Iceland: Conclusion Part II (The End of Iceland, I Promise)
After breakfast, Angel Baby and I lounged around in the room, neither one of us in too big a hurry to go anywhere. We had the whole day, and night since it didn't get dark, to explore the city, or at least the part of the city surrounding our hotel.
While we lounged, I made reservations on the bus that would take us to the airport the next day. If there was anything I was a bit nervous about, it was missing our flight home. I'm one who likes to get to the airport five hours before departure. When I'm ready to go home, I'm ready to go home.
Once the bus reservation was made, we set out to find souvenirs for friends and family. I really didn't want anything for myself. I'm totally happy with having photos and memories, but Angel Baby wanted a few things that would remind him of our time in Iceland. We found the street with all the gift shops just a block away from the hotel and made our way through the shops as we moved up the street. Angel Baby found gifts for Lovely Beautiful Daughter and Funny Delightful Son, very pleased with himself for what he picked out for them, and he also found a few small things for himself. I considered buying an authentic Icelandic sweater, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. And even now, I don't feel like I should have bought one. I'm happy with the photographs and memories (wow, that just took me waaaayyyy back to Jim Croce and hearing "Photographs and Memories" and loving it so much).
Our meanderings took us to Hallgrimskirkja church, with the Leif Eriksson monument (a gift from the United States!) in front of it. We circled the church and considered going in, but Angel Baby said, "Meh. It's a church." So we watched the people coming and going. I kept pestering Angel Baby to do a picture with me, the church behind us, and finally, FINALLY, he gave in and humored me. The church doesn't show up like I'd hoped it would, but it's there, in the background (this shows how long it took me to convince Angel Baby to do a picture with me; we'd walked about halfway back down the street, toward the hotel).
A little further on, we came upon a very nice troll. Angel Baby said absolutely no to doing a picture with me and the troll. Fun sucker!
From there we found a little bistro and had lunch. Angel Baby ordered his first beer, and we enjoyed sandwiches with fries. The most expensive sandwiches and fries I've ever had in my life! While Iceland is beautiful and amazing to traipse around, it is incredibly expensive. For the two of us, our lunch came to $65. Yeah, for sandwiches, fries, and a beer each.
Lunch over, we made our way back to the hotel and relaxed the rest of the afternoon, watching really old and bad American movies that I'm pretty sure didn't even get air time here in the States.
The next day we made it to the airport with plenty of time before our flight. It was a good thing since I somehow messed up using the kiosk trying to get our boarding passes. We ended up having to ask airport personnel for help, and wouldn't you know it, she was able to get the boarding passes to print on her first try. My mess-up, though, meant Angel Baby was stopped at each security checkpoint and had to go through a series of questions before they would allow him through. He remained very good-natured about this the entire time, thank goodness. Much more good-natured than I had been when trying to get that darn kiosk to work. Now Angel Baby loves to tell everyone who will listen how I had a meltdown over the kiosk. It wasn't a full-blown meltdown. Just minor irritation.
In the end, we made it home safe and sound, both of us enormously happy with the trip we shared. My hope now is that I can do a trip with Lovely Beautiful Daughter, and one with Funny Delightful Son. Both have been tasked with the job of deciding where they would like to go for their trip with Mom.
While we lounged, I made reservations on the bus that would take us to the airport the next day. If there was anything I was a bit nervous about, it was missing our flight home. I'm one who likes to get to the airport five hours before departure. When I'm ready to go home, I'm ready to go home.
Once the bus reservation was made, we set out to find souvenirs for friends and family. I really didn't want anything for myself. I'm totally happy with having photos and memories, but Angel Baby wanted a few things that would remind him of our time in Iceland. We found the street with all the gift shops just a block away from the hotel and made our way through the shops as we moved up the street. Angel Baby found gifts for Lovely Beautiful Daughter and Funny Delightful Son, very pleased with himself for what he picked out for them, and he also found a few small things for himself. I considered buying an authentic Icelandic sweater, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. And even now, I don't feel like I should have bought one. I'm happy with the photographs and memories (wow, that just took me waaaayyyy back to Jim Croce and hearing "Photographs and Memories" and loving it so much).
Our meanderings took us to Hallgrimskirkja church, with the Leif Eriksson monument (a gift from the United States!) in front of it. We circled the church and considered going in, but Angel Baby said, "Meh. It's a church." So we watched the people coming and going. I kept pestering Angel Baby to do a picture with me, the church behind us, and finally, FINALLY, he gave in and humored me. The church doesn't show up like I'd hoped it would, but it's there, in the background (this shows how long it took me to convince Angel Baby to do a picture with me; we'd walked about halfway back down the street, toward the hotel).
A little further on, we came upon a very nice troll. Angel Baby said absolutely no to doing a picture with me and the troll. Fun sucker!From there we found a little bistro and had lunch. Angel Baby ordered his first beer, and we enjoyed sandwiches with fries. The most expensive sandwiches and fries I've ever had in my life! While Iceland is beautiful and amazing to traipse around, it is incredibly expensive. For the two of us, our lunch came to $65. Yeah, for sandwiches, fries, and a beer each.
Lunch over, we made our way back to the hotel and relaxed the rest of the afternoon, watching really old and bad American movies that I'm pretty sure didn't even get air time here in the States.
The next day we made it to the airport with plenty of time before our flight. It was a good thing since I somehow messed up using the kiosk trying to get our boarding passes. We ended up having to ask airport personnel for help, and wouldn't you know it, she was able to get the boarding passes to print on her first try. My mess-up, though, meant Angel Baby was stopped at each security checkpoint and had to go through a series of questions before they would allow him through. He remained very good-natured about this the entire time, thank goodness. Much more good-natured than I had been when trying to get that darn kiosk to work. Now Angel Baby loves to tell everyone who will listen how I had a meltdown over the kiosk. It wasn't a full-blown meltdown. Just minor irritation.
In the end, we made it home safe and sound, both of us enormously happy with the trip we shared. My hope now is that I can do a trip with Lovely Beautiful Daughter, and one with Funny Delightful Son. Both have been tasked with the job of deciding where they would like to go for their trip with Mom.
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