Við Áttum Okkur Draum Áttum Allt (Take Two).

This entry has the same title as the previous entry for completely different reasons. "Við áttum okkur draum áttum allt" means "we once had a dream we had everything" in Icelandic. Last night, I wanted everything because I want to somehow be able to do everything I want and nothing I don't want, which I realistically know is impossible, but it doesn't keep me from whining and hoping. Tonight, I want everything because I just found something so amazing I want to do a dance of hope around my exceedingly messy room.

Ok, so we all know how much I've wanted to go to Iceland since...well, since about forever. For years, I had a vague, fuzzy hope in my mind that this year might be the year to go, since I'm close and young and would have a travel fund. I've done brief bits of research here and there throughout the year, hoping that something would work out. Usually, these spurts of internet searching ended with me finding awesome vacation packages that were about $1,000 without the cost of airfare, with the flights alone costing about $500. That put all of that out of the question. Besides, I was never really that optimistic about having anyone to go with, since I'm the only loon out there desperate to go to Iceland.

However. Today, while, uh...procrastinating again, I decided to Google "cheap weekends in Iceland." That seemed to be the open-sesame password, since it led me to IcelandAir's Vacation Package site. There are weekend trips to Reykjavik starting at £269. £269 INCLUDING AIRFARE. I'm only slightly beginning to spaz. Of course, it costs more to go alone, but not by that much. I did it all out to the point where I'd have to put in a credit card number, and the entire trip for one person for three nights at a decent hotel (not hostel) in Reykjavik with FREE transport and admission to the Blue Lagoon...would cost me under $700 round trip. Which is in my budget. It's a splurge, but it's in my budget.

WHAT THE HELL DO I DO? I understand that Iceland isn't going to go anywhere, and I also understand that the offer probably isn't, either. However, right now, at this point in my life, I actually have that amount of money set aside just for travel. Of course, it would go to other things (like a shiny new MacBook, or just boring necessities if I end up unemployed, which is likely) if I don't spend it on travel, which is also tempting and probably practical, but...this is the time in my life to travel. After finding this IcelandAir offer, my whole dream of going to Iceland, even if just for a weekend and just to Reykjavik rather than a whole coach tour around the Ring Road with a viewing of the Northern Lights, seems so attainable all of a sudden. It would be a good way to get my toes wet, to go for a few days and see if it's all I've always thought it was. Then, sometime in the next five to ten years, maybe, I can afford to take a proper week-long, full country tour sometime in February (which is prime Northern Lights viewing time. If I had found this offer a few months ago, I would have booked a weekend trip for THIS month, since they have Reykjavik weekends with a Northern Lights excursion in exchange for the Blue Lagoon one. Curses).

So, to summarize: I have the time AND the money AND the desire to go now. The only thing I guess I'm missing is the company. I'm going to try to see if Alex has any interest in going to Iceland, since we were planning to take a trip from April 1-5 anyway, and that's basically my only window of time to go. But if she doesn't want to go or can't afford it...I think I'm seriously going to consider going myself. I know that I'm capable of travelling by myself to foreign countries where they speak another language, and I know I'm not stupid. I'd be staying in a nice hotel, so I'd explore during the day I have for exploration (I think their days are average lengths in April) and then go back to my hotel when it gets dark. The next day would be entirely taken up by the excursion to the Blue Lagoon, which is taken care of. I'd be deposited directly back at my hotel by a chartered bus. Then I'd just sleep and go to the airport to fly out the next morning.

As a side note, Iceland is famous for its hot dogs. So even the food wouldn't be an issue for me: I can totally avoid the fermented shark and the sheep testicle loaf, and I can replace it with food that is actually culturally relevant. In how many countries can I say that?! It's a sign, I swear.

I'm going to mull this over. It might just happen.