Ice, ice baby
Iceland is not what you think it is. Cobbled streets line the capital Reykjavik’s downtown; a sexy, thriving nightlife keeps the fun going to the early AM. The country’s boxy, sleek, modern office buildings and quaint, colorful houses make them all look as if they could be found in an Ikea catalogue. Navigating Reykjavik's entire downtown takes about a half-hour on foot but if you’re too lazy to walk, there are buses to get around the city with convenient, easy to find stops.
Fashion is exceptional. Stores are filled with imaginative, beyond modern clothes and footwear from local designers who would be household names anywhere else. (We snapped up a killer pair of brown horsehair boots with glittery, sparkly buckles. See below).
Art is important here. Photography and paintings hang on the walls of bars and restaurants; galleries are dotted throughout the city. And speaking of art, let’s talk about the famous Blue Lagoon, an oasis of literally blue, naturally heated waters in Iceland’s countryside. Relaxing, and some say healing, the Blue Lagoon is an industry onto itself in Iceland with its own branded products sold on-site and at stand-alone stores in Reykjavik.
Whether you want to get away for a solo weekend or grab a friend or your hubby, Reykjavik is a convenient 5-hour non-stop plane ride from New York; the same as flying to LA, less than flying to London. It’s a city of unexpected delights and discoveries. You’ll be surprised but never disappointed.
A Sunday afternoon drive in Bermuda
Visit Bermuda and you’ll feel as if you’ve never left home. That’s because the island feels more like the States than any other Caribbean island we’ve visited. That may be because, less than two hours from the East Coast of the U.S., Bermuda is more a cousin of New York and Boston than Jamaica.
A British colony, Bermuda’s staunch conservatism reflects its big business – particularly bank business - aesthetic. Branches of major U.S. and British banks are located throughout the capital, Hamilton. Retailers and tourist shops dominate elsewhere.
Conservative, reserved and rather provincial, Bermuda is all square, boxy office buildings, colorful stores and houses, curvy streets, and hilly environs. U.K and U.S expats live in its most moneyed communities with lush golf courses and stately mansions. A Sunday afternoon drive through New York’s Westchester County would return the same results.
Visit Bermuda for its temperate climate; not too hot, not too cold, its pink-sand beaches (of course), military forts (if you're into that sort of thing), its reserved but friendly people and a wealth of activities and events all year round. www.bermudatourism.com
