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I booked a round trip ticket to Reykjavik on a Tuesday afternoon in June at my desk at work in Washington, DC. I’d missed the WOW air flight deal from months prior and decided to just pull the plug. No more waiting. It was time for another solo trip. The trip was booked with only two weeks to plan and I had no intention of making an itinerary. I had taken solo trips in the past. But this one was going to be different. I had been in a long term relationship during all of my other solo trips and I was ready to explore a new country with a different openness than I had been able to bring previously. I am not really the “go-with-the-flow” woman, but this trip was going to change that. I landed in Reykjavik to learn that during the summer months in Iceland, the sun only sets for three hours a day with an unusual 24 hours of light. The darkest I can remember it getting was as dark as it gets at dusk. I felt safest I had ever felt traveling as a woman (even in the city that I call home). The best part of traveling solo has been the ability to do whatever I want when I want to do it (and the plan can change without anyone getting upset). Drinking coffee at a cafe in the morning alone is one of my favorite solo trip activities. However, dinner alone is a little more lonely on a solo trip than I had remembered. During my first solo dinner in Reykjavik, I pulled out my phone to start swiping on the dating apps to find a dinner mate for later that week. The night before my last full day I booked a tour to visit a few of the national parks and The Great Geysir. On the tour, I met a woman in her late 20’s and a woman in her mid 50’s to walk around with on the hike. We talked about how both liberating and terrifying it was to be a woman traveling alone, agreed to take photos for one another and ate lunch together. After the tour ended, the younger woman grabbed a bite to eat with me before my date. The man that I had matched with was from London and to this day has remained known as London Man. He met my new friend and me at the bar with his coworker. After a few hours of chatting altogether, London Man and I were left alone together. I had to get back to my hostel to pack my bags to get ready in the morning but couldn’t imagine parting from him. We walked down the long main street and as I began to make my exit, he asked if I’d like a nightcap. His British accent had wooed me into spending more time with him. The intensity of emotions was palpable in the hotel room after hours of deep conversation, hot tub time, and learning about each other. I glanced over at his phone to see that it was 6:47 am, and I needed to pack and be ready to get on a bus to the airport at 9 am. I scrambled to get dressed and head back to my hostel to pack my bags. Managing to pack my bags swiftly, I made it to my bus with time to spare. I boarded the plane back to the U.S. with a longing. I wanted more of the spontaneity, more nights of no darkness, more spur of the moment friendships, more adventure, and more of London Man.