Hello Kell: Mandurah's Food, Fashion, Travel, & Lifestyle Blog | Page 2 of 5 | a quirky Aussie-American couple's guide to life, love, culture, and style in Western AustraliaHello Kell: Mandurah's Food, Fashion, Travel, & Lifestyle Blog | a quirky Aussie-American couple's guide to life, love, culture, and style in Western Australia

FAROE ISLANDS | Mulafossur, Gásadalur, and Turf Houses

May 19, 2016

Today is a new day, more sunny but still very chilly. I told Harriet last night that I have been aching to see a turf roof house since I saw photos of them in Iceland, and was astounded to see them everywhere on the drive to their house!!! I only saw one in Iceland, but it was in a poor state of restoration from the Viking settlement hundreds of years ago. She laughed and told me she would take me to where there are villages of turf roof houses! Apparently, it is still a widely used roof construction technique. John seemed to know a lot about it, but I’m not sure if he was pulling my leg though… I asked him if the grass ever gets too long? He said that some people mow them, but it is more common to put a sheep on the roof. I’m not sure I believe him… I will have to see this for […]

FAROE ISLANDS | A blind date with fate

May 18, 2016

We had a lovely time in Iceland, and we were so excited to start our first workaway experience in the Faroe Islands. Workaway, for those of you who don’t know what it is, is a website that tries to help people from all over the world connect with each other through a work exchange program. There are hosts and there are workaways. For a host, they decide what work they need help with, what they are able to offer in exchange (food, accommodation, use of car/facilities/etc), a bit about their home/city/country/living situation/personality/etc. For a workaway profile, they advertise what skills they have, their personality, and anything about themselves a host might find helpful language/diet/personality/etc. From there, as a workaway, you can contact hosts in areas you want to visit, and work out the details for the exchange through email. Isaac and I had made a couple’s profile (about $40.00 per 2 years in 2015) nearly a year before we began […]

ICELAND | More Exploring

May 15, 2016

For people who committed to traveling the world for 5 months, you would think that one could never tire of exploring… Actually though, I was beginning to wonder if we’d be able to keep this whole travel thing up. We were both a little cold, still very sick (well me anyways), and had been physically exhausting ourselves hiking waterfalls, mountains, glaciers, etc. Needless to say, we weren’t ready to give up yet! We decided to head to the Strokkur Geysir, and learn some more about Iceland’s version of Old Faithful. It was quite a walk to the Geysir from the cafe where there was parking. The Geysir erupts about every 5-10 minutes or so, and we had seen the last eruption from the parking lot, before making it to the pool. It was hard to capture the scale of the Geysir, but the pool itself was really big! It took several minutes longer for the pressure to build up and […]

ICELAND | Exploring

May 14, 2016

After our honeymoon stay at the Blue Lagoon, we headed off to do some serious exploring of all the natural wonders of Iceland. Our first stop at Merkjárfoss, which was along the way to our next stay at a Hotel in Hella, we stopped and took some pictures at Gluggafoss/Merkjárfoss. This was our first waterfall, and it was magical since we were the only ones there. I took a few decent photos, but honestly, nothing can compare to the serenity you feel sitting beneath it. It was pretty frigidly cold, and I was still severely sick while wandering about. Once we got on the road, I found my sense of adventure and could feel the sense of excitement by all the sights unfolding in front of us. I know I was sick, but there was a breathlessness in my lungs from the sheer wonder of what we would see. First stop after Merkjárfoss (last post) that morning was Solheimajokull Glacier (accessible by […]

ICELAND | Silica Hotel & Blue Lagoon

May 13, 2016

One thing I learned quickly about Iceland, was that you should not be quick to apply what is true about one part of Iceland to the other. I had no idea we would encounter such a diverse set of landscapes. I knew, before coming, that Iceland was the land of Fire & Ice, but somehow that hadn’t sunk in. On our way to the Blue Lagoon, we passed fields and fields of volcanic rock that would have destroyed any stray vehicle. Most of the roads were pretty well paved, but it didn’t calm our unease after declining all the insurance on our rental car (our credit card covered all accidental damage to a rental car – Thanks Chase Sapphire Visa). It was only a few hours drive to the Silica hotel, which was not easy to spot from the road. The only thing that gave it away, was the giant plumes of hot steam rising up from the hot springs. Fun Fact, apparently, […]

