Lots of Ice in Iceland!

Don't believe what everyone says- Iceland is not green (at least not in March) but it is beautiful.  We flew into nothing, there is no city within about 40 minutes of the airport and all you see is snow.  It is strange and beautiful.  Our apartment for the weekend is right in the middle of town- walking distance to cafes, bars (which don't get going until well after midnight), art galleries and amazing shops.  As seems to be usual for us, our time is short here, only about 2 1/2 days but we are making the most of it.

Friday night we spent the early evening wandering and enjoying the first snow we've seen in a long while and once the bars opened up we checked out a few local places.  Much of the music here is top 40 dance type stuff but we somehow wandered into a place called 'The Factory' and saw a performance by 'Of Monsters and Men.'  It was some of the best music I've seen in a long time.  They have a sound similar to lots of Seattle bands right now- 'Hey Marseilles,' 'Fleet Foxes,' maybe even a little 'Blind Pilot'- they were amazing (Jack if you are reading this you need to come here and sign them!).

Saturday we slept in and then wandered into a vintage kitchen shop and found the biggest collection of original Pyrex and french glassware I've ever seen!  As most of you know, I am a sucker for anything kitchen related so we picked up a few pieces to remind us of our trip once we get home.  I've been daydreaming of the dinner parties we will host once we get back to Seattle and get settled.

In the center of Reykjavik is a beautiful church up on a hill with a statue of Leif Erickson (a Norse Explorer regarded as the first European to land to land in North America about 500 years before Columbus) out front.  To get a better view of the city we took the lift to the top of the tower.  We also had some of the BEST fish and chips I've ever had, fried wolf fish caught out in the bay this morning and onion rings in a spelt and barley batter.

Sunday was a quiet day- we wandered through the National Museum and the snow covered parks, one of which has a geothermal pond to keep the geese and ducks of the city warm.  Iceland is such an easy place to travel to, only about a  4 hour flight from New York and I know we'll make it back here to see more, hopefully in the Summer when it is a bit warmer.

Our last morning we woke up early and headed to the Blue Lagoon.  The Blue Lagoon is an outdoor thermal pool set into a lava field out in the middle of nowhere.  We were surrounded by rocks and snow and swam around in the warm water for hours before heading to the airport to fly to New York City!!

It is a bit surreal to be back in the USA- catching up with friends and visiting with family. We'll be in New York for the next week, then heading up to visit Sky's family up north in Connecticut and Maine, then back to New York to take a train to Chicago to visit some of my family.  These are trips we have always wanted to take and I am so thrilled we are taking them now!

There will be more updates soon as we travel the eastcoast- miss you and love you all.

xoxo
Kaitlyn