Before we rented a car we went on a bus tour! The first stop on the tour was, drumroll pleaseee.... The Gas Station! Thanks to the recommendation of our tour guide, this turned out to be a great stop for our stomachs! While the bus topped up we bought a couple of Icelandic pancakes, which are a lot like crepes! Once we had finished our sweet snack we also tried Icelandic hot dogs. Now if you know me, you know hot dogs are not my favorite food, I usually end up mutilating it in the process of trying to eat as little as possible. These hot dogs however, were thin, and not overly fatty, with fried onions and mustard. I was very impressed! After our unorthodox breakfast, we made it to our real first stop Skógafoss! Skógafoss is a waterfall on the 

Skógá River which marks the former Icelandic coastline. The sunrise was just coming into a full glow as the morning rain cleared, and the whole landscape was cast in a shade of gold. A double rainbow etched around the waterfall, and as I'm sure you'll be able to tell from my face in the pictures, I was absolutely exhilarated by the serenity of this place. From the golden waterfall we then rode to Reynisfjara, a long black sand beach on the South coast of Iceland, near the town of Vik. I have been excited about visiting this beach from the beginning of my trip planning, and it did not disappoint. The rocks gleamed like obsidian, and columnar basalt cliffs towered over us ominously. But it was the waves that really set the scene. Huge ten foot waves crashed along the beach, they crept up on more than one unsuspecting person, which I was laughing about until that person was me. I repeat these waves are HUGE, and the particularly big ones will be followed by "creeper" waves. Creeper waves make it look like the tide is going out but really it is about to strike again! The beach was (a little deadly from what the guide was saying) moody, dark, and chaotic, kind of like if Taormina Beach had an emo cousin. I adored it. The wind was so strong I could lean back into it and it held me up, and I pestered Ryan until he finally got a picture of it happening. From the blackest of beaches we then went to Sólheimajökull glacier. I've never seen a glacier before but now, I can say I've touched a piece of glacial ice! While there I kept finding myself thinking I'd be able to take just a small part of the beautiful blue and white ice home as a memento. I laughed at myself, "you can't take ice home with you, it won't last it melts." I thought. And somehow this made me sad. The glaciers are, after all, melting, and so I hope we can keep making efforts to take them with us for the generations to come. Such marvels deserve preservation and respect. Last on our busy day was the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. This one was great because you could walk all the way behind it. It was great fun and a bit slippery. Ryan almost took out a little British lady as he slid down the watery steps. Absolutely in love with all the natural beauty here.🇮🇸❄️🧊🌊

The hot dog 🐶

Waterfall #1

The Black Sand Beach!

Just glacier tings❄️

I walked under this waterfall!