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Ethan and Iesha Nordic Travels
  • Ethan and Iesha

Ethan and Iesha Nordic Travels

A 62-day adventure by Ethan Read more
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  • Ethan and IeshaEthan and Iesha Nordic TravelsTraveler

    Levi: Northern Lights Village (Part 2)

    Nov 4–6, 2024 in Finland ⋅ ☁️ -2 °C

    Our accommodation package also included two activities, which were a Husky kennel visit (where we also had husky-pulled sled rides), and a 3-hour electric bike safari through the snowy Finnish forest. We were so grateful that we had a fully snowy landscape around at all times, it was like living in a real winter wonderland! Of course, we loved visiting the huskies because they were so cute and friendly - we even got in trouble a couple of times for wandering too far from the group so we could pat all the dogs. The winter forest landscape we rode through on our bike safari was so beautiful, although the experience was slightly marred by the third member of our group barely being able to ride a bike so we (and the guide) had to keep stopping for her. The bikes had an electric motor like Craig and Jud's which made riding very easy, even through snow (we also had very fat tires like the people who ride along the beach sand at home) and up the hills.
    We certainly made the most of our full board included in our booking. The hotel buffet always served a variety of delicious, local, and fresh dishes for every meal. We even saw a wild fox one night which was very exciting for us. On our last night we booked the resort sauna and hot tub to have our last Nordic sauna experience, which we have loved throughout the whole trip. This was very enjoyable because even the sauna had a glass roof so we could see the night sky and snow outside as we cooked inside! We definitely missed the ability to jump into a cold ocean or fjord after some time in the heat though, it makes you feel so refreshed afterwards. Our time in Levi has been unforgettable and is definitely something we think everyone should do at some point, if we have stayed forever we definitely would've in a heartbeat!    Read more

  • Ethan and IeshaEthan and Iesha Nordic TravelsTraveler
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    Rovaniemi: Santa Claus Village

    November 6, 2024 in Finland ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

    We visited Santa! The official Santa Claus village, office, and post office is located on the border of the Arctic Circle in a city named Rovaniemi. Here, it's Christmas every day of the year, but we certainly got the best of it because the ground was covered in snow so it was like we had our own little white Christmas experience without actually being away from home for the holiday. Of course, the whole place is a bit of a tourist gimmick but we steered right into it by going on a reindeer sled ride (really really cool) and visiting Santa's "pets" (a bit of a zoo). It felt so magical to be on a sled pulled by a reindeer, even though at one point our reindeer did a poo right in front of us (but didn't even stop walked which is actually just really impressive!). At the zoo we got to feed and pet a group of reindeer. Some of them had massive antlers and it was a privilege to see them so close! We also had a go on a "snow slide" which was probably intended for kids but was overrun with adults (being at Santa Claus's home really does bring the kid out of everyone which is so nice to see). We even sent some postcards from Santa's post office which was iconic but we have no clue how long they take to arrive.

    From Rovaniemi, we caught the "Santa Claus Express" night train back down to Helsinki in order to catch our flight to London. That sadly marks the end of our adventures in the Nordic region. During these two months we've ticked so many things off both of our bucket lists and seen some truly unforgettable things. We've loved every day in the Nordics and suggest that everyone travels here in their life, we'll definitely be coming back to see everything we missed when we're older!    Read more

  • Ethan and IeshaEthan and Iesha Nordic TravelsTraveler

    Finland Recap

    November 7, 2024 in Finland ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    Top Foods:
    1. Lihapiraaka
    2. Bibimbap
    3. Lamb in red wine sauce and garlic potatoes (Northern Lights Village)
    4. Sautéed Reindeer (Northern Lights Village)

    Top 5 Attractions:
    1. Ice Hockey game (Helsinki)
    2. Husky Kennel and ride (Levi)
    3. Winter Forests with permanent snow in Lapland
    4. Santa Clause Village
    5. Cemetery on All Saints Day

    Final thoughts/observations:
    * Finnish by far are the friendliest people of the Nordic regions we’ve come across … no wonder they are the happiest people in the world
    * Ice hockey is a really cool sport and the energy at the games is so good. Also it’s crazy… you’re not allowed to drink beer in the stands at the hockey. Therefore we had to skull our pints 10 mins before the game started.
    * Alaskan huskies are not what we expect huskies to look like but they are a lot stronger and faster than Siberian huskies
    * Helsinki is very small but has so much going on as well- lots of bars, shops and people. We could see ourselves living there
    * The Finnish language is the most different to English that we have come across. It is a lot harder to guess what the words mean and their language sounds a bit more harsh
    * Finnish are very respectful and based on interactions and learning about their culture it would be impossible for some of the things they do to be done back home in Australia (for example being able to camp on private property and clean up after yourselves when in a public space)    Read more

  • Ethan and IeshaEthan and Iesha Nordic TravelsTraveler
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    31

    London Days 1-2 (Part 1)

    Nov 7–8, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    We arrived in London and took the tube to our hotel in Notting Hill. We got quite confused by the metro system which we weren't expecting because we've found it easy in every other country and now we're finally in a country which speaks English as a first language. On our first night we caught up with Charlotte (Iesha's friend who lives here now) and we all went to watch Hamilton. We were both so excited but especially Ethan as he's a big Hamilton fan. It was slightly weird hearing different people sings the song but once we got used to it we could recognise that every cast member was extraordinarily talented and doing a fantastic job.

