iceland! (part two)

After a good sleep, I was up early for my second day of adventures! I have to say, it was not disappointing :) I hopped on a bus for my tour of the Golden Circle. As the day dawned, we made our first stop at Friðheimar, a huge tomato greenhouse. There we learned about how they use geothermal energy to grow the tomatoes year-round. After a bit of wandering, I sat down to some hot, fresh tomato soup with fresh cut basil and a roll. On the way out, I grabbed some tomato jam to take home.

Next stop, Geysir! I bundled up and wandered up to see the steaming springs. Geysir doesn't erupt as often but a smaller one, Strokkur erupts every few minutes. It was incredible! After watching a few times, I wandered into the Geysir Center to warm up with some coffee and some banana skyr. 

We continued the drive, now in the little daylight we have, so much to see (a little harder to snap photos in a moving vehicle). 

Next stop, Gullfoss. An incredible waterfall that took my breath away. Every direction I looked, I was floored by how beautiful Iceland is. It was everything that I imagined it would be :) . It had been a long, hard year but something in this day made me stop and realize how grateful I am to have had all the support and love I have ever needed in life (more even). I am so very lucky, not everyone can pick a place on a map and go on an adventure.

 

Last stop, a walk through Þingvellir National Park. So beautiful, especially as the sun was descending!

 What an incredible day! Once back in Reykjavik, I bundled up in preparation for my Northern Lights boat hunt. Walking towards Old Harbour, I stopped off at the Kex Hostel. I had read about it, it was an old biscuit factory. I stopped for a beer and a yummy beet salad, the atmosphere was very cool.

After a couple of hours floating in the north Atlantic, no northern lights that night. Still was an awesome day! Also, they have our names on record so I can take another try at any point in the future :)