Knowing we would be super tired after our layover, and wanting to make sure we had enough time to do this while we were in Iceland, I booked two premium tickets to the Blue Lagoon for our first day. Now of course this was dependent on our flight getting in on time, and most importantly, our ability to get out of bed after only a couple hours of sleep. But we did it, and it was worth it.

We woke up REALLY early, as breakfast was included with our hotel stay, and our shuttle was picking us up at 7:00am. Breakfast started at 6:30am, so we got there right as it opened. We expected a continental style deal, but there was hashbrowns, toast, scrambled eggs with sausage and without, sausage, bacon, a selection of cereals, yogurt, fruit, juice, pretty much everything you can think of. We were sitting down enjoying our breakfast when I got a phone call on my cell phone saying our shuttle to the Blue Lagoon was outside waiting for us. Well, this was as 6:40am, it was 20 minutes early! It's a good thing we went down to the lobby for breakfast. We had to stuff our faces quickly and we headed out to the shuttle.

We picked up just a few more people, and went straight to the Lagoon. We got there right as it opened, and it was still dark. I read up on reviews and tips on visiting this place, and it was recommended to get there right as it opened as it would be less crowded, and are we glad we took that advice. We were the second people in line (the premium line, cuz you know, that's how we roll) We got checked in right away and our ticket included use of a robe, towel, flip flops (which we got to keep!) a free drink at the Lagoon Bar, and two face masks.

Now the Blue Lagoon is a very popular tourist attraction. It is not, however a natural hot spring, although there are plenty of those in Iceland. The landscaping around it natural, and the lava that shapes the pool is natural, but the water is not from a natural hot springs. This does not make the place any less awesome. The water is very warm, just like a regular hot tub - about 99 or 100 degrees.

There were very few people there, and the Lagoon is quite large, so even once it got crowded, it was still very spacious. It was cloudy, and the steam made for very poor visibility at first and it was hard to get photos that did the place justice. But once the sun came out (about 9:30am) it cleared up. We were in the Lagoon for a couple of hours, and enjoyed our free drink, INCREDIBLE drinking water from a drinking fountain in the Lagoon under one of the bridges, and got not one, but two face masks. As the clouds cleared, and it got light, we were able to enjoy more scenery, and even though we were in there for quite some time, we did not get bored. Our favorite part was the amazingly cold and delicious water fountain.

Once 10:45am rolled around and we were as pruny as could be, and as the Lagoon got more crowded, we got out and got ready for our reservations at LAVA restaurant, which was right at the Lagoon.

Being from a high touristy area, we know very well how overpriced attractions like this can be. Admission, food, etc is always pricey, and LAVA was no exception. They had a pre-fixed menu which included 3 courses and was about $75 per person. Luckily, you could choose just a main dish, and it was only about $30 per person. Still pricey as far as our regular eating out budget goes, but this we well worth it. Jaime got the cod, and I got a vegetarian dish that was mainly cauliflower, but had special sauce, and other veggies mixed in, it was one of the best meals I have ever had, and Jaime said his was too. We also got free bread, and free champaigne since we had the premium tickets, which was an awesome surprise, because I did not know that when I booked it! Or at least I forgot. So when they brought that out, we felt pretty fancy. So yea, lunch was a bit pricey for just one course each, but with free bread, free champaigne, and the food being freaking fantastic, we did not feel like we overpaid one bit. Plus the restaurant is really cool and has a nice view of the Lagoon.

**Something funny though, I told Jaime to bring a nicer shirt since we had reservations at this restaurant, and not only did he forget, but I forgot also and was wearing my Spiderman shirt. But when we walked in to the restaurant, there were people in there in their straight up robes and flip flops, so we were all good. ;)

After we ate, we walked around a bit. It was dark when we got there, so got to enjoy the beautiful scenery before we headed to the shuttle.

We caught a shuttle back to our hotel, freshened up, and walked around the city a bit. We ventured out to find the hotel we needed to be at tomorrow. Our tour starts at a hotel about a mile from ours, however they had no rooms available for the two extra nights before that we are here, so we had to stay at a different place. BUT, our tour meets at 6pm, and the excursion we are doing tomorrow goes all day, so we asked that they pick us up at the second hotel, which means we have to wake up ass early to move our stuff to our new hotel, get picked up there, so we can be dropped off where we have to meet our group.

We found our hotel, and then walked a bit more so we could find the Hallgrimskirkja church. It is a Lutheran Church, and is a very famous building because of the architecture, and its height - one of the tallest structures in Iceland. It was almost dark by the time we got there, and it was not open, but we did get a few cool photos.

Street hot dogs are very popular in Iceland, and there was a place right down the street from the church, so Jaime got one. He said it was really good. It is just a hot dog, but with grilled and regular onions, and what makes them unique is the sauces they put on them. I got a sandwich from a nearby market, and we came back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we are going snowmobling, and into an Ice Cave on one of Iceland's largest glaciers, so bedtime early!