The Most Delicious Places in Reykjavik

Reykjavik is a really great city to explore it's full of amazing street art, quirky shops, cuddly polar bears and some of the nicest food I've had in a long time, so here are just a few of my favourite food places I found on my recent trip to Iceland...

Santa Karamba 

(Laugavegur 22)

I had a massive craving for some ridiculously spicy food to warm me up and popped into this place and OMG was it good, the food was amazing, the atmosphere super friendly and the prices were really reasonable! Anyone who knows me knows I eat a stupid amount of chilli and when I asked for some hot HOT sauce I got it, in fact I devoured the whole bowl of it much to the surprise of the chef, I'd definitely recommend this place it was the best food I had in Reykjavik and quite possibly the best Mexican food I've ever had!

Lebowski Bar

(Laugavegur 20a)

Dude is this place awesome, seriously when I heard that such a place existed I just had to go! I love quirky places like this and they went all out I mean there's even a bowling lane on the wall! I had the "Walter Burger" and it was surprisingly delicious and my first experience of a White Russian was pretty gosh darn good to, in fact if I didn't have to get up so early the next day I would have tried a few more things off their "White Russian Menu" but I'll save that for my next visit if I'm lucky enough to go again!

Icelandic Fish & Chips

(Tryggvagata 8)

Second time eating here and it did not disappoint, although the "skyronnes" are kinda weird the fish is freshly caught that day, delicious, super crispy and melts in your mouth. I decided to try the salad this time as it's kinda a rarity in Iceland and they grow it themselves and it was no joke one of the nicest salads I've ever had, so fresh and so delicious and it complimented the fish perfectly, definitely recommended if you're ever in Reykjavik!

Sushi Samba

(Þingholtsstræti 5)

Japanese and South American may sound like a strange mix but it makes for a great name and some great food to. I saw some drool worthy pictures of sushi from this place in a magazine that morning and made it my mission to eat there and it did not disappoint, the calamari was so good I ordered seconds, the salmon ceviche a plate of pure happiness and the big plate of sushi rolls I had intended to share I ended up devouring all to myself so that's a pretty good indication food there was daaaamn gooood!

Café Loki

(Lokastigur 28)

Traditional Icelandic food can be a bit daunting with the pickled whale and sheep heads but Café Loki has some nice options for those of you not so brave but would still like a taste of Iceland. I went with mashed fish and picked herring on rye bread and despite my reservations it was actually really nice the fish was yummy and not too over powering and the rye bread was the best I had (I ate rye bread pretty much every day I was in Iceland it was that good!) and the rye bread ice cream definitely worth a try whilst my Dad wasn't too keen I loved it and despite the freezing temperatures outside devoured it pretty damn quickly but the "Loki tea" warmed me up so much so I even bought a pack to bring home with me. Café Loki is located right next to the church so you get a really beautiful view whilst you enjoy your Icelandic delights.

Café Haiti

(Geirsgata 7)

Last time we were there in 2011 I had the smoked salmon lunch and it was delicious but this time came for the coffee. If I wasn't already full from breakfast I probably would have devoured some of the delicious cake they had on offer but the coffee here is worth the trip alone, the owner was actually roasting the coffee beans in the back while we were there which must explain why the coffee there is so damn good, it's such a nice relaxing place to I could've spent all day there so if you're a coffee fan I definitely recommend you give this place a try.

Cookies & Coffee

Cate

xoxo

A Trip to Asgard (Hallgrímskirkja)

During my latest trip to Iceland a visit to Hallgrímskirkja was a must, although I saw it at a distance on my last trip I didn't get the chance to see it up close, luckily it was just a short walk away from where we were staying and seeing it up close somehow reminded me of Asgard...

 

It's a very beautiful church and I'd like to think that they took inspiration from it for the Thor movies as Iceland is very proud of its Norse roots and you can find all sorts of Viking related stuff around the city much to my delight!

The inside of Hallgrímskirkja is just as beautiful as the outside, there is a magnificent organ which must sound amazing and some beautiful stained glass windows, whilst there I decided to light a candle for my Nanna as she's been through a tough year and I knew even though she says she's not religious anymore it was something she would do if she was there.

  

But the highlight of Hallgrímskirkja has to be the view from the top, for 700k ($5/£3) you can take a lift to the top of the church and get a beautiful view of the Reykjavik, we were lucky to get there just as the sun was setting and the view was just breathtaking.

I was such a perfect way to start our trip, Iceland is such a beautiful country which never fails to amaze me and they'll be more on my adventures in the land of ice and fire soon!

Snowflakes & Hot Chocolate

Cate

xoxo

The Frequent Flyer: Bobbing Along at The Blue Lagoon

 

The Blue Lagoon, like most places in Iceland, is such mystical, beautiful place and the number one stop off for most people visiting Iceland. Surrounded by snow filled fields and mountains the steam from this naturally heated geothermal lagoon seems to appear as if by magic from out of nowhere!

