Hello! I’m back after a long, unintended break, and I have some great stories to share with you about our recent travels! Last month we went on a two-week adventure to Ireland and Iceland! What a trip! I can’t wait to show you some pictures and tell you all about it!

First, though, I thought I’d reintroduce myself real quick and give you a quick overview of the trip.

I’m Michael Ann, a southern girl, thus the two names! I grew up here in Georgia, married my high school sweetheart (Gene), and promptly moved to Germany. We (and our two kids) lived a total of 13 years in Europe during his 27-year Air Force career, then God brought us to the Savannah, Georgia area where we’ve lived for 10 years. I enjoy camping, hiking, and traveling with Gene. When I’m home you’re likely to find me in the kitchen (I love to cook and bake) or in my recliner with a good book and a glass of sweet tea.

Gene and I decided last year that we wanted to go to Iceland. We started planning in that direction, and then he said, “If we’re already that far across the ocean, what if we went on across to Ireland and spent a week there too?” And this is why I love him so! He has GREAT ideas!

I’m wired to help people and tell stories. That’s what I do here at Out and Back. So let’s get this new travel story started! I hope you’ll enjoy the adventure as much as we did, and maybe our stories can help you in YOUR travels.

Usually I plan all our trips by myself, but this time we reached out to Rena at Latitude Travel Planing to book our flights and our hotels, then I planned our activities and the rest. That worked well since life was super busy! She did a great job for us!

Here’s an overview of the trip:

We flew from Savannah to Dublin, Ireland, and headed out in a rental car. (Yes, we drove on the left! We lived in the UK for three years, so it came back to us pretty quickly.) We stayed at hotels in Kilkenny, Waterford, Killarney (two nights), County Clare, and then back to Dublin (two nights).

From Dublin we flew to Keflavik, Iceland.

**FUN FACT** Iceland’s major airport is NOT in Reykjavik, Iceland’s largest city! It’s in Keflavik, about 50 minutes west of Reykjavik! There IS an airport in Reykjavik, but it’s not the international airport you’ll fly into. I learned this two days before we began our trip and nearly had a heart attack over the whole thing! END OF FUN FACT**

In Iceland we focused on an area fairly close to Reykjavik, spending one night in Selfoss, three in Hella (kind of), and then two in Reykjavik. Then we took a bus from Reykjavik to Keflavik and flew back home!

It wasn’t until the last day of the trip that my brain noted two themes woven through the two countries we visited: vikings and volcanoes! In Ireland we learned that Waterford had been a viking settlement (more on that later!), and we learned that vikings had also explored and settled in Iceland. AND it turns out that both countries were shaped by volcanoes! Iceland is STILL being shaped by volcanoes! (More on THAT later!)

I hope you’ll stick around to hear about the whole trip! I’ll be sharing photos, travel tips, hotels, food, adventures that didn’t go quite a planned, and this crazy, beautiful Earth we live on. Be sure to subscribe–up at the top right of this page–so you don’t miss anything!

Leave a comment below and let me know what you’re most curious about. I’d love to answer your questions!

Follow me in social media:

• 
• 
•