Glimpses of Reykjavik!

Alessio and I went to Iceland, this was the first trip there for both of us and one I have wanted to make for a long time! Reykjavik is a small capital with population at 130,000, it is really easy to walk about and we did not use public transport at all!

There is quite a lot to do in the city itself with its array of museums and churches, of course there are many trips to do outside the city!

The first place we visited was the famous Hallgrimskirkja Church, it is a really amazing church design. We went up to the top for the fantastic view of the whole of Reykjavik with all the colourful buildings and roofs!

There is lots of street art all over the city and this is just some of what we saw, it was all really amazing. There were lots of good cafes to visit, I had researched some of them beforehand but we only went to a few.

The one thing about Iceland as most people know is that it is really expensive and living in Zurich I do not say this lightly! It is really expensive and having visited all the Scandinavian countries I can say it surpasses them too! But I would not let that stop someone from visiting this country, it is so beautiful! Just save up your pennies!

The only disappointment was that we did not see the Northern Lights as the weather was not good! I am not deterred and will try again but not in Iceland!

Wishing you all a good week!

365 Photo Challenge Days 107 to 117

Day 107: Monday 23rd Jan - Alessio

Day 108: Tuesday 24th Jan - Bird feed made with the kids in my class

Day 109: Wednesday 25th Jan - Said bird food hanging outside

Day 110: Thursday 26th Jan - Misty day!

Day 111: Friday 27th Jan - fondue evening

Day 112: Saturday 28th Jan: Lovely sunset

Day 113: Sunday 29th Jan - Another lovely sky

Day 114: Monday 30th Jan - Books on the Chinese New Year

Day 115: Tuesday 31th Jan - My reading list

Day 116: Wednesday 1st Feb - Swiss wine

Day 117: Thursday 2nd Feb - bird spotted!

I am a way behind on this challenge, but I will get there in the end! This week has been busy at work and I even worked on a Friday too for a change!

This week I went to see Fifty Shades Darker which was okay and at times rather funny! I also went to the zoo with some of the kids from my work and that was nice if not rather tiring!

So Alessio will be back tomorrow from his skiing holiday and I am really happy to see him again!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!

Photo of the Week - A Heavy Head!

This is from Iceland, Reykjavik where last week we spent 5 days there,(well really only 3 with the all traveling) exploring all around. So this statue we spotted near to the small lake Tjörnin which is in the city centre.

It is by Magnus Tomasson in 1992, it is a monument to the Unknown Bureaucrat, it is a satirical piece of art work which is supposed to represent the ungrateful, unrecognised job of a bureaucratic worker.

Wishing you all a super mid week!

Random photos of Zurich and the Lake!

After our return from Iceland, Alessio and I continued to keep ourselves busy these past days in Zurich.

Thursday we were happy to see the sun and blue skies which we sorely missed while we were in Iceland. Therefore we went to St Josep park which is next to the Viaduct shopping area, this is one of our favorite parks. Alessio always finds kids he can play football with at this and there is also when the weather gets better a kiosk opens to keep the parents happy with food and drink while their kids are playing.

Friday we went to see a very good film called A Monster Call, it is quite sad so bring some hankies with you.

Saturday Alessio went away for a skiing holiday with his father, so I went for a lovely facial and saw the movie Lion with my friend Arlene. This is a fantastic movie and utterly recommend it!

Finally on Sunday again we had some nice weather and I decided to go for a walk by the lake from Kilchberg down just past Thalwil.

Have a great week!

Exploring the island of Sao Miquel, The Azores

Lagoon of the 7 cities

Lake Santiago

Lake Furnas

Our lunch coming out of the oven

For one week last summer we went to visit The Azores and we stayed on the largest island Sao Miquel. We did two day trips on the island and we saw lots of wonderful sights.

The first tour we visited the Lagoon of the Seven Cities, this is a twin lake situated in the cater of a dormant volcano. We had wonderful views from an advantage point called King`s View then we drove down to the bottom, everything was just so lush! From there we stopped and saw Lake Santiago which is situated also in a crater, surrounded by the Devassa Mountains. Again the view was just breathtaking seeing everything so green and serene looking. We also visited a pineapple planation which I have posted about here!

The second tour took us first to a ceramic factory where we saw plates, mugs and many other things being designed. Then we went to the only tea plantation Riberia Grande in Europe and had a tour around the factory to see the process from the leaves to the end product.

From there we went to a viewpoint to see the beautiful Lake Furnas and then down to the hot springs, where our lunch was being cooked. Furnas stew is lots of vegetables and meat, which had been cooking in the large pot from at least 5 hours. Men came from different restaurants in the town to collect the pots and return to each restaurant. It certainly was a novel way for our lunch to be prepared. We also walked around for a while, looking at the hot springs and steam holes. There was a strong smell of rotten eggs in the air which we found out was sulfur.

After lunch there was a chance to use the thermal baths, which Alessio and my dad did so for around 45 mins.

Then our tour was finished and we were driven back to the hotel. We really enjoyed both our tours and got to see pretty much most of the island. It is a beautful island and would heartily recommend a visit to The Azores. The other 8 islands can be visited too, sadly we had not enough time but I would have liked to have seen more.