Iceland!

 We went to Iceland in early November and the Blue Lagoon was first on my teen's list of things to do. I had read that it was underwhelming, but we all ended up being wowed. It snowed the day we went, so it was extra fun to be outside in bathing suits and wade into the 100 degree (F) geothermal waters. Everyone is required to shower first and it's recommended you leave conditioner in your hair to protect it from the minerals. My family loved it and would highly recommend going.

We stayed at Reykjavik 4 You apartments which were centrally located, clean and comfortable and within walking distance of restaurants and shopping.

 The view from our balcony.

Our street.

Our first meal was breakfast the morning we arrived. After checking in and relaxing for awhile, we walked to The Laundromat Cafe. It was delicious and generous, restaurant meals do tend to be expensive, but we were very happy with all of the food we had in Iceland.

We liked it so well we ate here twice--our first and last meals in Iceland.

Sunday brunch--this was the 'clean' breakfast--fresh fruit, brie, yogurt with the best muesli I've ever had, hummus and salad, pancakes, chocolate butter(!), eggs, tomato and potatoes.

Reykjavík in the snow.

We booked two full day private tours to maximize our experience since we were only there for four days. Our first tour day was of the Golden Circle which included Thingvellir National Park and the Haukadalur Valley.

Gullfoss Waterfall

At first when we pulled into this geothermal area, we wondered what we were going to see, there was no one else around but it ended up being so interesting--we were fascinated by the boiling water bubbling up from the ground.

The heavy frost was beautiful.

Kerid Crater

Fridheimar is a tomato greenhouse and restaurant. We ate lunch here during our tour. They have a short menu but are known for their tomato soup, which is on a buffet table along with a variety of their delicious homemade breads. Perfect on a cold day!

Each table had fresh basil you could cut and add to your soup as well as some fresh cucumber salsa.

Bees are imported to pollinate the tomato plants.

I loved this out of the way waterfall.

Bláskógabyggo Geyser

We stopped to feed some friendly Icelandic horses oatmeal cookies. :)

Our final stop our second day was another off road area you couldn't find on your own and the tour buses don't visit. We walked along a path to another area where the water was boiling and steaming, it was amazing.

Sveitarfélagiõ Ölfus

That evening we walked to a charming restaurant for delicious pasta.

The third morning we began our tour of southern Iceland by driving to a waterfall you can walk behind, it was too icy and dangerous for us to do that, but beautiful nonetheless.

 Seljalandsfoss waterfall

The sun came out and the weather was more mild as the morning went on, we next stopped at the sight of the volcano that erupted in 2010--Eyjafjallajökull. It disrupted air travel to and from Europe for a week.

Iceland has a population of about 300,000 people and 800,000 sheep. We were delighted to see them free roaming as we drove, so we pulled over to get a closer look. By the way, there are virtually no predators and no mosquitos in Iceland.

Halle chasing this herd of sheep is one of my favorite and funniest memories of the trip!

Skogar

 LOVED this area, I just stood and took it all in~it's so beautiful I could hardly believe we were there. My husband, daughter and father-in-law climbed the 370 steps to the top of the waterfall.

There is a hotel and restaurant here as well.

Lunch of Arctic char, lamb and Ceasar salad was delicious and the view was wonderful! One of my favorite parts of the trip.

My favorite travel purchase~an Icelandic sheepskin that lays by my bed. At under $100 it was very reasonably priced.

After lunch, we headed to the gorgeous black beaches.

A seal was swimming near by.

The lighthouse photo was taken by our guide.

I have to give a shoutout to our great guide, Denis. He and his dad have their own private tour company. He was very informative, energetic and fun. And an amazing climber as you can see.

Our final stop of the day was a glacier. We walked in winds of about 60mph, which was kind of crazy and exhilarating!

Photos by Denis.

And here are a variety of photos of charming Reykjavík

We loved Sandholt Bakery, they have wonderful breakfasts and a full menu.

It was great to tour all day and then walk through the falling snow to a restaurant for dinner in the evening. We had no trouble getting a reservation or just walking in and being seated.

We love Iceland!