Mama Needs a Minute (February - Vacation Wrap-up)

Up at 4:30AM - heading to the airport to start the journey home!  Here are some thoughts about where I visited:

Boston

I really liked Boston.  The weather was great - the Nor’easter was blowing in later the day we left!  The city is extremely walkable.  I really enjoyed the activities we did while we were there.  We definitely want you to come with the girls.  There will be so much to do with them - The Children’s Museum, river tours and duck boats.

So, my Boston favorites?  Papa Jim with Old Town Trolley and the Tea Party Museum.

Iceland

So, did it really take me leaving Iceland to mention the quality of things there?  I should have said something earlier because it’s something they are extremely proud of and every tourist talks about.  First off is the water quality.  Their water is filtered through lava rock for 40-60 years as it meanders from the glaciers to the tap, so it is so clean.  Y’all it’s up there with the water in Italy!  So delicious straight from the tap.  They sell bottled water, but boast that there is no need to buy it - just let the tap run a minute to get cold!  Next is the way they raise livestock.  Their horses are protected, so NO horses enter Iceland - even yours should you choose to take it out of the country to show it.  Their livestock also isn’t vaccinated or given any hormones.  On both tours I was on, the guides said when a lamb is born, it’s tagged by the farmer and then given back to the mama.  They’re turned out - not just onto the farm - literally OUT.  They are seriously free range.  They mingle with other farmers’ lambs, eat wild herbs, grass, blueberries, and can often be found on the roads blocking traffic to lick the salt off the road.  There’s a big round-up party where people help round them back up to a central location and each farmer takes their lambs home.  Lastly, I’ll mention that their food isn’t loaded with additives, preservatives, salts, and sugars.  You can taste the individual flavors of the ingredients.  Y’all, carrots and potatoes actually have their own flavors - that’s something I forget living in the US, where we like our spices.  I wouldn’t mind coming back, perhaps in the Spring/Summer (although I hear that’s their peak vacation season and things would probably be a lot more crowded).  I can see the girls liking the ATV tours and seeing the puffins on the South Coast.  This would be when they’re much older, of course!

So, my favorites of Iceland?  The lamb soup, bread, and butter from Fjallkonan, the salted caramel ice cream from Gaeta, Strokkur Geyser, and sunrise at Thingvellir.