OT - A trip to the "Land of Fire and Ice" this is what I am doing and eating

jollygreenegg

Awesome pics!  Reykjavik has some cool street art, if you're into that.

Sea2Ski

Little Steven said:

See the lights? Kinda late in the year for the full display.

Nope. It has been cloudy most of the time since we got here.  We have a few more nights, so let's hope!

jonnymack

Awesome thread. Love the pics!!

northGAcock

Sea2Ski said:

Little Steven said:

See the lights? Kinda late in the year for the full display.

Nope. It has been cloudy most of the time since we got here.  We have a few more nights, so let's hope!

Sending good Karma your way.

blind99

Wow -- even the cell phone pix are incredible!  thanks for sharing, very cool trip

Sea2Ski

Thanks everyone. While the weather has been less than the best, we are still having a great time.

We got started at a little cafe in town. A  croissant with a single piece of cheese and ham, and a hot chocolate while my wife got the same thing but with coffee for the low price of about $26 dollars. 



We then wondered about town.....


Lunch was lobster soup at the Seabaron with a beer:




That did not fill me up, so off to get a hotdog at a place which is allegedly the most famous hotdog  vendor in Europe.  It was nothing special....


So what do you do next?  Get a mid-afternoon snack because you are on vacation...


Did some more walking...


Then went to dinner (sorry for the low light pictures - fancier place than the hotdog stand)

"Christmas soup": goose leg, water cress, clove and  Portobello mushroom 


Main was Raindeer with pork belly. It came served over mashed potatoes, marinated red cabbage, and a poached granny smith apple with a glass of Cotes du Rhone


No northern lights again tonight. Still overcast. Oh well, still having a great time!

Little Steven

That bouillabaisse or fish soup looks amazing. Did it have turmeric?

Sea2Ski

Little Steven said:

That bouillabaisse or fish soup looks amazing. Did it have turmeric?

It did have turmeric!  How did you know?!?!?
Damn....

Little Steven

Colour. Bouillabaisse has saffron which makes a more orange broth. Figured it was either curry powder or turmeric. Didn't figure curry powder would be real popular there.

northGAcock

Sea2Ski said:

Thanks everyone. While the weather has been less than the best, we are still having a great time.

We got started at a little cafe in town. A  croissant with a single piece of cheese and ham, and a hot chocolate while my wife got the same thing but with coffee for the low price of about $26 dollars. 



We then wondered about town.....

Wow....some beautiful pictures Mark. Love the translation. This is largely how I speak Spanish. Example....Jacket would be El Jakki. 

saluki2007

northGAcock said:

Sea2Ski said:

Thanks everyone. While the weather has been less than the best, we are still having a great time.

We got started at a little cafe in town. A  croissant with a single piece of cheese and ham, and a hot chocolate while my wife got the same thing but with coffee for the low price of about $26 dollars. 



We then wondered about town.....

Wow....some beautiful pictures Mark. Love the translation. This is largely how I speak Spanish. Example....Jacket would be El Jakki. 

Taka burt buxurnar og jakka

Legume

that church looks like it's made of legos, very cool

Sea2Ski

Been busy!! Yesterday we went and picked up our friends from England at the airport and we went right toto the Blue Lagoon where the water is a comfortable 100F (+\- 3 F).  Think of a big hot tub where the water is flushed every 40 hours, which is the size of a small lake/ really large pond.  It was a good time.  After having several drinks there, we grabbed something to eat. 
I was going to get something more common, but our friend wanted whale.  I did not want to order it, but since he did and offered me a piece, we ended up splitting an order. 

The dish:




We then then split the Meat Feast":




Not really a feast by any means.  The waiter said it was for 3-4 people.  We looked at each other when it came and we knew it was not going to be enough for the two of us. We ate it all.

Then we went shopping. The conversion we have been using: take the price, move the decimal over one spot to the right, and deduct 20%. So $8 for a box of cereal:


Today I went snorkeling (yep - in Iceland) in what is commonly accepted "clearest water in the world".  150 meter visibility. It was insane how clear it was. I was going to dive it, but after doing research, went with the snorkeling option. 






We also stopped at a few more waterfalls. Here are three pictures I have not yet edited.






Tonight's dinner was lamb tenderloin with root vegitables.


Although the weather has has been warmer and more rainy for this time of the year than what is "normal", we are making memories that will last forever. That is what vacation is all about to me! 

Wolfpack

I love trying the local dishes. So how was the whale and horse? 

Elijah

Love this thread. Hope you are having a great time. 

Sea2Ski

Elijah said:

Love this thread. Hope you are having a great time. 

Yes, we are having a great time.  Weather has been less than good, but we all know you can not control it. Making lemonade from the lemon.

Wolfpack said:

I love trying the local dishes. So how was the whale and horse? 

The horse tasted like beef in a hay marinade, then rubbed and aged in hay for 30 days. There was no doubt the animal was not grain fed. It was sliced like a thick lunchmeat.  Texture exactly like beef. 

The whale was the first time I personally have had a bit of issue eating anything. I think all the "save the whales" and planet earth shows I have watched. Who can not marvel at an animal like that?   But when I tasted it - wow was it good!  It had all the best qualities of beef, and all the best qualities of fish put together.  Texture like rare beef and favor of a really rich fish, and heavy like a swordfish steak.  It was not flaky at all. 

The puffin I had last night was very strong. You could tell it lived in a marine environment and had a marine diet.  Not at all like chicken. Almost like venison. 




Yesterday we we went into a glacier.  Truck got stuck and we were on it for 4.5 hours instead of 2.  It was an experience. All those pictures are still on the good camera. 

nolaegghead

dama ilmur

Nice post

JohnH12

The Blue Lagoon...
I made several deployments to Iceland during my time in the Navy. We were based out of Keflavik but had several opportunities to see the area.
Not to be a Debbie Downer but the Blue Lagoon is the one place I refused to go. It's famous for the "healing" waters so many with terrible skin diseases are attracted to it. Just what I want to do: Swim with all the nasty stuff flowing through the lagoon.
The rest of Iceland has some magnificent views that some were able to take advantage of.
The prices didn't exactly fit my poor Sailor's budget back in those days.

JohnInCarolina

I had somehow missed this thread the first time it came around.  Whoa!  Guess the wife and I need to plan an Iceland trip!

gmac

@JohnInCarolina we are looking at June 19 if you wanna come along...