"How do you like Iceland?"

We had a couple of tourists from England staying with us this past weekend, James and Laura. They were very clean, tidy, quiet and polite, and didn't get in my way at all. In fact I liked having them around - James just graduated as a doctor and I had a good time just chilling with him up at Jonsi's summer house on Saturday evening. Laura is my dad's friend's daughter. My dad said that he and Laura's dad, who is also called Gary, used to go to New Order concerts together 25 years ago and seeing Laura again made him feel old because she was just a baby when my dad saw her last. This was their first visit to Iceland so I decided I would take the opportunity to do some tourist things with them, although that didn't include whale-watching, horse-riding or to the Blue Lagoon like they did. Dad says I can do that when I am bigger. On Sunday dad drove us to Gullfoss, Geysir and Þingvellir, referred to by tour guides as 

"The Golden Circle."

James and Laura stood a little bit too close to the Geysir when it blew and had to run for cover.

Next stop was Gullfoss, a big, noisy waterfall which you could walk right up to. 

After that we drove to Þingvellir, a National Park and site of the original Icelandic parliament. 

While Mum and Laura and James walked through  the canyon I decided to take a nap - there's only so much history and sightseeing you can take in a day and frankly I didn't see what was in it for me. I'd much rather have gone horse-riding, whale-watching or splashing around at the Blue Lagoon but what can you do when you only have one vote and there is two of them parent people deciding what's good and what's not good for you!

So James and Laura, as we Icelanders always ask: "How do you like Iceland?"

 

Iceland Celebrates...

"Gleðilega Hátíð!" to my Icelandic family members, indeed to all Icelanders. Today is June 17th - Iceland's National Day which means it is the first time I am able to celebrate with my fellow countrymen, even though I am only half Icelandic. Mum, who is 100 per cent Icelandic and dad, who is not even one per cent Icelandic, took me into Reykjavik city centre where it was packed with people, most of whom were carrying flags, balloons, little dogs or kids like me. For the occasion I wore my new Icelandic sweater that amma Sæunn knitted for me. 

My mum told me to mention that she put the zip on. How difficult can that be? The Icelandic sweater is called a "lopapeysa" and it is made of wool. It keeps you very warm. In winter and summer!   

My New Wheels!

Now that's more like it! This is my new way of getting around - grab onto something that has wheels and put one foot in front of the other and away you go! Easy! I learned this trick all by myself, I started off by holding onto a chair and sliding it forward - that was a few days before my mum and dad bought me this blue cart - they were a bit slow catching on but hey, I can forgive them. 

They just need to keep up as I'm figuring new stuff out each day like eating with your hands and opening drawers and cupboards and finding the remote control for the tv. Life is getting a lot more interesting.

Party, Party!

I went to two birthday parties on Saturday! First, we went to Jonsi's summer house at Miðdalur in Kjós, which is in the countryside about a 35-minute drive from Reykjavík. It was Anna and Arni Bjartur's birthday and the sun shone and the sky stayed blue. It was very hot, well, hot for Iceland at least, but that was alright because I had my sun hat on and mum put sunscreen on my face. This is a picture of me and my dad at the party. 

Mum couldn't be in the photo because she was eating, as usual.

After that we went back to Reykjavík for the birthday party of my twin cousins, Aðalbjörg and Sigrún, and their brother Hörður Már. 

Dad went to the Iceland v Holland football match. I wish he was at the party, he wouldn't have let them stick those rabbit ears on me. Everyone thought it was cute - but I thought it was uncool.

No Dad! This One!

It was time to do a bit more rearranging... 

I needed to go through the dvd collection and see if there was anything for my generation. Not much to be honest, although mum seems to have similar taste to me in movies - Disney films and musicals - dad says it has something to do with "nothing too taxing for the brain," or something. So, anyway, after pulling them all off the shelves, I finally decided on one that looked like it might be for me, but then I spotted the cd collection and decided that needed rearranging as well!

Seal of Approval!

Today we went to the Húsdýra- og Fjölskyldugarðurinn where I saw lots of animals, including a seal that was born this morning. 

I saw cows and pigs and horses and goats and sheep and rabbits and chickens, a turkey, fish, seals and lots of geese. Best thing was when I got to stick my hand through the fence and pet a baby sheep. I didn't dare do that with the goats, though! 

We also met Rannveig Erla and Helga Vala and Ísak Þór who were with their mum and dad, Óli and Halla. It was a nice place and mum says she is going to take me back there again. Mum also said that when we go to England next month she will take me to Finkley Down Farm and Petting Zoo with my Grandma and Granddad. Animals are cool!

The Day I Met a Legend!

This weekend I met Óli Þórðarson, who told me he is a football legend! I don't think he was as good as my dad but I suppose if you play 72 or 73 times for the Icelandic national team you might be quite good. 

Óli doesn't play football anymore, my dad says he's too slow and too old so now he just shouts and coaches a team who are doing very well.  My dad says the only thing he doesn't understand about Óli is that he likes Manchester United. 

I think Óli should be a Saints fan like me, because my dad says we need some more fans, preferably some with a lot of money. 

Óli has a nice wife called Friðmey. They have two daughters, one son, two dogs called Skotta and Jarl, and five chickens but Óli didn't tell me their names. 

They all live in a place called Akranes, which Óli insists always has the best weather in Iceland.