NEW ICE BAR IN PENNSYLVANIA

You may not have to jet set far away to find an Ice Bar anymore. Just 2 &1/2 hours outside of New York City, in Northeastern Pennsylvania (in the town of Mountaintop), the owner of Damenti's Restaurant is putting up a free-standing Ice Bar in the restaurant's backyard. The Ice Bar will have a Pirate Theme and will hold up to about 40 people. It is being made out of more than 50 tons of ice, and will be kept at a chilly 20 degrees so it doesn't melt. The only Ice Bar I've ever been to was in Reykjavik, Iceland. It was a lot of fun! I've heard there are some great ones in St.Tropez, Dubai, Tokyo, Cape Town, Australia and even Portugal. Closer to the U.S.- there will soon be this one in Pennsylvania, there's one in Orlando, Florida, and one is Las Vegas, Nevada. Have any of you guys ever been to an Ice Bar? If so, where?

TOP 3 NEW YEAR'S TRAVEL RESOLUTIONS FOR 2010

My passport got a nice workout in 2009! I was lucky enough to jet set to some fantastic places including Buenos Aires, Argentina-Punta Del Este, Uruguay-Prague, Czech Republic- Toronto, Canada and Reykjavik, Iceland. I am now working on the destination list for 2010 which I hope will be as exciting. I am hoping to travel to many places abroad, but I would also like to get in some more U.S. trips as well. So with the new year almost here, I thought I'd share my personal Top 3 Travel Resolutions for 2010. My mantra is still the same- "travel more, but be smart about it!"

1- Travel to more "Off-the-Beaten Path" Destinations: It's always great jet setting to a big city, but sometimes it's cooler staying in a smaller town just outside of the city. It's a great way to get a better feel for how the locals really live, and it's a smarter way to travel because you can probably get a hotel for half the price.

2- Go Green When Making Travel Plans: Look for hotels that are Environmentally Friendly, or take a train to a destination instead of flying- it's better for the environment and it's smarter because you could end up saving money on your total travel costs.

3- Take More Road Trips: A Staycation is not really my thing- I like to get out there, but it doesn't always have to be by way of an airplane. Sometimes, hopping in the car and traveling to a new city or town can be just as fun- plus, with all the new airline fees, it may be smarter because it may end up being cheaper than flying.

Do you guys have any travel resolutions you would like to share with me? Please feel free to post a comment below...

AURORA BOREALIS

I'm sure by now, by my abundance of posts about Iceland, you can tell that I have fallen in love! The people are warm and welcoming, the country is absolutely beautiful, and it's so close. I cannot wait to return, and I have a perfect reason...to see the Aurora Borealis.The Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, is created when particles are electrically charged by the sun. Supposedly, you can see the Northern Lights on cold, crisp nights between September and April. We thought that a trip in November would have been the perfect time to see the Aurora Borealis, but unfortunately, we did not see it. We got conflicting information while we were there about the odds of seeing it. Bottom line is, Auroras are difficult to predict with precision- it's Mother Nature's call. So if you go out to see them you need to be patient and hope that you get lucky. You can't know if you'll see the lights until the last minute. We talked to locals while we were there and many said mid-January through mid-March is a better time of year to see them. The air is so cold and crisp during that time, that many Icelanders say you can even see the lights while walking around downtown Reykjavik. I just looked into flight & hotel deals for February, and I see prices starting in the low $400's per person. I'm going to keep my eye on it, because it's very easy to jet set there on a Thursday night and come back on a Sunday...I'll let you know what happens.

