HOT SHOPPING IN ICELAND

You quickly realize in Iceland, that if men and women take the time to dress up (not in jeans) to head to the bars for the Runtur when it's cold outside, then obviously fashion is important to Icelanders. Shopping is incredibly expensive in Iceland, but it's worth shelling out the extra krona (ISK) for local designers' stuff...their creations are unique and fashion forward.RYK, owned by Kristin Kristjansdottir, off of Laugavegar in downtown Reykjavik is a store that I absolutely fell in love with and wanted to transport back to the U.S. Kristin is a designer who literally makes the clothes she sells in her own shop.She has beautiful tops, dresses, and cute jackets that range in price of about $60-$300USD. I got a tunic that can either be worn as a dress or paired with leggings. I can't say enough about her stuff...and the fact that her little Pomeranian keeps her company in the store while she's working...she's a woman after my own heart. Another trip to Iceland for the weekend just to shop in Kristin's store would not be out of the question for me! She is working on getting her website up and running, but you can check out some of her awesome designs by clicking here, or email her at kristinryk@simnet.isAnother store, which you'll see all over Iceland, is 66* North. Their slogan is "Keeping Iceland Warm since 1926," and they live up to their words. They carry hats, gloves, scarves, coats, etc., and you see people all over Iceland wearing their stuff. My friend Laura and I couldn't resist when we saw almost every woman walking around downtown Reykjavik in one of their furry hats. It cost about $70USD for one, but we both wore ours the entire trip, and know we'll get good use out of them in the wintertime in New York...so they were a good investment!Now, if shelling out a lot of krona (ISK) for clothing is not your thing, then I suggest heading to Kolaportid Flea Market.

It's a Reykjavik institution, open on Saturdays & Sundays (11am-5pm) where you can find second-hand clothing, Icelandic sweaters, antique jewelry, trinkets & art for the home, music, and food. I mention food, in particular, because this is the place where you can try hakarl- rotten shark. Sounds gross? It is! (Just take a look at my face!) It tastes and smells like ammonia. But, it's an Icelandic delicacy- which is usually eaten more as a right of passage (i.e. when you join a fraternity/sorority in college).All in all, there's something for everyone when it comes to shopping in Iceland. Yes, it is still a fairly expensive country to visit, but the U.S. dollar is worth twice more there today than it was just three years ago...so if you can, jet set there soon. You will love Iceland!

ICELAND GLACIER HIKE & RUNTUR HIKE

You know the saying "When in Rome...do as the Romans do."? Well, the same goes for Iceland, when in Iceland...do a glacier hike! My friend Laura is definitely the adventurous type and suggested that we go on a glacier hike in Iceland. I agreed, thinking how hard could it be, right? She told me it would be a 2 out of a 5...boy, was I in for a shock! In the end, I'm glad we did it, but only because I made it down unscathed!.Our day started at 9:30am. We signed up to go with a tour group called Arctic Adventures. Our driver and guides name was Mio.There were six of us in total on the hike (including Mio).It took about 2 and 1/2 hours to drive out to a glacier known as Skogar on the south coast of Iceland. The drive was absolutely beautiful, with views of mountains and the Atlantic Ocean along the way. When we got to Skogar, it was raining and windy...great weather for a glacier hike...not! Mio fitted us each for our crampons, gave us an ice pick- which also could be used as a walking stick, and he taught us how to walk both up and down the glacier. Five minutes later, we were on our way to the top! Along the way, we would walk very close to something known as crevasses- holes about 20-30 feet deep.It was scary! You definitely had to watch where you were going at all times. The sight from the top was spectacular.Laura and her boyfriend, Pierre, even ice climbed. They sure are brave!

It was a great experience- and quite a good workout too I might add. It was definitely out of my comfort zone, and Rich felt the same way, but we are so glad we did it!

After the three hour hike, we drove to see Skogafoss waterfall. It's not as big as Gulfoss, but it beautifully topples down a rocky cliff.

After this day...we certainly needed another visit to one of Reykjavik's geothermal pools...and that's exactly what we did. For dinner that night, we wanted something not so fancy, and headed to American Style for hamburgers. Icelanders love their fast food...and American Style is where locals like to go. This place looks like a fast food joint when you first walk in and it acts like one too. You have to go up to the register to place your order and pay, and then you sit down and they bring the food out to you. We had bacon burgers- which come with special sauce on them- and french fries.We washed it all down with a local Viking beer.Since it was a Friday night, we decided to do the Runtur- Reykjavik's pub crawl. the Runtur happens every Friday and Saturday night along Laugavegar- the main street in town. Icelanders dress up and head out to the bars to drink, dance and be merry. The good times last until about 6 in the morning when places finally close. We started our Runtur at Karamba- which is a coffee house by day and a lounge/bar at night.

