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Pink Saturday Tours the Golden Circle

We're going back to bright and beautiful Iceland. Actually it was bright for only one day, but it was beautiful every day. Fortunately our one sunny day coincided with the reservation for the Golden Circle Tour. The Golden Circle is not a circle, it's not a formal itinerary and the only gold is in the beauty of the natural scenery. It is a tour that includes the three most popular sights in Iceland. I took the same tour in the summer of 2014. It was warmer, but overcast and rainy and I was thrilled to see  the same sights, but in sunshine.


The first stop was Thingvellir, the site of the Althingi, the 930 AD first Icelandic Parliament. The buildings don't remain, but the signage was extremely informative and gave a great sense of this early representative governing body. The physical site, shown above, is magnificent. Besides the historical importance, it's an area of great geological significance, here the tectonic plates of Eurasia and North America meet. After taking the photograph above I turned to the right and this was the vista that greeted me.
 

 

The next stop was at Geysir hot springs. If you're a fortunate visitor the geyser -- Strokkur, a successor to the Great Geysir -- looks like Old Faithful. I was not quite so fortunate, but I still was still very happy to experience this moment. There were several false starts -- not quite as explosive as this one -- but not quite the scene I hoped for.
 

The third part of the Golden Circle is the Gullfoss waterfall. As I look at each photograph the same words come to me to describe the sights -- awesome, magnificent, extraordinary. Gullfoss is extraordinary and perhaps more so, because of its unspoiled setting. There are no billboards, concession stands or parking lots to detract from its natural beauty.

My visit to the Golden Circle was all that I had hoped for. Besides the beautiful setting I was fortunate to have chosen a small local tour company for our trip, Go to Joy Iceland. Our guide was thoughtful and extremely knowledgeable and it was a treat to ride in a comfortable mini-bus with five other people.

 For the next forty-two days Buttercupland enters a festive state of mind. There will be a giveaway (or two) and the first one is tomorrow. There will be a few book reviews and the rest of my posts will be celebration time in New York City. I walked through Rockefeller Center today and the tree is in place waiting for its lights. There will be lots of pictures, lots of fun and I hope you will visit often.

This week's post joins our friends at Pink Saturday. Please stop by and share in the blogging fun.

As ever, thanks for visiting. Take care and wishes for a great week. 
 

7 comments

TARYTERRE said...

BREATHTAKING.

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Beautiful photos! Now I want to visit Iceland.

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

What a wonderful experiences you have had!

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

It is time to let those festivities begin! Starting with Thanksgiving until the New year there is going to be a lot to see and do and celebrate for sure. Thanks once more for all the pictures of a place I will only visit courtesy of your sharing.

Chatty Crone said...

You are so lucky - I have never been able to see this splendor! sandie

Mimi said...

Beautiful! And I'm looking forward to seeing Christmas in the city.