.Iceland-Day One.

"Iceland?..in February? You two are nuts!" 

-Everyone we told about our trip.

Call us what you want, we do not mind one bit. Our vacation to Reykjavik, Iceland was the definition of a winter wonderland and provided Adam and I with precious quality time, sweet memories, and hilarious stories to tell the grandkids.

The number one question our friends and family have asked us is, "Why did you choose Iceland? Any meaning behind the country..anything at all?"

Our answer is simple: It was the right price at the right time. 

Adam and I made it a goal early in our dating years to leave the US before we turn 30. Fast forward 5 years to November 2011 when Adam's co-worker emailed him a deal he found on Travel Zoo and thought it sounded like the two of us. (He was right..Jake you deserve a very big thank you!)  Adam read it and thought this would make the ideal birthday present to his lovely wife--me!..And wow, was he spot on!

The deal was through Icelandair included:

- Round trip tickets
- 4 nights in Icelandair's amazing hotel
- Free access to the hotel spa
- Tour day of the Golden Circle
- Visit to Laugarvatn Fontana
- Dinner at Lindin Restaurant
- Night tour of the Northern Lights

All of this for $767 per person--that's cheaper than most round trip air fare! (I have no shame in sharing the price of our trip because this deal was truly incredible and will be going on through March-do it do it!)

So my blogging friends, that is why Adam and I made the journey to Iceland in February: right price, right time.

It has taken me a while to begin my posts on our trip because we may have been too camera happy as well as this happening. Adam does video production as a living and I enjoy playing with his nice cameras so the two of us may have snapped over 2000 pictures during our 5 day trip..too much?..not enough!!?? ;) Needless to say I have gone through the photos time and time again weeding out the bad ones and duplicates. I will do my absolute best not to bombard you all with too many shots of my face and Adam's face but I cannot make any promises so be prepared and yes..take this as your official warning. Let's begin!

Day One: Adam and I left JFK at 8pm on Sunday night and flew 5 hours to Iceland arriving Monday morning at 8am. We missed our night's sleep. Friends who have traveled advised us to take a short 2 hour nap and to get out of bed quickly and keep busy. We planned on this but when your room looks like this:

and it stays dark until close to 9am..you may take a longer nap than anticipated. We were tired--evidently exhausted because we slept through 3 alarms and woke up at 1:30 in the afternoon. I am showing you this photo because I consider you to be family:

Adam and I spent our first afternoon in Iceland as jet lag zombies exploring the hotel and discovering their gorgeous spa. We both soaked in water heated by geothermal springs and enjoyed salt water steam baths and sauna--it was divine! Here are a few hotel pictures for you and please notice how modern and minimalist their decor is..reminded me of my favorite store, any guesses what that may be?

 Here are pictures of the hotel's restaurant 'Satt' where we ate 3 meals.

Our evening was just as relaxing and lazy as our afternoon. We showered after the spa, got ready for dinner, walked downstairs to enjoy our first Icelandic dish, sat by the fire drinking coffee, and headed back up to our room.

My first meal: Icelandic Grilled Chicken Salad. The flavor was unusual and difficult to describe..it was cool and refreshing but something I would not choose again. The green things you see are actually cucumbers and there were some things we could not identify..very strange. The grilled chicken was amazing and salty--just perfect! Adam's first meal reminded him of home :)

I was able to stay gluten-free the entire time while in Iceland and trust me--it was not easy!

Adam and I had trouble falling asleep due to our 5 hour unplanned nap earlier in the day. Luckily, the bed was uber comfy and Adam brought his laptop with a few movies on it. We snuggled together and watched as the clock kept ticking away..I recall seeing 4:16am--oh time change how we hated you.

Iceland-Day Two coming Friday :) Thanks for reading along!