Once you take off your robes and make a quick dash across the icy boards and set foot into those lovely blue waters you never want to get out! It was below freezing outside but those waters were so warm and comforting making your frozen toes and that dash across the boards in nothing but your swimwear all worth it.

It's hard to believe that the water is really that blue but it really, truly is despite the fact that it's black at the bottom! There were also boxes filled with silica mud surrounding the lagoon which you could use free of charge to cover yourself in and gain the benefits of all those natural minerals and I have to say my skin really did feel better and much cleaner after swimming around covered in mud for a couple hours.

Of course after a couple of hours bobbing about in those blue waters you being to get a strange form of head freeze and icicles even begin to form in your hair so it's time to get out get showered and get changed, I wished I could have stayed in those waters for a bit longer but I really was turning into a wrinkly prune from being in there for so long.

A nice hot chocolate was a welcome treat and a good way to defrost afterwards and before I left I raided the gift store for some mud and scrubs to bring home with me. It was such a great way to relax for a couple hours and being in those nice blue warm waters, surrounded by snowy mountains, seeing the sun rising was such a surreal but wonderful experience it was definitely one of those moments that really make you see just how amazing our natural world is.

Love & Bubbles

Cate

xoxo

Related Links
♥ The Blue Lagoon

♥ Photos on Flickr

The Frequent Flyer: Aurora Hunting

Our main reason for our mini Iceland getaway was to seek out the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis, after  checking the weather forecast religiously the week before we were due to leave and seeing nothing but rain and snow I wasn't expecting to see them at all but after just a few hours in Iceland and a short bus ride out of the city we got lucky and experienced one of the most amazing displays on record!

At first it can be difficult to see the Aurora, with the naked eye we could make out a more defnined band of white in the sky and slowly a greenish mist, however after taking a long exposure photo we could see that there were colours in the sky, as we were only using a point-and-click we only saw the basics but other people with better quality cameras were getting all kinds of brighter different shades of red, pink,and green.

After standing outside (in sub zero temperatures) staring at the greenish mist in the sky which was beginning to fade we made our way back to the bus a little disappointed that that was all we managed to see but then as we were driving back to Reykjavik the sky seemed to explode and well defined colourful streak appeared all over the sky moving and dancing just like you see in the movies!

There are no words for me to express just how amazing it was seeing them in real life, the sky just seemed to explode and light up with colour and it was so beautiful I even shed a tear. A lot of people go to Iceland with the intention of seeing the Northern Lights and don't see them at all but we saw them three nights in a row although the first night was definitely the brightest and most spectacular.

I feel exceptionally lucky to have had the experiences that I had in Iceland they are definitely something I will never forget and I'll hold close to my heart for the rest of my life. Iceland is such a beautiful and wondrous island that I think everyone should visit at least once in their lives, I've only been back a couple weeks but I miss it so much and would love so much to visit there again.

Stars & Snowflakes

Cate

xoxo

Here are a couple of my favourite videos of the Aurora Borealis just to give you an idea of what we saw

Aurora Borealis in Finnish Lapland 2011 from Flatlight Films on Vimeo.


Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

Related Links

♥ Photos on Flickr

The Frequent Flyer: Horse Riding Through Narnia

Some of you who follow me on Twitter may know that I took a short but magical break to the Land of Ice and Fire AKA Iceland and whilst there I fulfilled one of my childhood fantasies of horse riding in the snow although I never actually planned for it to snow lucky for me the snow started falling on the morning we had planned our ride and completely transformed the amazingly beautiful scenery into something vast, white and mysterious.

This was my first time horse riding, it's one of those things that's been on my to-do list for the longest time so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, if it would be difficult to do or if it would be painful but thankfully the staff were wonderful with us giving us simple instructions on how the handle the horses, mount and dismount, and my horse Struoka was lovely, calm and very patient with me.

Icelandic horses are smaller than your average horse but just as sturdy and they love the cold weather, so being out in the snow that morning was a great treat for them and us, we were only out riding for a couple hours but they had to have been some of the best hours of my life!

It was such a great experience riding through the falling snow in such a magical setting I almost felt like I was in a fairytale place and I'd somehow fallen through my closet and landed in the mystical land of Narnia. My horse was so lovely and friendly with me even when she went a little too fast and nearly overtook the instructors she slowed down when I told her to and didn't throw me off which is always a good sign!

Seeing Iceland on horseback was such an amazingly beautiful thing to do, even though I was quite cold and wet (but luckily not sore!) towards the end of it, it was one of the best things I've ever experienced and if given the chance I would do it again in a heartbeat, so who knows maybe I might take some horse riding lessons in the new year...

Snowflakes & Sugarcubes

Cate

xoxo

Related Links

♥ Photos on Flickr

♥ Ishestar