Day 2 of Iceland was our only full day there so we had my two top places booked. We planned to head over to the Blue Lagoon first thing in the morning and eat at The Pearl for dinner that night. It took about an hour to get to the Blue Lagoon so we left bright and early to make the most of our day.
Before heading out we hit up a local coffee shop for a quick bite to eat. I loved seeing some of the locals grabbing a drink before heading off for the day.
We booked both our transportation and ticket into the Blue Lagoon through Reykjavic Excursions (which is affiliated with Flybus). They seemed to offer the best price for both. The bus comes and goes from Reykjavik to the Blue Lagoon throughout the day so we had just planned to leave on the first bus from downtown.
The warm geothermal spa was just as beautiful and relaxing as I imagined.
We arrived right when it opened allowing us to be some of the first into the water. We then spent the majority of our morning relaxing and floating around. Our Nikon 1 AW1 waterproof camera and GorillaPod tripod was perfect for taking in the water.
I had to try out the famous silica mud mask as it promised to be great for the skin.
They have giant tubs of it where everyone could scoop a little out to try.
The inside of the spa had a small pool area that connected to the outdoors. They also offer a full spa experience for an additional cost.
After a few hours and plenty of wrinkly skin later, we showered and cleaned up and then headed around the premises to check things out. The shower amenities were great and they have lockers for all your stuff. I read some reviews about the public showers (and nude Icelandic women!) but really it was nothing different from a public locker room.
There is access to a patio area up top where you can get an aerial view of the water.
They also offer a restaurant to eat at, in regular clothes or in your robe! But we were saving our eating out money for The Pearl that night so we skipped the opportunity.
Once we arrived back to Reykjavik we stopped at the world's best hot dog stand, Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur. It was flipping amazing. I cannot even. The meat is an Icelandic mix and they top it with fried onions, a sweet mustard, ketchup, and some other goodies. We even went back the next day before we left. A million thumbs up.
We wandered around the downtown area for a little while, stopping in at the cute little shops, and picking up souvenirs.
We even dropped into Bonus, the local grocery store, just to take a look at the kinds of food they offered. See those bananas? 249 kronas!
Our Icelandic snacks...
Coming from Paris, we were all about the walking. Plus we were too cheap to bother paying for a taxi to take us to The Pearl. So we took the long walk, taking in as much of Iceland as we could.
We stopped at Hallgrímskirkja Church on the way. We did not have time to go inside but apparently up top is where you can get those iconic views of the city and their colorful buildings. Sad that we missed out on that one.
And we just kept on walking...
The further we got, we were able to use the church as a vantage point to see how far we had traveled.
As we approached The Pearl we were taken through a rustic little pathway.
With promising views of the city!
The Pearl, also referred at Perlan, is a futuristic revolving glass-domed restaurant. Of all the places we could have eaten in Iceland, Paris, and Seattle, this seemed like the most interesting. So we saved this for our one nice (i.e. expensive) celebratory meal.
We arrived a little early for our reservation (which we didn't really need midweek in October but they suggest it) and headed up to the viewing deck. The viewing deck is open to anyone so it is worth a look even if you are not staying to dine at the restaurant. They also have a small gift shop and cafeteria style dining area.
As you can see, the view was pretty spectacular. We barely skimmed the top of all that there is to see in Reykjavik but being able to see it all from one place made us feel like we got a better taste.
We headed in for our reservation where we found the loveliest dining ambiance -- a live piano player in the background and the sound of a geyser that went off every few minutes.
The center of the restaurant stayed in one place and the outer dining area revolved around it. I did get up to go to the bathroom at one point and had trouble finding my way back to our table! My seat moved!!!
We both ordered the chicken and a salad which did not disappoint. They also brought out a little sample of something. I can not recall what exactly it was but it was amazing.
We stayed long enough that we were able to see the dome revolve around a full 360 degrees.
And found proof that The Pearl was a good choice...but apparently we missed out on Maison Blanche in Paris.
We walked off dinner with our stroll home and got to take in the views one last time as well as get a little taste of Icelandic night life. It was definitely a change of pace from Paris -- a small and slow paced town with a much edgier and eclectic mix. The women's fashion was very interesting and it made me slightly miss the classic fashion and politeness of Paris.
Other random facts -- the showers do smell like rotten eggs and the Puffin is most definitely the iconic animal of this country.
Off to bed we went before one last morning in Iceland.
See all Iceland posts here.
See all Paris posts here.
