On our fourth day in Iceland we started off by going for a drive further west. There are so many almost empty roads to drive along, take in the views and pull over for photographs. The landscape changes so dramatically and I can imagine that when snow covered it looks very different again. Just going for a drive is really worth it if you've hired a car because there are many areas tours don't cover.
After heading back to Reykjavik we decided to have a wonder into the city for lunch. We had found this delicious sounding restaurant that only served two types of soup, perfect for the cold days. It's called Svarta Kaffid and is the one place we ate in Iceland that I would say is a must if you're visiting! Homemade soup is served inside a loaf of bread, which is the right proportion between bread/soup if you ask me. They have a different meat and vegetarian soup on everyday, which were both delicious on the two times we visited. I had broccoli soup on the first visit and carrot and ginger soup on the second. My husband had a South American soup filled with lamb, beef, paprika and lime on the first visit, which he said was incredible. It isn't overly child-friendly because the soup in bread is very large, but you could always share or we decided to take Isabella a picnic lunch.
After lunch we went back to the apartment for a rest and Isabella had a nap, before heading to the Blue Lagoon. Originally I wasn't that fussed about going to the Blue Lagoon, swimming isn't really 'my' thing. However when my husband managed to get tickets (Tip - book early) I did become excited, mainly because Isabella loves swimming. It's quite a drive out of Reykjavik, in fact it's very close to the airport so logistically it would make sense to coordinate a visit with either the day you arrive or the day you depart.
When you arrive you're shown to the changing rooms, there aren't any family changing rooms so I took Isabella in with me. There were a couple of changing cubicles, which were luckily free as I didn't fancy getting changed in front of everything with a toddler in tow. The wristband you're given upon entry locks your locker, as well as acting as a tab for the bar. You then have to shower before entering the Blue Lagoon; you are meant to shower naked but a lot of people weren't. After reading a lot of advice I slathered mine and Isabella's hair in the free conditioner provided in the shower. Apparently the minerals in the lagoon can make your hair very crispy and dry, so they recommend wearing it up and covering in conditioner. Luckily we didn't have any issues with our hair after the visit, in fact after having conditioner in my hair for well over an hour I had such soft hair!
You can either enter the lagoon from inside the building or walk outside, but be warned it is cold outside! Once in the water you're greeted with the most beautifully warm milky blue water. It's seriously magical. The steam means that you don't really notice how many other people are in the lagoon, which is lovely. There's a bar you can swim up to where we had a blueberry smoothie and it also sold waterproof phone cases. We hadn't thought enough in advance and didn't have any way of making our phones waterproof and therefore safe to take into the lagoon. EVERYONE is taking photos and it's really worth it. We did risk it and take our phones in to take a couple of photos before placing them back in the lockers. But if I was to go again I'd buy one of those waterproof bags to pop your phone into, saves the worrying.
Visiting the Blue Lagoon was probably my favourite part of our holiday, we all had such a good time and couldn't recommend a visit enough.
Feel free to leave a comment - I love reading every single one :)
Helen x
Wow, it looks amazing. I'd love to go now.
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE to visit one day! And that soup in bread looks and sounds amazing too!
ReplyDeleteIt is a dream of mine to visit the Blue Lagoon and I really like the look of the soup in the bread. Glad you had a good time x
ReplyDeleteSeeing these pics definitely makes me want to visit Iceland. The blue lagoon especially looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, it looks so beautiful here. And I want to eat soup out of a cob like that right now. It looks delicious :)
ReplyDeleteLouise x
So many people I know are visiting Iceland, it looks amazing. I would love to go. Kaz :)
ReplyDeleteOh wow, beautiful photos. Looks like you had a wonderful time there. I've always wanted to visit Iceland, this post has made me want to even more!
ReplyDelete