Since moving to Iceland I have done a lot of weekend adventuring with my Viking. But this past weekend I did something new, I did some weekend adventuring with a group of my closest gal pals!
Now I love exploring with my Viking, he is my favorite travel partner in crime, but sometimes you just need a day with the girls ya know?
And in Iceland a girls day means you get to spend the day with your favorite ladies visiting some beautiful places.
Photo credit to the lovely Jeannie who was smart enough to bring her tripod so we could get these awesome group shots!
Our girls day adventure started off late Saturday morning when we said goodbye to a rainy Reykjavik and headed south with our fingers crossed we would find sun on the other side of the mountains.
To kick off our day we started with a lunch at the most adorable restaurant, Friðheimar . Friðheimar is a real farm to table experience, as in you are eating right next to the place where the food you are enjoying is grown!
How cool is that?
At Friðheimar visitors can enjoy a fresh meal inside the greenhouse with tomato plants all around. With the use of the Icelandic geothermal energy the greenhouses grow tomatoes and cucumbers year round, thank goodness for the greenhouses in Iceland so we can have fresh produce in the middle of winter!
Before we sat down to enjoy our meal we got a quick introduction to the operation of the greenhouses which I found incredibly interesting. The owners even have an app that they can monitor the greenhouses while they are away! We took some time walking aruond the greenhouse before sitting down to enjoy our meal, I foresee many visits back to this lovely stop with anyone who visits me!
The rows and rows of tomatoes just growing away
Is this not the most adorable place?
If you are a tomato lover like me this place will be like heaven! From tomato soup to tomato cheesecake all the items on the menu are tomato based. While it was tempting to give the tomato ice cream a try we were there for the famous tomato soup and bread buffet, and holy yummy this soup did not disappoint!
As if Friðheimar wasn’t charming enough each table has their own basil plant (which is also grown in the greenhouses) so you can cut fresh basil to enjoy with your meals.
Enjoying fresh soup and bread inside a greenhouse sharing laughs with my friends, this was one memorable meal!
With our bellies full of all things tomato goodness we said goodbye to Friðheimar and were greeted by the sun as we walked outside. The Icelandic weather, you can never figure out what it is going to do, but we were more than happy to have some sunshine for the rest of our adventure.
Stop number two took us to one of my favorite places in Iceland, the beautiful blue Brúarfoss!
Even though I was at Brúarfoss just a few months ago the beauty of this place still amazes me! I could sit and stare at the blue water all day, especially when the sun is out.
Our group spent a good hour soaking up the sunshine and blue view. The only downside to this stop was that it was quite busy, which is different from my other two trips to Brúarfoss where I was the only one there. But, I guess we have to share these beautiful places sometimes and I am more than happy to share them with my gorgeous friends.
This day is going to having me smiling all week. Adventures with friends are just the best!
To congratulate ourselves on successfully navigating to Brúarfoss on our first try (it can be a tricky place to find but use these directions!) a treat was in order.
Stop number 3 took us to a farm called Efstidalur, a new to me place and one our friend Stacey gets all the credit for taking us to, I loved this stop!
Efstidalur is a family farm that is now a guesthouse where guests can get first hand experience of the Icelandic farm life. In addition to the guesthouse there is a restaurant and ice cream shop where products from the farm are used.
Ice cream doesn’t get fresher than having it right on the farm next to the cows the milk came from! This trip was apparently all about eating as fresh as possible food. And the salted caramel ice cream at Efstidalur, it is the best ice cream I have ever tried, like I am trying to think of a way to get back out there next weekend for me cause I can’t stop thinking about it good!
By this point I could of called it a day and been incredibly happy, but there was still one more stop on our girls trip, and this stop was like the cherry on top of an already awesome day.
Our last stop, it was all about relaxation.
It was spa time!
Laugarvatn Fontana is located right along the Laugarvatn lake which makes for a gorgeous view while you are soaking in the geothermal pools. There are a few different pools of varying temperatures as well as steam rooms that guest can enjoy.
This would make the perfect stop to add to the end of your day exploring the Golden Circle! We arrived in the early evening and got lucky to find the pools mostly empty, it was the ultimate relaxing experience.
And when you get bored of relaxing you can get your heart rate up with a jump into the lake.
Jeannie and I braved the chilly water and jumped into the lake with our handy neon watershoes Fontana provides guests. The walk into the water is a bit rocky so those shoes were feetsavers. I of course chose the faulty pair of shoes and after hitting the water and jumping in my shoes flew off so I had to walk across those rocks barefoot, but you know it was all apart of the experience. And if anything we got one hilarious video out of it!
After that icy experience we opted to stick to the warm pools until it was time to call it a night.
I feel so lucky to have met these girls!
When you are an expat your friends really do become like family and I am glad to have found my tribe. And a big bonus, Jeannie is an awesome blogger and Stacey is all about photography so they are the perfect group to travel with, they know that dozens of pictures at each stop is a must!
We had to do at least one blogger pose together:)
Iceland sure makes for one ultimate girls day.
Who needs girls night out when you have can girls day out exploring gorgeous places and sharing laughs along the way?!
All of these stops are near the Golden Circle route and would make for the perfect addition to your Golden Circle adventure. I have an awesome alternative Golden Circle itinerary coming your way soon with these spots, stay tuned!
Question of the Day?
Who is your favorite travel partner?
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