Meteora // Greece

Our adventure to the Meteora monasteries was probably Instagram's fault. Seeing sites on Instagram makes you want to see it in person, so that's what we determined to do. Fun fact: Meteora is a UNESCO World Heritage site that is actually under two categories: nature and art and apparently, it's the second most important site in Greece. I didn't know about it until we got there, embarrassingly enough. 

Monks went to Meteora in the 14th century because they wanted a safe place to be. The only way to access the monasteries was by rock climbing or being pulled up in a basket. There aren't as many monks there now due to tourism, but those who visit are welcomed with Greek hospitality.

We didn't want to spend much time there outside - it was so crazy hot out! It was dreadful because I do not like sweating without earning it. 

The views, however, were incredible. 

Turns out that Meteora means "suspended in the air," which I would say is a very fitting name. 

A Trip Through Some Tulips // Holland, Michigan

Every Spring, there is an amazing tulip festival in Holland, Michigan. I was cleaning up some files on my computer and came across some pictures we took on our very first trip there, and thought I'd share a few. 

Unfortunately, we were a little short on time, so we didn't get to explore to the full extent we could have, but we did make sure to watch the traditional dances!

We, of course, had to end our time by going to the State Park. Even though it was pretty chilly, we had fun. We brought a picnic basket and enjoyed the sunshine. 

Sometimes just driving a few hours or even just 30 minutes helps create that going-away feeling that we all need sometimes. And I don't know about you, but there's not much better than taking a nap on the beach...even if it is a little chilly.

Living near the lake, I feel, has truly changed our standard of living! I always wanted to live near a body of water. I'm already sad to move away, and we don't know when that will happen. For now, we will count our blessings and enjoy every second of it. 

The Golden Circle & Reykjavik // Iceland

I'm having some serious Iceland withdrawal and I haven't shared the rest of our trip yet! Today is the day! Our third day in Iceland called for a short tour, so we settled on the Golden Circle and then a bit of sightseeing in Reykjavik. We topped it off with a visit to the Blue Lagoon!

Everything was so breathtaking and like out of a dream. Maybe it was a dream because we were crazy tired. It was so worth pushing through!

We can't wait to get back and explore some more!

North West of the Island // Iceland

Normally, I wouldn't be all about traveling all night, flying and landing at 6am local time and then setting out to explore as much as possible right away, but with only three days in Iceland, we had to make every minute count. 

It was seriously surreal. We were so overtired and everything felt like a dream. Thinking back on it even now makes it seem like a dream. The nature was like nothing we had ever seen before and it was, or is rather, so beautiful in such a unique way. 

I spent a lot of time trying to get a photo of the sheep. I never did get my dream shot, but I caught some nevertheless. They just really added to the experience. 

Unfortunately, we had to get most of Iceland from inside of our rental car. It was nice when we did get out to stretch every once in a while though. Chilly, but nice. We also ended up getting so tired that we pulled into some hotel parking lot and slept for half an hour. It was a needed reboot. 

The sun did come out briefly, but it was truly moody the whole time. It rained and was cloudy, but it all added to the effect. The towns were so perfectly European and I felt right at home.

We're already counting down the days till we can go back!

16 Hours along the South Coast // Iceland

If you follow along on Instagram, you definitely know that we hit up a few countries over the summer. We decided to take an extended and belated honeymoon and go to Europe. Seeing family and friends was amazing, but we also wanted to explore some new places on our bucket lists. Naturally, Iceland was on that list and though this particular day started out gloomy and cold, it did not disappoint. I decided to share some photos from the trip. We took hundreds, but don't worry, I'll only share a few ;-) 

We set out in our little rental car to explore the land:

We only had three days total in the beautiful country, and we used pretty much every hour to see only the surface of the amazing things it has to offer. We will definitely be revisiting Iceland in the future!

The waterfalls were plentiful and beautiful. 

Unfortunately, pretty soon after taking this picture, I decided to walk into a very innocent-looking field. It turned out to be extremely wet, and both of my feet became soaked. It was a mushy walk back to the car, and trying to dry out my shoes and socks was quite entertaining. Luckily, I had a pair of flats in the car - not an ideal walking shoe, but they did the trick. Especially because we had a long walk ahead of us...

After seeing images of this plane crash for years, my husband insisted we go see it. It ended up being quite the journey to get there (almost an hour each way!!), but it was so cool to see.

These purple/blue flowers were all over the island! I loved them :) The churches and different buildings were also really interesting to see.

Just going through these pictures is making me want to go back! We definitely will be planning a second trip some time in the future.

The blue at the glaciers was unreal. By this point we were getting pretty hungry, so we sat and stayed a while and snacked on some....crackers (Did I mention that everything in Iceland is really expensive? We found a grocery store and stocked our car with snacks).

By the time we finished at the glaciers, we realized that we'd best be heading back if we were to be in bed by midnight. The sun is decieving! 

We HAD to hit another waterfall before completing our journey. Also, can I just mention now that my husband is a CHAMP who drove the ENTIRE time?! He's amazing.