Most people think yardwork is a chore.  I, however, find working in the yard relaxing, productive, calming, an outlet for creativity and a way to burn some energy.   Some people go to the gym, I work in the yard.

 

Now, let’s be truthful – heavy yardwork and digging is beyond me.  Mowing the lawn can be done but edging is a different matter.  These fall into Eric’s realm.  Besides, Eric needs some outside tasks.  🙂

My initial focus was on the front and side yard where I could see results pretty quickly.  We use bricks for surrounding some of the beds and throughout the year, they settle, weeds start to grow over & around the bricks, losing the sharpness of the bed.

A few hours here and there and they’re good until next year (or so).

We had this native bee house…………..

……….but it had seen better days.  Eric said he could make a better one……………since we now have plenty of time at home   😦    He had to build the entire structure since the wood had rotted in the one seen above.

A friend of ours gave me two mugs that his student used to create native bee habitats for a scouting project. Finding two more mugs, a little spray paint, additional paper straws and they were ready to make their appearance in the Darden yard.

Ultimately the habitats got put together.  Bees were seen buzzing around the habitats as soon as they got hung.

This has also been a time to work on our potted plants.  This gerbera daisy had outgrown its pot and needed to be divided.

I’ve also started some seeds in pots and had pretty good luck.  The sprouts seen below are french radishes – yum.  The flat of seeds (on the left) were planted within the last several days.  As of this post………………………I’m still waiting for some action to be seen!  Come on little guys – push up through the soil!

We’ve been harvesting cabbage  for several weeks from plants we started last Fall. We’ve harvested a total of 3 heads with 3 more remaining.  Also in the photo is some kale.  We had several pots, along with some collard greens and mustard greens and have been eating them the last month while also freezing the blanched greens for later.

This next task I’ve done several times since we lived here,  but it seemed like a waste to put the completed project back where it came from.  These chairs were brought from Indiana when my family moved here.  They are super, super comfortable.  A few cans of spray paint and voila!  We now have ‘presentable’ chairs for sitting.  Oh yeah, finally  had to buy some more nuts & bolts since the others had rusted.  Eric stopped by our local home improvement store to pick some up – ultimately this ended up being a joint project.

Once put back together, I asked “Isn’t there a better place to put these so we can truly enjoy them?”.  Man – love their new spot.  Moving the chairs to the front of the garage is probably one of the BEST things we have done.  Why didn’t we think of it before?????

Surrounded by some of our flowering pots, this is now our favorite spot to sit after supper.  Again, why didn’t we think of this before.  Now, if I just had a fire pit in the fall………..

I’m ending with a little bit of whimsey that was not my doing – initially.  A few years ago, a pink painted ladybug was discovered in my birdbath near the sidewalk.  I did not have anything to do with it.  I assumed whoever placed it in the birdbath would eventually come back to claim it.  They never did.  It faded and I repainted it – using the wrong paint and the color didn’t stay.

Back to the store for a different type of paint.  However, the pink ladybug looked lonely.  I painted one of my Iceland rocks and now the ladybug has a friend.  They make me smile.  Those other ‘rocks’ in the birdbath………….oyster shells from Apalachicola Bay.

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re all busy finding, creating, discovering and rediscovering  – you get it – a new ‘norm’.  Are we keeping active?  Yes, for the most part.   One way or another, we’re adjusting to our current environment – and keeping busy.

By this time, I’ve been working from home almost a month.  That’s a lot of alone time.  Thus we’ve found a few activities to stay engaged with friends.  Of course, I’d rather go fishing, but if we have to stay closer to home, this calls for a different agenda.

New plan!

Back in the past………….on occasion, we would use our Sunday to discover new and interesting places to eat, followed by stops at nearby breweries.  That past plan has had to be modified since all restaurants in Florida are closed except for take-out.  We adjust and adapt, while also supporting local businesses.  Eric has been focused on cooking so that part is covered, but the brewery visits are not.

This gives us one way to support local businesses.  Checking ahead for hours of operation, stops can be made at several breweries to pick up craft beer in cans or crowlers.  Wait – was that a typo?  No.  There are crowlers and growlers.

