Iceland: The Golden Circle

The "Golden Circle" is a 300km route through central and southern Iceland taking in some of the famous tourist attractions near Reykjavik. Including Þingvellir, Gullfoss and Haukadalur geothermal area.

Þingvellir National park is the site of the world's oldest parliament, existing there since 930 CE. It is also the site of a rift valley between the Eurasian and American tectonic plates which are moving apart at the rate of around 2cm per year. The site is of significant historical and natural significance to Iceland, and so has been declared a UNESCO world heritage area.

Rift valley

1000 year old church

The site of the Alþingi

The Alþingi was held here from 930 to 1798 and functioned both as a parliament and a court. Each year it would meet to make laws and hand out judgements. Criminal sanctions were harsh - often handing out the death penalty. This was usually carried out by drowning the guilty in the nearby frozen spring.

The frozen spring where the death penalty was carried out in the 1200s

From the Þingvellir the Golden circle continues to the Haukadalur geothermal area where there are several geysers and many hot springs. The most famous is Geysir (from where the word geyser comes from) however, this geyser is no longer active - in contrast to Strokkur which erupts every 10 minutes or so.

Yes tourists - hot springs are actually hot!

Strokkur erupting

In addition to the impressive Strokkur geyser, there are many other hot springs around this area.

Little geyser

Hot spring

Sunset over the valley

From here the Golden Circle continued to Gullfoss.

Gullfoss

The river feeding the Gullfoss

The Gullfoss is a spectacular waterfall but it only exists today because of the efforts of the owner of the farm on which the falls were in the early 20th century.

A businessman wanted to dam the river for hydro electric power. The daughter of the owner of the farm, Sigríður Tómasdóttir, objected - likening it to "killing a friend". She built a protest movement against the damming of the river, at one stage threatening to this herself into the Gullfoss. The project was eventually abandoned and the government protected the Gullfoss.

Sigríður Tómasdóttir is widely celebrated as one of Iceland's first environmental campaigners and a statue of her is at the top of the Gullfoss.

After seeing the beauty of the Gullfoss, it was time to relax in one of Iceland's oldest public hot spring baths: The secret lagoon.

The geyser feeding to pool

The secret lagoon is fed by several hot springs which have been artificially dammed to create a pool.

Public bathing in geothermally heated water is a big thing in Iceland (there are several public pools in Reykjavik). There are only a few natural pools near the city - the secret lagoon and the more famous (and touristy) blue lagoon.

Icelanders take the cleanliness of bathing very seriously. Bathers are expected to strip down and was *thoroughly* with soap. The signs explaining this are quite explicit in describing how bathers should clean.

This is quite understandable since the natural pools are not chlorinated. The cleaning procedure is very much like that for onsen in Japan, except the pools are mixed gender so bathers are worn after showering.

The pools are incredibly relaxing and the secret lagoon particularly so since it was far away from the city. It also has a mini geyser that erupts and its hot water flows into the pool - this contributes to the otherworldliness of the experience.

Although the man made public pools in Reykjavik are also relaxing - nothing quite compared to the secret lagoon.

Reykjavik: Christmas and New Year's Eve in Iceland

Reykjavik is capital city of Iceland - the most northern capital city in the world as the locals will tell you. It's a small city of 200,000 people (out of a total country population of 330,000) but for its size, it punches above it's weight in many areas (I kept being told about the 3 "Miss World" winners in particular...) And one thing it does very well is Christmas and New Years parties.

Considering there is only a few hours of daylight (most of which is twilight with the sunrise at 11:00 and setting at 16:00) - you need to party, if only to keep warm :). The lack of daylight also makes for incredible sunsets/rises.

Sunrise over the bay

Sunset over a sculpture at Harpa

Sunrise at Skeifan

Sunset over Reykjavik

The Icelandic Christmas traditions are very different to those in Australia. For a start instead of Santa Claus they have 13 trolls or Yule Lads who leave gifts for children (or rotten potatoes if they've misbehaved) over the 13 days of Christmas (up to 6 Jan). They have awesome names like "door slammer" and "Pot licker". Their mother Grýla, is a mean troll who eats "Naughty child stew" at Christmas and owns an evil Yule cat who catches children who don't have new clothes over Christmas.

All of these characters were projected on various buildings around Reykjavik and it was fun wandering around finding them all.

On the 23rd December, Reykjavik begins the party with seemingly the whole town out in downtown (many buying clothes to avoid the Yule Cat). There is also a free opera concert from one of the rooftops in downtown.

After the 23rd the town shuts. The 24th is the day that people celebrate with their families by doing what everyone does for Christmas: eat and drink.

Mashed fish, smoked lamb, dried fish and butter, hárkarl

Smoked lamb, pickled herring, smoked salmon

The local spirit

The food in Iceland consists mainly of fish and lamb - both of which are delicious. Some of the more unusual foods are:

Smoked lamb: this is so delicious, we must start making this in Australia!

Dried fish and butter: my new favourite beer snack. Chewy, salty, mildly fishy but delicious.

Hárkarl: rotted shark. A strong ammonia flavour that burns the nostrils. It has been described as the "most disgusting food ever" but I don't see what the fuss is about. I actually quite liked it.

