Iceland: Reykjavik, Day 1

We'll do our best to try and keep these posts short and sweet, but since this is officially day 1 in a foreign land, perhaps a little extra content is in order.

We landed at 7am, Iceland time, after a long and sleepless red eye flight - owing to the fact that there were dueling toddler temper tantrums nearly the entire 6hr flight, just across the aisle.  We departed to precisely half the temperature of Lafayette (a balmy 49 degrees) and inhaled the freshness, only to realize that we left one of our phones in the back seat pocket.  Oh no... Not even one full day in, and we already lost a phone!  But not to worry, a quick dash to customer service, and the nice folks at Icelandair found it, and it was promptly back in hand.

Poor Zane.  Apparently his BART episode was simply a precursor to the next 24 hrs.  Another bout on the plane, and now he is passed out in bed with terrible stomach pain.  This too shall pass.

Today was earmarked for getting our feet wet, and acclimating to the time and how we get around.  To keep costs down, we also had our first foreign grocery shopping experience.  It was a mixture of, "hey, they have that here too!", and, "how do you pronounce that?". But alas, we exited under budget and underway in good shape.

Some other random observations:
- The entire Iceland Airport smelled curiously like an IKEA.  And the flow was equally maddening.
- The landscape is reminiscent of the Kona side of Hawaii, except much greener (thick moss grows everywhere), and much bluer (beautiful blue lupine patches are everywhere).
- Where are all the middle aged workers around here?  I swear, everyone we have been served by, from the airport service, rental car agency, grocery store, and everywhere in between, must be no more than 25yrs old (and all blond, blue eyed, and tall).
- In downtown Reykjavik, they place little figurines in random places throughout the street scene.  On top of street signs, window ledgers, etc.
- I think we may pass on the ever popular Blue Lagoon.  A quick stop by revealed it has become the official Mecca of the tour bus industry.
- Exhaustion will help tonight, but not sure how to cope with a sunset at midnight, and sunrise at 3am...

Final Thought:
I couldn't be more proud of our kids.  They persevered thru day one like champs, and am truly excited about the future of this adventure.