• Crowler – defined as metal container for beer, when filled properly and treated right, the beer is stable for a couple of weeks and used only once.
• Growler – typically is glass (can also be ceramic or stainless steel) container for beer, used as a means to sell take-out beer and can be used repeatedly when cleaned properly with the beer best consumer within 3-5 days.

Our closest stop is Sun Creek Brewing – loved the a-frame sign.

Another local stop was at Crooked Can Brewing Company – wow, it was so empty (as it should be).

Toll Road Brewing Company was a close stop on the circuit and we’ve stopped several times – really enjoyed their ‘sour’ beer.  This sign explains it all.  😦

On a different weekend, we visited one near downtown Orlando – Ivanhoe Park Brewing – and picked up several types to cater to all of our tastes.

We’ve also found creative ways to virtually connect with our friends.  One weekend, we arranged a virtual happy hour with our friends in NYC.  Eric created a chacuterie plate composed of  4 cheeses, 3 meats, dried cherries and a (fabulous) fig & chocolate spread (OMG – just saying!).

I’m afraid I missed the kids in the above photo, but the kids made periodic ‘walk-bys’ and shared what was happening in their lives.

One weekend, we connected with our friends in St. Augustine.  We took it easy this time and Eric picked up a pizza – a nice change of pace.  🙂

The Wrays took it up a notch and were eating a pasta meal cooked at home.  I got the kids (and Rich) in this photo, but missed Karen – was that planned…………..

We’ve found a few other things to help spend the time.  One was a recent purchase for the TV (best $35 spent e.v.e.r.).  Yes, the Dardens are moving into the latest decade of technology.  Even more amazing was no problem setting everything up, finding all the passwords needed and being able to watch a program within an hour of purchase.  Of course I did have Adrienne help me…………………….

There’s been one more way to pass the time:

Yes, a few purple streaks in the hair makes staying at home a little bit more fun.

Good thing it washes out, since it doesn’t fit grooming guidelines when we have (get) to go back to work.

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the first Festival of the calendar year, there was a ‘tease’ (far right photo) concerning the new home of the Butterfly garden for the 2020 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival.  They had these photo spots for guests.  Through the years, there have been a number of locations (and sizes) of the butterfly house but with all of the construction going on, they once again had to find another location this year.

Guess I should mention the location since it’s not obvious……………in front of The Land, to the left as you face the pavilion.

 

BTW – did some research before writing this, so I’m going to intersperse a few factoids here and there.  Hope you learn and enjoy the info. 🙂 Let’s start.

• Butterflies are distributed world-wide, except for Antartica, totaling over 18,500 species.
• Butterfly fossils date to 56 million years ago.
• Oldest American butterfly fossil dates to 34 million years ago.
• Monarch butterfly is native to Americas and is well known for their annual migration to Mexico.

Once the Flower & Garden Festival starts, you run into these topiaries.

Not too far away, is one more butterfly topiary, right outside of the butterfly house.

• Scales on the butterfly’s wings give them the various colors.
• They fly when temps are above 81 F.
• Butterflies hold their wings vertically above their bodies when at rest, moths tend to lay their wings flat when at rest.

One of the first things noticed upon entering the Butterfly enclosure was these brown ‘houses’.  Throughout the Festival, more butterflies are added to the exhbit through ‘pupae’ versus adult butterflies.

Look closely and you can see how some look different?  Each type of butterfly has its own style of chrysalis before metamorphosis and the adult butterfly emerges.

Signs are throughout the enclosure.  This one identifies the butterflies being released – sorry for the quality.  Didn’t notice how bad it looked until I got home and right now…………….I’m unable to get another shot.  😦

• Butterflies have a typical 4-stage life cycle:  egg, larve (catepillar), pupa (chrsylsis) and adult.
• Butterfly courtship is often aerial and often involves phermones.
• Females can produce 100-200 eggs, which is typically afixed to a leaf (food source) with a special glue, hardening rapidly. 
• Adults can live a week to 3 months in the wild.

More informational signs abound in the exhibit – can you spot the live butterflies versus the ones on the sign?

It’s hard to get any good photos of these guys, but I have a few to share.

