Apr 25-26
It turns out that Icelanders have a sense of humour. April 25 is a national holiday, being the first day of summer in Iceland (hahshaha!)
To celebrate, we all got a free ice cream bar in flight 🙂 apparently, nobody told the weather though, as it was a balmy 3 C when we touched down. Glad I wore my shorts!
Despite the celebration, I added the length to my shorts to make pants (they’re zip-offs) and paid for & hopped on the bus into town.
At the hostel, I got to my room and met Ann, my roommate. My only roommate. In a room for 10. Nice! I sat down on my bed, and realised how tired I was. But going to bed at 6:30pm local time would mess me up, so I unpacked, skyped, hung out in the lounge, and surfed the Internet until it was 10:30, which I figured was a respectable time to hit the sack.
The next morning I woke up (without an alarm) at 6:30. I tried to convince myself to sleep longer, but my body wasn’t having it. So I got up and headed downstairs for breakfast by 7:15. Stuff is expensive here, but the breakfast was well worth the 1250 krona! It was by far the best hostel breakfast I’ve had 🙂 Ann joined me, then a few other people. We get to talking, and this girl asks me what my plans are for the day. I respond with, “nothing.” “Want to go on a day trip to the (insert many places I didn’t yet know about)? I have a ticket and I’m not gonna use it.”
Me: “what?”  (I haven’t yet finished my coffee)
Girl: repeats it again. I’m still in the dark.
She must be able to tell for the blank look on my face and gives me a bit more detail in slower sentences.
Turns out I arrived in town in time for Eve Fanfest 2013. I’m sure you’ve heard of it, right? Yeah. Me neither.
I’ve since found out its an online sci-fi reality game, like a second life. Anyway, the gamers have come from all over the world for this fanfest. And some of them have convinced their partners to come along. Since most of the players are guys, and their wives / girlfriends don’t play, they need something to do while the gamers are, well, gaming. So the  event organisers devised a plan: Sisters of Eve. Those women who have joined but need something to do.  This girl, Alexandra, was one if the few girl gamers (only 5%) but decided to go to the conference instead of this trip.
“I’m even willing for you to have it for free so it will be used.”
Caffeine and information finally sinking in, I agree to whatever this day trip included.
“Oh yeah, it leaves in half an hour from Harpa, about 5min from here.”
I run upstairs to get my stuff for the day (what do I even need???), and run off to join the SOE.
Once in one of the super jeeps, I find out I everything that we are doing that day (and that I should’ve brought my bathing suit!).
This is what we visited / saw:
* the oldest parliamentary in the world, in Þingvellir National Park (Þ sounds like “th”)
* Geysir (geezer) which is a geyser and the namesake of all others after it
* free fabulous buffet for lunch – including delicious fresh fish
*  off-roading** with our super jeeps to get to some glacier fields
* Gullfoss, a famous waterfall
* Laugarvatn Fontana geothermal spa
Basically it was a $200 tour! The whole day I was in disbelief, and kept thinking someone was going to tell me I didn’t belong there, but no!
I had left at 9 am, and returned at 7 pm. Exhausted but happy, I hung out in the lounge while waiting for my laundry to finish. I booked another day trip for the next day, to travel along with my roomie, Ann.
All in all, a great day!

** our driver was crazy, probably as a result of driving the same route every day. Whenever he got bored, he would just drive off the road. Because he could. We drove up the side of the crater, through waist-deep snow, and AROUND a bridge (yeah, why use a bridge when you don´t have to). It was the high-light of my trip!