{EUROPE} Day Fourteen - Reykjavik, ICELAND

We arrived in our final port, Reykjavik, early this morning...

but discovered that the city center is a bit of a walk away from the port. 

The view of nearby Videy Island was beautiful from the ship...

We had a scheduled excursion for 9:30, so we decided to take it easy and do that first thing...

 

All six of us were registered for a city bus tour, and it gave us a good overview of the capital city. Our first stop was Bessastadir, the president's home. We were all amazed at how we were able to pull right up and walk the grounds!

The president even has her own church out front, too!

Next, we drove by a couple of interesting spots including Hallgrimskirkja, one of the churches that is a symbol of Reykjavik...

the University of Iceland...

the old port...

and Tjornin, a small lake in the middle of the city. Our guide said that it freezes over in the winter and is a popular place for ice skating... 

Our last stop...

was the observation deck of the Perlan Museum...

where we were able to see panoramic views of the city...

On the way back to the port...

we passed Hofdi, the location of the Reykjavik Summit, where Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met in the mid-1980s...

Once we got back to the port, Grandma got back on the ship, and we took off to explore a bit more.

Our first task was to locate the famous stand that sells Icelandic hot dogs!

We found it ~ Baejarins Beztu Pylsur ~ and Hubby & B got in line!

The girls and I decided on pizza and just happened upon the "first pizzeria in Iceland" nearby! We shared a small pizza, and it was just enough to hold us until another snack later in the day...

We met up with Hubby & B afterwards and walked a bit around town...

finding The Parliament House...

where B...

ran up the steps, of course!

We then continued our walk...

over to a school that our guide had shared is the only school in town that still teaches Latin. Our girls (both Latin students) had to grab a picture there!

Next, we did some shopping, stopping at a local grocery store first!

I found a white chocolate version of the Lion Bar I love...

and some more Cool American Doritos...

These just makes me giggle!

Last, Hubby & I decided to try some local beer...

so, we had snacks...

and shared a dessert, too...

It was a nice afternoon...

in the capital city!

We headed back to the ship...

and reconnected with Grandma for dinner in one of the formal dining rooms...

and a show with acrobatics...

Ready for a few days of rest on our way back to Southampton!

More {EUROPE} 2025 Fun...

Day One - London Day 1

Day Two - London Day 2

Day Three - London Day 3

Days Four & Five - Embarkation + AT SEA

Day Six - Stavanger, NORWAY

Day Seven - Skjolden, NORWAY

Day Eight - Olden, NORWAY

Days Nine & Ten - Alesund, NORWAY + AT SEA

Day Eleven - Akureyri, ICELAND

Day Twelve - Isafjordur, ICELAND

Day Thirteen - Grundarfjordur, ICELAND

Days Fifteen-Seventeen - AT SEA

Day Eighteen - London Day 4

Day Nineteen - London Day 5

Day Twenty - HOME!

{Road Trip} Day Five - Operation #CapitolStepsChallenge Completion

After driving through the night and watching the sun rise over the Nevada desert...

we arrived in Carson City and stopped at the Nevada State Capitol Building where, after a nearly 5 year hiatus, B was able to run up his 49th set of state capitol building steps...

From there, we continued on and made the short drive over to Lake Tahoe, and it was beautiful!

We grabbed lunch at Bert's Café...

where the hostess that seated us was from SOUTH CAROLINA!!!

Then, we made a (not so very) quick stop for an oil change before making the drive up to Tahoe City...

stopping for a bit at a viewpoint along the way...

We grabbed an early dinner with a gorgeous lake view at Sunnyside...

before continuing on to Sacramento to COMPLETE the #capitolstepschallenge that was begun nearly 11 years ago...

That's right... We arrived at the California State Capitol, and B was able to run up his 50th, and FINAL, state capitol building steps. He (make that, WE) did it!!!

Who would've thought that the goal a little 7 year old made "to run up the steps of every state capitol building" (albeit AFTER we had just gotten back from a family road trip to Maine) would be met over a decade later...

{possibly the best part of this is getting to deflate and toss these left over graduation balloons (that's an upside down "2" from "2024") that have made the trip from SC along with us!}

Wow! Now, this is a bit emotional. I sure am grateful to our B for giving purpose and direction to all of the family road trips we've taken and the miles we've driven. I sure have enjoyed showing our children what a beautiful country we live in!

Now, to get some sleep...

More {Road Trip} 2024 Fun

Day One - Meet Me in St. Louis, Later on Tonight?

Day Two - CITY Fun in St. Louis!

Day Three - A Prime Time in Kansas City

Day Four - Denver to Salt Lake City, and Beyond

Day Six - San Francisco, What a Treat!

Day Seven - A Beautiful Drive

Day Eight - A Univerally Good Time

Day Nine - Heading South and Then East

Day Ten - A Day at the Burning Bush...Errr, I Mean the Joshua Tree(s)

Day Eleven - Four Corners, Four States, and a Four Gazillion Hour Drive

Day Twelve - Going Nutty and Covering a Lot of Ground

Day Thirteen - A Little Bit of Elvis and HOME!