I singled this butterfly out on purpose – it’s the State Butterfly of Florida, the Zebra Longwing.

• Designated by the state legislature in 1996 as our state butterfly.
• Found throughout Florida in hardwood hammocks, thickets, gardens and commonly in the Everglades National Park in south Florida.
• Lays their eggs on Passion vine plants.
• One of the few that sips nectar and eats pollen (!) which is assumed contributes to their longevity in the wild, 3 months +.

 

I’m ending with this photo.  There are at least 8 butterflies in the photo – can you find them all?  Seemed like every time I glanced at it, I found another – 8 was my top count.

Did you find them all?  🙂

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Probably a phrase that we all will get REALLY tired of hearing.  On a nice warm sunny Sunday, we distanced ourselves on the water, Crystal River to be exact.

Temps in the morning were a bit chilly, but beautiful on the water as we motored to the Gulf in between the channel markers.

Being a Sunday, Pete’s Pier had more trucks & trailers in the parking lot than normal, but there was still enough empty lanes for me to park.

First stop was shrimp for fishing.  Eric had called Pete’s Pier several times this week to ensure they were open and had bait available.  They were practicing ‘social distancing’ by having their customers come to their side door (roped off), state their needs while keeping a safe distance. This guy was getting a free meal from the holding tanks in between customers.

The tides should have been great for our regular spot.  Others thought so too.  There were four boats already there when we arrived.  Eventually we could squeeze into a decent spot for casting.

Species caught were:  puffer fish, sea robin and sea perch (L to R).

The puffer fish was probably the biggest at 8-9″ long.  Look at those spines!

We went south near the scallop racks and after a bit of time caught species that were edible – and a size that kept us above the law.  I caught a few short trout, eventually ending up with a keeper mackerel.

Adrienne caught a keeper seatrout – her first!

As she reminded us………………this was her second keeper fish that day.  The first one was a pinfish used for bait.  🙂

Swimming today, dinner that night.  We had poke bowls for dinner.  Eric pulled together  sushi-grade tuna, Krab, mackeral (from today!), boiled shrimp, avocado, pickled ginger atop sushi rice with siracha mayo to provide a kick – delicious!

Eric created a few sides dishes (pickled carrots & radish, cukes) and our meal was complete.

Dessert were chocolate-chip cookies – raw.  Adrienne and Eric had been sneaking them out of the freezer for months……….until they got caught.  I tried one.  I’ve been brought over to the dark (their) side.  I almost like them better raw than baked.

How did we promote ‘social distancing’ on the boat………………..everyone had a section of the boat to fish.

We had another great day on the water.

 

Ginny

 

 

 

 

Topiary is the horticulture practice of training plants by clipping foliage to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes. 

Why is that the chosen topic for this post………….

Yes, that’s right.  It is that time of the year when the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is a major part of the Epcot park.  Opening March 4, 2020 through June 1, 2020 there are topiaries and vignettes all around the park.

Coming into the park, you are greeted with these ‘larger than life’ flower topiarities.

Bambi & friends is one of the first grouped topiaries that can be found.

These topiaries of our most famous mice are part of a selected group that are ‘larger than the norm’.  At 14+feet tall, Goofy joins them.  Notice their props?  That’s right, lots of construction is going on and Mickey & the gang are helping out.

What is the orange flower tower seen in the background……………….

Yep, that’s right, it is a construction cone.  🙂

Close by Pluto is seen with a measuring tape, making sure everything has the right measurement.

He shares a garden with the chipmunks and they’re gathering nails.  BTW – do you know how to tell the difference between Chip and Dale?  (answer at the bottom)

Not too far away Donald & Daisy are getting their gardens ready.

Along with Donald’s nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie.

Huey – usually wears a red shirt, which is the brightest hue of the three.

Dewey – wears blue, the color of water, dew.

Louie – wears green, the color of leaves.

Figment is an original character from the opening of Epcot.  He’s featured in the pavilion for ‘Journey into Imagination’ and has a prime spot right in front.

While this is not all-inclusive, here are some of my favorites that surround the lake.  Lady & the Tramp live in the Italian gardens.

