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| The Fizzure |
After a very good night's sleep at the Canopy Hilton, we enjoyed a delicous breakfast with the works: eggs, salmon, meats, potatoes, dense bread (there was always gluten free for Nancy and Peg, another of our group, upon request), yummy jams, delicious brie, coffee and juice. They also provided cod liver oil, a strawberry breakfast smoothie, and a beet juice health drink. The Nespresso machine in our room worked great and we took full advantage of it.
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| Larry and Nancy |
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We brought our luggage to the lobby and while we waited, I took advantage of a hotel invitation. The cafe had book shelves loaded with LPs and invited you to play whatever you wanted. I chose an old Loggins and Messina record and danced in the lobby while others chuckled. It was a great way to start the morning!
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| Seat of Viking Parliament |
Our first stop on
The Golden Circle was to walk through the fracture of where the tectonic plates separate by 2cm per year on a lovely boardwalk. It lead to the site of where the Vikings, the first to occupy Iceland in 824, created the first Parliament by a beautiful lake. There were marshlands along the lake that reminded me of the marshlands at the end of our street in Tiverton. It felt great to walk. It drizzled a bit, but then it cleared up and the sun came out. When the sun came out, it warmed up a little too. Along the way was a lovely little waterfall that fell over lava rock formations into the lake. It was really beautiful.
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| Susan and Nancy |
After leaving the seat of Viking government, we were taken to a greenhouse where they grow tomatoes. The family who runs this greenhouse provide tomatoes for the entire island and do not export. They also raise Islandic horses. A young man gave us a short lecture on how they grow the tomatoes. A ton of tomatoes are harvested each day. The farmers buy "good flies" to eat "bad flies" and they buy bumble bees from the Netherlands also to pollinate the plants. They get their seeds from Holland and France. Geothermal heat and water power the farm, and they have a tank of their own carbon dioxide on site. It was a fascinating place.
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| Part of our group. |
We enjoyed a delicious lunch of fresh tomato soup and a variety of deliciously homemade breads. There were pickled cucumbers shreds to add to the soup and fresh basil plants on the table to cut leaves to add to it as well as yogurt. Carafes of water with cherry tomatoes on the bottom with a beautiful setting for our group tables was a lovely way to spend lunch. The greenhouse's lighting lent a golden glow to everything. It was really magical. Oh, the Bloody Marys were very good too!
After lunch and buying some homemade rubs, I went to visit the horses a short walk from the greenhouse. One horse was VERY friendly and kept trying to eat my camera and jacket. They were shorter than our horses with long bangs and tails. They have a stripe that starts on their right shoulder and travels across their shoulders down the other side. One of the women travelling told me this stripe is what distinguishes an arctic horse. They were adorable.
Next, we boarded the bus for Gullfoss.
After a very good night's sleep at the Canopy Hilton, we enjoyed a delicous breakfast with the works: eggs, salmon, meats, potatoes, dense bread (there was always gluten free for Nancy and Peg, another of our group, upon request), yummy jams, delicious brie, coffee and juice. They also provided cod liver oil, a strawberry breakfast smoothie, and a beet juice health drink. The Nespresso machine in our room worked great and we took full advantage of it.
Our first stop on The Golden Circle was to walk through the fracture of where the tectonic plates separate by 2cm per year on a lovely boardwalk. It lead to the site of where the Vikings, the first to occupy Iceland in 824, created the first Parliament by a beautiful lake. There were marshlands along the lake that reminded me of the marshlands at the end of our street in Tiverton. It felt great to walk. It drizzled a bit, but then it cleared up and the sun came out. When the sun came out, it warmed up a little too. Along the way was a lovely little waterfall that fell over lava rock formations into the lake. It was really beautiful.
After leaving the seat of Viking government, we were taken to a greenhouse where they grow tomatoes. The family who runs this greenhouse provide tomatoes for the entire island and do not export. They also raise Islandic horses. A young man gave us a short lecture on how they grow the tomatoes. A ton of tomatoes are harvested each day. The farmers buy "good flies" to eat "bad flies" and they buy bumble bees from the Netherlands also to pollinate the plants. They get their seeds from Holland and France. Geothermal heat and water power the farm, and they have a tank of their own carbon dioxide on site. It was a fascinating place.
We enjoyed a delicious lunch of fresh tomato soup and a variety of deliciously homemade breads. There were pickled cucumbers shreds to add to the soup and fresh basil plants on the table to cut leaves to add to it as well as yogurt. Carafes of water with cherry tomatoes on the bottom with a beautiful setting for our group tables was a lovely way to spend lunch. The greenhouse's lighting lent a golden glow to everything. It was really magical. Oh, the Bloody Marys were very good too!
After lunch and buying some homemade rubs, I went to visit the horses a short walk from the greenhouse. One horse was VERY friendly and kept trying to eat my camera and jacket. They were shorter than our horses with long bangs and tails. They have a stripe that starts on their right shoulder and travels across their shoulders down the other side. One of the women travelling told me this stripe is what distinguishes an arctic horse. They were adorable.
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