An Icelandic Affair #2

Experiencing nature in such close proximity made me realise how little I really knew about the art of living.
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Just cruising’ in this picture perfect landscape
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Look out for the Saint Hannes Cross as it is the official logo for tourist sites!
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Thingvellir
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Strokkur Geysir
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Tomato heaven at Fridheimar
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Churches in Iceland come in all kinds of colours
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That special lady who hand knitted my lopapeysa lives here
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The epic Gulfoss

We spent our first day recuperating in Reykjavik (who are we kidding?) before embarking on the epic ring road anti-clockwise late next morning (note: you could do it clock-wise too as there are no constraints).

After having breakfast at the quirky little subterranean cafe Tiu Dropar, we started making our way to the final destination of the day, Efstidalur II Farm Hotel. If you must know, they also have an in-house ice-cream barn and all their cold treats were homemade. Nuff’ said. (Just a side note, you’ll find it quite difficult to find luxury hotels along the ring road so if you’re a hotel kind of person, you might need to make some mental adjustments.)

Mr M and I had planned our trip such that our final destination of each day was going to be the accommodation that we booked for that night. In other words we were moving every day except for the last 2 nights in Iceland when we were back in Reykjavik. It might sound like a chore but my 20kg luggage (that honestly was a miracle but expect lots of repeats) was quite manageable.

Here are some of the stops that we made along the way: #1. Thingvellir National Park (A UNESCO heritage site) If you look at the actual Icelandic spelling, it actually looks a little like Pingvellir. That ‘P’ is enunciated as ‘Th’. There are many adventurous things that one could do over there such as hiking, diving, horseback riding etc. Some of these things are only available in summer so if you’re the adventurous type, summer is your season. Thingvellir was our first stop so we took it relatively easy, hiking to the top, snapping a few photos and really, just taking in the fresh air and the wonderful surrounding.

#2. Fridheimar Ah I cannot sing enough praises for this tomato greenhouse. Firstly, I love the novelty of having lunch in a greenhouse and secondly, their tomato soup was over-the-top delicious. I never knew that I could love tomato soup so much. We were also given some pickled cucumber and a pot of fresh basil which we could trim from and everything was just wonderful.

#3. Strokkur Geysir An ultra famous geyser that sprouts boiling hot water up 100ft every few minutes. We first saw this on Travel Man and was looking forward to visiting it. A few people were doing the ‘jump’ shot and that was quite funny to watch. There were a few other smaller geysers around and the clouds of steam that escaped from them made the landscape rather magical.

#4. Gulfoss Majestic and crazy wonderful. I was in awe with the volume of water that flowed through with such force.

Honestly Iceland made me feel like a little girl in a candy shop. The landscape was so different and I was in awe just looking out of the car window. There were a continuous display of mountain ranges with snow and glacier covered top, countless numbers of waterfalls and massive lava fields. Everything was so pure, untouched and elemental. The sky seemed a lot higher due to the vast open space and I developed so much respect for the landscape and God’s creativity. Sometimes we’re so easily bogged down by city life and the mundane chores that come with it. Experiencing nature in such close proximity made me realise how little I really knew about the art of living.

Iceland was truly an eye opener.

I also bought, I mean invested in a lopapeysa that day, I said ‘invested’ because they are so expensive! Warm, hardy and expensive. Lopapeysa is commonly mentioned in the knitting world and being an avid knitter, I need one! My lopapeysa had kept me warm throughout the entire trip and it definitely was one of the wiser purchases I had ever made.

In the next post, I’m going to talk about my packing list. How could I have forgotten about this important aspect when the first thing that I googled when planning for Iceland was ‘packing list for april/may in Iceland’, ‘fashion in Iceland’ or something along these lines?

Outfit Details: Thermals Uniqlo Jumper rag&bone Denim rag&bone Puffa Vest Country Road Rain Boots Sperry Handknit Socks Handmade by me Scarf Seed Heritage Sunnies ROC Eyewear Bag Rebecca Minkoff

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    1. Hi Maria, it is extremely pure and elemental… it kinda reminds me of your aesthetics actually 😉

Jot down your thoughts!