Progress...Iceland, done!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

So basically, all of Iceland is done.  We are going to land, hit the Blue Lagoon, head to Reykjavik  for the night and then the next day head to the Snaefellsjokull peninsula in the west.  This part of the trip is going to be all outside stuff - some hiking, checking out the glacier, some black sand beaches and looking for seals and whales from Olafsvik.  We won't get to hike on the glacier since it will be summer, there is a tremendous amount of shifting in the ice and it is unsafe but I am sure I will take thousands of pictures of it has we drive around it and through some of the approaches to it.  In addition to the glacier, I am hoping we get to Londrangar basalt cliffs.  I'm just really looking forward to being outside there as it is some of the most amazing scenery and if you have every thought about going there, I suggest you just shut up and do it.  You won't be disappointed.

We will head back to Reykjavik for the last night and then hitting the Blue Lagoon again on the way back to the airport.  I am hoping we have some time to walk around Reykjavik and grab some pictures of the city again, there are a few spots I can think of that I would like to go to and one, where there is this "secret" foot bath.  This may have been where the picture of us near the lighthouse is.

"At the very west end of Reykjavík is a suburb called Seltjarnarnes. At the end of this suburb is an old lighthouse where one can enjoy the Faxaflói fjörd and the beautiful mountains surrounding Reykjavík. Not too many people know, but on the north side of the coast there is a rock the size of a small hot tub where the local heating company has drilled a large hole in the rock and pumps warm water into it all year round."
That's how we roll, free public hot tubs!

Scotland is basically done too - but I will save that for another post.

Start Your Engines!!!

Monday, February 4, 2013

Looks like we will be taking our usual July 4th flight overseas.  This is the third time.  We're going July 4th-28th.  Yes, that's with a by then, 19 month old.

Te debate raged for sometime over which days it would be.  I was hoping to leave on the 5th so that it would be one less day of work I had to worry about taking off but it ended up being like $130 cheaper each going on the 4th or something like that.

The next step was figuring out which country to do first.  I would have preferred Iceland but Jess thinks it would be better for the baby if we just went right there.  We won't find out who is right until we get there and if he's friggin miserable, neither of us will have been right.  So we have an hour and a half layover in Reykjavik before getting back on the plane and heading to Glasgow.  We'll be in Scotland the 5th to the 23rd and then to Iceland the 23rd to the 28th.  We've already started looking at places to go and see.  Right now, the top of my list is St. Andrew's Cathedral ruins.  Of course, I have started looking at a bunch of other places - Castle Campbell, Clackmannan Tower and town, Doune Castle, Blackness Castle, Direlton Castle, Craigmillar, Tantallon, Culross Abbey, and Dunfermline Palace and Abbey.  If it's a castle or if it is ruined, I'm in.  You don't have to convince me.  I'm also hoping the weather is going to be cold so I can eat meat pies the entire time we are there.

The Iceland bit is going to be a little more difficult.  We will probably spend a day or so in Reykjavik and then head to the west.  There is a peninsula that juts out in to the ocean and where you are supposed to see the glacier from everywhere.  It's called Snaefellsjokull.  Don't ask me how to say it, I make up my own pronunciation, like Cappy does when he reads books.  There is supposed to be a great place to whale watch from as well as some volcanic fields to hike in.  It's kinda bummy because I would love to hike on a glacier again it was a pretty amazing experience.  Glacier Hike

Also most impressive was the reverse - the Blue Lagoon - I'm hoping for at least two visits here - check out the website - the photographer who did their pictures was the one who took our wedding photos.

There are three lighthouses to check out, some craters from volcanoes, a ton of wildlife...now, I just need to make it to July.  And tell the boss it's official.  And ensure that summer school will run with no snags.  And...

Decisions, decisions

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Well, if you know us, then you'd know what the two hints are in this picture.  We've been to both before.  We're pretty sure we've narrowed it down, now we just need to decide on length of time.  From there the bookings will commence, the attractions will be found and the real preparations will begin.

I've already started researching and I don't think that three weeks will cut it.  So after this trip, we'll start saving for the next one, which won't be until we have had all of the kids and they're a little older.  Sounds like this is going to be the last hurrah for quite some time.

We've decided on two lands.  Both fairly old and with nordic connections.  In one, they speak a language most closely related to the old Norse and it is considered one of the hardest languages to speak.  The other is quickly losing the ties to its native language, one that is also very difficult to speak and will unfortunately soon be lost.

It's going to be an interesting vacation.  I am actually not sure how the baby is going to do with his naps considering the extended sunlight at this time of year.  We'll figure it out I guess.  We are probably going to use our credit card points for the vast majority of the flights, which in the end should free up some money for other expenses and make this trip not cheap, but definitely not as expensive as it could have been.

Since this will be the last trip for quite some time, I will have to figure out exactly what we will need to bring home to put in the back tv room. It has our maps and some pictures, mostly from Spain.  A frog made to look like it could have come from Parc Guell in Barcelona and there's the boomerang and didgeridoo, not to mention this little vase Stacey brought us from Greece and the "chest" from Spain that has all of the coins we brought from our travels.

Some of the things these places are famous for cannot be hung in a house, I mean, the place would stink up something awful.  I'm sure we will find something, we always do.

I'm starting to get pretty excited, though this will be different considering the responsibilities that I have for work - that will weigh heavily on my mind and I know it will be difficult not to focus on that.  Then again, I will be surrounded by two of my favorite things, the outdoors and castles and I mean, how can you go wrong?

I also wonder if we will go back to the scene of the crime?  We probably won't have a lot of time so we will have to be real careful when making that decision.  There is so much to see there - including one of our favorite places, which, alone is worth the trip, at least once.

As for the other, it is magical in its own right.  One of the only groups of people who not only scared the Romans but kept them out of their lands.  This time we plan to head further north, more country and coast and less of the cities we saw - though, we'll stop in on them too.  There will be lots of castles, meat pies, mystical creatures, standing stones...do you need more help?  Here you go...