Iceland- The day of rest...

Day 3 was our day of rest, or our free day. We didn't have any excursions planned. It was nice to be able to sleep in and not have to rush out the door. We were able to go out and see more of the city.

We walked through the local Flea Market. Hubby bought a wool cap that a local woman made.

We went down to the port and saw where all the boats were docked. Then we walked the outer street and stopped at this metal sculpture called The Sun Voyager (looks like a metal Viking boat).

Then we walked up the street towards the Lutheran Cathedral again so I could get a picture of the front of the building. Then it started to snow as hard as the day before. It was unbelievable. The snow just came down so thick and big. It covered you and turned to water so fast that you started to get soaked. It was amazing.

I let dad take some pictures and he got super carried away with the camera. He took so many pictures that it was like having our own personal paparazzi. He had so much fun, he just couldn't stop. He would run down the street, turn around, and just start snapping away. He must have done this for 10 minutes. He literally did it the entire time we were walking back to catch the bus.


We were actually able to get my mother to walk into town. She actually walked the distance. For some, you will understand this. She's not a walk in the cold kind of gal.

On the way we stopped at a frozen pond and had to play. So we walked out on it and got our feet "wet". Way in the back behind the hubby, that part isn't frozen and there were a ton of ducks, swans, and other types of birds.

Oh look, he's throwing a snowball at me...... wait..... no....... I have the camera......please don't get it wet.

too late. I got hit. You just can't see it. :(

Then he got mom, while dad laughed.

Oh look...... it's us...... on a frozen pond. He's hoping it doesn't crack like they do in the movies.

We're going to throw snowballs at each other. (mom's taking the pictures)

Ha ha ha!!!! Guess not. We got her instead. :) We all laughed sooooooo hard. I love how you can see the snow splash against the camera in this picture. She really thought we were going to hit each other....not her. We're so mean (evil grin inserted).

Here are the swans.

Dad trying to get them to come near him.

This is a GREAT pizza place that we ate at. OH, it was so good. I could go for another slice now. We ate here for dinner the night before.

But on this day, we ate here. Hubby and I had the fish and chips. My parents ordered a pizza.

Right before the BIG snow storm came in. You'll see what I mean below. :)

The menu.

Our fish and chips. Which if you know me, I don't eat fish. I don't like the taste, but this one was fabulous.

Then as we were walking through the town, it was time for a snack. So we tried the lamb dog. It wasn't too bad.

Walking along the main road through town with a beautiful back drop. So we took pictures. My dad got crazy with the camera again. I decided to spare you the 30 pictures he took. So I only posted one of us. 

My parents

Mom and I

This is the Sun Voyager. When I was looking up information about Iceland, this one came up a lot.

The family!!

Here is the Cathedral. We treaked back up so I could get a better picture of the front.

Here is my youtube video of the Lutheran Cathedral's bells going off.

The snow started to pick up again, and came down hard. Doesn't look like it, but it was..... see below for more.

It was cold so we decided to stop for coffee in this neat little shop. It was a juice bar with freshly made juice, coffee, and desserts.

Then it started to snow harder. Can you believe it? And I mean harder. It was actually pilling up on us.

.... and harder......

... and even harder.

Trying to eat it. I succeeded too! :)

Just so excited to be in all this snow.... and trying to soak it up as much as possible.

Then we decided to eat sandwiches for dinner in the hotel room. So we stopped at a local store. They had whale meat for sale. That's 895 krona, or $7.96. YES, everything over there was super expensive.

So we ate lunch meat instead. We couldn't bring ourselves to try the whale meat.

You could have whale steak too.

Aww, the boys in the snow (my hubby and dad).

Random bike getting snowed on. 

So if we could do it all over again I would go back. This time I would love to go in the Spring time and see all the beautiful green grass. The pictures of it was just as beautiful as the snow we saw.

This trip was really worth it.


 If you get the chance.......... GO!!!! Don't wait. Pack your bags and go.

Next time we'll go in the Spring and see all the pretty green grass.

Iceland- The Golden Circle.... of happiness

Day 2 in Iceland.......

Was AWESOME!!!!!

We had a great time seeing the Golden Circle. The snow didn't let up at all. It was so thick that sometimes you couldn't see past 1/2 a mile or two hundred yards. The wind blew up the snow so much. Check out the Youtube video I posted, here.

The day started out pretty normal until we almost missed the bus. The tour guide came running into the breakfast room looking for people who were supposed to be on the bus and we were still eating. So we had to drop everything and run out the door. Luckily we had brought our stuff with us that we were taking out on tour for the day. So we didn't have to run back to the room. Otherwise she wouldn't have been too happy that we were delaying her any longer than we already were.

We hopped on the bus and headed downtown to the bus station to pick up more people. Then we left and drove out to our first stop. The drive wasn't too bad and not super long either.

Our first stop was the Thingvellir (or Parliament). This is where some of the Icelandic people got together and discussed politics with each other in order to establish rules and regulations.

Here are some pictures of the area where they met. It was absolutely gorgeous. I think the pictures say it all.

At the top looking down.

Starting the journey to the bottom.

Kind of in the middle looking back towards the top, where we started at.

Thought this sign was funny. No matter what your language you should be able to understand this. Don't throw your money into the river.

At the bottom headed back to the bus.

On our way to the second stop, we saw the Icelandic horses out on the country side...... and they looked miserable. :) To avoid getting cold, they turn their backside (or bottoms) to the direction that the wind is blowing.  Their rear is padded and helps protect them from the cold. So as you drive along the road, you see horses with their rears facing you in a straight line.

Then our second stop was Gullfoss. A waterfall that is now owned by the Government. This is where the wind blew so hard that we could hardly see in front of us. It was so thick! In fact you could say it was a blizzard. The wind whipped around in every direction. You couldn't turn around without being hit in the face by the snow.

Our third stop was the Geysir. By the time we left Gullfoss, the wind had gotten more severe. Can you believe that? Well, it did. I loved it. I think mom had had enough of it. :) Her and dad sat on the bus for this stop. She couldn't brave the cold. So hubby and I trecked on out to the geysir and saw it. It was an unbelievable site.

I was able to take some sequence pictures of it exploding.

 The temp of the Geysir. Plus how much/hard the wind blew. It shaped a patch of snow around the sign. 

Starting to explode.

And it's gone...... 

After it explodes there is a hole and the water rushed back in. It fills it up again and then starts all over.

Side note: Here is what our hotel looked like from out front. Behind us was a small airport.

Click here to go to day 3, The day of rest.