a large day

I’ve referenced the origin of a “large day” in a previous blog. It’s about looking up and about, and experiencing an extraordinarily large and beautiful day. Literally. Today was that kind of day

It began with a lovely breakfast served at the hotel.

Soon after we drove into town so I could find an espresso. We ended up in a small retail complex – a bakery serving expresso drinks, an Icelandic handmade shop, a post office, a volcano exhibit and a grocery store. It turned out to be a delightful place to stop. We had such a lovely conversation with the handcrafter person on duty in the handmade shop.

I bought a scarf. I’m not a scarf wearer but recent sightings of others wearing scarfs brought about a quick purchase from the handmade shop. I’m so glad to have it for the joy alone that I’ve had wearing it today.

It’s our habit to stop at most churches across Iceland. And there are many. Often they are locked. My traveling friend taught me that you can place your phone on an outside window and take a picture of the inside.

We journeyed on down Route 1 to a yarn and pottery shop. Since the pottery shop was closed today, I wandered about enjoying the large day.

We drove on to one of my favorite waterfalls, Urrigafoss. This waterfall is on Iceland’s longest river and is the most voluminous waterfall in the country. The name means sea trout. Also found in the river are salmon which can be seen swimming upriver to the waterfall. They have strong and long tail fins in order to clear the 6 meter-high waterfall.

The Icelandic lupine, the same species plant as Texas bluebonnets, are about to bloom. They are seen alongside roads, trails, parks. We found them along the waterfall trail today.

Of course this happened. Anyone knowing me is not surprised.

As we left Urrigafoss we chose to drive a series of back roads. We were rewarded by the beauty of this small space of Iceland.

Time for a late lunch. We returned to a favorite cafe for a delicious meal during which we could not avoid a sobering conversation about recent events.

A last stop in our day of travel was at Bókakaffið, a local bookstore that also offers espresso coffee.

Now home for the night. It was, indeed, a very large day. Big plans for tomorrow.