This is a newer version of a mythical dragon, landing in Japan.  Previous renditions have been in China.

Jesse and Woody are featured in one of the kid’s gardens.

I saw this ‘plastic’ thing in a tree near the Toy Story topiaries.

Oh yeah, got it.  The game ‘barrel of monkeys’ was in the Toy Story movie and made an appearance in the garden – cute detail.

I’ll close with this year’s newest topirary……………….Remy from  Ratatouille, a Disney-Pixar animated film released 2007.  The new ride opens sometime this year.  Seems like every year there’s (at least) one new topiary.  Remy stars this year with his debut.

More to come – highlighting one of my favorite parts  of the Flower & Garden Festival!

Ginny

 

Answer:
Chip or Dale……………………Chip is the one with the brown nose, a ‘chocolate’ chip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FINALLY!  I guess I needed a break from writing and truthfully, my Iceland trip was such a success in my book, nothing at the moment compares and seems blog-worthy.

 

Unless I’m fishing…………………………..

Boat taken in for yearly maintenance – √

Boat cleaned and polished – √

Good weather here and along the Gulf coast – √

 

Time to go fish!

Pete’s Pier in Crystal River was this day’s destination.

Sights seen are fairly typical of a marina on the water.

Two important things are needed when fishing:  bait and ice.

Today’s bait of choice was live shrimp.

One last check of the weather and radar…………

………………we’re ready to head down the river and explore the Gulf.  Let’s get the boat into the water!

While the weather looks good, it is chilly when the sun goes behind clouds.  It has been a looooong time since we had to get this wrapped up to fish.  Eric was awful glad he brought along this jacket – he never has in the recent past.

First catch was not a desired species – puffer fish, its obvious where the name comes from.  Not a keeper and after deflating, he was thrown back in the water.

His next two catches drug up the bottom.  Again, nothing to keep.

Our usual ‘honey hole’ was not productive.  We motored to another spot, near the bird racks.  Eric got two mackerel fairly quickly and I was starting to feel shut out.  Not a good feeling (for me or for Eric – just saying).  But then I got a bite.

Picture it:  the line was zinging off the reel, sometimes coming straight at me, with too much slack in the line.  I followed the fish as it circled the boat, keeping the rod tip up (barely).  My ‘coach’ giving me direction and tips as he got the net ready.  We were anticipating another run from the fish, but, the net dipped into the water, the fish (practically) swam into it and eureka(!) the fish was on the boat.  Photo wasn’t taken until we got home.  Man – it was a beauty!

All in all, we got 4 keeper macks.  Yep, the one on top was the biggest one and was mine.  🙂

Swimming in the morning and sushi at night!  You can’t get much fresher than that.

Sliced avocado, poached shrimp and pickled carrots topped the sushi rice for our poke’ bowl dinner.

Great (first) 2020 day on the water.

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve come to the realization that I hate to write (type) my last post for any trip.  It’s so final – the trip is done and that’s the last chapter in the book (yes, hence my blog post titles this time).  Maybe part of it is that coming back I’ve had to get back into the ‘work mind-set’, which seems to be harder these last several years.  😦

Regardless, I’m pushing through this and pulling together the final chapter of Iceland 2019.  Let’s start with Reykjavik.  We stayed here at the very beginning of our week before heading to Vik and spent our last several nights here before catching our flight.  Nothing is more fitting for a visit to this island than their (well-known) icon – Hallgrimskirkja.

A few notable facts:

• Stands guard over the city and is the largest church in Iceland.
• Concrete façade is an ode to modernism and a reminder of the Icelandic landscape and took 41 years to build.
• Named after Iceland’s most celebrated religious poet.

This time I got to the very top since the elevator rehab was complete, unlike in May.

After driving along the Southern coast, we spent our last several nights in Reykjavik.  Teams were putting this together earlier in the week, but we had no idea what it was.  Upon our return, it had been completed.   It is supposed to be huge, scary with blazing red eyes.   We learned the legend of the ‘Christmas Cat’.

It is among the best-known Icelandic Christmas creatures.  Legend has it, the Cat eats those who don’t get new clothes for Christmas (Oh, don’t forget the cat is humongous).  To avoid this, everyone needs to do their chores to receive a gift at Christmas, no matter how small or simple.

