Saturday - 2 September - City Sights Tour and Blue Lagoon

Don't know when tractors were allowed in the city,  but they aren't allowed now!

These flower pots are all over the city.   They are lovely

Painting on a building down near the harbour

Same building,  different painting

This is a grass covered mound near the harbour that you can climb and get a really good view of the area.   You walk round and round until you reach the top

And this is what is in that little wooden cage on top of the mound - fish heads!!!    And they stink!!!   Don't know if anyone owns them,  but they looked quite fresh

This is the Catholic Church in Reykjavik

These are small cairns next to the Harpa Concert Hall.   Don't know the significance of them in this location - on the harbour shore

This is the Concert Hall - very new

The glass 'cubes' and panels that the outside of the building is made of were made in China.   The Chinese company was the only one to tender for the job.   They look stunning,  from inside and out!

We had two tours booked for today, the City Sights Tour which was a bus around Reykjavik with a guide who pointed things out as we went.  We got out at a couple of places of which there will be photos below, courtesy of Maureen.  It was actually a really good tour and well worth while.
We got back to the hotel around 12.30, had lunch and a beer (of course) then got picked up at the hotel at 14.30 for our trip to the Blue Lagoon.  What an experience!!  Only one negative - they ran out of ice!!  I said to the girl:  'This is Iceland.  How can you run out of ice?'  She didn't think it was funny but Maureen and I were hysterical.
I'll just put in a couple of photos before I continue on because I took my mobile into the pool so Maureen doesn't have any of our time in the pool:

Bit misty out here today

Great way to spend an afternoon,  though

No captions needed...
We met there a young brother and sister from Melbourne who sounded like they were from the USA but had never actually been there.  This was about 17.00 by the time we got in the pool, got our drinks, floated around, giggled a bit, etc, etc, etc, - they had been there since 10.00, just floating around.  They hadn't even gotten out to eat.  By the time we met them, they were thinking about it.
It was hard to leave there but they only allow three drinks per wireless wrist band - I think Maureen has a photo of that - so we couldn't think of anything else to do so we went home.  However, if we can fit it in, we'll go back before we leave.
Got the bus back to Reykjavik and arrived about 1930, had dinner then I went to bed while Maureen sorted and downloaded 19 658 photos.

Typical skyline - sun and cloud

This is the house where Reagan and Gorbachov met in 1986 (?).   Beautiful house,  now used as a conference centre

These sorts of photos are on plaques around the house

Apparently,  journalists waited outside the house for 16 hours before the two leaders came out and shook hands for all the world to see

Couple of beauties outside the house

The painting in the middle of the photo is done on a piece of the Berlin Wall that was given to Iceland when the wall finally came down.   It's been cemented in the grounds in front of the house.   There's a similar painting on the other side of the slab

This is the Lutheran Cathedral on the hill in Reykjavik.   It was designed by a famous Iceland architect,  who has buildings all over the city.   You can climb to the top of the tower - for a fee.   We didn't have time,  unfortunately!!

This is the inside of the church - quite spectacular.   The official religion of Iceland is Lutheran,  so this is a little ostentatous,  both inside and out