The Long Adventures

I still remember the mixture of confusion, surprise, and excitement when my best friend Lauren revealed that her then fiancé, Scott, settled on Scotland as the location of their destination wedding. To understand the level of confusion and surprise that I felt, one needs to realize that they had already begun to put down deposits for a wedding in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Then nature ushered in back-to-back Category 5 hurricanes Maria and Irma, basically leveling the USVI. Lauren is an amazing aquarist at a famed California aquarium and is practically a quintessential Californian girl down to her blonde locks, so a tropical wedding just felt right. The last we heard post-hurricanes, they were flirting with the idea of Hawaiian nuptials. That’s why when she announced Scotland as where they’d be getting married, there was a resounding ‘huh?’ amongst friends and family initially.

But you know what? It turned out to be perfection.

“Baba, what’s Scotland?”

— Ava

“It’s where Uncle Scott is from*. The land of Scotts. Scotland.. it’s his land.”

— Mitchell

*Scott is from New Hampshire.

The venue they chose was Cringletie House Hotel, located just outside of Edinburgh. When Lauren told me that Cringletie staff would accommodate all of Ava’s dietary restrictions, I was extremely skeptical. Nevertheless, I communicated with the staff what her multiple food allergies were, what food brands typically work for her, and what her meals are usually comprised of. I stayed skeptical up until our first meal at Cringletie. I had even popped into a nearby Sainbury’s to get some food for Ava beforehand.

In retrospect, I still get a little choked up when I think of the lengths the Cringletie staff went to in order to make sure Ava could eat just as well as every other guest. I recall how they placed a little platter of bread rolls and butter for her during the wedding reception. My and Mitchell’s knee jerk reaction was to express our gratitude but that Ava can’t eat it. The Cringletie staff member gently reminded us that they knew who Ava was and that the bread and butter were made just for her. You can read more about Ava’s food allergies here to really comprehend how much this blew our minds.

Food and eating is an extremely social event. One that I feel you don’t really grasp until you have to deal with multiple life threatening food allergies. Ava’s food allergies have definitely isolated her and us as a family on multiple occasions. I’ve worked hard to foster an attitude of confidence and flexibility so that when she does face adversity, she can square up her shoulders, raise her chin, and say, “So what? I can handle it regardless of my allergies.”

Lauren and Scott’s wedding was the first time Ava was able to fully enjoy the meal with us. No pre-packed meals brought from home that’s a far cry from what everyone else is eating. No frustration and scrambling for allergy medicine and topical prescription steroids afterwards to deal with the aftermath of food that had been contaminated with allergens.

She just got to sit there and eat her bread rolls and butter and it was such a treat.

Delicious Scottish breakfast, complete with haggis.

Peep Ava’s completely allergy friendly meal!

We spent an extra night at Cringletie after the wedding even though all the other wedding guests parted ways, simply because it was easier than moving to another accommodation for one night. Ava and Theo were the only children there during our entire stay and I never felt like their presence was frowned upon. Cringletie notes that children are welcome and I left feeling like they definitely are. Cringletie staff even took to referring to Ava as Princess Ava, much to her delight.

Cringletie’s restaurant, the Sutherland, describes their food as “quality, unpretentious food. Expect a relaxed and enjoyable experience with a fine dining feel, good size portions and beautifully presented dishes.” I’ve eaten at a lot of places and have become jaded to a restaurant’s promises; however, they checked every box. We came back after a long day of exploring Edinburgh only to discover that we arrived just as the Sutherland was about to close. The staff insisted they’d still be able to accommodate us and they did just that. Either I’ve gotten used to the gruff NY, no nonsense attitude or Scots are the most genial people in the world. Oh and the food? Exactly what they say it is.

Don’t forget to try the haggis!

Cringletie is a Borders Bus stop so it’s extremely easy to get to places like Edinburgh and Edinburgh International Airport (EDI) via public transportation. Mitchell has yet to fully navigate NYC’s subway without me and he managed to get from EDI to Cringletie without getting lost at all. My mom also took the Borders bus to get to EDI and then to London to visit my aunt.

Walking back to Cringletie after exploring Edinburgh

We spent two nights in Iceland on our way back from Scotland to New York. By the time we made the trip, many of our peers had already been. The steady stream of photos and videos on my social media feeds further fueled my interest in visiting but I was scared because no one traveled with young children. It was also our first time in a country without English as the main language so I was extra nervous about how we were going to handle Ava’s food allergies. I am so glad we decided to go despite our hesitance. It was a memorable trip

Our flight from Edinburgh to Reykjavik and then from Reykjavik to New York were on Wow Airlines. It’s such a shame with the recent news of Wow Airlines shutting down because the price was great and we had no issues with either flight. We rented a car through Discover Car Hire with our car rental provider being Sixt. Car rental pick ups were set up at Keflavík Airport (KEF) so that you have employees holding up a sign for their respective company. We located our guy from Sixt who then gave us a ride to the company’s office via a van shuttle. I chose to rent a Suzuki Vitara or something similar when I made the reservation; however, the people at Sixt were kind enough to upgrade us to a bigger car when they saw our luggage. My only regret with traveling to Scotland and Iceland - hauling our large 24 inch hardside luggages everywhere. All four of them. I still cringe whenever I think of how much we struggled lugging those suckers everywhere. Oh well, lesson learned and definitely learn from my mistake!

