To celebrate our 9 year wedding anniversary, Josh and I took a trip to Iceland.
The first thing that everyone asked once they heard we were going to Iceland is "Why?". Well, ever since I have known Josh, he has wanted to go to Iceland (mainly to take pictures). And for those of you who know me well and know how much I love reality TV, can understand my excitement when I discovered a 4-day "Bachelorette" package to Iceland. The package (which contained a lot of activities we wanted to do) coupled with a non-stop flight convinced us that this was the perfect trip.
We had a great time exploring the country and being true tourists for a few days. Although we thoroughly enjoyed our little break away, I was excited to head home and see my kiddos - they were definitely missed!
A huge thank you to Ferryboat Grandma for watching the kids and dog while we were gone - definitely the best anniversary gift ever!!
-Day One-
After a 7 hour flight, we landed in Iceland at 6:30 a.m. Unfortunately, neither Josh or I was able to sleep on the plane so once we got checked into our hotel, we took a quick nap and then headed out to check out the town of Reykjavik.
The Church of HallgrÃmurThis Lutheran church is 244 feet tall and took 38 years to build. Definitely a sight to see!
Views of Reykjavik from the observation deck at the top of the church
Voted as the 'Best Hot Dog in Europe'Josh and I didn't necessarily agree. The hot dogs tasted a bit odd and were served on a bun with french fried onions, raw onions, a sweet ketchup, brown mustard and mayonnaise - very interesting!
We were surprised by the amount of graffiti we saw on buildings throughout the town.
Our package included dinner at this awesome restaurant.
We had pan fried lobster tails and scallop with chorizo, butternut and orange hollandaise - it was delicious! This was the same restaurant and meal that Ali and one of the boys had during their visit to Iceland :)
The kids helped us clean out the pumpkins but then Josh and I got down to business and started carving. In keeping with tradition, Josh worked on Abi's pumpkin and I worked on Brady's.
Josh carved the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland for Abi
...and B got Curious George!
Miss Alice and I
Daddy and the little monkey
Our monkey got a bit tired so it was a good thing we had some candy to keep him occupied for the last few trick-or-treating stops!
My favorite picture!
Alice in Wonderland
Excited for her Halloween class party
Making ghost necklaces
Pondering all the carving possibilities
This was my viewpoint for most of the evening - chasing Brady through the halls of the preschool.
Views of Reykjavik from the observation deck at the top of the church
Voted as the 'Best Hot Dog in Europe'
We were surprised by the amount of graffiti we saw on buildings throughout the town.
We had pan fried lobster tails and scallop with chorizo, butternut and orange hollandaise - it was delicious! This was the same restaurant and meal that Ali and one of the boys had during their visit to Iceland :)
Although it is hard to see, if you look at the bottom left hand corner of the picture, you can see a fish jumping out of the water. Talk about timing, huh?
Standing in the parking lot, it looked like we were standing on Mars, rather than in Iceland.
The lava rocks, which are covered by moss, surround the walkway that led up to the lagoon.
We learned that the low levels of chlorine in Icelandic pools equals high levels of hygiene. This means that if you want to swim in the pools, you have to wash yourself naked in an open shower room before getting in. Although the diagram at each pool differs, the sign identifies five areas that you are required to wash before getting in the pool. If the sign is not reminder enough, there are also "shower monitors" who stand guard and make sure protocol is correctly followed.
One of the steam baths built into the lava rock - it was HOT!
