Started with a lovely trip to the Scottish highlands to celebrate my 30th birthday ... and finished with a quiet Christmas break which allowed us to relax, take stock of the past year, and prepare for 2016.
To celebrate our 5 year anniversary, and last anniversary before we got married, we went a bit further North. Our little weekend included a visit to the spectacular Alnwick castle, time in a spa, and a nice diner.
But the highlight of the year, in terms of trips, was undeniably our 2 week epic excursion to Iceland. I can't even describe how beautiful this country is, and the pictures really don't do it justice. I don't think everyone would enjoy it, but if you love nature, hiking and beautiful surreal landscapes, I can imagine it's hard to beat. It really was a trip of a lifetime for us. It took a lot of planning, as we travelled around the whole island, staying in different accommodation more or less every 2 nights. The only thing we would have done differently is stayed in fewer accommodations in the South. The roads were good there so getting from one place to the next wasn't difficult like in the North.
My favourite parts were ...
Staying in a little log cabin in the North for 4 days, with this spectacular view.
Going on a hike suggested to us by the owner of a hostel, and randomly ending up next to a huge glacier. Sitting there for a while in awe. Walking around volcano craters. Seeing all sorts of natural phenomenons like geysers and bubbling mud pots. Seeing countless waterfalls. Driving over an entire mountain in less than 30 minutes, just to see a small village. Seeing a lake of light blue glaciers, and talking a little boat around them. Seeing an entire beach of black sand. Seeing cute little grass houses and churches. And of course, enjoying the natural spa treatments of the Blue Lagoon and Myvatn Nature Baths.
For Richard's 30th birthday, we went away for a weekend. This time we went to Copenhagen. I surprised Richard with the destination. He didn't know where we were going until we were sat in a pub in Edinburgh, waiting for our transfer to the airport. Copenhagen is a stunning little city. We enjoyed walking around, eating loads of delicious food, taking a canal tour, and going to a concert in Tivoli Gardens, which was magical. It's such a beautiful, clean and friendly city. The only downside of the trip was having an awful cold! The highlight was spending a lazy late morning/early afternoon in a spa, following by a fantastic lunch in the spa gardens.
But ... the highlight of the year was definitely getting married to my best friend on October 2nd. We had a very small wedding, with just family. We then hosted two parties: one in Canada, and one in the UK, to celebrate with our closest friends. We were in Canada for 3 weeks, and had so much fun. We were very grateful to Richard's family, including little Dylan who wasn't born yet, for coming all the way across the ocean to see us get married.
This is by far my favourite picture of the wedding. It was taken at Lake Pink, in Gatineau Park, near where I grew up. Looking on to our next adventures together ...
Aside from all the wonderful trips and activities of the year, I've now been at my job for 3 years. I love our little project and I think we do great work, helping refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. We're looking forward to the year ahead, and thinking of how we can do even better.
Before Christmas, I also started volunteering with the Newcastle Law Centre. I mainly do research. They are a non-profit law firm that work in immigration, family and employment law. It's really interesting; the research itself, and also getting to sit in a law environment for an afternoon every 2 weeks.
Well that is 2015 for us! May 2016 be just as exciting.
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