So far we've been to the Blue Lagoon, the glaciers near Vik, and Skogafoss, to Kirkjubaejarkaustur, the lava cliffs near Akureyri, in and around Akranes and Borgarnes, to the "Golden Circle" with the Geysers and waterfalls, we went inland to race around looking for the Northern Lights (for hours and hours), the geothermal baths at Laugarvtn Fontana, the Strokkar geyser, and one of my favorites, the Pingvellir National Park, standing between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. We also hit the Skogafoss waterfalls, the Myrdalsjokull glacier, and the rock formations and black sand beaches of Reynisdrangar, near Vik.
I've eaten lovely Plaice, Cod, Rainbow Trout, Arctic char and Salmon. All pretty much perfectly prepared. I also snuck in one magnificent burger at the Geiri Smart Restaurant adjacent to the Canopy Hilton Hotel, where we are staying.
I spent yesterday and today walking around the city and just relaxing. Now I start the odious regime of packing for tomorrow's way too early flights home.
We have one more event. We're doing a farewell dinner at the restaurant in the hotel. The same place we had our welcome dinner and that was superb. I'll say one thing about this particular tour, every meal that's been included on our itinerary has been absolutely first class.
I'm steeling myself for our return as we're traveling through two airports acknowledged to be among the worst of the major airports for international travel: KEF and JFK. By tomorrow night I'll be back at the center of the universe, Austin, Texas.
I can hardly wait to see Studio Dog and the rest of the crew. I can only afford gifts for one family member so I guess I'll be out looking for species appropriate souvenirs for the dog...... (kidding, just kidding --- maybe...).
If you go to Iceland I can advise you to bring along a camera. There's a lot of stuff to photograph...
Prices? Not nearly as bad as everyone says. About on par with Austin or San Francisco. Your mileage will vary depending on your tastes...
5 comments:
Today was interesting from a weather perspective. 30 degrees Farenheit with wind gust to 48 kph. It's a good idea to have a wind resistant coat and some nice gloves. Makes the photography more comfortable.
You may not find the prices bad by comparison( & of course it is all relevant to what you spend on [e.g. a beer, a burger etc.], your income & what you would normally pay at home) but as a Scot I don't find the US (& certainly Austin) cheap these days other than for gas & soda ...
A nice fish or steak dinner in Austin at a top flight restaurant will run on about $60 for food and figure on another $15 to $20 per wine by the glass. Add a 20% tip and tax and you're probably talking about $100 for a great dinner. I had a fresh rainbow trout dish with a sweet potato puree and fresh grilled vegetables and a glass of decent wine here in Reykjavik and my total was under $50. It is contextual but getting more and more universally standardized as I experience more travel. Yes, you can still get a cheap burger and beer in a crusty hole in the wall for a fraction of the price. Even cheaper if you willing to go someplace like McDonalds. But why be relatively affluent and then eat like crap?
I probably am spoiled about eating out, but here in Madrid, Spain a very nice midday lunch could be 15€ - 25 top with a good wine. And I had an outstanding 1-star Michelin dinner experience, with wines, for around 80€ just one year ago. So I suspect that average income should be quite higher of what I think in Texas... If you come around here, check out. And thanks for the comments about m34 system, I appreciate it.
I spent two weeks in Madrid back in the early 2000's. Love the Prado. Hated the bus strike. Loved the food, generally hated the (lack of) service. I hope all the bad stuff changed and the good stuff stayed the same. We had a hell of a time pulling off a good corporate event there because the temporary staff was so hard to work with. Maybe 2008, 2009 changed that.... Still, I like Madrid a lot and I'm planning to be back in neighborhood next year when I head back to Lisbon.
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