Iceland!

Iceland was AMAZING! If Iceland is not already on your bucket list, change it because you need to go! I recommend taking your cousin…only because I had the best time with mine. 😉 So let me tell you all about it!

My cousin, Lisa and I traveled to Iceland on November 23rd through November 28th, short lived but it was the perfect amount of time to stay. Well…I’m lying, we did wish we had one more day to do a glacier hike but too late now! Ya live and ya learn. Lol

Reykjavik (Day One)

 

Reyjavik, Iceland was the cutest little town. It was all decorated for Christmas which immediately put me in a good mood. It was Christmas everywhere! the boutiques, restaurants, coffee shops and even at our hotel. After we trucked our luggage to our hotel, The Exeter, we found a great coffee place called Illy and hit the town for some exploring. We found this really great spot for pictures. Not only was the scenery amazing but there were these cool rock formations that looked like someone individually stacked (pictured above). I’m not sure if someone stacked them like that or it was just some natural phenomena. Who knows? Google probably does.

Golden Circle Tour and Snowmobiling on Langjokull Glacier (Day Two)

 

The Golden Circle Tour was awesome! The waterfall (bottom left) was breathtaking, especially since the mist from the falls made all the rocks and grass around it look like a crystal wonderland. It was freezing near the falls so if you ever go on this tour, wear warm cloths and bring hand and feet warmers! BUNDLE UP, your nose will run…I promise you that. After we saw the falls and some other cool sites, we went snowmobiling. This was by far my favorite part of the vacation. I’ve ALWAYS wanted to try snowmobiling, but snowmobiling on Langjokull Glacier was out of this world! After we got dressed like we were going to Mars (top left), the instructors briefed us on how to operate the snowmobile and off we went. We probably drove for about a half hour to the top of the glacier. Once we were at the top and all the snowmobiles were turned off, all we could hear was the wind and the crunching of the snow beneath our feet. The view was OUT OF THIS WORLD (top right). Pictures do not even do it justice. As we overlooked the horizon, I saw snow covered mountain tops and a pink, blue, and yellow sunset that was beyond beautiful. If your active and enjoy sight-seeing, please don’t skip out on the snowmobiling tour. It was so fun!

Snaefellsjokull Peninsula & Cave Exploration (Day Three)

 

How cute is this little Icelandic horse! So happy we got to see some horses while we were there. They were super cute and friendly. This little guy loved Lisa and took great selfies with us. Such a ham. He ate it up! On day three, we toured the Snaefellsjokull Peninsula, the world-famous black-sand beach called Reynisfjara, and a Lava Cave! The views were all gorgeous but my favorite part on this day was by far the cave. Although it was creepy AF and reminded me of the Decent, it was super cool! The cave was 35 meters down and the upper section had lava statues along the sides of the cave wall that formed when the molten lava dripped from the top of the cave after the volcano had erupted. When we made our way down the spiral staircase (pictured above) to the bottom section, things got super creepy. Our tour guide asked us to turn off all our lights. TOTAL DARKNESS. It was pitch black and all you could hear was water droplets from inside the cave. It was something I will never forget.

The Northern Lights (Day Four)

YES! WE SAW THE NORTHERN LIGHTS! The truth is, I thought they would be more vivid. To the naked eye they looked like a very light greenish haze; however, a professional camera picks up all the colors. If you ever try to see the Northern Lights, make sure you have a professional camera with you and you know how to work it. I had mine but of course I forgot my tripod and didn’t know how to take pictures of them. Lisa wanted to kill me! I had ONE job, to remember the tripod. LOL Lucky for you, I already made this mistake and I now know how to take them. Details below:

Taking Photos of the Northern Lights:

• Turn auto-focus off
• Turn your camera on manual mode
• ISO should be around 1600
• Aperture – 3.5 or the lowest your camera can go
• Shutter Speed – Try anywhere between 5 and 10 seconds (the above picture was taken at 10)
• Tripod – You will NEED a tripod since your lens will be open for about 10 seconds before it actually takes the picture

The Blue Lagoon (Day Five)

The world-famous blue lagoon is a must in Iceland! I will say one thing, it was def HOT. We couldn’t stay in too long because we felt like we were going to get sick. They gave you a complimentary facial mask as well as a drink. We opted out on the drink because we were so full and puffy from the trip we felt like we were going to explode. We ate like we were on death row. Not kidding. I gained 6 lbs in five days. YOLO I guess, right?

The Food

 

I didn’t take a lot of pictures of the food but I had to add a little blurb about it because it was that delicious! we didn’t have one bad meal. Although it was very pricy, it was well worth it. I had the best gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwich of my life! It was 1900 ISK Icelandic dollars which was equivalent to around $19.99. Very expensive for a classic PB&J but worth every penny! Just Imagine smooth peanut butter, jelly, and Nutella smushed between warm Icelandic potato bread topped with roasted marshmallows. It melted in your mouth and was the greatest dessert I have had in a long time. The first night we stumbled upon the cutest little Italian restaurant and had a great pasta dish as well. The champagne we downed on the last day was so crisp and fresh, you couldn’t just have one glass.

I hope you enjoyed reading all about my trip! It was truly an amazing adventure. If you have any questions, please email me! 🙂

 

xoxo,

Amanda