It seems I should forget Christmas. For the last two years I have set my table, invited guests who are not with their families, bought lots of food, decorated the living room, and then disappointment. Last year it was Covid. This year, friends had to cancel because of a medical treatment, and I had a nasty cold which triggered my Meniéres disease, which I know I have told you about. Vertigo is not fun. So there it was. Christmas in bed, and a frig full of uneaten food. My honey was super. I managed to roast a chicken, and we had a very quiet evening on the 25th.

However, the end of summer in Toronto, included wonderful wine tastings at my golf club, lots of fun golf tournaments with the girls there, a chance to celebrate an early Thanksgiving, but best of all a trip to Rekjavik in Iceland.

singing at Thanksgiving

posing at Thanksgiving

fun at golf, well mostly

We have a very good friend and neighbour in Florida, Pam Anderson, who is Icelandic by background. For years she has been telling us we should visit Rekjavik where she has traveled many times. We finally said, ‘Okay, let’s go in September’, after the tourist season, and before the really cold weather sets in. It is a rather short flight on Icelandair, only four and a half hours from Toronto. They have a very comfortable business class that is not exorbitant. I found the hotel that pleased us, and Pam looked after the touring and restaurants. She is the easiest person to be with, lots of fun and affable, and always ready to try something new.

The hotel, the Edition, was wonderful, very well located at the harbour and within walking distance of downtown, the arts centre, and many restaurants. The main feature was the lobby bar with its fabulous fireplace in the round surrounded by comfortable chairs, and central to all the goings on. But I am getting ahead of myself. The plan was to meet in the airport and travel in together. Her plane from Fargo, North Dakota, where she lives in the summer months, and ours from Toronto were slated to arrive at about the same time. She suggested we meet at the duty free. There are two such stores in the airport, and I chose the wrong one, but we eventually, after a few texts, met up and found a taxi. And the driver, Said, we got to know very well. The trip was long and tedious as it was rush hour in Rekjavik. We did see the great expanse of sky on the route in, and the charming city when we arrived. Said became our driver for our various excursions and he was terrific, and good at bargaining.

at lunch

lots of food choices in the food court

good friends

The hotel was welcoming, our room had a super view of the harbour with a high ceiling and a wonderful bed. Of course we napped, then showered, and met Pam and walked to an adjacent food court that had some terrific tasty offerings. Charles’ mussels were a highlight, and Pam’s brie. I can’t remember what I had, but we all enjoyed a glass of wine, then a windy walk, and visited a local museum that featured a multi disciplinary artist, Ragnar Kjartansson. He had one musical piece with an orchestra that really went nowhere, but was rather mesmerizing. Back to that fireplace for a nice drink.

interesting art at the museum

around town

Pam chose our dinner paces as she had the experience there. We went to a typical Icelandic restaurant called Tapas Barinn. Old world charm, lots of locals and we shared the Icelandic dishes. I am not going to tell you that we had puffin or minghe whale because that is so not environmentally responsible. We ate what they offered us, including a fabulous arctic char. The bar was lively with great atmosphere. After our chilly walk home we needed a cognac by the fireplace in the lobby of the hotel. Great sleep and then a beautiful morning sky.

Tapas Barinn

the lobby bar selection

that great fireplace

The hotel had a restaurant that served a lavish breakfast buffet, but we preferred the tiny coffee bar off the lobby, where they served croissants and cappuccino, and juice for me. That second morning we were scheduled to go to the famous hot springs of Blue Lagoon and it was a perfect day for it. We had booked Said to drive us, and with his large comfortable car the trip went by fairly rapidly. I just read now that it is temporarily closed because of the volcano erupting, so we were very lucky indeed to go when we did. It is a fabulous experience. One that I will never forget. The lagoon is massive and the sky was clear, the air cool, the water very warm. Pam had purchased the VIP tickets, which included, locker room, terry robes. showers etc. When you step into the water it is simply wonderful. You basically don’t swim, but float around. You can get a masque for your face of the minerals. We all passed on that, but we didn’t pass on the wine that came included and floated over to a wine bar. The sun was very warm on our faces, the air cool. Yes! We listened to a talk about the springs and its history.

at Blue Lagoon and then lunch at Lava with great views

Eventually we decide it was time to eat and after changing back to our clothes we went for a phenomenal lunch in the Lava restaurant. The langoustine soup was incredible as was the fish of the day, which was perfectly cooked. The views out the window just enhanced our experience. They served premium wines like petite chablis, one of my favourites. For dessert , crème brulée. Said was waiting for us at the appointed hour. On the way back we passed by the church. The amazing church that we were to visit at another time. When you see the pictures you will know why it is so special. Of course nap time waiting at the hotel.

