ashley

i go to seek a great perhaps

[magic-of-eternity]

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It's very strange being so stagnant! I'm working almost every day of December, and probably for the foreseeable future, working two jobs and having my own side business. It's difficult, it's exhausting, but it will be worth it when I'm on sandy beaches on thailand or staying by the lake outside of budapest.

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The most beautiful thing is when the leaves fall in autumn

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Home sweet home

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I have never before been to a "fancy" dinner like this - the kind where the service in impeccable, you get big plates and little foods, and the drinks are $15 each. Every second of this was so worth it for our last night in Iceland! The meal started off with fresh bread, with an olive spread and a toasted artichoke one - both amazing, and we were so hungry that we wolfed it all down in seconds. Then, our sparkling wine arrived with the first set of tapas - four to a plate, we received a tuna tataki with a fruit salsa and some sort of sweet balsamic peanut sauce, slices of duck breast on a creamy cauliflower mash, prosciutto with sprouts and little diced apples, and a pile of salmon chunks with dill and a creamy silly sauce. You would think that would be the end of it, wouldn't you? By this point I'm already full, but the food just keeps coming! Two little chicken pieces, cooked to perfection, and placed on top of what seemed to be a combination of carrot, kale, and chia seeds, with a fantasticly sweet glaze surrounding everything. THEN, we received a piece of fresh white fish on top of a bed of rice and nuts (by this point I'm about to burst so I give Jon half of my fish...) AND THEN, a skewer of lamb arrives, with candied carrots that melted in my mouth and other various slices of vegetables - I had one bite and couldn't eat any more, knowing dessert was still coming.. AND THEN AND THEN, dessert! A piece of chocolate cake, that dissolved as soon as it hit the tongue, surrounded by a raspberry compote, icing sugar, farm-fresh strawberries, and sprinkled with dehydrated strawberry pieces. It was incredible. Well worth the money, this was a great send off from Reykjavik, and a great end to our trip. I would love to be able to live the high life always, and eat like a queen whenever I want, but this was overindulgence at its finest so maybe it's best that I save these types of dinners for the last night wherever I may be. Side note: I didn't take any photos, so I had to go to tripadvisor and look through other people's pictures of the meals they ate! I found the bread, the lamb skewer, and the dessert we had but nothing else!

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October 17th, day 19

Reykjavik pt. 2 Slept in (IN A BED!) and took off for downtown! We went to a ginormous flea market, though we all forgot to grab cash, but it was so overwhelming that we left, there were so many people, so many stalls, it was a lot to take in. Then we went to a thrift store so that Steven and I could pick up some things that we left behind yesterday! It feels so good to walk around in a pair of shoes that aren't clunky hiking boots - and much more calm than the flea market besides. THEN THE SAGA MUSEUM! The sagas are little Icelandic myths and stories based around true events that happened, and the museum was one of those "give you the audio playbook and listen as you walk in the dark around creepy wax figures" type of museums, which was neat. After that we grabbed some lunch at the Lobster Hut, which is a well-known food truck in the area, and wow! I have never had a more delicious soup in my life.. It was the perfect thing to cure a "chilly to your bones" day, and I would definitely recommend this place to anyone going to Reykjavik! Jon got a lobster sub, which looked so amazing, and Steven and I both got a lobster soup with chunks and whip cream on top. It was absolutely incredible. Picked up some souvenirs and some alcohol and came back to the house (where I promptly packed my bags to be ready for the flight... Silly boys) and hailed a cab for our fancy dinner! More on that later.

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October 16th, day 18 Reykjavik, Sun Voyager

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October 15th, day 17 Reykjavik adventures pt. 1: Arrived in Reykjavik to realise the first two things on our list were write-offs! The botanical gardens were lovely, though dead, and the cafe inside was also closed for the winter. Then, the geothermal beach just outside of the city center was closed for the day - there were hot pools and a little lagoon but it was all cold when we arrived. BUT, we did end up getting a 360• view of the city from a balcony that hung around a giant glass dome (with a restaurant at the very top) which was neat, and then went to a phallological museum.. Which was weird, and uncomfortable, but interesting just as much as it was strange! Of course I'm in a new city, so I've got to check out where the donuts are hiding, so we got these bad boys from a food truck! Jon and I shared some with vanilla icing, coconut, and powdered sugar. Steven got ones that had caramel, cookie crumb, and cinnamon sugar! They were amazing and I'll probably be going back tomorrow...