ICELAND | Reykjavik

May 11, 2016

As soon as we landed in Iceland, our trip finally became a little more real. We had decided to spend a few days in Reykjavik, but hadn’t quite realized just how far outside the city the airport was. A further testament to our lack of planning, we had no idea how we were going to get to our Airbnb in downtown Reykjavik from there. Luckily we were able to grab a bus, and 50 minutes later we were dropped in front of the closest hotel on the line the bus went to. Now, before Isaac and I had left, he had shown a few signs of getting a cold but somehow, with his superior immune system, only managed to get a bit of a sore throat before passing it onto me. I however, got the full force of the flu (thank you love!). The weather in Iceland made us wish we had gotten a sim card. We only had a prayer […]

We Can’t Stay Here

May 9, 2016

When you decide to leave the country for a year, you are left with a few decisions to make. Do you store your stuff? What travel credit card to you get? Who will you get for a phone card? What type of medical and travel insurance do I get? Where will we stay? Honestly, these are just the beginning of the mound of things we’ve had to address, and only about 2 weeks to do it in. Isaac and I came up with the idea of an extended vagabonding trip in February 2015. We had sat and contimplated how on earth we would be able to afford 6 months (the length of time we had in mind at the time) without dipping too much into our savings. While we both wanted to travel, neither of us wanted to start off our marriage with a huge pile of debt. It was late one night that I discovered a work-exchange site called Workaway. […]

Mrs & Mr Gould – A New Journey in Itself

April 30, 2016

Isaac and I have been planning our wedding on Lake Mirror in Lakeland, FL for almost 2 years. Honestly, I see now why most people after getting married, say they wish they’d have eloped. Planning a wedding is a ton of work, even more so when you choose a DIY wedding with several large scale projects, and then tack having a destination wedding – it made our wedding week a little hectic to say the least. 🙂 We had a beautiful week in Reunion Resort near Championsgate in Kissimmee, Florida. We rented a huge mansion-style home to house all the immediate family and bridal party members. With 14 bedrooms, 19 bathrooms, pool, swim up bar, water slide, huge kitchen, 2 entertainment areas, we were never without things to do. My parents and Isaac’s parents hung out on the balcony on the 2nd floor, and my little niece’s (Alayna) favorite spot was in the hot tub with her newest partner in […]

HOME | Preparations for Traveling

February 7, 2015

HOME | COLUMBUS — “It’s that time of year again”, an email that Isaac sent to his friends, professional peers, and alike. It is that time of year again. For him, he gets to go home, embrace his nurturing Mum (not Mummy- apparently he’s never EVER called her that!), help his Dad pick their favorite pictures of the dogs and family to post on facebook, and to be around his brothers & their wives (or soon to be!). For me it is a little different… Even though the New Year has passed (I spent mine photographing the most beautiful wedding my heart has yet lived), I still haven’t had the chance to really grasp all that has happened the past year. This year has been filled with moments that have made my heart just ache, and some that I felt my heart would burst from sheer happiness. There are those who know me well, and know exactly what most of these […]

A very Sparkly Adventure into the Clouds

July 11, 2014

On July 11th, 2014, Isaac treated us to a Hot Air Balloon Ride in Cincinnati, OH. Our feet hit the floor at 5 am in a rush to lift of at 6:15 am at Sunrise at a small airfield just outside of town. After doing a splash and go on mirror-esque lake, we soared over a river and lush landscapes, brushing tree tops to arrive at a “Hot Air Ballon challenge”. Though what I was told was a target (a common Hot Air Balloon contest), turned out to be a sign with the words “Will You Marry Me?” written on it. Isaac got down on one knee, and though his very distracted girlfriend was obsessively taking pictures out the other side of the balloon, he was as patient as he could be. In the zone, I was interrupted by not only the Pilot’s incessant barkings “What does that sign say?!” and “look at the sign!”, Isaac also prompted me […]