Ain't No Party Like a Reykjavik Party!!

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

Since we arrived in Iceland after midnight, technically it was a new day!! So we touched down and the boys surprised us by being at the airport with our bedding for the hostel! See the reason it was a surprise is that the base they were staying on closes its gates at midnight, and since we landed after midnight we didn't think they were going to be able to make it.. somehow they "worked it" and were there!! Which we were thankful for since they did have our bedding...

After a quick hello and goodbye, we boarded the bus to take us into Reykjavik (pronounced wreck ya veck) since the international airport is 45 minutes from the city center. We were dropped off at the hostel at 2am and we were SOOO tired.. we checked in and the lady told us that there were already 2 females in the room so be quiet. We got into the room and got ready for bed by the light of our cellphones..

A few short hours later, the alarm went off because it was horseback riding day... oh wait.. I guess it wasn't our alarm that went off but our roommates... And it wasn't a normal alarm it was just alarming because I was awoken by the sound of a man's voice....... We gave them the benefit of the doubt and just figured the girl had a cold, that was until the person got out of the bed from underneath me and even my legally blind eyes could tell that this was no female as the desk attendant promised.... We waited until they exited the room and Nichole and I had a little freak out together and decided to ask to be changed rooms. Before we were able to do that, the couple came back and we found out that they were Belgian and VERY nice.. but we still felt uncomfortable sharing a room with a guy.. We left to get some breakfast, changed rooms, and took a nap.. After the nap it was horseback riding time!!

We arrived to the site and found out that we were the only ones in the group who had ever ridden a horse before! For some, it was their first time seeing a horse!! We were placed on our horses.. mine was named Besse (although it was a boy)...

We made our way through the Lava fields... in the rain : ( As cool as it was to ride an Icelandic horse (the difference is that they are smaller and they give a much smoother ride), however the tour wasn't what we hoped for.. the people in charge did not explain where we were or anything.. they just kept telling us how great we were doing.... Here is a pic of the lava fields...

After the horseback ride the boys were supposed to meet up with us, but did not feel up to the drive : ( Us girls decided we were going to get ourselves a nice meal, and walked over to the Ruby Tuesday's... After that it was time for bed!!

Thursday September 9th, 2010

Today was the day for Blue Lagoon!! Nichole and I left the hostel to drive 45 minutes out to these geothermal pools where the boys were going to meet us.. Since we got there a little bit before them, we decided to get our swimsuits on and check out what it had to offer... We started with a glass of wine and then went over to put on some silica mud... before we made it over, we were stopped by a worker who yelled at us in Icelandic Sign Language that we were not allowed to drink in that area... we swam back to the bar, finished our wine and tried the mud again... We were a little unimpressed... felt like it dried out our faces than it did good... The boys still weren't there so we decided to sign up for a massage!! There were only 2 massages left, a 20 minute and a 30 minute, so we had to play paper scissors rocks for the 30 minute... which I won!! It was at that moment that the guys got there.. we hung out.. got our WONDERFUL massages from some large Icelandic we called Ivan.. We laid on a float thing and he put a blanket over us and he began.. I've never received a back massage laying face up but it sure worked in he water!! After the massages we got dressed and ate dinner at the Lava restaurant where we got to try some whale! It was ok.. not much flavor and I think I would have preferred it on bread or something.. Then it was time to say goodbye to the boys and get back to the hostel for the night..

Nichole and I in the Blue Lagoon

Outside the Blue Lagoon

Friday September 10th, 2010

We started off this day by leaving our hostel behind and making our way to the hotel where we stayed for the rest of the trip with our husbands.. We decided to use the "easy" Reykjavik bus system... easy maybe if you speak Icelandic!! We got on (barely.. my luggage almost didn't make it!) and picked the destination we were going to get off on and hoped and prayed it would be close to the hotel... We are so awesome that the stop was about 1/4 a mile from the hotel!! We checked in, dropped the bags and explored the city!! This is where we found our lovely mustaches... and had our day 1 of the photo shoot!