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October 15th, day 17

A few days ago we booked a suite rental on airbnb for a studio flat so that we can have beds for the last two nights of our whirlwind trip, and stay in the city center. We get to sleep in beds, real beds, for the first time since leaving home. I get to cook in a real kitchen for the first time since leaving home! These last few days are reserved for Reykjavik and the city's outskirts. They're reserved for museums and restaurants and gardens. I'm so excited! Mostly for the beds, since it's a little crowded with three of us in a 2014 Suzuki swift.

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October 14th, day 16 Hiked 3km up into the mountains to visit a natural hot springs! It was quite strenuous but well worth it, though we didn't bring our bathing suits, the views were spectacular! It was a river with multiple bathing pools that ran right through a valley, with a walkway all the way around and "changing stalls". All along the pathway were this precariously stacked rock towers, there was one every 100m or so, and at first we thought they were wired or glued together to mark the pathway, but they can be knocked down easily enough. Some of them were just ridiculous, with rocks stacked this and that way, balancing on the tiniest pinprick, but it was interesting to see!

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October 12th, day 14

Traveled a bit more in-land today to a lake with a supposed monster in its chilly depths! We didn't see it, but we did hike way up to a waterfall (2.5km each way) that was surrounded with basalt and clay formed from volcanic eruptions! We also happened across an orange tube sticking out of the ground, and I pulled the top off and there was a geocache inside! We put a sea shell in, and wrote a note in the book. It was a fabulous surprise! We decided to download a geocaching app for Jons phone so that we can maybe find more while we're still here! Our thanksgiving dinner will be coconut curry rice, and possibly turkey soup if we find it at the next gas station. Today, though I am missing my puppy and my kitty and my family, I am thankful that I made the opportunity for myself to come to Iceland. I am thankful for open landscapes, waterfalls, and canyons. I am thankful that Steven knows how to drive standard, for Jon who decided to come to Iceland on a grand adventure with me, and for my own strength and willingness to push my boundaries. I am thankful for my two legs, for Icelandic hotdogs, and a roof over my head, even though it's a car roof. I am thankful.

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October 12th, day 14 Vending machine in the Middle of Nowhere Not entirely sure how we missed this bad boy on the way to the Elf Queen's palace last week, but we somehow managed to drive right by it! However, this time around, we made a point to find a vending machine that is oddly placed in a little cabin that runs off of solar energy, pretty neat, right? Except we drove about 45 minutes out of the way to find it and it was out of order - not like we had enough spare change to each get a snack anyway, but still a little disappointing! Sometimes adventures are dead ends, and that's okay too.

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October 12th, day 14 Selfoss 1.4km hike from Dettifoss Every sight in Iceland is more beautiful than the last How do you peel your eyes away from something like this?

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October 12th, day 14 Dettifoss Morning hikes in Iceland are a glorious thing

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October 11th, day 13 Godafoss This waterfall has great meaning in Icelandic history! In the year 1000, the National Assembly was forced to make a decision of the country's national (or prominent) religion. After 24 hours of meditation, Thorgeir chose Christianity, and on his way home from this meeting proceeded to throw all of his former pagan belongings and scriptures into this waterfall, thus the name "God's Falls"!

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October 11th, day 13 Myvátn, where Jon Snow is "deflowered" by Ygritte There are cave entrances that you can walk down to, and a geothermal pool that sits at 45•c, though you can't swim in it anymore! For those of you who have seen Game of Thrones, or read the books, you would know how important this scene is. Jon foresakes his vows as a Man of the Nights Watch to spy on the wildlings, as commanded, but gives in to the temptation of Ygritte, who is the wildling he had captured in the Frostfangs beyond the wall.

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October 10th, day 12 Skaftafell National Park Skipped this bad boy the first go-around so we decided to do it this time! About a 30 minute easy walk (one-way) from the parking lot is a glacier that you can almost touch, quick-sand, ponds, and rocks that were cracked in half! On the other side is a short hike to a picturesque waterfall and is typically seen on post cards here, though we were already so tired and it was getting dark that we didn't go - we also had those langoustine baguettes on our brains!