Iceland... In Februrary ?!?

     Feb 10- Left KCI with our friends, Brenda and Geoff, at 6:30 am! Went to Denver and sat around the airport for the day. At around 4:30 pm, we boarded and took off on our adventure. The photo above is from the concourse in Denver. It says "This could be you in 7 hours." The guy is soaking in the hot spring pool known as the Blue Lagoon. We flew from Denver to Reykjavik direct on Icelandair. We arrived about 6:30 am local time!!! Six hours time difference plus a six hour flight made for not much sleep. 

     As it is winter, it is still quite dark at 7:00 am and we also were met with a drizzly rain. We were not due to check in to our hotel until later in the afternoon, so we had to find something to do in the meantime. The Blue Lagoon was nearby but didn't open until 10:00. We drove out there just to see it.  Backtracked to the Northern Lights hotel nearby and partook of their morning breakfast buffet. It was very good and we sat there getting ready for our week's adventure. We then went back to the Blue Lagoon parking lot and napped for an hour in the car with 4 adults, 2 large pieces of luggage, and numerous carry-ons in a compact car. During that time, the weather turned into a rain and sleet mix. Pretty windy also. We were the only folks in the parking lot, but by the time we went in, there were several bus loads of tourists in line. We changed into swim suits and hit the water. 

     Geothermal mineral water is pulled from deep in the earth and used for powering the city. The water is then run into this facility for bathing. Minerals and algae in the water are said to help with some skin ailments. While in the water, a storm came up and blew rain and sleet on us. We huddled around the various water inlets into the pool, but parts of my hair were frozen (yet my body stayed relatively warm). Finally we got out and showered up for the drive to our hotel.

The Center Hotel-Plaza is right in downtown Reykjavik. Parking is at a premium and expensive. Shades of Sienna or Florence, Italy, as Geoff and I tried to locate a nearby parking spot. Drove around and around and could see where we wanted to get to, but always were met with a one way street... going the wrong way! Never did get there, but finally found out how to get there by parking and walking around. We finally figured out that the nearby garage was a cheaper rate by the hour, but the downtown parking meters were free from 6:00 pm until 10:00 am, so we jumped back and forth and kept our expenses to a minimum.

Big bed and spacious room. 

Had dinner at the Icelandic Fish and Chips. Good homemade fish, but pricey. But then again, everything is a bit pricey here. 

Our dinner stop.