Google Photos is so damn cool!

Just got around to enabling the auto upload & assistant features on Google Photos and it has this uncanny ability to make cool quick videos.

More to come...

Just FYI - more photos and details to come in the next few days.

Update: Maybe a wee longer than that on account of me getting so bloody sick just after we arrived home. Glad I waited until after the trip!

[And thank you for looking - it has been so much fun to share. :)]

Home safe and sound

See y'all soon!

Iceland's farewell

Iceland bid us adieu with a little snow flurry as we ran around doing last minute sight-seeing and shopping - the strongest flurry we experienced outdoors. It lasted about 30 minutes and then back to cloudy blue skies. Still a nice send off. :) 

Starting the last day

All packed up, got a couple hours to kill so "warming" up and going to walk around.

The weather in Reykjavik

I've heard it said about Boston that if you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes.

Reykjavik is very similar in that respect. Snow. Sun. Snow. Sun. Rain. Snow. Sun. Lol. Several cycles throughout the day. Kinda fun!

It still tickles me to see it snow. Such a Cali girl. :)

The Ring Road

In Iceland, there is one road around the island and it's called the Ring Road. It's barely two car widths wide - one for each direction - and no shoulders. It's bigger in places, closer to the city, but most of it is like this, even to the most highly trafficked tourist areas. Yet it all works out. Just kinda interesting!

Skogafoss Waterfall

Look at the photo of Dan for the scale...

Beach at Vik

The snow comes right up to the black sand seashore.

You better believe I took some of that black sand with me! Hopefully the sand and rocks pass through customs uneventfully...

Breathtaking Kirkjufjara Beach

Omg.

 

SKYR

Oh how I love the skyr (Icelandic style yogurt). It's not quite as thick as Greek, and much less sweetened than in the US. Positively delicious. Wish I could bring a case home.

Icelandic Movie

Instead of hunting the Northern Lights, which we've already seen (not to mention it's snowing on and off - aka, cloud cover), we decided to go see a movie. An Icelandic movie with English subtitles - 'Hrútar', which translates as 'Rams'.

The synopsis is this: In a remote Icelandic farming valley, two brothers who haven't spoken in 40 years have to come together in order to save what's dearest to them - their sheep.

Beautiful movie, heart-breaking and tender. Oy, and what a cliff-hanger ending.

Hot tubbing in the snow

Our accommodation has a hot tub on the balcony. We finally took the opportunity to use it.

First we purchased some champagne from the state run store (the only place you can purchase alcohol over the counter, I mean aside from a restaurant/bar) - not very many around.

Then we wiped the 3+ inches of snow off the cover of the spa and hopped in. We toasted champagne to the trip and my birthday.

After about a half hour the water had turned tempid - hard for the heater to keep up with the cold night - so we came back in and headed out to a movie.

Thermal spa-ing in the snow

At the Secret Lagoon, our final stop on Tuesday's tour, and third thermal pool of the trip, I was delighted that IT SNOWED!

Okay, so it only snowed a little. Nonetheless, I was delighted.



The not-so-secret lagoon



Taking a selfie in the thermal pool is quite the thing... well, if you're a tourist that is.

Thingvellir and Gullfoss

Hihi. Just trying to catch up and post some pictures... keeping busy over here.

On the tour bus, heading out for the day...



The desolate winter landscape at Thingvellir (world's first parliament, formed in 930 AD, held outside... albeit in the summer).






Just me again... with Dan photobombing in the background.



Here at Gullfoss. Can't tell that, but some nice strange man offered to take our picture in front of essentially nothing.



Now here's Gullfoss. A double cascading waterfall. The most famous waterfall in Iceland... and they have a few!



Can't hardly tell, can you? It's hard to get both cascades in one photo and especially hard to portray the movement and awe of this roaring beast. So how about a video instead?

And while its winter beauty is intriguing, I bet it's quite the lush sight in summer.



Next stop is Geysir, and I already posted a pic or two about that.  So final stop is the hot springs...

The geyser Strokkur

Apparently the geyser named Geysir (giving us our name for the phenomenon) does not blow up very often any more.  Nearby there is another named Strokkur which does erupt every five minutes or so.



Here we have Strokkur from another angle. Please also enjoy the dance of my gloved finger!

Beautiful weather

Weather predictions are all over the place yet when all said and done the clear blue California sky has followed me here.

While it's still 'cold' I've been pining for a bit of snow. Only light flurries here and there!

Hot springs in the rain

Last night we took a bus through a white out to Fontana Wellness Hot Springs.

First they fed us some local food, among which, a bit of pickled fish with rye bread cooked in pots in the ground. Dessert, of course, their yogurt, skyr, with some (imported) fruit.

At the hot springs it wasn't snowing, rather raining. About 34°F. While in the pools, we were quite comfortable, save the ears and cheeks. But a little head dunk now and again and all good.

The run from the lockers was the fun part. You're already wet because you must shower before you go in (with soap, without bathing suit). Chilling down made the pools and the sauna that much more enjoyable.

Northern Lights

Our adventure to go see the Northern Lights began with us getting LOTS of warm clothes on. Temperatures with the wind were to make it just below freezing outside. In the end we where plenty warm. The bus trip picked up many people, over 50 I believe.

When we got to the spot we where lucky that the clouds coming in from a new storm had not yet covered the sky. As soon as I stepped out of the bus and my eyes adjusted I could start to make out the faint green line in the sky. I quickly got my camera and tripod setup and was able to snap a couple good pics and then play around with trying to get us in the picture (harder than it sounds, you have to be super still or it turns a bit blurry). After about 20 minutes or so the clouds rolled in and blocked our view, but we got to experience it none the less!

A little animated pic to show it growing in intensity...


And the pictures...click the "read more" link after this one to see more!

Icelandic Horses

Well-tempered, hard-working, and stout beings, the Icelandic Horses were a pleasure to ride across the icy winter landscape.

Begga, the proprietor of Islenski Hesturinn, was a wonderful guide and so nice to share her photos of the trip with us (hers so noted).

Courtesy of Islenski Hesturinn

Courtesy of Islenski Hesturinn

Courtesy of Islenski Hesturinn