Reykjavik 2016

This is my second mini-Icelandic adventure. In 2014 I came with Mary and we focused on geography, geology, and the cold wet waters of the Atlantic. Today we agreed there could be no better evening remedy for jet lag.

I think this will always be my favorite photo of the two of us, because the crewman captured our surprise and joy.

I am on my way to visit Mary as she finishes her final two months of grad school at the Royal College Of Music in London. I decided to stop in Iceland so I could sit in the Blue Lagoon for five hours. Yes, I had the prune effect. The algae mask was pretty divine. You hop off the plane and onto a bus and you're in the lagoon by 8:00 a.m. It was sunny all morning. As I left it pelted hail and that was followed by torrential rain. The sun is back out and that might be the case until midnight.

I debated how to spend my day Saturday. I went with the reason that motivated me to come back, other than the Blue Lagoon. That was to walk Reykjavik. Then I got more specific. That is "food walk". I've lost most of you now. This is why Tapenade is my chosen blog. Mary and I plan to walk miles in London and graze our way through the city's markets. That's my focus in Iceland too.

Tell me that you can't look at this Icelandic food, the most authentic choice according to my waitress, and feel the past meet the present. Valuable calories in Iceland. The fermented shark did best me psychologically and texturally. Okay, I had a piece stuck in my teeth and I thought it might be there forever....small panic. The dried cod was a challenge until I broke off small pieces. It had very little taste. The rest was very good. I enjoyed it. I like lamb soup any time. There were two types of rye bread, sweet and then flat and sharp. The smoked lamb tasted like a bonfire. The trout with some cottage cheese and the potato salad with smoked haddock was great. 

After I ate more than I needed, I strolled. When I blog, I type on my touch pad. This is a casual blog. I also have a room with a view. Don't know how I got so lucky there.