Our adorable farmhouse and the craziest, bluest water I have ever seen

Wow, readers. Are you all a bunch of Schadenfreudes (new favorite word) or what? I got more comments and views on my last post (about totally humiliating myself) than on any other post- ever! But really, I am so glad to have given y'all some laughs!

On to Iceland....

Iceland was expensive. 

Iceland was warmer than you would think. 

Iceland was devoid of tourists and people, for the most part. 

With that being said, Iceland was lovely. 

We decided not to stay in Reykjavik, but to stay somewhere more rural in hopes of seeing the Northern Lights (never happened). We were SO happy with our choice, though, to stay in this converted farm house from the 1920's, about 30 minutes south of Reykjavik. 

The host's hospitality was so refreshing, compared to what we have now become accustomed to in London. We were able to rent a car through him (and he picked us up from the airport!), he booked us our excursion, and was just so helpful with all of our questions about Iceland.

Upon arriving, we were greeted by the most spoiled chickens on the Southern Coast. They literally sprinted towards us, clucking frantically, wings trying desperately to lift them up of the ground, from about 1/4 a mile away. Our host, BJ, exasperatedly told us that they think we have food for them. I happily fed them about a loaf of bread during our 5 days there, and again considered being a vegetarian. 

Our own little Christmas tree!

The views were just breath taking from the farm- snowcapped mountains and rugged ocean front. The only sounds we heard were the calm waves, the brutal wind, and occasionally the balking chickens (since the sun doesn't rise until about 10:30, they never woke us up, thankfully!). 

The interior was modern and, simply put, just really nice. I wish our puny little London flat was half as nice as the apartment we stayed in while in Iceland! For more information, please check out the site for our accommodations. It was all the crème of the crop, and from what I heard from other travellers, way nicer than any hotel you could stay at. I am not being compensated for this post and it is all a matter of my own personal opinion. 

After getting settled in our apartment, we headed over to the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal, sulphuric pond in the middle of a lava rock field. Some call it the Disney World of Iceland, and others compare forsaking the Blue Lagoon to going to the Louvre and missing out on the Mona Lisa. We just had to make an appearance, and it was easily done, since it was a 20 minute drive away!

*sigh* My pictures do this no justice. The water is unlike anything I have ever seen. A milky, glowing blue, simmering concoction of minerals. It looked like glow-in-the-dark water that would be found on another planet in a far, far away galaxy. 

It provided the perfect amount of warmth to our cool Icelandic day. The views aren't half bad, either- just mossy, volcanic rock all around.

Daniel made the observation that the water was so thick and milky, we probably wouldn't even notice if there was a dead body tied to a rock and sunken on the bottom of the lagoon. Thanks for that mental picture, hun.

Something really gross: I don't think the bottom of the shallow lagoon is ever cleaned out. Every time we would sink our hands into the slimy, silica-rich bottom, we would bring out CLUMPS OF HAIR. EWWWWW. I'm telling you this so that you don't make the same mistake. Don't sink your hands into that gooey mud. EVER!

Also, it really is pricey. Bring your own towel- renting one makes your trip 65 euros. Per Person. Sheesh. If you bring your own towel and get the bottom of the line package, it is still 35 euros PP. A bit ridiculous, but I would say worth the experience, especially on a cold day!

Afterwards, we stopped at this store for some snacks:

Please take a closer look at that cracked out mascot...

And stopped at a nearby restaurant, where both whale and horse were a feature on the menu (although I have never knowingly eaten horse, I think it is strange that eating horse is so controversial. At least in Iceland, horse cattle is treated more humanely than any cow, chicken, lamb, or pig is treated in America. Plus, pigs are much more intelligent than horses, and are a normal part of most Westerners' diet. What's the difference?). With that being said,  I had mushroom soup and an Icelandic beer :-)

Next post will be over our favorite day while in Iceland- our glacier hike and Vik beach. Get ready for picture overload!