Iceland Vacay Day 7
Here we are on the last day. I have a funny story about today's activities. I arranged everything months ago - before the threat of a volcano eruption. The only activity that worried me was our trip to the Blue Lagoon, which closed on November 9. What to do? In my case, you accidently scheduled the Sky Lagoon instead, so everything worked out without a hitch.
That was the interesting thing about this trip. Everything that went wrong ended up being right.
These activities were booked through Viator.com.
We started each day with the hotel breakfast included in our room at Hotel Alda. We typically had granola with toppings, sausage, yogurt with granola, hard-boiled eggs, fresh fruit, and this lovely homemade juice made of apple, beetroot, ginger, and lemon.
On a couple of days, we had Icelandic hot dogs for lunch as they came with the tours, but otherwise didn't eat until dinner. With all the walking and skipping meals, I lost weight on vacation!
Want to learn everything possible regarding over 1,000 years of Iceland's history, politics, religion, architecture, art, and economics as you look at historic and governmental buildings and neighborhoods? And with visual aids? It was much more interesting than it sounds, and the guide, Lalli, was wonderful. Plus, we got another Icelandic hot dog!
Apparently, everyone in Iceland learns to knit. So a bunch of these knitters created the Handknitting Assocation of Iceland to sell their creations. The knitters are aged 18 to 97, and we can attest to the quality and warmth of their products. As a bonus, you know who made the product you buy! Gudfinna Sigurborsclottirmade my new sweater. Chris loves his new hat and even complains that it's too warm sometimes.
Walking out into the lagoon was eerie, mysterious, and even enchanting, with the fog from the thick steam rising from the warm water, the setting sun backlighting everyone, and the invisible edge dividing the pool from the ocean.
Chris loved the seven steps in The Ritual.
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Lagoon
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Cold Plunge
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Sauna
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Cold Mist
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Sky Scrub
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Steam Room
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Shower
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Unofficial: Get an adult beverage and lounge in the lagoon.
For our last dinner, we had the best fish and chips ever! A local, inexpensive chain, Reykjavik Fish Restaurant was one of our favorite meals.
We were told on our first day that we needed to eat a quart of ice cream a day to stay warm. That didn't happen, but after trying the freshly made gelato and sugar cones at Valdis, I regret ignoring the advice. I had pistachio and Chris had peanut butter.
Einar Jónsson was Iceland´s first sculptor, and his historic statues are scattered throughout Reykjavik. His museum has a garden that is always open to the public. These pictures are not great, as the sun was setting when we visited, but they give you an idea of his genius.