Since we’re on the topic of cats………..we did find this guy as we were walking through town.  He was definitely getting his share of attention, especially since someone had placed a wool blanket on the ledge.  He was almost as popular as the Christmas cat.  He does not look terrifying, just perturbed.

 

From cats to bras……………….Uh?

Yeah, I didn’t know how to make that transition flow smoothly.  We drove past this earlier in the week and when returning to Reykjavik we stopped for a quick photo.

HAD to google it (bra fence Iceland) and found this info.

• Said to have started in 2012 as some locals were having a party and stole some bras from a local lady nearby.
• 10 to 20 people contribute undergarments daily.
• Local farmers and the landowners chuckle at the colorful site and remove items once the fence gets weighted down.

Let’s talk ice- glacial ice.  Adrienne had some great photos she let me include.  I’m giving a shout-out to her sister.  Adrienne picked up photography tips from her through the years.

And was able to catch the ice water drip as they slowly dissolved.

From ice to snow….…………

My favorite ‘secret lagoon’.

Adrienne has the new I-phone 11 which captured interesting photos at the black sand beach – sunset and moon rise.

There’s a subject I’ve been holding until the last post – The Northern Lights.  There’s never a guarantee, some make multiple trips without every seeing them and I had no expectations that we would see them.  Our last night in Vik, walking back to our place, the sky had faint coloration that was not moonlight.  Yes, we were seeing The Northern Lights.

A number of years ago, I went parasailing and the company was called YELO – You Only Live Once.  Who would have guessed that I would find this along a deserted stretch of the ring road in Iceland.  I definitely believe that phrase – I’m not trying to be a ‘daredevil’ but experience interesting things along life’s journey..

Okay, there you have it – the final Iceland post for my November 2019 trip.

The last photo I’m included is a smaller version spotted during my first trip.  We unknowingly walked past it our last night in Reykjavik.  I love to travel and squeeze in trips whenever possible – even if only a long weekend.  I don’t need more ‘stuff’ to remind me of my travels, but experience-gathering is my focus.  Don’t get me wrong, I still pick up an occasional souvenir, but I go more for something edible or wearable to remind me of moments I’ve experienced, thousands of miles away or nearby.

Goodbye Iceland for now, I will be back.

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whhhaaaattttt?  How does a lagoon and tomatoes combine for a blog post you might ask?  You would be surprised.  Read on to find the connection.

 

Our last full day in Iceland and we woke to this……..

Overnight rain had turned into ice on our windshield with a smattering of snow.   Good thing our rental car included an ice-scraper!  I haven’t used one of those in years (Okay, actually decades.  A Florida ice-scraper is any available credit card, HA!)

Plans had been made to visit the ‘secret lagoon’, an hour away from Reykjavik.  Plugged in our route and Adrienne started driving.  We had to drive over a mountain pass and the sprinkling of snow we saw in town was turning into this.

Before I knew it, we were following two snowplows, trying to keep the road cleared.

Soon enough, we were traveling through the countryside and saw Icelandic horses enjoying the snow.

Along with some sheep.   Yep, not the best photo but we never did get another chance for a sheep photo during our trip.

The last half mile before reaching the secret lagoon………….we’re driving through this.

The Secret Lagoon – which is kind of a misnomer – is not really a secret.  Eric and I did this as part of our Golden Circle tour in May and I really enjoyed it.  I was looking forward to this as soon as we started planning this trip.

There are specific instructions before getting into the geothermal-heated water – what you can and cannot wear.

Shoes are removed first in a communal room.

Lockers (separate men & womens in case you’re wondering) are provided to secure your clothes and any other necessary items.

The next step is taken very seriously and important – a shower sans clothing.  Nothing fancy, kind of sterile, almost like being back in gym class – except cold!  The door to exit to the lagoon was at the end where I’m standing.

Signs were everywhere……………………..

My first visit was humorous.   Those that had not done their homework were shocked when the group was given their instructions……..and asked the cashier to repeat the instructions, several times.

