time!



My third stint in Reykjavik was by far the longest – and absolutely amazing!

Originally, I’d planned on relaxing on Saturday, doing a glacier tour on Sunday, and then wandering and mailing packages on Monday… but, as seems to be a theme here, plans changed around a bit on me.

First – my glacier tour was cancelled due to the weather (though I have a feeling it was actually due to the holiday, Pentecost, being celebrated), which was a bummer… but which also gave me an entire extra day to kick around the city!

Second, mailing packaged turned out to be a challenge… since post offices were closed on Sunday for Pentecost, and then again on Monday for Whit Monday (the day after Pentecost)… As I’m writing this, I’m still not exactly sure how I’ll get everything mailed out from Iceland.

But! Changes and iterations to plans are fine – especially when they end up giving me some extra time to wander around the city and enjoy the sights! Which I took full advantage of – hitting an extra few museums, eating tons of new food, and generally just getting to explore and stretch my legs out after captaining the van around for 8 days straight.



For your third gallery viewing, we have a sampling of sculptures that I saw on my ramblings!



There will be plenty of posts about individual adventures, I promise – but for now, let’s focus on what’s really important – FOOD!

  • Cafe babalú (Reykjavik )- amazingly cute breakfast Cafe, tons of neat decorations everywhere!
  • Hambirgarabúlla (Keflavik area) – Simple, tasty burger. One thing I like about being from the States… I can always get a burger, and feel like I’m back home.
  • Reykjavik pizzeria (Reykjavik) – What the heck was this? I got a tex-mex pizza, and it had Doritos! It wasn’t bad, actually.
  • Skool Beans Iceland (school bus coffee, Vik) – Amazing, 100% worth the visit
  • Kjarr (Kirkjubæjarklaustur) – Amazing Icelandic charr, which is basically salmon but fancier because Iceland.
  • Systrakaffi (Kirkjubæjarklaustur) – Amazing charr as well – 100% worth it.
  • ROK (Reykjavik) – delicious tasting menu! Lots of small portions of delicious food, I’ll definitely be trying to replicate this once I’m back in my own kitchen!
  • SNAP (Reykjavik) – Pancakes! But… Icelandic pancakes? Which are like US Pancakes, but super thick? Delicious, either way!
  • Islenski Barinn (Reykjavik) – Kind of touristy, to be honest. I got to try Puffin and Fin Whale here, though, so… that was neat!
  • Grái kötturinn (Reykjavik) – The Grey Kitten… cutest name ever! A very “American Diner” style breakfast spot, with absolutely delicious offerings!
  • Grazie Trattoria (Reykjavik) – I was feeling Italian, though I’m not really sure why… Maybe it was watching Adventure Time, where they’re always eating spaghetti and meatballs? Regardless of the why, this was an amazing option. I was disappointed that they couldn’t make me a Vesper (the martini from Ian Fleming’s Bond books), but I wasn’t disappointed in the spaghetti.


And last, but certainly not least – We have a gallery showing of all the food that I ate!

Apr18

Christmas in Italy – Florentine Street Art

Posted on by
Standard
Christmas in Italy – Florentine Street Art

In keeping with the tradition of adventure, Sarah and I went on a big trip for Christmas and New Years!

This year, we met up with Sarah’s family in Italy, traveling to Rome and Florence; not quite a perfect midpoint for everyone, but it was close enough. And, also, you know. Rome. Florence. Amazing!

Please forgive me for some of these being a bit out of order… the posts are organized somewhat chronologically… but also organized by theme and location.  Some may not be exactly in chronological order, so for reference please see the initial summary post, which has a complete day-by-day, blow-by-blow account of the adventure.

 

Various days while we were in Florence

Street Art – it can be spray paint tags, stencils, or huge murals. It’s one of my favorite things to look for when I travel to a new city, I feel like it gives me a rare look into the psyche of the city, and a glimpse into what the people who actually live here enjoy and appreciate.

Rome did have some street art, but it was pretty few and far between… whether this was due to city laws, the fact that there were so many statues, or something else, I couldn’t tell. Florence, however, was alive with random small little stencils and sprays.

I didn’t see any graffiti or tags, such as you’d see in a subway tunnel in New York City, but I did see a lot of little artistic sprays around the side streets. There was one series of famous paintings, but stenciled with the subjects wearing swimming goggles, that became a minor obsession of mine. Every time we saw a new one, I’d get super excited and stop to take a quick picture.

So, please sit back and enjoy the following two galleries: The Swimming Goggle Collection, and the Street Art of Florence collection.

 

Jun10

Spring Break 2014 – Paris: Street Art

Posted on by
Standard

Saturday, Sunday & Monday, 24 – 26 May, 2014

Location: Paris, France

 

Something I really enjoy looking at, when exploring a new city, is the street art.  The Graffiti, the tags and the little unofficial pieces that get put up every few blocks.  I’m sure that some of them have deeper stories than I’ll ever know, but I like to think that I can get a basic feel for a city from what they have.

For example, much of what I saw in Venezuela was quite intricate and artistic… mostly due to the fact that the president had actually commissioned a number of pieces to “spice up” the construction barriers filling the city.  Or in Hawaii, where the pieces were large and showed a lot of mythology – since people had more time and light to work.

Paris, by contrast, had a lot of sprays and paper pieces – things that could be stenciled or applied quickly and easily.  There were a few much larger and more intricate pieces as well, that obviously took a lot of time and effort, but the majority could probably be applied in mere minutes.  Maybe this means that the police are cracking down a bit more?  Or that the artists prefer to put the time in someplace that they feel safe, and then do a quick application in public?

 

Either way: enjoy a few of the sights…