ICELAND GLACIER HIKE & RUNTUR HIKE

You know the saying "When in Rome...do as the Romans do."? Well, the same goes for Iceland, when in Iceland...do a glacier hike! My friend Laura is definitely the adventurous type and suggested that we go on a glacier hike in Iceland. I agreed, thinking how hard could it be, right? She told me it would be a 2 out of a 5...boy, was I in for a shock! In the end, I'm glad we did it, but only because I made it down unscathed!.Our day started at 9:30am. We signed up to go with a tour group called Arctic Adventures. Our driver and guides name was Mio.There were six of us in total on the hike (including Mio).It took about 2 and 1/2 hours to drive out to a glacier known as Skogar on the south coast of Iceland. The drive was absolutely beautiful, with views of mountains and the Atlantic Ocean along the way. When we got to Skogar, it was raining and windy...great weather for a glacier hike...not! Mio fitted us each for our crampons, gave us an ice pick- which also could be used as a walking stick, and he taught us how to walk both up and down the glacier. Five minutes later, we were on our way to the top! Along the way, we would walk very close to something known as crevasses- holes about 20-30 feet deep.It was scary! You definitely had to watch where you were going at all times. The sight from the top was spectacular.Laura and her boyfriend, Pierre, even ice climbed. They sure are brave!

It was a great experience- and quite a good workout too I might add. It was definitely out of my comfort zone, and Rich felt the same way, but we are so glad we did it!

After the three hour hike, we drove to see Skogafoss waterfall. It's not as big as Gulfoss, but it beautifully topples down a rocky cliff.

After this day...we certainly needed another visit to one of Reykjavik's geothermal pools...and that's exactly what we did. For dinner that night, we wanted something not so fancy, and headed to American Style for hamburgers. Icelanders love their fast food...and American Style is where locals like to go. This place looks like a fast food joint when you first walk in and it acts like one too. You have to go up to the register to place your order and pay, and then you sit down and they bring the food out to you. We had bacon burgers- which come with special sauce on them- and french fries.We washed it all down with a local Viking beer.Since it was a Friday night, we decided to do the Runtur- Reykjavik's pub crawl. the Runtur happens every Friday and Saturday night along Laugavegar- the main street in town. Icelanders dress up and head out to the bars to drink, dance and be merry. The good times last until about 6 in the morning when places finally close. We started our Runtur at Karamba- which is a coffee house by day and a lounge/bar at night.

From there we went to Kaffibarrin- which has the London Underground symbol over the door. Inside, it's really cute and looks like an old house.Next we went to Bar 11 which is your standard bar.The last place on our Runtur was B5- a super sleek spot that has great music and is a good place to dance. Next week, you can read about some of Reykjavik's great shopping and the Blue Lagoon...stay tuned!

GEOTHERMAL & CIRCLE- A GOLDEN COMBINATION

For every destination, there is always a to-do list of things you should see and experience while jet setting. In Iceland, two of those things include an outdoor bath at one of Reykjavik's geothermal pools, and a drive to the Golden Circle. That's how we planned to spend our second day in this beautiful country. We hired a local taxi to drive us around for eight hours. Since there were four of us, the cost was about $200USD per couple.11AM- We headed to Laugardalslaug Pool- Reykjavik's biggest pool, and also the largest pool in Iceland. The price to get in is $360ISK per person. There is an awesome water slide, a large pool and smaller hot pots that are similar to hot tubs. Volcanic water keeps the temperature at a mellow 29*C for the large pool and between 37*-42*C for the hot pots. Note: The city's pools are free of chemicals, so you must shower naked before getting in. Don't worry, men and women have separate locker rooms- but if you are shy about being nude in front of others- this may not be for you.12:15PM- Back in the taxi and on the road to the Golden Circle. Gulfoss, Geysir and Pingvellir are unique sites commonly referred to as the Golden Circle.Pingvellir is a national park about 20km east of Reykjavik. This is a place of spectacular beauty- a place where you feel like your pictures cannot do it justice.It is like being in another world when you are here- it truly is amazing! You can spend hours walking through this immense rift valley which is caused by the separating North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.We then continued on to Gulfoss- Iceland's most famous waterfall. It is a double cascading waterfall that is the biggest in Europe.