I saw a phrase  “There is no shame, we are the same.”  The shower idea makes sense once you realize that no chemicals are used to clean and monitor the water.

So, you’re wet, head to toe, slip on your swimsuit and head outside – it’s cold!  But you are greeted by this sight.  Those little white specks you see in my photo……….snow!  The fog in the background, actually steam from boiling water.

It was magical – truly!  The water is (steaming) hot, you’re quickly warmed up upon stepping into the chest-deep pool.  Notice the white stuff on my head – yep, snow.  It quickly melted, but they were large, wet, sloppy snowflakes.

The edges are local rock and the bottom is pebbled with volcanic rock.  Some enterprising individuals created their own stacked rocks.  Full disclosure…….my stack is on the right and another’s on the left – they had waaaaaay more patience than I did finding the right size rocks and getting them stacked.

Past the fence is a series of thermal spots where water bubbles up and flows into the pool.

 

Signs were posted to ensure everyone is aware of the absurdly hot temps when the water erupts.

There are at least 3 lifeguards keeping an eye on the water and its participants:  1 inside looking through a glass sliding door, another is walking the perimeter and occasionally 1 guard is inside this box – staying warm.

Afterwards I grabbed a coffee to end my time, others selected different options.

I love this place!  Not sure I would enjoy any other geothermal heated pool and with the snow, even more magical. Man – wish I could step into this pool at least once each week.

 

So now you’ve heard about the ‘lagoon’ in the title, what about ‘tomatoes’?

 

I’d been reading about a family greenhouse business:  Fridheimar.

A little internet research and it was within 15 minutes of the secret lagoon – yeah!!!

A few facts:

• It is a family business, focusing on greenhouse production of (4) tomatoes.
• 1995-purchased the farm with 2 greenhouses on site.
• 2002-expanded and upgraded their greenhouses to produce tomatoes year around, while also traveling to nearby countries (primarily Finland) specializing in greenhouse tomato production.
• 2007-added an equestrian center.
• 2012-developed food products and greenhouse tours. 
  

We did need a reservation and finally the stars aligned and they could seat the two of us Saturday afternoon.  We had been emailing back and forth for several days.  They only serve 12 noon to 4pm and are open every day of the year (except for a few holidays).  While waiting to be seated, we stopped at the bar for a red tomato beer and a green tomato beer.

Surprisingly, the beer wasn’t bad.  The red beer (left) had a lingering tomato taste, the green one (right) did not.

It was a simple menu – tomato soup and bread.  Yes, that’s basically it.  If you don’t like tomatoes – don’t stop.  You could add skewers of protein and they also had a salad on their menu.

LOVED their olive bread.  No olives inside the bread like many recipes, so the olive taste was not overwhelming.

At each table setting, these centerpieces were multi-functional – snip basil leaves to add to your soup. Or, you could add a chunk of butter, sour cream or shredded veggies to your bowl.  Even the water had tomatoes slipped inside for a slight tomato flavor.

A bloody mary was added to enjoy the meal.

And yes, even the desserts were created from tomatoes.  The left was the tomato ice cream (served with 2 different sauces, green tomato & vanilla and the other red tomato & strawberry) with the right being the cheese cake (topped with tomato jam containing cinnamon and thyme).  Don’t wrinkle your nose – they were both delicious and had no overriding tomato flavor. Being served in clay flower pots added to their charm.

There was opportunity to walk among the tomato plants and production was similar to what I did when I worked at The Land at Epcot.

Man, wished we had those rolling ladders when I worked in a greenhouse.  We had to carry and move the ladders ourselves.

 

The more I read, the more I became fascinated.

• 18% of Iceland’s tomatoes come from this one facility.
• They are very ‘eco’ focused and specialize in natural resources, being recognized locally and nationally for their dedication and direction.
• Resources being geothermal water to heat the greenhouses and ‘green’ electricity from hydro and geothermal power plants.
• Climate controlled computer system, which monitors weather and light, reacting to their ever-changing environment.
• Glass panes are only 4mm thick to maximize sunlight.

You are literally dining in one of their production greenhouses, surrounded by vining and ripening tomatoes.

This is not really ‘farm to table’ but ‘plant to plate’  🙂  One more Icelandic post coming.

