So, I woke up at 3:00 am to catch to shuttle to the airport to head to Paris. The drive to the airport was actually quite stunning - a beautiful rosy pink, dreamsickle sunrise at 4:30 am.
I arrived to the airport around 5:00 am. I spotted the check in counter - no line! Just my luck! I was still a bit confused as to where the entrance was to the check-in area, so I asked a kind looking old man where to go. He stared at me with a sad look on his face and said, "You didn't hear about the strike?" A stared back at him blankly. "I'm sorry, but all flights have been cancelled." At this point, I was definitely thinking that this adorable old man was playing a trick on me. After all, many of the Icelanders I met had a very funny sense of humor. I was waiting for him to exclaim, "Only kidding!" Instead, he pointed me toward the ticket office and told me to wait for them to open at 6:00 am. Sigh. I was in this for the long haul (especially because there were about 30 people in line in front of me).
After about an hour or so, I found out that the next flight I could get was on Sunday (e.g. 48+ hours later). I guess it was time to take the 1.5 hour long shuttle back to Reykjavik. While at the airport, I called the man I rented my apartment from and he agreed to let me just move right back in at the same price we agreed to for the other nights. All right! That was step one...only about 5 more to go to get everything settled.
Eventually, everything did get settled. Phew! After a long, 3-hour nap, I headed back out in the Reykjavik (mainly to go to the grocery store). I don't know what it is about shopping for groceries, but I just find it so comforting/fascinating. I picked up some chocolate covered liquorice (an Icelandic specialty) and some basic food to survive on the next couple days. There were so many bizarre foods in the grocery stores - salted fish and things like that. There were also a lot of imported British biscuits and things to have with tea. Yes, I did buy some chocolate coated digestive biscuits (I missed those from my days at Oxford!)
That night, I went to a free classical music concert at HARPA in celebration of Europe Day! Woohoo! It was really fun to see the main hall bustling with Icelanders (who all seemed so tall and stunning). The music hall was amazing too - very modern, with a deep red interior.
The next day, I stumbled across this awesome World Cultures parade (fate!) I thought it was pretty cool when I saw a group of people dressed in traditional Peruvian garb (things always seem to come full circle). Although, I don't think I have a photo of that part of the parade.
I also made my way back to the church I mentioned earlier so I could catch the elevator up to the top and have a bird's eye view of the the city. I liked the view of the city through the stained glass windows...
Later that day, I went to the Opera concert I mentioned. You could tell it was going to be awesome just by the quizzical brow of the showcase Baratone on the promotional materials:
And, once again, I hopped on the bus to the airport. This time, there was no stunning sunrise, but I managed just fine anyway. Soon enough, I made it to Paris and to my apartment (where I am currently typing this blog post).
I arrived to the airport around 5:00 am. I spotted the check in counter - no line! Just my luck! I was still a bit confused as to where the entrance was to the check-in area, so I asked a kind looking old man where to go. He stared at me with a sad look on his face and said, "You didn't hear about the strike?" A stared back at him blankly. "I'm sorry, but all flights have been cancelled." At this point, I was definitely thinking that this adorable old man was playing a trick on me. After all, many of the Icelanders I met had a very funny sense of humor. I was waiting for him to exclaim, "Only kidding!" Instead, he pointed me toward the ticket office and told me to wait for them to open at 6:00 am. Sigh. I was in this for the long haul (especially because there were about 30 people in line in front of me).
After about an hour or so, I found out that the next flight I could get was on Sunday (e.g. 48+ hours later). I guess it was time to take the 1.5 hour long shuttle back to Reykjavik. While at the airport, I called the man I rented my apartment from and he agreed to let me just move right back in at the same price we agreed to for the other nights. All right! That was step one...only about 5 more to go to get everything settled.
Eventually, everything did get settled. Phew! After a long, 3-hour nap, I headed back out in the Reykjavik (mainly to go to the grocery store). I don't know what it is about shopping for groceries, but I just find it so comforting/fascinating. I picked up some chocolate covered liquorice (an Icelandic specialty) and some basic food to survive on the next couple days. There were so many bizarre foods in the grocery stores - salted fish and things like that. There were also a lot of imported British biscuits and things to have with tea. Yes, I did buy some chocolate coated digestive biscuits (I missed those from my days at Oxford!)
That night, I went to a free classical music concert at HARPA in celebration of Europe Day! Woohoo! It was really fun to see the main hall bustling with Icelanders (who all seemed so tall and stunning). The music hall was amazing too - very modern, with a deep red interior.
The next day, I stumbled across this awesome World Cultures parade (fate!) I thought it was pretty cool when I saw a group of people dressed in traditional Peruvian garb (things always seem to come full circle). Although, I don't think I have a photo of that part of the parade.
I also made my way back to the church I mentioned earlier so I could catch the elevator up to the top and have a bird's eye view of the the city. I liked the view of the city through the stained glass windows...
Later that day, I went to the Opera concert I mentioned. You could tell it was going to be awesome just by the quizzical brow of the showcase Baratone on the promotional materials:
And, once again, I hopped on the bus to the airport. This time, there was no stunning sunrise, but I managed just fine anyway. Soon enough, I made it to Paris and to my apartment (where I am currently typing this blog post).
lol @ quizzical brow!!!! geez, i miss you.
ReplyDelete