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Driving Iceland’s Golden Circle? Be Sure to Stop at Friðheimar

When told that we would be making one last stop on our Golden Circle route, at a greenhouse, most of the people on our tour scoffed at the idea, simply wanting to get back to our hotel in Reykjavik. It sounded like some hokey add-on, like visiting a gift shop owned by the bus driver’s brother. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Friðheimar is no ordinary greenhouse, but a massive year-round tomato and cucumber growing operation that yields close to a ton a day of crop thanks to the geothermal energy. I met the owner, Knútur Rafn Ármann, popped a tomato in my mouth (delicious), and then was treated to a sublime cup of tomato soup garnished with cucumber salsa and paired with fresh baked bread. It was probably the best dish I had in the country. Afterwards, we watched Knútur’s son and daughter (he has five children) ride the Icelandic horses he breeds. Friðheimar is open to the public for greenhouse tours, meals, and, in the summer, a 15-minute horse show. It’s the ideal way to end your trip on the Golden Circle. 

 
Thank you, Iceland! I’m off to the Lake Geneva region of Switzerland where I’ll be reporting live from Lausanne, Montreux, and Vevey. Please stay tuned next week! Thanks, as always, for checking in to ActiveTravels! 
 

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St. Lucia’s BodyHoliday Offers Three Yoga Retreats

St. Lucia wellness resort BodyHoliday, one of my favorite properties in the Caribbean, has unveiled the year’s lineup of Yoga Retreats. The weeklong programs, all led by the property’s wellness advisor Hollie Bailey, will include a range of yoga and meditation workshops, as well as spa treatments, and a hands-on cooking class. Participants will meet with Bailey at the beginning of their stay, or talk with a BodyHoliday specialist beforehand if they want to maximize their time at the resort, to plan the retreat and tailor it to the them. During the week, guests can attend a yoga workshop or nutrition talk every day, with classes covering areas like hatha yoga, anapana meditation, vinyasa and more. Outside of these central classes, the Yoga Retreats provide sunrise and sunset yoga sessions and a daily spa treatment (yes, one massage a day). After the program ends, the resort will also provide post-retreat support. Dates for the Yoga Retreats are October 5-12, October 12-19, and December 14-21. The all-inclusive cost is $4,830 per person. 

 
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You Don’t Have to Travel Halfway Around the World to Be Active

I’m a travel writer, so it’s my job to turn you on to places around the globe I think you should definitely check out. But after spending a glorious weekend at home in the Boston area, I’m just as happy to see you venture outdoors in your own backyard and remain active. I spent Saturday at my favorite oasis, Broadmoor, a Mass Audubon retreat, staring at numerous turtles sunbathing on upturned logs in the Charles River, found three snakes, and watched Canadian Geese and their cute furry goslings go for a dip. On Sunday, I went biking in Dover and Millis past horse farms, pasture, and absurdly large homes. Spring is finally here, so make sure to take advantage and Go Play!
 

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Nova Scotia Ferry Numbers Up Summer 2017

Happy to hear that ridership was up on the Portland-Yarmouth Ferry this summer. According to the Portland Press Herald, The Cat transported some 41,000 people, a 17 percent increase from the previous year. My sister and I took the ferry over to Nova Scotia in 2016 and it was an easy to get to the Atlantic Maritimes from New England. Just 6 ½ hours one way, it’s the ideal way to start your loop of the Maritimes, continuing on to Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick. You can visit Acadia National Park and the Maine coast on your drive back to Portland. Only a 30-minute drive from the ferry port in Yarmouth is one of my favorite stopovers, the Ye Olde Argyler Lodge. Start your tour of the Maritimes the right way with a guided sea kayaking tour of massive Lobster Bay and a lobster bake at sunset on the beach. 

 
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Adventures in Madeira

Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I like to promote small outfitters from each of their respective countries. After all, who knows their region of the world better than a local? That said, I just received an email from Jhonathan Rodrigues, owner of Adventure Kingdom on the island of Madeira. 35 miles long and 13 miles wide, Madeira is best known for its mountainous interior, with Pico Ruivo rising 6100 feet in the center. Cliffs plummet to the sea from towering heights, ravines are cut into rough and hewn terrain to form more than 40 canyons. Indeed, it’s one of the best locales on Earth to go canyoneering. Adventure Kingdom leads guided jaunts to do just that, along with trekking deep into the heart of the island, and, for the less intrepid, walking along the “Levadas,” irrigation channels built hundreds of years ago, now laced with footpaths.

 

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Holiday Cheer in Toronto—Vintage Shopping

As an undergrad at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, I would often make the 4-hour drive to Toronto for the sole purpose of finding vintage winter coats and dress clothes. Toronto has an astounding number of vintage shops, more than 50 just in the city center. It might seem like an unlikely shopping destination, but it’s as important to fashion insiders as London, Paris, and Milan. The city is a major hub on the used-clothing circuit, both because of the number of warehouses for space and its location as a shipping access point. Prices can range from $20 for a blouse to $1500 for a 1920s art deco dress. 

 
What sets these Toronto vintage shops apart is their boutique atmosphere. Yesterday afternoon, I ventured out with Wendy Woods, an image consultant (something we all need) who specializes in vintage shopping. We started at The Cat’s Meow in Yorkville, known for their designer wear, and then headed to Kensington Market and their bargain-basement priced shops like the longtime hub, Courage My Love. But it wasn’t until we hit Cabaret on Queen Street West that I struck gold. I was looking for a black blazer, but Wendy was having better luck finding a red turn-of-last-century hunting jacket. Then I headed downstairs to the Men’s section, Kingpin, which has the look of a speakeasy, and found a black dinner jacket, Italian-made and hand-stitched that originally sold at Barney’s. I tried on the coat and it fit like a glove. 
 
Thank you, Toronto, for a helluva week and a helluva souvenir. I can’t wait to come back with the family next summer to see the pandas at the Toronto Zoo and visit the new aquarium.
 
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Paved a Lot, Put up Paradise

Last summer, I wrote a story for Outside Magazine on the transformation of abandoned oil plants, railroad yards, even elevated railroad lines (the High Line Park in Manhattan) into popular urban parks. Now The Trust for Public Land’s Peter Harnik has written a book on the subject called “Urban Green: Innovative Parks for Resurgent Cities.” A must read for any urban visionary, the book not only delves into examples, but is a primer on how to create parks from space that not long ago was thought of as unusable. Grab lunch at Chelsea Market and have a picnic on the High Line, like I recently did, and you realize the brilliance of this concept.

 

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