This was a FULL day. It went from noon to midnight.
I was really interested in seeing more than just natural sights on the Golden Circle route, so the addition of visits to farms, the spa, and a restaurant broke up the tour nicely.
Here's the tour map:
Let's take a look at the stops:
Þingvellir, Iceland
Friðheimar
At the local greenhouse, Friðheimar, we learned about the farm and their massive tomato growing facility. We sat at community tables and had home made tomato soup, served with freshly baked bread for lunch. Note: The butter was amazing!
Gullfoss
We took a short walk to the Gullfoss waterfall. Unlike Niagara Falls, you can get really close to this waterfall and there was almost a constant rainbow when we were there.
Geyser
The Strokkur geyser spouts hot water every 6 - 10 minutes. People gather around to see it and grab a photo. I found some interesting images after the geyser went off too.
Farm Efstidalur
At the farm we met one of the owners and sampled farm-produced Skyr, delicious ice cream, whey and feta cheese. We learned about the history of the family owned farm and their expansion into a Bed and Breakfast. It was also fun to see the cows!
Fontana Spa
Geothermal spa Fontana was nice to visit later on in the day. As you do at all spas in Iceland, you shower first, there were private showers, and then enter the geothermal spas in your bathing suit. Each pool was a different temperature so you get get into as hot water as you liked. I enjoyed it and took a shower outside in 54 degree weather, before heading in to shower inside.
Image: Fontana Spa courtesy Icelandic Mountain Guides
Lindin Restaurant
We all enjoyed a two course dinner at the local restaurant Lindin, just across the street from the spa. The night we were there our choices for dinner were Lamb, Artic Char, or Bean Steak (vegetarian). They also had a nice selection of local Icelandic beer.
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