Rainy Night Walk in Edinburgh to feeling a sense of familiarity on Icelandair

Monday Dublin, fly to and sleep in Edinburgh
Tuesday morning, drive to and fly from Glasgow, sleep in Reykjavik.

Due to much higher airfares on her weekend, we only ended up with a night in Edinburgh before heading back to Iceland. This was our first guesthouse located in a nice part of Edinburgh not far from the Edinburgh Castle.  So after a very wise decision to use Onward Travel Solutions to pick us up and get us to the airport in the morning. Emotional and financial cost was much less than our original plan to rent a car. We had booked a car through Expedia, but since they were incapable of modifying our car type, changing the plan was a perfect solution. Watching our drivers maneuver the streets of Edinburgh and the highways of Scotland was a ton easier than driving it ourselves.

After we landed on a rainy evening at St Bernard's House (not recommended by me- not clean, pretty run down, charged extra for not much), X and I headed to a grocery store for some grub. Later, he and I went for a fast-paced rainy, dusk, trek through the streets and parks of Edinburgh to get a nice glimpse of the castle and a few nearby sights. Gotta do what you gotta do to fit it all in.

Though I am not sure I would do a circle travel again, there was a sense of relief as we came back to the Glasgow Airport. The drive there was worry-free and entertaining as we gabbed with the driver about this and that.

Arriving at the Glasgow and Keflavik airports gave me a nice sense of familiarity. Though it's very Buddhist to appreciate impermanence, I love familiarity.

For this last car rental, we took advantage of the fact that the minimum driving age in Iceland is 22, they drive on the same side as us, and we ordered an automatic.... Xander became our driver. Finally Rory got a break.

Our first stop was to buy groceries and a towel. I can't believe we made it this far not paying heed to the first rule of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy of always having a towel.

I found out about a beach with a hot pot (cost- free) located between Keflavik Airport and our place called Ylströndin í Nauthólsvík. Due to late flights with the ongoing Iceland Air Traffic Controller strike, we only had 30 minutes were the bathrooms were open. But X and I did an Iceland Atlantic Ocean plunge followed but squeezing into a small hot pot filled with Icelanders. Being from Santa Cruz, we had no issue doing the surfer method to change our clothes. Followed by a picnic dinner from the back hatch of the car next the ocean, we were feeling good.

This last Airbnb is about 6km outside of Reykjavik, is a full studio apartment (my now fave type) and has some spectacular views just outside the window.

Yesterday, being our official last day, entailed a lovely day of driving, swimming, and eating in Western Iceland. The weather this time around was gorgeous. Sunshine with picturesque fluffy Toy Story clouds showing off the majestic mountains that had some snow on them. The drive was one gasp of awe after another. We didn't know about it ahead of time, so we were amazed by and loved the winding 6km long tunnel that burrowed under a bay of water that saved an hour of driving. We went to the small town of Borgarnes and started with a dip in their public swimming pool. Our timing was perfect, no crowds. And this pool waay favorite so far. It had 3 water slides, 3 hot pots of varying temps (38° C (98.6 ° F), 39° C, and 42° C) a steam room (hint- lift your feet up away from the hot steam) and a 35 ° C lap pool. I have come to love the light sulfur smell of the warm pools and showers of Iceland.

Here's a link to pools in Iceland to get an idea of how Icelanders love their water.
http://www.swimminginiceland.com/west-of-iceland/101-borgarnes-swimmingpool

Today, we haved packed up and are currently on the plane ready for 9 hours of flying.

TTFN!

Last pics of Dublin

View of our backyard in Dublin. Zoo is just beyond the wall.

Cumley's Pub.

I will miss Irish food.

Last stop for Dublin before the flight- visit our nighttime zoo pals.

The wolves heard the golf cart approaching with veggies for the nearby critters but sadly it was not horsemeat dinner time for them.

Edinburgh on a dark and stormy night. We adventured to see some of Edinburgh.

One block from our guest house.

Rain sure does make colors vibrant

Awesome sign

A powerful message to us who drive on the right side of the road.

The castle in a distance

I finally tried haggis at the Glasgow Airport. Tasted great. What's everyone talking about?

Flying back to Iceland

Have I mentioned I love flying and I love plane wing shots?

Love this

We parked out on the tarmac like a parking lot while they rolled out staircases and sent busses to pick us up. Classy. Best thing is I walked under the belly of this lovely beast to get the Kneeling Scooter sitting nedt to the baggage conveyor belt for Rory. 

(Bold strategy, Cotton.)

Planned stop... 

Beach side hot pot- Nauthólsvík

Backyard view at Elmar's Airbnb. Nice.

A few Icelandic foods: Gull beer, shrimp and egg salad, baked flat bread, and the most beautiful very yolked eggs.

Icelandic poppies

Driving northwest of Reykjavik

Rock wall next to our table at the Settlement Restaurant

6 km long tunnel

Borgarnes 

X and I checked out Reykjavik one last time an hour before closing time for most of the shops.

Trekking at dusk (11pm) in eastern Reykjavik near or pace in search of a swimming pool. Sad to say, I put in the wrong address on MapsMe and we headed back without a pool sighting. 

Geothermal steam sources, seen from our backyard at 4 (or so) in the morning. We learned that this 700° C water/ steam is the source of the warm water and radiator and hydronic heating of the whole area.