Brennivín: the local spirit flavoured with caraway. Very tasty, too tasty. The black label was actually an attempt at plain packaging after prohibition was lifted. It was a failure as it's now iconic to the brand.

There is another less sophisticated Icelandic food that I ate far too much of: Icelandic hotdogs.

This deeply wrong but deliciously addictive lamb based hotdog is the ultimate in Icelandic fast food.

A lamb based hotdog, raw onion, deep fried crispy onion, ketchup, roulade and sweet mustard. Don't eat these, its hard to stop.

They certainly were a great fast snack when out in downtown - especially during the enormous party that is New Years Eve.

New Year's Eve Bonfire

New years eve begins with bonfires. There are nine around the city. This is then followed by all (and I mean all) of Iceland letting off about 600 tonnes of fireworks. It has to be seen to be believed. The main Church in Reykjavik is one of the best places to see this spectacle.

Hallgrímskirkja in the day

Hallgrímskirkja at midnight 2016

All the fireworks are set off by locals as there is no official display and every single Icelander sets them off - it's truly incredible

Paris: Doing the tourist thing

I was only in Paris for a few days, so it was taken up hitting all the touristy places that have been written about millions of times before. So instead of doing that, I'm just going to provide a few useful tips on each place.

First: The Louvre

The Mona Lisa

Venus de Milo

Napoleon's dining room

It is best to get to the Louvre before opening time to ensure that you can get in before the hordes of people - and when you do get in, head straight for the famous artworks as they get very crowded too.

The Louvre is an enormous place, it can be done in a day - but that's still a fast pace.

From the Louvre it's a nice walk down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe.

Panoramic view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe

The tower from the Arc de Triomphe

You can climb up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe which gives a panoramic view of Paris. The best part of these views is that you can capture the Eiffel Tower in these photos (unlike photos of Paris from the tower).

The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower at night

There's not much more to say about the Tower that hasn't already been written, however, one thing that the guide books miss is that on the river below the tower are several food trucks that serve beer and provide a perfect viewing place for the tower.

The food from the trucks is average to say the least - the space could be so much better utilised. However the beer from the greasy chip truck is relatively cheap. Don't buy drinks from the nicer pizza truck next door - they're €3 more.

Hopefully fellow travellers will find these tips useful. Paris is an amazing city with much more to offer than the tourist icons - I would've liked to stay longer but I had planned to spend the Christmas and New Year period in a beautiful island far to the North: Iceland.

Lyon: The old town and the Basilica

Lyon's historic old town on the banks of the Saône is fairly typical of many "old town" areas in France - narrow winding cobblestone streets with eclectic restaurants and shops.

Lyon's old town

However, unlike many other old towns, Lyon possesses traboules - passageways between streets and courtyards. The traboules were used in the 4th Century to transport silk from the river to the town. Many of the traboules are now closed to the public, but there are still a substantial number that can be accessed - although they are often extremely hard to find, usually hidden behind doors to apartments. However, an entertaining afternoon can be spent discovering the traboules of Lyon.

A courtyard in a traboule

Lyon's old town is dominated by the Basilique de Fourvière on the hill above the old town. The basilica was completed in 1844 and is fairly typical of the design of that time. It's a steep climb from the old town (although there is also a fernicular) but the reward is a beautiful view over Lyon.

Lyon at sunset

Lyon from the Basilica

The basilica

The crypt inside the Basilica

The other thing that Lyon is known for is it's food - especially offal. I can certainly recommend the local blood sausage, the "Veal head" - not so much.

Lyon black sausage

Tête de veau - head of veal

The food in Lyon was delicious, albeit very heavy even for French food, but of course easy to eat if you wash it down with a "pot de Lyon" (carafe) of Lyonnaise wine :)

Monaco: where the 1% gamble

Monaco is a tiny principality within a 40 minute bus ride of central Nice. There is also a train, however the bus is far more scenic (and cheaper).

Monaco is well known as a playground for the super rich - due mostly to its tax haven status and its famous casino at Monte Carlo. However it also has a small old town consisting of three narrow mediaeval streets near the palace. From here you can stroll through the gardens overlooking the harbour and the super yachts of the 1%.

View from the bus on the way to Monaco

View of a marina with super yachts

View of Monaco and the main harbour

The yachts in the harbour were true vulgar displays of super wealth. Each yacht seemed to have more extreme luxury features than the last - 5 decks, 7 decks, party decks, a helipad (meaning the owner also owned a helicopter).

From these yachts the super rich go on their shopping outings for frivolous luxury goods - such as a  $3 million watch bought by an American NFL player (according to a man I met on the harbour taxi). All with untaxed income stashed in Monaco, kept away from governments who might want to spend that tax on health or education.

Across the harbour is the world famous Monte Carlo casino - scene of Bond films and high rollers blowing millions on a single hand of cards.

Luxury cars outside the casino

Outside the casino were all manner of luxury cars: Ferraris, Rolls royces, Bentleys with the BMWs and Porsches relegated to the "cheap" parks down the side.

Tourists were fawning over the cars that they could never have while inside their owners were blowing ten times the average wage on card games (all tax free of course).

The irony is that the people inside are using their tax free wealth to influence policy makers to ensure that those outside fawning over the cars will never have a slice of the pie.

I can't say I was a big fan of Monaco.