The Working Wanderer

This day was one of the highlights of our trip.  We began with a quaint breakfast at a cute French restaurant on Laugavegur called Le Bistro.  The restaurant was cozy filled with trinkets and treasures and cute souvenirs that made you feel like you were right in France once you walked in.

We were off to a great start.  One word-Mimosas!  I ordered the “healthy brunch,” which consisted of an array of delectable breakfast items-from smoked salmon to skyr (Icelandic yogurt) with muesli, fresh fruits, gouda cheese, and scrambled eggs, of course.  All the things to give us the energy we needed to tackle the day.

After breakfast, we drove off towards the Blue Lagoon.  It was sunny yet a chilly day.  The cool breeze a gentle reminder that winter is departing and spring is right around the corner.  On the way there we stopped on the side of the road to get a closer look at the sea of blue to our right.  As we veered off the rocky road we came across a stone pile.  These piles of rocks you will see throughout the island.  Apparently, these were like old school GPS.  Early Vikings would build these piles to help guide them through their journeys of exploration around the country.  We took a few photos by the water and hopped back in the car to make our appointed time at the Lagoon.

Now, I advise anyone planning on visiting the Blue Lagoon to book as far ahead as possible for your preferred time slot.  Pre-booking is definitely required.  We booked 2 weeks prior (which is actually really late) and all that was available was evening slots, so we picked a 6pm appointment.  Thinking back now though, we kind of got the best of both worlds because when we arrived it was still daytime and we stood basking in the geothermal seawater well into the night. 

While there is a variety of packages to choose from like something as basic as entrance to the lagoon with maybe a face mask and a drink included to a more luxurious package including entrance to their exclusive lounge, private changing rooms, spa products, and sparkling wine at the Lava restaurant.  We chose the premium package which included all the necessary perks minus most of the aforementioned in the luxury package.  We were provided with luxurious robes and slippers, mud and algae masks and, yes- sparkling wine!  Ummm, in Iceland you gotta take your libations where you can get them cause it don’t come cheap otherwise!

Here is the link to the different packages currently offered on the Blue Lagoon website:

https://www.bluelagoon.com/blue-lagoon-spa/prices-and-packages/experiences-2018/

I’d have to say this was one of my favorite days in Iceland.  The three of us being together, we had sooooo much fun.  The jokes, almost dropping our phones in the water just to get that perfect photo opp, the uncontrollable chattering of our teeth from the cold only soothed by a dip into the warm waters of the hot spring.  We decided to head back out to put our phones away and truly submerge ourselves into this hot spring experience.  The ultimate setting for GIRL TALK!  Spa day on 100!  Swim up bar on fleek!  Life couldn’t get any better!  Three girls living their dreams!

It was ABSOLUTELY freezing when we walked out of the water!  We began to run where we had hooked our robes on the outdoor racks and, struggling cause all of them looked exactly the same, finally grabbed ours and ran inside.  Word of advice, bring some kind of ribbon or tag; anything that can differentiate your robe from someone else’s because most likely it WILL get lost!  Night fell, bringing all the stars a little closer, beams of moonlight dancing over the blue waters of the lagoon and it came time for us to bid adieu to the magical evening it turned out to be.  We retrieved our belongings from our lockers, showered, and dressed to find that a blizzard had begun!  Literal heavy snowfall!  If there’s one thing you can count on while being in Iceland, it’s that the weather never stays the same.  In the span of a day!  I bought a souvenir magnet that says “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes” because that’s how accurate it is about Iceland’s ever changing climate.  It’s crazy to see the various types of “seasons” you can experience in just one day.

So we admired the chaos from the warmth of our Lava restaurant table sipping on our sparkling wine.  This was our time to reflect.  Looking through a menu as if it was a receipt.  Proof of the things that have occurred in those past 48 hours.  Yes, steak please!  Well done.  Leave nothing uncooked, taste it all.  Give us the full experience.  Mud masks, champagne flutes, cold snow on a hot spring, check bucket list.  Who could ask for anything more?!