With our car rental packed to the gills, our first stop in Iceland was Costco. There’s one Costco in Iceland and it’s a quick ~30 minute drive from KEF. Our Airbnb was a splurge so we made up the costs by only eating in during our entire trip. I was also curious to see what Costco was like in another country. I’d recommend making the trip to any budget conscious travelers. It was the most barren Costco I’ve ever seen. The emptiness almost felt eerie. The food court was great even though the prices are double what you’d typically pay for similar fare in the U.S. Mitchell and I both enjoyed our hotdogs and the mango smoothie left me wondering why they don’t sell it in the states. You also can’t beat paying Costco prices for sushi. I found converting Icelandic króna to U.S. dollar to be relatively easy. I simply moved the decimal place over two to the left to get a feel for the price in USD.

After a successful Costco trip, we made our way up to Borgarnes and our Airbnb. The traditional black timber house first caught my eye when I saw a random Instagram post featuring it. It’s an amazing place to stay and the hosts, Kristinn and Rut, are wonderful. Rut is an interior designer and is the one who designed and decorated the home. You can read more about their company HÚSRÚM here. Mitchell and I still speak fondly about our stay at their wonderful home. They had a great binder full of information about places to visit and things to do while in Iceland. We didn’t have a rigid schedule because of the children so we picked a few things out of the binder to check out and it all worked out perfectly. You can check out more photos of our Airbnb here.

Mitchell’s fight with the espresso machine in our Airbnb is a favorite little memory of mine. He initially wavered in his resolve after struggling to produce a watery cup of coffee that somehow managed to also overflow all over the counter and pool … — Mitchell’s fight with the espresso machine in our Airbnb is a favorite little memory of mine. He initially wavered in his resolve after struggling to produce a watery cup of coffee that somehow managed to also overflow all over the counter and pool on the floor. He cleaned up the mess and gave himself a pep talk about how if he can do surgery, he can make coffee. He made one more attempt after that debacle and somehow managed to make coffee that was drinkable and even enjoyable! Pictured is one of the cups he made me every day.

As I’d mentioned earlier, I was nervous about traveling to a foreign country where English wasn’t the main language because of Ava’s food allergies. You can read more about her allergies here. Our friends that had been to Iceland already reassured me that English was spoken by everyone so we wouldn’t have any issues. What I later discovered was that even though everyone could understand and speak to us in English, a lot of the food labels were not listed in English.

Our Airbnb was situated on the outskirts of Borgarnes so the plan was to drive into town, drop Mitchell and Ava off at the local swimming recreation center, and finish up grocery shopping at a grocery store with Theo in tow. Our friends also mentioned that they didn’t see a large selection of fresh meat so I made sure to put plain chicken thighs on our Costco list. Most of the proteins I saw at Netto were typically smoked or preserved in some other way and were usually red meats or seafood, both of which Ava can’t eat. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they did have a large assortment of gluten-free options.

Thankfully my phone reception worked fine while in Iceland so I just painstakingly google translated every word on the ingredients list for food I thought might be promising. The whole process of doing so took longer than I’d like plus I had a squirmy baby to placate as well but we all survived and ate just fine without any allergic reactions. In hindsight, I think life would go smoother if I went grocery shopping by myself and also wrote up a list of typical foods translated beforehand so I could go through ingredient lists quickly.

Nothing particularly special - I just enjoyed all the words for sugar cubes.

You can read more about our trip up to Snaefellsnes Peninsula here and also our time at the Blue Lagoon here. I’d tell anyone who wants to visit Iceland with their small children to definitely go. The only low point was that we were limited in doing exciting hikes since Theo was only three months old at the time. When we were in Scotland, people kept talking about how expensive everything in Iceland was. Mitchell and I didn’t personally think anything was outlandishly expensive, but we grew up in Southern California and live just outside of NYC so I guess it’s all relative. We didn’t need cash at all. All tolls and store purchases were made easily with credit cards.

A few extra quick tips I’d give to friends planning on visiting Iceland..

The weather can change quickly and dramatically. Make sure you’re mindful in packing clothes that’ll keep you comfortable in all kinds of weather. There’s a dramatic difference between water-resistant and waterproof clothing. Don’t skimp on having a waterproof layer if you want to stay comfortable while exploring.
If a cup of coffee is your thing, I’d suggest having some sort of caffeine source readily available. The drive between various sites were long enough that Mitchell really wanted coffee while driving. He wound up finding a small cafe in a town near Kirkjufell and paid $6 for a small styrofoam cup’s worth of coffee. It would’ve been more enjoyable for him as a driver and also more budget friendly if we’d packed some caffeine pills or picked up some energy drinks, etc. beforehand.
A lot of sites we visited didn’t have any sort of restroom amenity. I packed some Travel Johns for our trip and it definitely saved us multiple times. Plastic bags and baby wipes saved us when someone in our family (who will go unmentioned) needed more than a portable urinal. Don’t forget hand sanitizer as well!
Pack refillable water bottles. I think the water in Iceland tasted great right out of the faucet. I’ve read of some accounts where they were turned off by the sulfurous smell of Icelandic water but we never had any issues. Furthermore, Ava’s skin was noticeably more smooth and soft after a usual bath in our Airbnb.
Make a note of the sunset and sunrise times for the time that you’ll be visiting. When we visited in May, you could easily see out the window and view the landscapes even though it was 2 a.m. I would pack eye masks or travel blackout curtains if you’re sensitive to light while sleeping. We brought travel blackout curtains but didn’t particularly feel the need for them; however, we did get a little tripped up at times to discover how late it was in the evening even though it was so bright outside.

“The problem with driving around Iceland is that you’re basically confronted by a new soul-enriching, breath-taking, life-affirming natural sight every five goddamn minutes. It’s totally exhausting.”

— Stephen Markley, Tales of Iceland or Running with the Huldufólk in the Permanent Daylight

It’s so worth experiencing though.

Silver Sabler by Icelandic postmodern artist Erró, KEF