Reykjavik, Iceland

Returned from Iceland today after spending four days in Iceland's capital, Reykjavik. The flight with Icelandair was really good and the economy seats definitely have more room than other full service airlines. Although the food was not complimentary you could use your own headphones for their onboard entertainment system so that kept everyone occupied for the 3 hour flight.

The first day we arrived late in the afternoon and took the flybus to our hotel. The weather was cloudy and about 8 degrees but we were booked in to see the Northern Lights. Unfortunately, the tour was cancelled due to bad weather. Never got a chance to see the Northern Lights during our stay cause the weather didn't hold up for the tour to go ahead the following nights. With the tour cancelled, we ventured out into town (everything was closed except for the supermarket, bookstore and restaurants). The guide book recommended we try a place called the Fishmarket. It was a mix of asian fusion with icelandic specialities. We all had fish for our main courses... Kat had red fish, I had Salmon and Soo and Belle had smoked haddock...I think). I think overall the food was about 7/10 but the dessert was 10/10.

The second day we ended up booking a tour to ride Icelandic Horses across lava rock fields. We all dressed up in orange suits which made us look like we were about to go dig a tunnel or stand around looking important like those council workers =) The horses were very well-behaved most of the way... until Kat's one decided it would try to bolt off while the trainers weren't looking. Kat stayed on her horse thankfully but was definitely a scary experience. Soo's horse had real attitude! Lazy attitude... when the trainer would be looking, it would gallop forward but when the trainer looked away, the horse slowed down and often Soo was way behind everyone elses... I think Belle's one ended up being the most 'normal' horse... my one kept grunting cause it wanted to go faster but there was another horse in front of it and when I tried to overtake the horse in front, the horse in front charged into my horse! haha... so I never ended up picking up any sort of pace.... but it was enjoyable! We did get pelted with hail stones at one point and it was freeeezzing cold to be riding around outside. Lets just say we were glad to get back inside after it.

On the third day we went on the recommended Golden Circle Tour. The Golden Circle is a popular tourist route in South Iceland, covering about 300 km looping from Reykjavík into central Iceland and back. The three primary stops on the route were the national park Þingvellir, the waterfall Gullfoss (meaning "golden falls"), and the geothermally active valley of Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur. The best part of the tour is definitely the geysers as the ground is steaming and one of the geysers erupts every 5 minutes or so with bursts of steaming hot water. The national park isn't what we are use to in terms of a park. There are no trees. Just lava rocks and moss.

When we returned from the tour we decided to all take a walk to the Perlan (viewing point) about 20 minutes from our hotel. The viewpoint of the city wasn't great as the city isn't as lit up as other larger cities we've seen. We then walked from the Perlan back into town to to try the other famous restaurant called Humarhusid (The Lobster House). Lobsters were a speciality of Iceland (along with the Puffin, Lamb & Horse). The restaurant was fine dining but the waitress was extremely friendly and accommodating. Kat & Belle chose the same main course of Gratineraðir humarhalar með hvítlauk og humar-osta sósu (Gratin lobster tails with cheese sauce) and Soo & I chose the same main course of 'Surf & Turf'. The lobster tails were definitely the better dish! This restaurant is highly recommended. For the main courses I'd give it 9/10.



As our trip was almost over, on the last day we all visited the famous Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is powered by Iceland's clean geothermal energy. It was located in the Svartsengi Resource Park. If you end up doing nothing but the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, it will make your trip worthwhile. We were all expecting to freeze getting in and out of the lagoon but the lagoon is close to the change rooms so not much walking involved. The lagoon is a constant 40 degrees celsius and the water is a light blue silky white colour. Because it is heated by the natural geothermal energy, it does smell like rotten eggs at times but nothing that will put you off. We all rubbed this silken face mask on inside the lagoon. Belle of course was so excited she slapped the mask straight onto her eyes first! HAHA...after the stinging subsided (and we took many photos of it), she was ok. But thanks to Belle (who held he camera in the air for 2 hours whilst bathing in the lagoon), we have good photos of the lagoon and us relaxing in it!...photos to come from that!

So yet another trip comes to an end and we look forward to our next trip =)