I’m doing this blog swap thing for the first time so I’m going to tell you guys whatever comes to my mind! Which can be very awkward but let’s hope it won’t.
My name is Francesca and I’m one of those weird people who handle book all days: a librarian. I was born and raised in Switzerland, which is a lot like Norway but very different from Iceland.

My real home is in Iceland. You know those frames with cross-stitch hearts and writings that say Home Sweet Home? Well, I would rather hang one in Keflavik airport than in my own house.

Why is that? To tell you the truth, I don’t know. When I was a kid I thought there wasn’t anything in that stretch of sea between Scandinavia and Greenland…imagine my surprise when I found out there actually was an island shaped like a seal (ok, I think it’s a seal and people think I have serious sight problems) – anyways, I was instantly hooked to that big island in the middle of the North Sea.
Being raised in Switzerland made me love winter and snow; being me, I began loving volcanoes at a young age. So basically Iceland is a win/win place for me!

Alas, due to my poor finances I wasn’t able to go to Iceland until my early twenties. I am now 30, and I can’t wait to go back. They say Africa continues to summon you constantly when you come back home: for me, it happens with Iceland.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m obsessed: the music, the literature, the skyr (I’m a vegan but I can’t resist skyr, I’m sorry!), … Everything is special in Iceland. At least for me.
Not to mention that most of the best parties I’ve been to were in Reykjavik.

Iceland is magic and unbelievable, but also crazy. That’s why I keep a journal every time I’m up there: I need to remember the heaps of crazy, crazy things that constantly happen everywhere on the island. Like when I was walking on Laugavegur and I passed by a guy who was holding a gigantic fish in his hands. At 2am.

But that’s a story for another time.

Now I need to get emotional.

On my journal I wrote that I miss running on Laugavegur towards the coffee shop on an early morning, with dew all over my face and hair. This is what Iceland means to me: being carefree and having a hell of a good time.
The best of in my icelandic hitlist include: the best raw vegan cake; the best dj set; the best waterfall (believe it or not I saw a lot of waterfalls around Europe); the best worst rain; the best super hot termal water; the best legend about zombies; the best (and most cozy) airport; the best music festival. I could go on but I don’t want to inflict a crazy long list upon you.

It’s pretty obvious, then, that my ultimate goal is to be able to buy the flat I usually stay in while in Reykjavik and go there whenever I want – between books and books presentations and all that stuff that us librarians do (including but not only shushing loud people).

My journal was a little sketchbook with birds on it. Now it’s basically the same, except it’s on the internet.

Francesca’s blog can be found here.