Iceland November 2017 - Day 2 - 31st October

Day 2

No mishaps or oversleeps.  Up bright and early, packed my stuff into the car and picked Kevin up at  3.30 then on to Machen to pick up Abi.

Made it to Abi's shortly after and then set off through Caerphilly to pick up the M4.  We are going through Caerphilly because the roads are closed, our end, for roadworks.

We then made good progress and arrived at Heathrow, Terminal 5 an 6 O'clock.  We caught a shuttle bus immediately and sped off to the terminal. Unfortunately I had left my phone in the car so had to go back to get it.  It did not take too long and I was soon back in the terminal meeting up with the others

Having already printed off our boarding card getting rid of our luggage was a simple operation.  We then made our way through security and settled into Huxley's Bar and Kitchen for a hearty breakfast before taking off.  Not been here before but I can thoroughly recommend it.  Good service, good food and prices we have come to expect at airports.

Huxley's Bar & Kitchen

Abi waiting for her breakfast

Kevin's not, his has arrived

After breakfast we lost Abi for a while so waited in the bar knowing she would come back to find us.  Sure enough she did.

Kevin bought the drinks

Here's mine

Too late! She's seen us

After a while we went for a walk about the airport and Kevin insisted on a second breakfast in Starbucks, so it was coffee and croissants.  Very enjoyable, then it was time to board our plain for Iceland and a few hours later we were landing at Keflavik airport.

Getting through customs and collecting our baggage was the best I have ever experienced anywhere in the world.

I am sure she can manage it

In no time we were outside the airport, boarding the shuttle bus and heading over to pick up our hire car.

Spotted it. That's the one we want

Abi guarding the luggage while Kev's on his phone

We picked up a Hyundai Tucson 4 wheel drive, paid extra for a Sat Nav and set off on the drive to Brekka Lodge where we were due to stay.  Then the trouble started.  It was raining, it was dark, the steering wheel was on the wrong side and the Sat Nav decided not to work.  A journey that should have taken not much more than an hour took four hours.  Icelandic drivers were very rude. blowing their horns and waving two fingers out of their car windows at us just because we were not driving fast enough for them when we were only trying to find the right roads to be on.  If the road signs were better illuminated and gave a clue as to what roars we were on it would have been better.

Eventually we found Brekka Lodge high up on a hillside in total darkness, but when we entered the house the previous hours were forgotten.  It was fantastic. So warm and welcoming that even in the dark and the rain it just felt magical.

The following are our first impression sightings of Brekka Lodge

We will have much more time to take photographs tomorrow after a good nights sleep and daylight to explore around. I am sure we will have loads more to share with you.