After Gulfoss, we got back into the car and went to see the Geysir.Its pronounced Gay-Zeer. This is another of Iceland's most famous tourist attractions. It's the original blasting hot water spout (temperature of 230*C) after which all other geysers around the world are named. There are a few in the area to see, some bigger than the others. The most reliable geysir of all the ones is named Strokkur- which goes off every 5-6 minutes. So have your camera ready! Also be warned that it is sort of smelly like rotten eggs from the sulfur. That night, back in Reykjavik, we went to The Fish Company for dinner.The restaurant came highly recommended from our waiter the night before at Dill Restaurant- and he was right! Here's what we had:
Fried Icelandic Lobster, butter cooked carrots, sheep sorrel jelly & Brennivins eggfoamJamaica spiced tunafish, pear-lime foam, deepfried softshell crab & bacon powder

Butterfried rack of lamb in fresh herbs, saltkiot & parsnip, burned mushroom & blueberry-baconsauce

Olive oil sous vide Baccalo from north of Iceland & squid in pirl pirl, plum tomato & black marengFor deesrt we had banana & coconut cake, that came with roasted coconut chips, fresh papaya foam & homemade vanilla ice creamDinner was another incredible experience!Afterwards we stopped next door to Restaurant Reykjavik to the Ice Bar. Believe it or not, this is the ONLY ice bar in all of Iceland!Actually, I should point out that it's not really even a bar, but instead a converted meat locker within the restaurant that has walls lined with ice blocks. You pay $1500ISK per person to get in and they give you a big coat to put on- then you go in and they give you a drink.You can either choose to have Brennivin or a cocktail which is made with vodka, wine and sprite- it's very fruity, but very good. Although the experience is sort of cheezy, I woulod definitely still recommend it. It's really cold in the room, so if nothig else, it's fun to bundle up and take some pictures.A bit of walking around and we worked up a mini appetite again! We went to Devito's Pizza for a slice.This place was voted best drunken slice and best pizza in Reykjavik. We had a pepperoni slice. Everyone puts garlic oil and lemon pepper on the slices- DELISH!Tomorrow read about our Glacier Hike and our time at another geothermal pool!

ICELAND HERE WE COME!

The thing about Iceland which I cannot stress enough is that it's so close! It's a destination that you could certainly jet set to for a week or two, but you can also plan it as an easy long weekend trip. We left on a Tuesday night and got back that Sunday night and felt that we had a really good feel for the city by that time. Icelandair out of JFK will take you there direct where you will land in Keflavik airport in Iceland. The time there is +5 hours this time of year. Note: Iceland is part of Scandinavia- so U.S. citizens do need a passport to get there, but do not need a visa.We arrived Wednesday morning at around 6am, hopped into a taxi and headed to Reykjavik which is the capital and the main city in Iceland. The taxi takes about 45-50 minutes from the airport to downtown Reykjavik and costs about $100USD. The conversion rate now is about $1USD=125ISK. We checked into our hotel, Center Hotel Thingholt, which is a beautiful, clean, sleek and modern hotel right in the heart of the city.

In terms of location, this hotel is definitely in the best spot. If I go back, it is most certainly the place where I would stay again. The staff there was just wonderful- so helpful and they were some of the nicest people I have ever meet.Also, considering how early we arrived we didn't think we'd be able to check-in to our room, but we were wrong! We got our room right away and so we were able to nap, shower and unpack which was nice. Iceland is a fairly expensive city, but the country recently went bankrupt. In 2006, $1USD=$60ISK, in 2007 $1USD=$80ISK, in 2008 $1USD=$105ISK, and again in 2009 $1USD=$125ISK- so if you are considering a trip to Iceland, now is a good time to go. There are plenty of deals out there for both airfare and hotel. Their peak tourist season is from June-August, when they get about 20-24 hours of daylight. This time of year, the sun rises at about 9:30am and sets around 5:30pm and is obviously colder than in the summer months so it's much less expensive. Although, I have to tell you that because of the Gulf Stream, Iceland's temperature is about what it is in New York- so it's cold, but not unbearable. Tomorrow, I will share with you more about what we did on our first full day in Reykjavik. Until then, "bless"- that is Icelandic for "good-bye."