Junk

I had a very complex and most assuredly fascinating post forming in my newly latte'd brain, complete with photos and links of wonderful stuff, but managed to fully boggle myself and ended up going with simplicity: one shot of a reclamation center down by where the cruise ships dock and where you can get the ferry to Viðey to go see Yoko Ono's Imagine Peace memorial to John Lennon, among other things. This is also the exact location of the second potentially very toxic fire (most probably arson) last year (video here) that brought up once again the issue of having this kind of industry so close to residential neighborhoods. Though I agree that it should be moved, or at least that arsonists should stop setting old tires on fire, I love the colors and the overall retro feel of this scene. And as faithful readers know, I seem to have a thing for the typically not-so-pretty here in our little city. 

Ok, so I was honestly only going to post one short sentence, but since I'm holding a link fest here, I'll add this to the bunch: The Reykjavík Municipal Plan for 2001-2024. Read and enjoy!

Have you tried Dynamic Viewing yet? Five new views in all. Use the blue tab at the top of the view page to check them all out.

Buy 1 free 1, San Francisco Coffee

Round 2 of San Francisco's coffee. This time round it was called Extreme Buzz. Must request for less sugar if not it will be so so so sweet!

Crêpe

She had just made me an amazing organic-coffee latte, and now my daughter Valentína set herself to the the task (art?) of making a crepe at the ice cream store on Skólavörðurstígur, Eldur og Ís (they don't have a web site/Facebook page yet, but it's the only ice cream store that's actually open in midtown, as is.) This is her first official career move, and so far she's absolutely rockin' it! It helps that she speaks excellent English and has that American ease-of-smile and open demeanor (she was born in San Francisco :) that works so well in this line of business.

The owners have also spent time in California giving this small family-run store a friendliness that is often lacking in Iceland. Let's not sugar things here: Icelanders are not known for being so adept at expressive hospitality

So if you're on your way to our island for the first time, please don't take the cool rudeness personally! (In his amazing 19th century travelogue Egypt and Iceland in the year 1874, Bayard Taylor writes, "The common people - if one has the right to use such a word as "common" to describe such a people - are still something of a puzzle to me. Except among our Indian tribes I never saw such stoical, indifferent faces." pg. 218)  If you are lucky enough to get good, friendly service at a store or restaurant, go ahead and let the person know that you appreciate it. There's no tipping culture here, and Icelanders are horribly negligent about showing appreciation for a job well done. Slowly but surely, with increasing international influence, the service culture here is being massaged into something the average traveler can feel comfortable with. So go ahead and take part in whatever way you can!

And so without further ado, I here present the result of Valentína's artistry, the absolutely delicious Nutella, strawberry and vanilla ice cream crepe:

Have you tried Dynamic Viewing yet? Five new views in all. Use the blue tab at the top of the view page to check them all out : )