    On our first full day we spent the whole day looking at the touristy sights - Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park (both so gorgeous), Big Ben, Tower Bridge, The Globe, Westminster Abbey, Sterling James Palace, Buckingham Palace (caught the last of the changing of the guards and regretted it because there were thousands of people it was crazy), Borough Markets, St Paul’s Cathedral - and just wandering around central London. We were so exhausted by the afternooon but we had lots of fun!    Read more

  • Ethan and IeshaEthan and Iesha Nordic TravelsTraveler

    London Days 1-2 (Part 2)

    Nov 7–8, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    In the afternoon we went to afternoon tea at Royal Theatre Drury Lane which is the oldest theatre in use in the world. It felt like a palace… very posh but so enjoyable. For dinner we went to the chippy and we can both agree that the curry sauce the English love with their fish n chips is definitely delicious. We spent that night out in SoHo bar hopping with Charlotte which was fun but the streets were packed! Nightlife in certain suburbs here is packed and everyone just drinks on the street outside as there are too many people in the venues themselves.Read more

  • Ethan and IeshaEthan and Iesha Nordic TravelsTraveler

    London Day 3

    November 9, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    A food day! On Saturday we had lunch at the highly esteemed Noble Rot bar where we had a delicious lunch and wine. Then to carry on our English traditions we went for a dinner at a curry house in Notting Hill and had some of the best Indian of our lives and left very content and full!Read more

  • Ethan and IeshaEthan and Iesha Nordic TravelsTraveler

    London Day 4

    November 10, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    On Sunday we got the tube to Trafalgar Square. It was very cool seeing the tall statue and giant lions and there was even a Christmas market in front of the National Gallery plus a Remembrance Day service on one of the nearby streets. We continued walking around and found our way to Pall Mall which had such gorgeous architecture. We paid a visit to Hedonism Wines which is a highly acclaimed bottle shop that has one of the best cellars in the world. Iesha mentioned she was in the industry and one of the workers looked after us extremely well- taking us to underground cellars full of lots of old wine Iesha never gets to see and he even gave us a blind tasting of a 2010 Tignanello and a 1988 Chateau Ducru… it was so amazing. Some of the wines there were listed for $500,000 which amazed Eth. Of course Iesha had to buy a bottle of something and Eth ended up getting it for her as a birthday present (you can see how happy she is holding the bag in the streets).

    We went to a little pub in Mayfair for a Sunday roast and much to our disappointment it wasn’t that great - both of our mums do a much better roast. From there we went to Camden Town and walked through the markets, there were sooo many stalls and this part of town definitely has a more relaxed vibe to it. We watched the sunset from Primrose Hill in the evening which is a very good view point of London City. Before going back home we stopped at Kings Cross Station and went to track 9 3/4 for the official Harry Potter store. We had so much fun browsing the film merchandise and playing with wands. It felt so magical but we can confirm we do not enjoy butter beer - it tastes like sparkling water with the sweetest glycerol syrup in it. For dinner we went to a cozy pub in Notting Hill for an authentic English pie and fish n chips (the pie was delicious).    Read more

  • Ethan and IeshaEthan and Iesha Nordic TravelsTraveler

    Last Day in London

    November 11, 2024 in England ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Last day in London and internationally on our trip! :( The sun finally came out for us in London today and we loved it. We had to do washing as we had completely run out of clean clothes. We soon found out after researching and going to multiple laundromats that they are all coin operated so we travelled to an ATM and of course that one was broken and our cards wouldn’t even let us get out cash at a Sainsbury’s. After over an hour of bad luck and annoyance and still lugging our dirty clothes through Notting Hill we just caught a bus to Paddington to a laundromat that we knew had card payment. Luckily it was a success and meant we also got to explore Paddington! We loved Paddington it is such a cute suburb with a stereotypical English charm. We even got to have some of the notorious Greggs sausage rolls.

    Afterwards we walked through the colourful Portobello road markets and as it was a Monday is was a lot less busy and more enjoyable. We found THE blue door from the Notting Hill movie which was very exciting for us as well as the bookshop Hugh Grant works in the movie.

    From there we went to Liverpool Street and met Charlotte for some lunch and we all just happily wandered through the fancier business district. After saying goodbye to Charlotte we caught the train to Tottenham Stadium to explore the fan store seeing as we couldn’t get game tickets or a stadium tour. From the outside, it looked so modern and really massive! It was a shame we couldn’t get to see a game while we were in London but it was nice to make the journey to the stadium anyway.

    Ethan had booked a spot for dinner for our last night as birthday dinner for Iesha and it was so good! He really thought it through (he really is the best). The place was called Manteca and the pasta was delicious and for mains we got steak and pork chop. We finished off the night with gelato of course and spent time laughing over memories and reminiscing everything we’ve experienced in the last 2 months.    Read more

  • Ethan and IeshaEthan and Iesha Nordic TravelsTraveler

    London Recap

    November 12, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Top 5 foods:
    1. Curry
    2. Manteca
    3. Noble Rot
    4. Iesha's pub pie
    5. Fish and chips (with mushy peas)

    Top 5 attractions:
    1. Hamilton on West End
    2. Walking through London's pretty suburbs
    3. Royal Theatre Drury Lane for high tea
    4. Soho on a Friday night
    5. Hedonism wine shop

    Final thoughts/observations:
    • London smells! Probably a result of very old sewage systems.
    • The old architecture was amazing, especially through the richer suburbs like Mayfair and Notting Hill.
    • There's hospitality venues everywhere and they are all packed! People drink on the sidewalk because there's no space inside.
    • We were expecting London to be cheaper than the Nordic countries but we were wrong! On top of the high prices, hospitality venues charged upwards of 10% for a service charge and a £1 compulsory donation to charity.
    • Not surprising but everything is so stereotypically British.

    These past two months have been absolutely phenomenal! It feels like yesterday that we were landing in Iceland on our first joint international trip but we sure have packed a lot of experiences into a short time period. Each country has had its own unique charm and beauty and we have loved each of them. We'll certainly be back one day!    Read more

    Trip end
    November 12, 2024
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