Down south in Iceland

Our last couple of nights were spent down south in a place called Hvolsvollur. I can't believe we've driven (and by we, I mean Mike) over 1000 kms this past week. Just like the old days!

Some random things I've noticed about Iceland:
- the men are very tall - the place we stayed in Arnarstapi had the towel hooks and the shampoo rack so high I couldn't reach it when I jumped! So maybe the women are tall too? Didn't notice.
- prices to eat out are high - as expected. Main courses can be $40-$50 or more! Cocktails seemed to be about $20/pop (I'm generalizing but still). Groceries are a lot more affordable.
- supposedly liquor prices are high too, although we never went into their liquor stores to check, instead opting to buy our supplies for the week at the airport upon arrival. I'd read that you should load up in the duty free store (why it's so much cheaper there, I don't know) and sure enough, wine was only $15-20/bottle.
- I did see a couple of strollers parked outside restaurants but no babies were in them. Is this a myth?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21537988

So how was travel with a baby? Well, it certainly wasn't the same as before, although she was pretty good the whole trip since we drove a lot and she always sleeps in the car. The nighttime sleeping still isn't great (at home and away) and there were some sights that I missed because I was feeding her, but on the whole, it worked out well. Who knew one small baby would require 3 adults to take care of her? Where should we go next?! :) Perhaps to bed for a nap.

Hit some spots on the Golden Circle (tourist route that links a few sights) as we drove down south. This is in Thingvellir and shows the continental drift between the North American and Eurasian plates. Whoa!

Some Icelandic ponies outside of our accommodation.

Seljalandsfoss waterfall

Skogafoss waterfall 

Black sand everywhere

Ah, not for you Nessie.

Ate out the last night in celebration of Kathy's birthday. This cod was delicious! 

Mike's lamb

Requisite stop at the Blue Lagoon. It was great there although I did expect it to be a bit bigger. The pictures always make it look bigger than it is (for some reason, I was picturing more of a Lost Lagoon sized hot spring). 

Home!

Leaving Reykjavik and moving north to Snæfellsnes Peninsula

We missed some of Culture Night (free shows and street performances) in lieu of naps back at the airbnb unit but managed to make it out later for a bite and to catch the fireworks. What a show! The fireworks were so close to us, it was actually a bit freaky.

We also got a couple of 4 hour stretches of sleep that night...since Nanny took Vanessa and only brought her in when she needed to eat. Brilliant! Still have some work to do on the sleeping front though...

We headed north after Reykjavik. We saw lots of rain although it usually managed to clear up when we got out of the car so the timing was great!

Streets of Reykjavik

Busy Culture Night!

What a great name for a speed dating organization!

Found a cute place for a little snack...opted not to try the puffin and whale though! Umm...gotta draw the line somewhere! 

So many performances everywhere.

Not sure how Mike could see out the back!

Made it to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Found the hiking trail from Arnarstapi to Hellar.  

Teaching Nessie that it's great when there is a cafe at the end of the trail!

The cafe 

Very picturesque

Delicious fish and chips ($31!!)

Baby on a black sand beach

Our beach house, another airbnb win. 

Complete with hot tub in the back. 

Very quiet around since there weren't too many other houses. 

Snaefellsjokull glacier in the background.

Reykjavik, Iceland

We made it here! This was our first plane ride with Nessie and it went off without a hitch. I'm not saying it was super comfortable the whole time (baby V sprawled across our laps caused some uncomfortable leg and back pain during the flight and we delayed bathroom trips to let her sleep) but it went pretty well. Icelandair did the job and got us here but it's definitely not a luxury airline...you have to bring your own food on board or chance that they don't run out of food for purchase (apparently this happens sometimes). 

We had a few hiccups upon arrival though...the first car we got was a joke and we also forgot one piece of luggage at the airport, meaning Mike had to drive the 45 minutes back to pick it up. 

The car...I booked all of the accommodation for the trip and let Mikie handle the car rental and I didn't ask who he booked with until we arrived in Keflavik airport. When he said 'Sadcars', I should have known that we weren't getting some super swanky car, although one with working brakes would have been nice. We returned the first car after 10 minutes of driving since the brakes were pretty shoddy. Our upgrade had working brakes but I can't say too many other good things. It's a Toyoto Corolla from the early 90s with 350,000 kms on it and trying to fit our luggage inside was fun! I don't know how we'll do it tomorrow since we're moving north and we've got that extra piece of luggage now. I have new appreciation for Budget or Avis cars!

We've been pretty busy already... hiked in Reykjadalur valley yesterday to some natural hot springs and we've been exploring Reykjavik, which is super cute. Mike and Kathy ran the half marathon this morning and so we've been having a relaxing rainy afternoon. We'll head out for Culture night later and then off to Snæfellsnes Peninsula tomorrow. 

Excited to be on the plane!

Let's play pass the baby.

Literally.

Our first car... hard to see the dents but they are plentiful. 

Our second car and the one that is sticking around for the rest of the trip...again, a few dents and a dirty interior but at least the brakes are functional. 

Our airbnb apartment - Cindy for the win!

Nanny (aka Kathy) cooked us a nice breakfast! Yummers!

So Nessie has been rolling over lots (back to stomach) for the past 3 weeks, although what was a cool trick originally has turned into a nighttime problem, since she gets on her stomach and then starts to cry because she doesn't want to be on her stomach (and can't roll back over). What to do, what to do...

I'm a monkey and I'm not giving my parents much sleep.

Grainy bread from Bakeri Sandholt. Delicious!

Hot springs felt amazing!

My Icelandic elf

Streets of Reykjavik 

Date night - thanks for babysitting Nanny 

Delicious cod - have been doing lots of cooking since meals out are pretty expensive but this one was worth it. 

Here comes Mike!