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 :)

iceland! (part one)

Finally some time to post about my trip. Where to even begin?!? Iceland was more amazing than I had even imagined! Ok, the beginning...

Monday, a friend pointed out there was a big storm heading for Iceland. I looked it up and looked like a doozy! Luckily, my flight was only delayed 45 minutes. I breezed through the airport, leaving some time to grab some wine and a small meal:

Achieved my goal of sleeping most of the way (I always fall asleep so wasn't worried). Upon arrival Tuesday morning, I was thrilled to see that my international data was up and running. Not so thrilled to see that my first tour of Reykjavik was in jeopardy due to the poor conditions left from the storm, and then eventually canceled. Luckily, I was able to move it to Thursday, but had hoped to use it as an opportunity to learn my way around. I had read that you should grab stuff at duty free at the airport before heading into town, so I grabbed a nice bottle of wine (this smart kid even brought a wine opener). Soon, I was on my bus and on my way to my hotel.

By the time I arrived, I saw that I never would have made the tour with my slight delay anyways! I spoke with the front desk, knowing they don't promise early arrival but I managed to get a room pretty quick! I settled myself in, freshened up and started to head out (wasn't as cold as I had expected). Walked out the door and turned right back, it was colder than I thought! I was happy to realize I had packed really well :). Bundled up, I tried again! First things first, COFFEE!!! Success! Wandered into Te & Kaffi for a Jól (Christmas) muffin and a coffee:

Afterwards, wandered towards town, stopping to test out my camera at Höfði House:

From there, I walked along the Sculpture and Shore walk, which was pretty cold and damp:

My first real stop was the Harpa concert hall, where I really got relax, try out some different settings on my camera and practice the necessary selfies of traveling alone:

After that, I started to feel more comfortable on my own. I wandered into the downtown area. I ended up finding a little pub for my first Icelandic beer :) - Frederiksen Ale House:

From there, I had grand goals of walking all the way to Seltjarnarnes, seeing some amazing art along the way:

Walking in the slush and ice, along with the beer making its way very quickly through me, forced me to find a place to tuck into, preferably with a bathroom! I found my way back to the Old Harbour area and ducked into the Saegreifinn (Sea Baron). There I had some delicious lobster soup and warmed up:

Next, I wandered around Reykjavik, checking out the shops (main goal was finding a sweater but how will I decide?!?) and spotted a few of the famous yule lads:

I checked out the Danksi Barinn, which was delightfully festive (all of Reykjavik was just so festive, so if you know me at all, I was in my element!):

They have tons of happy hour specials (which being located in Boston, is a real treat). This one had buy one get one, I was enjoying a quite large beer and decided to give a fella near me my free ticket. More wandering throughout the city, before finding my way into the most perfect, cozy, little bar, Bravó. Candlelight, awesome music and an Icelandic version of a Blue Moon!

I spent awhile there, happily chatting to my friends and family. Really starting to feel very happy and so excited for my adventure ahead. While there, I decided to pick a place for some dinner.  I decided I wanted to try something new, after browsing a few menus, I ended up picking Sushisamba because they had some fun, local tasting menus. I picked the smoked puffin and the reindeer sliders. While I must say, the puffin, not my style, but the reindeer, wow! It was honestly the best tasting burger (sorry rudolph!). The best part of dinner was the friendly staff and people around :)

On the way home, I was tortured with puffins everywhere... It dawned on me, was a puffin the national bird or something? Did I just eat the equivalent of the bald eagle?? Luckily, no - it's the Gyrfalcon, phew! Night time in Reykjavik is incredible, which is lucky since I was only averaging 4 - 5 hours of daylight!

Headed back to the hotel so I could get some sleep before the long day coming! I made sure to see the last night of the Imagine Peace Tower on the way:

happily random...

power...

iceland - the plan...

Well, as I mentioned, in October, I decided to book a trip to Iceland. I don't have any specific reasons for choosing Iceland, it always looked cool, a short and inexpensive flight from Boston and I had some vacation time left at work. Mostly, I really just wanted to travel on my own and get out of my comfort-zone.

I did some research and booked a trip for early December, leaving Monday and returning on Friday evening. I booked most of my trip with Icelandair, getting the Blue Lagoon / Northern Lights package, which included a night-time boat hunt for the Northern Lights and an evening package to the Blue Lagoon. I added on an 8 hour trip around the Golden Circle. A little before my trip, I booked a walking tour with I Heart Reykjavik blogger, Auður, to see more of the city. I also grabbed Lonely Planets guide on Iceland:

As the trip came closer, I started gathering stuff I knew I would need or want on the trip. I ordered some new layers, more wool socks, lighter waterproof boots, waterproof pants, travel adapters (usually I just borrowed, but traveling on my own means I might as well be independent in that too). Next on the list, in hopes of catching the Northern Lights - I finally pulled the trigger on getting a DSLR camera, so I could set it manually. I knew which one I wanted, the Canon EOS Rebel SL1 - the smallest, lightest one on the market. I got the white kit that included 2 lenses, along with a case:

The case felt a bit big for traveling (my aim was to travel pretty light), so after some advice from a friend (who also taught me how to use the camera) I picked out a small messenger bag that had a removable padded section that I could put in my backpack on days I used it. I also ordered a GorillaPod tripod, a 128gb memory card and some cool SL1 cheat cards.

Next step was to finally pack!

What I packed:

• Backpack
• Camera bag
• Camera
• iPad mini
• Headphones
• External battery 
• Sunglasses
• Guide book / pen / notes
• A few snacks
• A few days of clothes (a variety of layers, jeans, sweaters, etc.)
• Extra socks
• Two bathing suits
• A Turkish towel
• Flip flops
• Sneakers
• Boots
• Base layer
• Pack-able down vest and jacket
• A warm parka
• Rain gear
• Two pairs of gloves
• Two hats
• Neck warmer
• A cozy shawl
• Of course, the usual toiletries :)