Rewind: Iceland

Now that I am back into the swing of things since my return from Iceland, I figured I would give you an update on my short stint in Reyjavik; what I did, what I wore, etc. My weekend trip was to surprise a dear friend for her big 3-0! She was completely shocked when she woke up to her sister and me chilling in the sick apartment her husband rented for us. The apartment was full of interesting pieces of art, as you will see in some of my pics below.

So a little about Iceland at this time of year. Unfortunately for me, I left 90 degree Boston weather and headed into temperatures in the 40's-low 50's. That meant packing gloves, boots and a jacket! Not to mention, the rain! Also, this is the time of year where Iceland begins to get ample amounts of day light. I don't think I ever saw night fall that weekend. It was so bizarre that at 1AM, it looked like it was only 5PM. It really messed with my mind! All right, here are a few key highlights (and recommendations!):

Saturday:

We happened to be visiting during the weekend of the Festival of the Sea and decided to participate in some (or really one) of the activities. We took a little boat tour out to an island called Akurey to go puffin watching. The waters were a bit too choppy for my liking but luckily no one got sick and we did see some puffins. They are so cute I wanted to bring one home. Wasn't sure if I'd make it through customs with one. Once back on the mainland, we grabbed lunch at Icelandic Fish & Chips. We all ordered fish and chips but the best part of this place is that they have a bunch of dips to choose from. Once stuffed, we took a stroll through town and checked out some of the local boutiques since most are closed on Sundays. Later that evening, we went to a restaurant called Fridrik V. The entire menu was a 'surprise' menu. The chef develops the menu based on what's in season and grown locally.  I attached a montage of the meal. It was the best meal I had that weekend. A must if you ever go to Iceland.

Sunday:

We decided to head to the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa, in the early morning to maximize our time there. We spent the morning in the hot spring scrubbing ourselves down with silica mud and grabbed refreshments at the swim up bar. We then took a break in the relaxing room in our big fluffy robes. After a few hours at the spa, we headed back into town a grabbed lunch at a place called Graenn Kostur. It's a vegetarian/vegan restaurant that is completely amazing. Also a must when in the area. A day at the spa wiped us out and we all took a long nap when we got back. Who knew a spa day could be tiring? At about 10PM we decided to set out for dinner. To our surprise, nothing was open! Ok, shouldn't have been a surprise because it was Sunday at 10PM! Again, with it being so light out, we thought it was 7PM. Luckily, we found a pizza joint that was still serving. Since half of our party had to leave at 4AM the next morning, we had a night cap at a cafe and all ordered nice hot chocolates to warm us up.

Well, that wraps it up! If you ever find your way to Iceland, let me know! I can give you other recommendations (this was my 2nd time there).