Author: jennv26

Today’s post is only from Mom and Dad’s perspective. Charlotte and Sam headed to bed after a long day in the car. Somewhat rested after yesterday’s adventures, we packed up and left our Akureyri apartment. We wanted to explore the “city” (a bustling metropolis of about 17 000), so we began at the (free!) Botanical Gardens. We had fun wandering around the flowers – taking pictures, watching bumble bees hard at work, and hunting for fairies. We were lucky enough to find a beautiful pond with an obvious fairy pathway leading to it! The poppies were bigger than my hand! Apparently the Lorax lives in Iceland! Here are his Truffula trees! This picture (above) shows the fairy pathway. You couldn’t see the sunbeam at all, except in the photo… Obviously, magic was afoot. When we were sick of gazing upon the gorgeous flowers (is that a thing? can that even happen?), we went downtown to check out the shops and

read more Akureyri to Reykjavik: parking rules and other oddities

Sam: Today we went on a boat trip and got to see tons of puffins and about 15 whales. We also went to a whale museum – the blue whale skeleton was so cool.  The mud pits were really smelly. They were kind of neat, though, because they were bubbling. Charlotte: Today we took a one hour trip to go whale watching and puffin watching. It was very cold out there, so we had to wear warm suits. The whales were very cool and the puffins – I wanted to see even more of them. It was three whole hours on the boat! We also went to a steaming mud pit. It was disgusting! I felt like I was going to barf! It was more disgusting than anything I ever smelled before. We saw a waterfall, too. It was very wet. We climbed on the rocks. Mom and Dad: As we write this post, we both are completely exhausted! It

read more A Whale of a Day

Charlotte: This morning we left for a 6 hours car ride to Akureyeri. We did lots of stuff on the way. First, we stopped at a store and we bought some food and one of my favorites – we bought wool from Icelandic sheep. I like that because I’m going to knit a scarf. I chose magenta wool. Then, we went back in the car and went to a hot spring. We swam in the hot water. It was FREEZING outside, but it was so warm in the pools. Next, we went to a church and we went to see lots of crosses. There was little nice, cute houses made out of grass, wood, and dirt. I also got to try lamb on a bun from a food tractor. Then I was SO excited because we arrived at Akureyeri, at the house we are staying in. I played with the toys in my room. And then when I went shopping,

read more On the Road Again…

Mom and Dad: Today we decided to take it easy and try to get past the jet lag that seems to still be plaguing all of us. The late night sun is messing with our ability to adapt to this new time zone! We all stay up too late and sleep in. So, we hung out at the local park, tidied up the apartment, visited another swimming pool (Sundlaug Kópavogs – I’ll let the kids tell you about it), got groceries, filled up the tank with gas, ate in, and sent the kids to bed early.   On a side note, found a few fun items in the grocery store today… These cookies remind me of my childhood. They taste exactly like Viva Puffs without the marshmallow! Lion was my favourite chocolate bar when I lived in France. My friend, Lisa, would often eat one of these before she even got out of bed in the morning! The kids can’t wait

read more Living like Icelanders

Charlotte: Today at 10 in the morning we left to go to a glacier. It was a two hour drive to get to the first bus. We needed to take two buses to get up the mountain. The buses were bumpy! I had to wear very warm clothes because it was very cold inside the Glacier. The leader (Maria) made me her little helper. I saw lots of cool things, like a church where there were actually 4 real weddings!  I was freezing! The ceiling kept dripping on us. It was a really nice tour, but after it was over we had to go all the way back home.  We had dinner at a yummy pizzeria called “Castello Pizzeria.”  Sam: Into the Glacier was pretty fun. I liked it because we went into a glacier! 😜 (cue about 5 minutes of giggling and silliness between the kids in the backseat…) Seriously, though, I learned that the temperature inside the Glacier

read more Into the Glacier

Sam:  Today we went swimming at a pool called  Árbæjarlaug. I went on this awesome slide like 20 to 30 times. The pool was better than the pools in Canada because it had a water slide, two giant fountains, about four hot tubs, and an indoor/outdoor pool. There was also a good view of mountains. The water was warmer than at home. After the pool, we visited Reykjavik. We walked around and got ice cream and yummy chocolates.  Charlotte: I slept for 15 hours last night! I felt really good this morning. At the pool it was very fun. I was very nervous at the beginning because of the changing room. Have you ever had to be naked in front of so many people? You couldn’t wear a bathing suit when you’re having a shower, but you really have to have a shower before you’re allowed to go in the pool. It was weird that so many ladies were walking

read more Swimming and Strolling – affordable Icelandic pastimes

Charlotte: Yesterday, I went on the plane and I flew to Iceland. I was so excited for the take off because it was going to be so fun. And I held my mom’s hand. The flight was very long, and it was over night, and I could not sleep! I only got one hour of sleep, but I usually get 10! I was so excited to see my room! There are so many toys – I love playing with new stuff! When we went out for a walk, I loved climbing on all the rocks. Sam: After being in the plane all night, we arrived in Iceland this morning. I got a bit of sleep tonight but not that much. Luckily I wasn’t that tired today. Gudjon meet us at the airport, and drove us to his house where we will be staying.  My favourite part of the house so far is that it’s pretty close to a park and

read more Sleep-Walking Towards Adventure

Sam, on packing: First of all it’s not easy to get all of these clothes into a couple of suitcases. You need about three or four suitcases – two or three for clothes, plus an extra souvenir suitcase. In the souvenir suitcase, on the way, there is food to start because the food in Iceland is really expensive. The favourite thing I’m packing is my stuffy. It is an owl wearing a Christmas bandana and it has wings. Charlotte’s view of packing for Iceland: My favourite thing I packed was my doll, Lily, and my froggy stuffy. For Iceland, you have to pack like cold stuff kind of. Well, not really things that would make you sweat, but a bit warm because it’s pretty cold in Iceland in summer and because we’re going into a glacier, and that’s all made of ice. Mom’s thoughts on packing: When we were packing for Iceland we had to be careful not to take

read more Packing Up for Iceland