Ginny

 

 

 

 

Isn’t it all about the food?  Well, maybe for some and others not so much.  Food definitely enhances my travel experience and this was no exception.  Even though my ‘foodie’ husband was not with me, he must be rubbing off.  Here’s a few highlights of our favorites from this trip.

A top-rated restaurant was Sudar Vik, described as restaurant, café and bar, with European cuisine.

After our zipline adventure this place was recommended for dinner and it was a winner.  It had a high rating on Trip-Advisor and we agreed.  We started with a delicious cream of asparagus soup, which in hindsight was really all I needed.  It was a bowl of soup, not a cup.  We added the bread service with butter and a tomato tapenade – not needed.  I added smoked salmon while Adrienne had arctic char finished with a dill sauce.

What took the meal over the top was the skyr cheesecake topped with berries and nut crumbles.  If you’re not familiar with skyr, its Iceland’s version of yogurt. The desert was so good, it gets a solo picture.  We shared this treat with coffee to finish our night.

Another top pick in Vik was Smidjan Brugghus.

A brewpub that opened April 2018, featuring burgers, BBQ ribs and hot wings.  Their website doesn’t talk about their pulled pork sandwich, but it was the bomb (along with their unique French fries)!  We had it our first night in Vik and went back our last night in Vik.  Yes, it was that good.  Later we talked  it was the only place that we saw pork offered on a menu while in Iceland.

We also tasted some of their brews as they have 10 Icelandic brews on top along with offering 40 craft beers from around the world.  Adrienne favored the Skyr Sour and myself their holiday craft beer – Cho Ho-Ho.

They had a dessert offering which didn’t sound like much on their chalkboard menu, but OMG (!)  it was excellent.

Something we learned quickly, very, very, very few places have offerings for breakfast and only in a few hotels which are pretty sparse in this region.  Trip Advisor listed Vikurskali as a good place for breakfast and that was our destination.

That is until we followed google maps, discovered it was a grill in a gas station and their website was not up-to-date for the winter.  They opened later than indicated (lunch not breakfast).  😦  For the next several days my breakfast  turned into a typical ‘french’ breakfast with coffee and a croissant.  I also included a shot of their pastries – self-serve.

The previous post talked about the glaciel lagoon and diamond beach and  I referenced it was a long drive.  That translates into minimal dining options.  Another gas station was recommended on trip advisor and for basically being our only choice, it was decent.  Adrienne got a lamb burger while I had a hamburger.  It was quite the spot (being the only around for miles………….).  When we left most of the tables were filled and a bus had stopped and there was a line to place their orders.

Driving back to Reykjavik late in the week, Adrienne found this brewery and wood-fired pizzeria.  Google maps were set.  Olverk turned into a great find!  Yep, at this low latitude, it was raining, but that definitely changed when we drove over the mountain pass – just saying.

Opening in 2017, their in-house brewing is powered by geothermal energy.  The owners passion is premium wood-fired pizza and fine Icelandic craft beer.  This is a local family business with the owners growing up in the town of Hveragerdi (it’s location).  All I can tell you is the pretzel & cheese and pizza were awesome.  It was the only place during my two Iceland trips that I bought an Icelandic t-shirt (and was wearing it when I finished this post!).

Once back in Reykjavik, we revisited the Public House Gastro Pub.  We had two repeats, but added a few more selections:  Wagyu dumplings and fried duck breast (clear winners).

We had to taste one of their desserts and settled on the passion fruit cheese cake.  It was excellent.  The waitress could not tell us what the fruit ‘garnish’ was but I tried it and it was sweet, but couldn’t define its origin – an (unsolved) mystery.

Our last night in town was a repeat from my visit in May:  Bryggjan Brugghus.

It was an easy walk from our Airbnb towards the harbor.  They were the first independent microbrewery in Iceland.  Their restaurant is retro, mixed with historical things from the Icelandic fisherman culture.  I also found out their building has a interesting history beginning as a fish processing & shipping company, then a freezer plant and a canning plant before becoming a microbrewery& restaurant.

