Our first stop was Geysir, which is, as you can guess, a geyser. The English word "geyser" actually comes from the name of this place! The ancient Icelandic word "geysa" means to gush.
The whole area is full of geothermal action, and as you drive up you can see hot steam rising from the earth.
(Umm, this post is going to have about 8 bazillion pictures, sorry/not sorry!)
They actually have to warn you over and over again not to touch the water to feel its temperature, because it will burn you! It sounds silly to say that, but when you're there (and it's freezing cold outside) it's really tempting to touch it to feel how hot it really it. We restrained ourselves, though!
We saw three different geysers. The first was a little bubbler. The last was the original Geysir, which doesn't erupt regularly anymore.
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| The original Geysir...it used to erupt but doesn't very often anymore. |
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| This little guy was kind of a grouch in the morning. This face sure makes me laugh, though. |
The middle geyser was the main attraction. It's called Strokkur and it erupts about every 5 minutes. It's amaaaaaazing!! I could sit and watch it for hours! Five minutes never felt so long as when you're sitting watching the water for the eruption. Then, when it happens, everyone gasps and cheers!
We watched it a few times, then a few more times trying to get good pictures. Sometimes it would shoot higher than others, and sometimes it would spray everyone downwind with water.
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| Levi snatched my pink raincoat because he thought he was going to get soaked, haha |
I think the pictures where we're waiting for the eruption are really funny too.
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| Poor little Q! We can't find her coat so she had to wear an ankle-length one all day! |
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| I love the bubble of water before the eruption...I wish I could have captured it in a decent picture! |
After Geysir we went to the amazing waterfall Gullfoss. We bundled up in rain gear, because not only was the spray coming off the falls intense, it was also pretty rainy!
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| Real men wear pink |
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| Sharing gear, haha |
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| Yup, we got up close and personal! |
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| Levi was on stroller duty thankfully! |
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| Levi J tried to take a picture of us, haha |
So very cool!
So after my bucket-list sites, Levi found us this incredible place to eat. It was called Friðmeir Farm, and it was a greenhouse where they grow Icelandic tomatoes! Of course, everything to eat there was tomato based; tomato soup, flatbread with tomato and mozzarella, Bloody Marys, you get the picture. They even had tomato ice cream and tomato cheesecake!
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| These three! Sometimes I swear I could take a decent picture of the three of them if my life depended on it. |
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| They have to import bees to pollinate the plants |
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| Cute little Icelandic bumblebee |
Our waiter was actually the owner and farmer of the greenhouses, and he told us all about the place. He was such a nice man!
All the heat and electricity used there is created using the geothermal energy of the area, so it's very eco-friendly. Due to Iceland's climate, they don't need pesticide since almost all produce is grown in greenhouses, and most pests don't survive the weather anyway. The water they use on the plants is the same water they serve us to drink: totally pure, right from the ground, barely treated. The tomatoes they serve us to eat come right from the greenhouse, and are harvested very soon before they're used, so they're totally fresh with all their nutrients.
I probably don't even need to mention that the food was totally delicious. I'm not a big tomato fan (understatement!!), but I do love tomato soup. Pair it with fresh-baked bread?? Heavenly! We did not try the tomato desserts, haha, but we left with full bellies. Gosh, I was so happy to find such a special place!
My favorite day so far!! We went so many once-in-a-lifetime places today.
Sooooo Very cool!!!! Love it!!!!!
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