Ice Ice Baby! 4 days in Iceland day 2

[thebig40]

Day 2 - The Golden Circle

After a very comfortable nights sleep we were all up, showered (in the vaguely unpleasant eggy smelling water) and wrapped up very warm we set off to the main hotel for breakfast. The breakfasts were served in the main hotel building just a few minutes walk away, the hotel restaurant was lovely, it had a large glass extension and was all lit up with lots of candles and fairy lights. There were freshly made waffles, bacon, scrambled eggs and baked beans, fresh fruit, croissants, cereals and skyr, the Icelandic yoghurt stuff - delicious. They also had bottles of fizz which was a nice tough and would probably have cost about £10 a glass if you were buying it

After a large tasty breakfast we set off to the bus stop for our Golden Circle day trip we we would visit waterfalls and bubbling mud. I have a degree in physical geography so absolutely love this sort of stuff - the geography nerd in me was very excited

We arrived at the bus depot and transferred to the larger bus and set out on a tour. We were headed to Pingvellir first, the seat of Icelandic government and where you can see two tectonic plates pulling apart.

The scenery from the coach was very other, there is not much greenery and it all looks very different to the Kent hills we are used to. Very beautiful though.

We had a good wander around and of course had to take the obligatory photos of us jumping in-between the American Plate and the Eurasian Plate.

We were really lucky with the weather again today, it was a gorgeous sunny day, chilly but great for photos!

We walked down through the tectonic plates and had a general wander before heading back to the coach to go to the Golden Waterfall, Gullfoss.

We arrived and could immediately see a cloud of mist from the waterfall blowing over the gorge. The kids ran off for a better view and we followed after layering up again to keep warm. The views were very impressive and as we walked further down the gorge you realise the waterfall is far larger than you'd first seen, it falls over several levels - really breathtaking.

We stayed here for ages, taking photos from every conceivable angle and viewpoint and just enjoying the scenery, it really is gorgeous. We then had a wander around the gift shop and paid about £1 each to go to the loo! Back on the coach we had our lunch on the go. I'd brought sealed brioche rolls, crisps, nuts, dried fruit bars and biscuits with us from home as I didn't know what the food choices would be and my kids can be really fussy! I'm glad we did, partly because I was being tight and a ham roll was about £9, but also because much of the food was on seeded bread or rye bread and no way would mine have eaten that We spent about £16 on 4 cans of coke and a bottle of water. Bargain!

We then headed off to see the Geysir, that all geysers are names after. This was really impressive, Geysir itself doesn't erupt anymore after an earthquake but its smaller brother Stokkur still erupts every few minutes which is really impressive, although my DD was rather scared at first and ran off!

We bought the obligatory magnet from the gift shop and then headed back to Reykjavik. After a brief stop in the apartment we went into town and headed towards the harbour in search of fish and chips. We went to a restaurant that had been recommended to us, Icelandic Fish and Chips. It was very tasty, fresh cod in a really light batter rather than the thick stuff we tend to have a home. There were no chips either, instead there were small cubed potatoes. All very tasty but rather small portions for the approx £70 we paid. DH did have a beer though which was around £9. DS was especially unimpressed as he felt it was too small for a growing boy! We headed further into the harbour to find an ice cream parlour I'd read about and we all had an ice cream before heading back to the apartment. It was nice to get an early night as we'd walked over 7 miles today and had had 2 very full on but fantastic days.

[Geordieprincess]

Thanks for sharing, looking forward to reading the next couple of days - we've booked to go May half term with our 12 and 8 year olds - no northern lights but (almost) midnight sun.

[mrsdjh]

I don’t like the idea of smelly water but I have read about that so at least Ill be prepared!

The Golden Circle tour is on our list.

Food and drink is expensive isn't it but I'm sure the trip will be worth it.

[thebig40]

Originally Posted by mrsdjh

I don’t like the idea of smelly water but I have read about that so at least Ill be prepared!

The Golden Circle tour is on our list.

Food and drink is expensive isn't it but I'm sure the trip will be worth it.

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The smelly water is bizarre, I washed my hands several times confused as to why they smelt before I realised it was the water! You get used to it though.

It is expensive, you just have to ignore it though or it will ruin the trip for you. We did gulp several times over out time there when you pay over £20 for a pizza

The Golden Circle is great - you'll have a brilliant time.

[kevin_cambs_uk]

We did the golden circle and your report makes me want to go back!

Thanks for sharing

[Goldia]

Wow the photos look amazing. What a great day.

[thebig40]

Originally Posted by Geordieprincess

Thanks for sharing, looking forward to reading the next couple of days - we've booked to go May half term with our 12 and 8 year olds - no northern lights but (almost) midnight sun.

See more...

You'll have a great time!
Enjoy, love the idea of the midnight sun!

[thebig40]

Originally Posted by kevin_cambs_uk

We did the golden circle and your report makes me want to go back!

Thanks for sharing

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Thanks for reading!

[sparrow]

Gosh yes I forgot about that weird smell. I must admit at the time I thought it was just our hotel.

[Glee Fan]

Which tour company did you book with?

I've been researching but there's so many it's difficult to choose which one to book!

Some fantastic photo's, not too sure my dh would be impressed by the small portions either so maybe we'll give that place a miss!