During lunch, there was an ash storm where it "rained" ash from the volcano... we didn't realize it was ash until the next day when an Icelandic guy let us know! We then went back to the hotel and took naps until the boys made it! We then decided to go get some liquor since the boys didn't bring much (in Reykjavik because alcohol in the bars is SO expensive they drink at home until midnight and then go out to the bars..), we had seen a liquor store "down the road" earlier in the day and set off... little did we tell the boys that down the road was about a 20 minute walk... they weren't too happy with us, especially considering the liquor store was closed by the time we arrived!! We decided to make our trip worth it and got the famous Icelandic hot dogs before we went back to the hotel... These hot dogs are "best served" with everything on it... which includes grilled onions, funyuns, mayonnaise, and remoulade (sort of a tartar sauce gravy)... I surprisingly tried it with all of that considering the only thing on that list I like is mayo... and not with hot dogs! It wasn't bad.... but I probably wouldn't eat it again!! That night we had our first night out in Reykjavik.. it was fun but tiring!!

Fist pumps!!

Saturday September 11th, 2010

We had to wake up super early to go snorkeling in the tectonic! We made our hour long journey out to the highlands passing by all the wild sheep.. We had to wear dry suits because the water was SOOOO cold! Your face is the only thing not completely covered and it goes numb within a few seconds of being in the water! After the snorkeling, we got to jump off the rocks into the beautiful blue water..

Me jumping!! See my reflection?

After that our Icelandic guide gave us a little tour of their National Park then it was time to get back to Reykjavik to take naps before our next night out!

Oh I forgot!! I got to see my first glacier that day too here it is!

It's that mountain looking thing in the background.. why is it not white you ask? Because the recent volcano eruption covered it in ash....

Sunday September 12th, 2010

This was our last full day with the guys.. so we decided to see the Golden Circle, which is a tour that includes the National Park (which we already saw), the original Geysir for which all other geysers were named.., and Gullfoss, a large waterfall.. Since taking a bus for this tour would have cost us $82 per person, we decided to use the car the boys rented to take the tour... So I put Gullfoss into the GPS and we were on our way... However, about an hour later, we felt like we were probably lost... The GPS told us to turn down "Unnamed Road", which was probably our first mistake... This road was THE worst road I have ever been on, I mean our car bottomed out at least twice and then we had to go through this rock formation that our car barely fit through... Unfortunately we never got pictures of this part of our trip, but after about an hour, we found a random Icelandic guy and got back on the right road!

Our car on the better road we found...

Random waterfall we found..

The first stop was Geysir.. The original one no longer erupts, so we saw this other one..

Everett and Wold being Japanese tourists in front of the original Geysir

We then made our way to Gullfoss...

After Gullfoss we went back to Reykjavik to dry off (oh did I forget to mention it was raining all day??) and then we went to the base in Keflavik to just hang out for the night.. I got to see my last Icelandic sunset..

That night we made our way back to the hotel when I noticed it was the first clear night we have had since we got there! So I asked if we could drive down a random road to get out of the city lights so we can see the Northern Lights... which we did!! They were faintly green, not as bright as normal because it was not yet that far into the Winter and the lights of Reykjavik were still showing! But nonetheless.. they were beautiful and I was so excited to see them!!

Monday, September 13th, 2010

We woke up, got packed, and sadly said goodbye to our husbands : ( We decided that we wanted to finish our mustache photoshoot around Reykjavik before we had to board the plane back to London... Here is a sampling of what we have..

After the shoot, we quickly got on the bus back to the airport, boarded our plane and after a VERY VERY SCARY flight, we safely made it to London! That was just the first two stages (bus and plane) of our long journey back home, once we made it to London, we had an hour long Tube journey to the train station, then another hour long train ride back to Cambridge, then a 30 minute car ride to Newmarket! Boy was I ready to be home!!!

So there is my trip... sorry not as colorful as normal because I knew I had a lot to cover!! To make up for that I will be posting TOOOONNNS of pictures which I will put the link to on here as soon as I upload them!! Hope you have enjoyed my recap! Come back soon for the link to the pictures!!