That night dinner was scheduled for the Fish Market in a very old house. Not sure where we got our appetite, but we had lots of fresh fish; sashimi, oysters, and a lobster California roll. The next day we had a different driver that Pam had booked before she left North Dakota, but Said was booked to take us back to the airport on our departure, so we would see him again. We really liked him.We were scheduled to do the circle drive tour. This took us to the ancient Parliament, the geysers, and the famous Gullfoss waterfall, and most interestingly to the Tomato farm for lunch. That was unique! We arrived at the farm and the place was packed with lots of people waiting for tables. We went to the bar and stood very close to folks who were eating, and we hoped finishing their lunch. Kinda of reminded me of the days as a child when my mother took me to the Honeydew restaurant downtown and we stood behind people at the bar waiting to take their seats. Not subtle, but it worked, and was expected. At any rate we talked to these folks, and it wasn’t long before they were finished and we took their bar stools. Everything in the restaurant was made with fresh tomatoes from their vines, which by the way were everywhere. We started with a bloody Mary, made with fresh tomatoes. Simply delicious and different. Then we had the soup, again fresh tomatoes, tomato ice cream, and tomato cheese cake. All yummy. It was such fun. After lunch we visited the geysers. They were spewing. I assume that now the volcano is far more impressive. The waterfall very Niagara for us Canadians, and very windy there. I almost was toppled by the strong breeze.

rush hour in Iceland

geysers en route

tomato plants and diners

the waterfall

Dinner was booked at a Michelin starred restaurant call Dill. Pam had been there before and raved about it. Perhaps we were just unlucky but it was very disappointing. She was truly disappointed. The food was interesting and unusual, the wines were unfiltered. The attitude of the waiters was just that..an attitude. It was supremely expensive and all of us suffered in the night. Perhaps the unfiltered wine. Perhaps the chef was on holiday. At any rate we had much better meals at other restaurants. 

We had a late start the following day and decided to walk and tour around. We went to the stunning arts centre called Harpa which was really only a few short steps from the back door of the hotel. The architecture was beautiful from the inside and out. There was a small store inside that had a virtual reality centre called Experience Iceland from above with individual seats that moved around, and four shows. I was a bit worried about my vertigo problem, but was assured by the lovely lady who ran this that I would be fine, and she was right. It was an incredible show. And she gave me a wonderful ginger mint at the end. I then went in search of these Barclays mints to get a supply for home. I love them and they settle my stomach. There was also an art exhibit and a store. Hanging on the wall was a sheepskin vest that Charles decided was me, and he purchased it. I love it, and would never have bought it for myself. We all bought some souvenirs to take home for gifts.

Harpa the arts centre

challenging street names, colourful streets

two views of the church

the vest and the seat covers

We then hailed a cab to take us to the famous Lutheran church, the Hallgrimskirkja and took the elevator to the top for a splendid view of Rekjavik. The church steeple is very unusual and is 244 ft. tall, the tallest structure in Iceland. Then we walked down the charming town streets, did a bit of shopping, and then to lunch of course, always hungry it seems. Kol, a typical local spot which was brimming with diners welcomed us. The food was super; Charles and I had tacos and Pam had a burger, and apparently it was special, and we took a picture of her eating it, and sent it to her friends. It was enormous and looked delicious. Actually we shared some. Back to the hotel for a rest and then that final evening I booked the restaurant in the hotel, The Tides. The food, atmosphere and service were excellent. I wore my new vest and matched the chairs in the dining room that were covered in sheepskin. We had a wonderful pouilly fuisée, and a pinot noir, that accompanied our great, perfectly cooked lamb. After, we were invited into their hidden, ‘invite only’ speakeasy for cognacs, apparently this was special. It looked like another lounge, but made us feel important.

wonderful views

Our final morning we went to the penis museum. Lots and lots of penis samples and dead (naturally) penis specimens. Well the hype got us there, but after you have seen one specimen…. lunch was dim sum at a restaurant nearby. Nothing special, but fine. Then our Said arrived to take us to the airport and our fabulous stay in Rekjavik had come to an end. It was a super time and we all got along famously.

Back in Toronto reunited with Oscar, who was booked to have his teeth cleaned without anaesthetic, just swaddled in a blanket with the experts from Kissable K9 Care. I think he actually liked it. It is a terrific service and I have it done twice a year. Mine too, but at my dentist ha ha, and no blanket.

swaddled with clean teeth, happy dog

Looking forward to our migration south. We are blessed.

Cheers!

Riki