‘This is a story of how a [Kelly] had an adventure, and found [herself] doing and saying things altogether unexpected.’-J.R.R. Tolkien

As the tales from my ‘Adventures in Iceland’ concludes, I am filled with gratitude. I came back from Iceland a changed person. It was my first foray into international solo travel and I did it. Even though I am very independent, this was next level. I am so glad that I went. I learned a lot about my self and my need to see the world. I hope you saw that in my previous posts!

For the final post of the series, I am going to focus on what I learned, what I would change, what I would bring! A lot of what I would and would not do can be found in the previous posts, so I won’t rehash things here, this is more of additional musings.

Have fun regardless of the weather or the temperature. Just because it is January does not mean you won’t have the time of your life. All it requires is some additional outerwear! I do wish I had brought a pair of sneakers for my evening strolls as it was not as wet as I thought. Be okay with not having a plan. While I had things scheduled, I also had my afternoons free to simply wander. You can see a lot when you just decide to walk. This is also a perk of traveling by your self, there is no one to pull you in another direction. Don’t feel as if you must be an adventurous eater. You can say know to the dried shark skin. Take lots of pictures and bring a selfie stick. I didn’t have one and regretted it immediately. When you solo travel, you need to take a selfie occasionally. You look much better, especially bundled up, with the camera further away! I also am really glad that I had my iPad. While they had primarily British TV networks with American shows (hello, Vanderpump Rules), I like that I could watch ‘Friends’ on Netflix to unwind.

The most important thing, truly is to have fun! Embrace your wanderlust and do what you want, regardless of the time of year! I mean, whale watching in the North Atlantic in January seems nuts, but I saw a humpback whale. You will never regret the experiences you do, just the ones you missed out on because you were scared or nervous. Take the leap!

Thank you for reading my Adventures in Iceland! My next big trip is in June and am headed to New Zealand and Australia! In the meantime, I’ll shares some more local (well, to Philadelphia) adventures. Stay tuned!