Saturday, June 27, 2015

Lady's Birthday Adventure - Part One

I had originally planned to go to my number one dream location Russia (childhood obsession with the Kremlin), however given the political instability there decided to move to number two on the list which was . . . . . . . .


Iceland

People are always shocked to hear that Iceland was number 2, but it has been for at least a decade (so it isn't just a Game of Thrones obsession or anything). After 10 days there, it is now my dream place to move to. (The Man is rolling his eyes as I have told him and everyone I know since my return that I would give up my life - except my dogs - and move there. I have even looked for a job there!)

I hope I can share with you all the reasons I loved it so much in the coming weeks, but before we get to that, a little about our trip.

A bit about Iceland - about 325 000 people call it home. 200 000 of them live near the capital in Reykjavik. The sheep outnumber the residents.  This year it is estimated they will have 1 million tourists. This is probably good for the economy that was really impacted by the global recession in 2008.  The country is clean,  the water is amazing, but it is a pricy place to visit. 

We had 10 days and slept in 9 different places. We slept in all kinds of other places (I will do a post just on that later).

We (by we I mean the Man) drove the ring road counter clockwise around the island. We drove about 2700 km in those 10 days.  Our GPS  only tried to kill us a few times by taking us on roads suited only for 4 wheel drives (called F roads) or having us drive where no road could be found. 

Food: I can't eat gluten and shouldn't eat too much dairy. As both bread and dairy are huge staples in the Icelandic diet, I was good with gluten but ate dairy. I also ate a LOT of lamb - 8/10 nights it was my dinner. Thank goodness it is one of my favourites as neither the Man nor I eat fish and when you take out gluten in these tiny, tiny communities it doesn't leave much left.  I have never had lamb that tasted soooooo good! Skyr - a yogurt/cream type product is excellent - but I only ate a little of that. 

24 hours of daylight: I could still sleep but I can almost always sleep, so that isn't a surprise and I use a sleep mask all the time which probably helped. I am also a vivid dream and the side effect of the daylight I think was I had extra vivid and crazy dreams. The Man, who isn't as vivid a dreamer had the same thing happen. 

I will share more about the trip next Saturday, where I will feature, places I slept and I think week 3 will be wildlife adventures, and we will go from there! 

For now, here is my favourite picture, I think it looks like a painting. 




21 comments:

  1. Hari OM
    ....24 hours sun for about two months of the year.... don't forget the polar night follows!!! I can understand the attraction though. Truly wild open spaces still, with low population, is all to the good. It is wonderful to feel so inspired! YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would never have thought Iceland but it sure is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. OH MY DOGS WHAT A WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY TRIP. I CAN SURELY UNDERSTAND YOUR INFATUATION WITH ICELAND. MY HUMAN SIS HAS A FRIEND WHO IS A NATIVE IF ICELAND

    MOM ALWAYS WANTED TO GO TO ALASKA ....NO ONE UNDERSTOOD WHY. BUT THANKFULLY DAD WAS UP FOR THE TRIP SO THAT IS WHERE THEY SPENT THEIR 35TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY IN 2005. THEY LEFT ME FOR 11 DAYS BUT I HAVE AN EXCELLENT PET SITTER SO I WAS FINE AND EVEN GAINED A FEW OUNCES
    WE AR LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE PHOTOS
    HUGS MADI AND MOM

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! Ghostwriter has always wanted to go to Iceland. Ever since she learned about it in first grade (back when dinosaurs walked the Earth!) We're so glad you got to go there! Yes, that photo should be framed!

    ReplyDelete
  5. OMD that picture is drop down Gorgeous!!!! We are Thrilled to see and hear about ICELAND.... we can't WAIT for MORE.... THIS is going to be SOOOOOOO exciting....

    ReplyDelete
  6. That photo really does look like a painting........it's almost surreal looking. Iceland must be incredible out of the main cities - the landscapes are amazing. Glad you had a wonderful trip!

    Pam

    ReplyDelete
  7. Iceland has been on HER list since SHE was in 4th grade (probably shortly after Iceland was discovered) and HER teacher had loads of books about it. Sounds like a great trip.

    Sheep outnumbering people....try New Zealand next!

    ReplyDelete
  8. How exciting! Momma's traveled a lot but never been to Iceland. It sounds amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a fascinating trip to take, can't wait to hear more about it
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow, can't wait to read about your adventure. It's not really a place I've thought of going to but I'm sure the scenery was just gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Mum has a Dutch friend who has just been to Iceland. She fell in love with it too. It must be a special place. We can't wait to see and hear more. That photo is beautiful. More sheep than people, aye?? I'd like it there. I could chase the sheep.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Iceland is #1 on my Mommy's list of countries to visit! She is so very jealous and can't wait to hear more about your trip.
    Oh and how was Haily and Zaphod while you were gone?

    ReplyDelete
  13. WOW!!! What a great place to go!!!!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

    ReplyDelete
  14. That is a really great picture! Sure does look like a painting.

    ReplyDelete
  15. So jealous! What an amazing place to go!

    ReplyDelete
  16. We can't wait for every piece of your travelogue. Such an interesting place to visit.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow, what a cool place to take a vacation!

    ReplyDelete
  18. We went to Iceland for our honeymoon. <3 We didn't do the ring road, that sounds amazing! Can't wait to hear more about your trip & especially see more pictures. :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. This sounds absolutely gorgeous, I can't wait to hear more!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi hi hi! Ojo here! Iceland??? What is THAT??? Crazy! But it looks like there was snow, so we'd say it's a pretty pawesome choice! (Lamb is pawesome too!) Welcome back! Share more photos!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for reading and leaving us a comment. We love your comments!