We left from Ontario Airport. Beautiful blue skies and 84 degrees projected for today!
Eddie coming back after parking the car.
We arrived in Reykjavik around 6 am their time. We were met and bussed to the city and our hotel.
The Plaza Center Hotel. A very nice place to stay.
This was about 1 in the afternoon. It was very cold, but we did get to see the sun.
Reminds me of going to NYC in Feb. for the Garden. The wind is what makes it so cold.
First night out, one of our hosts favorite bars.
The food was very good. Not to crazy about the whale and puffin served raw, but the fish au gratin and dessert was fabulous. Very good wine as well.
After dinner we were treated to a welcome party by Icelandic Water.
Eddie and Terry enjoying the party.
One of the ice sculptures.
Golden Circle Tour
First stop Pingvellir
Pingvellir lies within a belt of volcanic activity and the junction of the American and Eurasian tectonic plates.
I loved the way the grass just grows over the walls of volcanic rock.
Oh it was so cold and the wind chill was aching to say the least.
A beautiful view of the volcano that erupted a while back that caused so many problems for airplane flights coming from Europe. The steam in the distance is a hot spring. Also, you cannot see, but a glaciar is on the horizon as well. I could see it with the naked eye but my camera was unable to pick it up. This is also Pingvellir Lake, the largest natural lake in Iceland.
More on this place at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Eingvellir
Gullfoss
We thought it was cold in Pingvellir, well by the time we got to Gullfoss waterfall I decided to buy a wool hat. The wind blew me off my feet while trying to take photos. We ate here and was served lamb stew. It was actually pretty good, the veggies were delicious as well as the bread and butter. For dessert we had chocolate cake. Since neither Eddie or I eat lamb it was a little bit hard to get down the meat. So a lot was left in the bowls.
After eating lunch we hiked down to one of the most beautiful sights in Iceland. Gullfoss Waterfall is one of Iceland's most famous waterfall. http://www.vulkaner.no/n/gullfoss/egullfoss.html I would love to paint this someday, maybe summer time. :-)
Geysir
Geysir, sometimes known as the great Geysir has been around for over 10,000 years. 80 to 100 degrees. It was so amazing watching it erupt every 8 minutes that we must have watched it 10 times before getting tired. Each time everyone screamed as it went off. It was fun to watch the procession. I did get a few photos of it, hope you can imagine the thrust when the water blows out of the hole.
Rivers are plentiful all over Iceland.
Icelandic Horse. On the way back to Reykjavik we stopped by to visit some of the Icelandic Horses. The owners of this farm were happy to share their history and their enthusiasm for this beautiful horse.
They were also happy to share rotten shark, dried fish and butter with crackers and moonshine. The moonshine was good, could not get myself to eat the other. The smell alone of the rotten shark made me ill. Because of long winters they have plenty of this on hand, just in case they cannot get out to the market.
This cute little farm dog was such a joy, he was so happy and he did love the rotten shark....
OK, as much as everyone tried, we just were not that taken with the offerings.
We were taken with the beautiful horses. So sweet and just wanted you to keep petting them
And this one, wanted to give me a kiss...... I loved them.
Back to Reykjavik for a fabulous dinner of fish and squid with cream and berry dessert and a Pub Crawl on Halloween night. Oh my! I think we saw just about everything imaginable.......
Looking down at the dance floor.
Eddie and Stephanie were amused by this pirate. He wanted Eddies moustache. I think he was more taken with Eddie than Eddie was he.
Our hosts Christian and KK from Icelandic Water.
The lobby bar at our hotel.
Hope you have enjoyed the photos, tomorrow I will put up some more.
Until next time, PLEASE ENJOY THE ART! Terry d. Chacon
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