Day 1: Hot Springs and Happy Hearts

We flew all night and arrived at 8:30am. We were all sleep deprived. The plan was to keep moving and make sure the kids stay awake until at least 7, then the next day we will feel "normal". After grabbing the rental car and the essentials from the airport (essentials being any alcohol we wanted to drink in our room because it is ridiculously expensive anywhere else), we were on our way to the Blue Lagoon.

The Blue Lagoon was amazing. We had a reservation at the Lava Restaurant. It was beautiful, but the kids were tired and we didn't want a meltdown mid meal. We were later glad we decided against it because we would've easily dropped $250 on lunch the first day. Instead we opted for chips and drinks at the cafe', and the worlds best hot dogs later.

We stopped at Bonus (grocery store) on our way to the hotel to get a few snacks for the room and peanut butter and jelly to make sandwiches for the road. When we got to the Kvosin Hotel in downtown Reykjavik our room was ready. It was a beautiful room. It had a kitchen, living area with a pull-out queen bed that was already made up for us, and another room with a king bed. Not to mention a balcony.

We headed out for a snack because we didn't want to get comfortable and fall asleep at an early hour. We walked to Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur for a famous hot dog. The boys loved these. Their dogs have the snap and IYKYK about the snap.

We couldn't pass up the lobster soup and bread loaf at Seabaron on the way to our next stop. This little teal restaurant is such a gem. Get the soup and bread, and pick a few skewers. They are all good so you can't go wrong. They also have Hákarl (fremented shark) here with Brennivin, the Icelandic liquor. It also has a cute play house that the kids loved, which allowed us to sit and enjoy. The quaint, cozy atmosphere is amazing and pictures with stories of how the business started line the walls. Did we try the fermented shark? yup, and so did the kids. We went all in. Our rule is, "you don't have to like it but you have to try it." They do so well with this and really get into it. What's it like? ammonia. Its smells and tastes like ammonia.

Fly over Iceland was next. It's a ride in a theatre that will give you goosebumps. It highlights the main attractions of Iceland. I highly recommend it, especially with kids. They had smiles on their faces the entire time. It gave them a small preview of what we was in store for the next week.

When we arrived at the hotel I had planned to meet up with my friend Anna. She was one of my first friends I met in Dubai. We traveled everywhere together. Thailand, Oman, Greece, Turkey, and many more. She came to the hotel and we had a drink at the bar. Although we haven't seen each other for 8 years, it felt like no time had passed. We laughed and talked about everything. Friends overseas and my memories are very special to me. I was so excited and giddy going to bed because of the time I was able to have with her.