Living on the Edge

Me Enjoying the Hike to the Glacier - Photo: Frank Andreassen

Photo: Frank Andreassen

Sunrise in Lyngen, Northern Norway, over 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle - after an energising continental breakfast we were picked up by the tour group “Tromso Villmarksenter” for the beginning of our glacier walking adventure. We were driven by our guide to the Steindalsbreen glacier in a minibus and arrived at the bottom of the hill where the road ended.

We jumped out the minibus, our guide distributed the gear and we put the climbing paraphernalia in our backpacks. Our glacier guide gave us pickaxes, rucksacks, harnesses, crampons, (spikes for walking on ice, not to be confused with tampons) food for lunch and a bottle of water each.

The Abyss - Photo: Frank Andreassen

I was expecting it to be chilly, so I wore my ski jacket and layered up. However, we ascended for two hours up to the glacier with backpacks - which kept me warm enough without my jacket. We found a nice spot to sit and enjoy our lunch that was prepared for us by our guide’s wife and absorb the phenomenal view from our vantage point of the valley beneath.

After lunch and a delicious Norwegian chocolate bar, we headed to the base of the glacier and witnessed how global warming had thawed the glacier over time. Markers were placed every five years indicating where the edge of the glacier had subsisted. The mighty glacier had shrunk 10 feet in the previous month alone!      

We geared up - wore our crampons, gripped our pick axes, and became a “rope team” meaning we were all now linked together via a rope. I thought either we all make it or else... Our guide was a very competent climber who is in the process of climbing the tallest mountains on all 7 continents, so I had every faith in him and what he taught me.

Photo: Frank Andreassen

He started us off walking on the ice and then we progressed to some steeper parts and eventually we scaled obstacles, which I did with a hop skip and a jump. Our guide realised we were not all athletes, so he kept the pace very steady.

He also challenged each of us individually at the level we were comfortable with. For me, this meant he let me climb down a hole in the ice so I could get my picture taken posing, and he let me walk out on a very narrow strip of ice, less than a foot wide in places with  a huge drop on each side.

Suddenly it was time for our descent. I didn’t want all the fun I was experiencing to end so I tried rolling a snowball and letting it go down the mountain, but it turned into a very anticlimactic fail. 

We succeeded in returning to the minibus, at which point I was more than ready to get my hiking boots off after a whole day of trekking and glacier walking. All in all, it was a magnificent adventure and not as wintry as I expected the Arctic to be!   

The Best Urban Beach in Europe

San Sebastian, also called Donostia in local dialect of the Basque country, in Spain is hands down the best urban beach I have ever seen or heard about. The city’s main beach is called La Concha. 

The City has two main beaches, one which is great for learning to surf as it has good waves, and the other is more sheltered by an island in the bay. I taught a friend to surf here, and she is now eternally grateful that I pushed her to come and surf with me. 

San Sebastian - Photo: Francis Shenstone

San Sebastian holds an annual surf competition which I had the pleasure of catching while I was there. The city also has great food, especially the famed “pinchos” bars – tapas.

Being a beach lover I can say that this isn’t the best beach in Spain, but it is the best Urban Beach not only in Spain but all of Europe.

The city is located just over the border from France on the North Coast of Spain, so the water can be a bit chilly. San Sebastian also has a good train station with connections all over Spain, France and Europe in general.

The Best City in Spain - Valencia

Madrid and Barcelona are very popular with tourists, but a slightly less known big city is Valencia – the third largest city in Spain.

The size is just right, not overwhelming, but still enough to do with a good nightlife due to its large student population. Being on the coast it also has a great beach, and being further South than Madrid and Barcelona has a better climate!

If that wasn’t enough it has a great balance of old and new with the amazing city of arts and sciences designed by the internationally renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, currently building the Chicago Spire (which will be the tallest building in North America) and the World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York City.

Let’s just say he is my favourite architect in the world after visiting Valencia. 

City of Arts and Sciences - Photo: Francis Shenstone

My favourite thing to do in Valencia was rent a bike for the day and cycle down what used to be the old river bed of the city and is now a park filled with sports fields and the incredible architecture of the City of Arts and Sciences.

You can normally gauge the beauty of a city spot by the amount of wedding pictures you see being taken their on a Saturday in the summer. I saw five wedding parties just outside one building; the “city” has six distinct and wonderful structures, so imagine how beautiful it is. Then to top it off, you can ride to the end of the river and reach the sea and more importantly the beach! 

Idiot’s Guide to Flying Ryanair in 10 Steps

Most people have heard of Ryanair, some for good reasons, others for bad. Having flown with them over 40 times and more than 20 in the last six months alone, I am an avid fan and can attribute much of my travels to the low prices of flights on Ryanair.

How can Ryanair run a profitable airline if they charge 1p a flight?  

I used to get asked questions like this. Ryanair has to pass the same safety standards that all the other European airlines have to pass, so they don’t save money by skimping on safety.

1. First of all Ryanair's target market is not your grandma who doesn’t have a computer or internet. You have to buy your ticket online and then do the online check in and print your boarding pass to avoid extra fees, so you at least need a grandchild who can do this for you.

Ryanair Charity Calendar April - Nicola

2. The Ryanair website is easy enough to use for someone who knows their way around the internet enough to find my blog. The difference is when you go to buy a flight you need to be aware of what options are pre-selected for you and actually read what you are agreeing to.

3. Ryanair charges for paying with anything other than a Prepaid Mastercard. So if you are thinking of flying with Ryanair a few times it is worth getting a Prepaid Mastercard, or like I did, finding a friend who has one and asking if you can borrow it :) The charge is £5 pounds per person each leg of your journey so for a return flight that is £10 extra.

I flew to Venice from London for £8.02. A penny each way for the flight and £8 for the credit card charge a couple of years ago. This was back when I was still an amateur traveller, I don’t pay the extra credit card charges anymore.