Our meal started with more octopus, but this was my least favorite version on the trip.  I got the fish & chips while Adrienne ordered her last chance for a local favorite, arctic char.  You can hardly see it under all of the greens, but she was hankering for some veggies – she got them.

  

My previous visit we met a bartender from Alabama and he was still there.  We talked and got a photo as we were leaving.  He was a character and a real charmer.  🙂

We had an amazing last (full) day in Iceland and I’m saving those details for the next post.  It was an ‘interesting’ drive, an ‘interesting’ experience and an ‘interesting’ meal.

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the natural wonders of Iceland. 

Late one morning, we mapped our journey to include another popular waterfall – Skogarfoss.  It was a popular spot and had lots of tourists.  I wasn’t patient enough to wait for a clear shot.

However, I was able to capture a shot with a rainbow from the mist.

The mist made the (smooth) rocks extremely slippery.  This was one of our coldest mornings and yes, ice was prevalent.

While the falls were amazing, there was a chance for another view………..up these stairs.  Really?

Yes, really.  I told Adrienne go ahead, let me go at my own pace.  I did see this little bird on the way up.  Yeah, that’s the reason I stopped midway, several times.  Had to take a photo, ha! He popped out of a little burrow in the hillside looking for something to eat.

450+ steps later, I made it near the top.

And pushed myself the final 50+ steps for this view.  No puffins on this trip, those are seagulls nesting since we’re so close to the arctic ocean.

In my first post, I mentioned these 1-lane bridges.  We kept running into these signs as we were driving the ring road.

I did some reading and discovered they are easier to replace than 2-lane bridges.  Why would this matter?   A glacial melt caused flooding to such a degree this bridge was washed out.  And, in my opinion, this looked like a sturdy bridge.

As a reminder of the power of glaciers and water, nearby were the bridge girders at a convenient pull-off with details.  The  background below (left side) was our first glimpse of a glacier.

So………..bridges.  We had crossed numerous 1- lane bridges but we ran across this bridge with 2 spots for wait & pass within the span of the bridge.  We didn’t need it, but it would have been tight depending upon who we were meeting.  There were lots of tour buses on these roads – even in November.

We saw some amazing landscapes driving the ring road around the perimeter of Iceland (hence the name 🙂 ).  My pictures during our drive cannot truly do it credible justice – you have to go see if for yourself.  Maybe if I had the new I-phone with the awesome camera…………………hon?

Our goal this day was a drive to our eastern most destination point – the glacial lagoon or Jokulsarlon.  We’re (okay Adrienne)was  driving, driving, driving and the landscape is flat:  water on one side, rising rock formations on the other side.  Then………..you drive through another (1-lane) suspension bridge and go “WOW!”  Yes, that was the exact word out of my mouth, very prophetic.  The lagoon was hidden behind some large rock piles and unseen until you were driving through the bridge.

It was an amazing (sorry, I keep using that word) site!  Hope you can play the video I included below.

A few points to note:

• Only 10% of the iceberg was visible above the water level.
• The icebergs melt rapidly due to warm saltwater entering the lagoon.
• Glacial ice is a mixture of ice, sand, gravel, tephra (material produced by a volcanic eruption) and air bubbles.
• The blue color of the dense ice is due to the fact ice absorbs all colors of the spectrum, except blue.  Clear ice appears blue.

Seems like there are always ‘interesting’ signs at these sites.  Got to believe that someone did these actions, otherwise no signs would be needed.

The temps were ice-cold (pun intended) and I had a hard time paring down all of the photos I took.  This was one of my top personal choices for Icelandic sites I had seen thus far.

While the glacial lagoon was eye-catching………….not as much as the Diamond Beach on the other side of the 1-lane bridge.  I think this site quickly became my top personal favorite.  The icebergs escaping the lagoon were headed out to sea.  Back in the distance you can see waves crashing.

Ice sculptures abound, man-made or not.

I walked along the surf and couldn’t stop the picture-taking.

I can’t say this was an original idea but as I was walking back to the car (Adrienne had given up on my wandering and her hands were cold.) I made a few adaptations on the idea  from the glacier shards along the beachfront.

An amazing (yes, used that word again) day seeing amazing sites.  Next up, food!

Ginny