From there we went to Kaffibarrin- which has the London Underground symbol over the door. Inside, it's really cute and looks like an old house.Next we went to Bar 11 which is your standard bar.The last place on our Runtur was B5- a super sleek spot that has great music and is a good place to dance. Next week, you can read about some of Reykjavik's great shopping and the Blue Lagoon...stay tuned!

EATING OUR WAY THROUGH ICELAND

Icelandic cuisine is fresh and delicious - locally caught fish and free roaming lamb are common dishes that are always great. You can also find interesting delicacies like puffin, wild goose and rotten shark. But Icelanders like their fast food too - so you can definitely get your fix of hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza. Our first meal was at Prikid Restaurant on Laugevegar- the main shopping and culture street.Inside, it looks like a bar downstairs, and in fact at night that's exactly what it turns into.Just head upstairs for a table and you will be sitting right next to all the locals...this is a great spot.We had the "Hangover sandwich" a perfect combination of ham, cheese, bacon, egg, tomatoes, lettuce, garlic dressing and french fries. We also had our first Skyr- a must try in Iceland. Basically it is like a yogurt that is made out of cheese and has the consistency of creme brule. It comes in all different flavors like blueberry, strawberry, melon, etc. We ordered the vanilla which was delicious and became our favorite on the trip. We continued our walk around the city and found our way over to Baejarins Beztu Pylsur- Icelandic for "The World's Best Hot dog." Icelanders are very much in love with hot dogs and they swear the best come from this stand. In fact, when President Bill Clinton visited Iceland, he patronised this hot dog.If you use the phrase "Eina med ollu" you will get "one with everything" which means it comes with ketchup, mustard, remoulade (their special sauce), and raw and fried onions. The hot dogs are about $280ISK each. Note: You can use your credit card and debit card everywhere in Iceland. It's definitely the more popular way to go than cash. You can even use it to buy your hot dog! Definitely not something you would find in the U.S. By this time, we were stuffed, and so we walked it off by heading to Hallgrimskirkja Church.

Head to the top for some spectacular views of the city and the snow capped mountains. Entrance will cost you $400ISK. We continued over to the area of the city known as Skyline over to Saebraut which is the street along the water. We took a picture in front of what the locals refer to as the Viking Ship or Sun Ferry. We thought we'd find a big wooden boat, but instead it's just made out of metal- pretty funny!By this point we were ready for an Icelandic cocktail. We made our way over to Cafe Oliver- one of Reykjavik's newest cafe-bars. This is a trendy and stylish bar/lounge that supposedly turns into a good nightclub Thursdays-Saturdays. Brennivin is an Icelandic Schnapps and should be tried when in Iceland. We ordered the Eskimo Mojito (rum, sugar, lime, fresh mint, soda & Icelandic Brennivin), the Blue Lagoon a la Oliver (Brennivin, Curacao Blue, Malibu, 7-up & Grenadin), and a Premium- a light colored Icelandic beer. Dinner that night was at Dill Restaurant.Dill is a new restaurant that just opened in February of 2009. It's located in the Nordic Cultural House in Reykjavik and is a small yet beautiful, clean space that is well designed. It has an open kitchen and the dining experience is multi sensory. This meal now ranks as one of the Top 5 Best Meals we have ever had while traveling. It reminded us a lot of the dinner we had at Alinea Restaurant in Chicago. We had a 7-course dinner which began with a glass of champagne. Then they gave us a flower pot filled with creamy dill dip with broccoli and cauliflower and some crumbled red pepper on top- AWESOME!That was followed by another amuse bouche of shaved smoked salmon with a ginger cracker, creme fraiche and a little piece of dill- of course.

Here is more about the delicious goodness that followed:
1- Fennel flan with dreamy fennel salad served with nut crumble & pickled fennel stalks

2- Skate poached in witches brew, award winning Swedes, butter sauce and burned butter powder

3- Fried langoustine wrapped in spruce with onion dressing, roasted onions and seaweed

4- Potatoes, pickled onions, pork shoulder, smoked pork belly and truffles from Ragnar Olafs in Gotland.This was served with local beer that was similar in taste to a Guinness.

5- Wild Goose with rosemary infusion, wild mushrooms, carrots and burned hey and blueberry sauce

6- Aebleskiver with liquorices cream

7- Caramel pudding, beetroot, goat cheese from Budardaiur and juniper ice cream

Price: Champagne, full menu, wine menu, coffee and after dinner drink= 19,000ISK What a great first day in Iceland! Tomorrow find out more about our time at one of Reykjavik's Geothermal Pools and the Golden Circle.