We Made it to Iceland! (Aug.19, 2022)

We landed in Iceland around 8 am and I was tired but happy to be there.

It was a nice, smooth, uneventful flight which is just how I like them.

Well thank you Lundi!

I've not seen an airport like this one before, there was a big long hall with all the gates but no seating anywhere.

Lots of pretty shots of Iceland though.

This must be Blue Lagoon - looks amazing.

It's one of the places I hope to get to while we are here.

Cool mural in the main part of the airport.

Found the exit to Iceland.

Here we go!

The first thing we needed to do was figure out our car rental situation.

We couldn't find the confirmation email from when we'd booked it but we did have an email from the company on another matter so we at least knew the name of the rental company.

Also we were supposed to pick it yesterday so we were a day late so we it was kind of a long shot but we figured we'd give it a try.

We found a guy holding up a sign in the car rental area with the rental company's name on it, we kind of explained our situation to him and he said to come with him and talk to the manager.

So we hopped on his shuttle and took it over to the car rental place.

Some of my first views of Iceland - leaving the airport.

They were able to find out reservation but since we were a day late he had to give us a different vehicle which he said was an upgrade so it was more expensive.

If it was an upgrade I would have hated to see what they were going to give us!

It was a car brand that I've never heard of before, a Dacia Duster.

It was a standard and not in the best shape but whatever.

It'll work.

We just wanted to get to our VRBO and have a nap at that point.

Heading to Reykjavik from the airport.

We were driving along the ocean.

The sun was starting to come out.

I don't think I've ever seen terrain like this before - it was really neat.

I think that is Reykjavik off in the distance there.

Just getting into the city.

We found our VRBO no problem, got settled in, unpacked then had a nap.

I was feeling worried because the marathon is tomorrow and I should be trying to get more rest this week but instead I'm missing out on sleep.

I didn't sleep a wink last night.

Not much I can do about it though at this point.

We napped all afternoon then we we got up, we went to find the expo to pick up our race packs.

I was expecting a whole bag of goodies which is what I've gotten at every other run that I've entered but all we got were bibs.

The race course.

How to line up at the start line.

I guess you are supposed to put yourself in the section you think applies.

I'll be near the back!

Where the start line actually is.

We checked out the vendors at the expo briefly but we were hungry so we headed downtown to find something to eat.

We had picked a spot and put it in the GPS but when we got downtown some of the roads were closed off in preparation for the marathon tomorrow so we couldn't go the way the GPS was instructing.

Instead we found some underground parking then just walked around until we found a place that looked interesting.

This place looked as good as any and the reviews were good so that's where we went.

Messinn Seafood Restaurant.

It was kind of downstairs but it felt cozy.

I love all the beams on the ceiling.

I liked all the plants and the decor as well.

That old hook looks so cool.

We shared a bowl of the lobster soup that seems to be a popular dish here in Iceland and it was good.

It came with fresh bread which of course was also delicious.

I mean, who doesn't like warm, fresh bread with butter?

I wanted to try something 'Icelandic' so I opted for the Icelandic Plokkfiskur.

It had all these ingredients and it was really good but the best part was that rye bread that came with it.

It wasn't like any other rye bread that I've had before, it was dense and sweet and moist.

OMG - I loved it.

Jason went with the Seafood Pasta.

It had all kinds of goodies in it and it was delicious as well.

Their currency here is the Icelandic Krona.

The exchange was pretty easy actually, the 3.590kr for this dish was approximately equal to $35.90 Canadian dollars.

After we ate, we just explored around a bit.

This is right outside of the restaurant where we ate in downtown Reykjavik

They were setting up for the marathon tomorrow.

Some cool looking trees in a park nearby.

It was a bit drizzly and the grass looked electric green.

This gorgeous green space was right downtown.

I like the look of the sidewalks, very pretty.

There was also a nice little pond/lake downtown.

From the map I had we could tell that the starting line was going to be right around this area tomorrow.

It took us a bit but we did eventually figure out exactly where we needed to be in the morning which I felt good about.

There won't be any fuss about that in the morning, we'll know right where to come to.

Just a few of the buildings downtown.

I like the detail work on this house.

This is where the Finish line is actually going to be tomorrow.

So nervous and excited - just want it to hurry up and get here now.

We stopped at a grocery store on our way back to our place because I wanted bananas and bagels for the morning.

We could find any bagels so I had to settle for some buns.

When we got back to our place, we went to bed right away to try to get rested for the morning.

I did finish reading the rest of my book (American Dirt) first - it was such a good book, a real page turner.

It turns out that I didn't get in any workouts this week except for one on Monday.

My groin is still sore so I'm not sure how tomorrow is going to go but I put all the work in so I'm not giving up now.

I'm just going to give it my best shot and whatever happens, happens.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!

And We Are Off To Iceland, Finally! (Aug.18, 2022)

 Our flight was leaving Edmonton at noon so we got up and ready to go early.

We like to be there in plenty of time.

Saying good-bye to Freya was tough, she was crying saying that she wanted to come with us.

I can't wait for the day that we can start taking her travelling with us.

We are going to miss her so much and we are also missing her birthday on Aug.22 which is a bummer but we'll be back before you know it.

We did end up getting another delay notification for 12:30 and we thought "Oh No, here we go again", but that was the only one we got.

We got to the airport in plenty of time so after we go

t through security we went and got something to eat at Chili's which seems to be our go to place at Edmonton Airport.

I was checking out the quick root job I did on myself.

I can see some grey there in the back there so not the best job but it's covered in the front where it counts so I'm happy with that.

Pretty excited to be heading out to Iceland finally.

We were both excited.

Jason had a chicken strip salad.

I had the quesadilla explosion salad - I've had it before and it's really good.

Afterwards we stopped by the bookstore and had a look around.

A friend of mine on Facebook highly recommended this book and I was in the mood for reading so I wanted to pick it up and give it a go.

I'm writing this after the fact so just to update - I started reading this book on the plane and I loved it.

It grabs your attention right away, I could barely put it down.

I ended up reading most of it on the two flights and finished it in the evening at our VRBO in Iceland.

I highly recommend it.

This book looked interesting to me as well so I took a picture just to remind myself to look for it at a later date.

We were off to Montreal right at 12:30 and arrived there at 7 pm.

Our connecting to Iceland wasn't until 11 pm so we had some time to spare.

We went to a restaurant to grab a bite to eat - I like all the pink they had in their decor.

Jason had a smoked meat poutine.

I had a burger and fries.

We also shared a chocolate lava cake for dessert.

It was yummy, very rich.

There was a grand piano just outside of the restaurant and this young kid stopped and played a few tunes.

He was really good.

Our flight to Iceland left right on time.

It was the red eye so I was hoping to get some sleep but that didn't happen (it never does).

The flight was pretty good, a tiny bit of turbulence but nothing too scary.

They even fed us a meal too which I've not seen in a plane forever.

We landed in Iceland at 8 am so I'll leave off here for today and pick back up there for my next post.

I do have a few more pictures to share though that I found on Jason's phone.

He's taken them various times over the last couple weeks.

Freya trying out bikes at Walmart.

The one she finally chose.

We bought it for her for her birthday.

Taking it out for a spin for the first time.

Playing around in the back of the car while we were packing to head out on a trip.

She fell asleep almost immediately.

Trying out her wings and unicorn horn headband.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!