Okay………………………I’m only a few weeks/months behind from completing the last Iceland post. If you’ve read some of my other trip posts, this is usually the hardest one for me to write – as the trip is over. 😦 Regardless, here you go.
Back to the Storm Hotel in Reykjavik and we got an upgrade! We were on the top floor with our own balcony. Woo Hoo!
Loved it!
Eric agreed to go back to a gastro pub that Adrienne and I visited that we loved. If I was totally truthful (and I strive to be), it wasn’t quite as good as my memory served. We enjoyed it but there were different things on the menu during my 2019 visit, as there should be, but still…….. I had built it up in my memory. Reality was my tastes and tastebuds have changed in 5 years. We’ll go with that.
But during our walk to the restaurant, I chuckled at their street corner lights……..
Leave it to the ‘girls’ to follow the traffic rules – just saying.
Back inside the restaurant, we started with local beers.
Add in a few veggies – Brussel sprouts and spicey edamame.
Next small plate that arrived was this spicey tuna.
Ordered ‘goats on horseback’…………huh? Bacon-wrapped dates, stuffed with goat cheese. I really enjoyed them.
Naturally wanted to finish with dessert. 🙂
This is also the city where elaborate graffiti is encouraged.
A few examples we passed as we traveled the city centre.
Always need to visit one of the most iconic places in the city…….Hallgrimskirkja Church. It is the largest church in Iceland and amongst the tallest structures in Iceland, being a Lutheran parish.
In front is a statue gifted to the Icelandic people from the United States commemorating the 1000th anniversary of the convening Iceland’s parliament at Pingvellir (930 A.D.). No, that is not a typo, it was the 1000th anniversary.
Another iconic street is this one – a top photo spot. Iceland is a very accepting society. We came across a number of these rainbow streets throughout our trip.
Since our last visit, food halls have become more prevalent in Iceland and elsewhere. We came across this one and went inside to check it out – and get warm.
The time was well spent with a cup of coffee for me in the green floral mug and beer for Eric.
And some snacks.
They have r.e.a.l.l.y good French fries.
I discovered this Icelandic chocolate a few days before leaving home.
And while it was a hike to get there, we made the trek. Omnom Chocolates was started by two Icelandic friends in 2013 and their goal was “bean to bar” using the finest cacao beams sourced worldwide. Sustainability starts with traceability, and they buy ingredients by direct trade.
They specialize in small-batch chocolates, originally creating single origin chocolate bars and expanded by adding in unique Icelandic elements to their ingredient list. Their chocolate-wrapped graphics are inspired by fantastical creatures, surrealism, pop art and contemporary Nordic design. Basically, I LOVED all of the designs. Here is one example along with my Icelandic sheep. While the sheep always made me smile, I would get ‘looks’ whenever I included it into a photo. It always made people smile – which in turn made me smile that I added a bit of fun and whimsy for someone else.
One last restaurant we visited was BRUT established in 2021. They specialized in small plates, which is a style of eating we both enjoy.
Started with home-made chips & hummus dip and Icelandic Sea snails. I’m fairly new to eating snails and our waiter warned us they had a unique texture. Yep, he was right. I tried one and Eric got to eat the remainder that was on the plate.
I really enjoyed these shrimp with herbal mayo. The ‘burned’ lemon was not something we had seen, and added another layer of flavor. Yum.
This fish was something new for us to try: Skate, served with brown butter, capers, parsley and lemon. The tender flesh resembles strands as it cooks and the flesh has a mildly sweet flavor. It was good – I would order it again.
The morning we left, Eric did a bit of walking and found a barber. Nothing else to do……….Eric went in for a shave and trim. He has plans to stop in on the next trip to Iceland………………….which may be happening sooner than most would expect.
That’s right. I’m always up for a trip to Iceland but Eric originally said his one trip in 2019 was enough. This trip was more about knocking something off of my bucket list. He truly enjoyed himself sooooooo much more than he expected, we’re planning a shorter trip in the Fall. Yeah!!!!!
Until the next post,
Ginny
Darden Travels 