Iceland: Day 2 (NYE)
January 5th, 2012 § 6 Comments
On New Year’s Eve, I fell asleep to fireworks. Six hours later, on New Year’s Day, I woke up to fireworks. Reykjavik knows how to party.
After getting out of bed at a time far later and embarrassing than we intended, Alex and I pulled on our thermal gear and wandered around the city. We were determined to make the most of the four hours of sunlight that Iceland kindly gave to us. Most of the shops were shut; all of them were lit up and gorgeous. We ate in a crowded cafe, during which I took pleasure in gently informing Alex that no, he was not supposed to eat both the innards AND the shell of his lobster tails.
That evening was dedicated to RAUCOUS JOY and FUN and HAPPINESS (though not before Alex and I took advantage of our hotel’s spa facilities, sitting in a heated pool until our skin started to crease like clingfilm). We – along with other excitable holiday makers, including a guy from Brentwood who insisted that Alex and I visited the Sugar Hut nightclub that he ‘owned’ – were driven to a gala dinner taking place in the Hilton. It was as posh as it sounds: there were Icelandic men serenading us/providing comedy; people were dressed to the nines and there was a buffet. A sumptuous, never-ending buffet.
Naturally, Alex and I had to try the most extravagant dishes they had to offer. I sampled reindeer paté (like corn beef, except more consistent), caviar (I love seafood, so this was a highlight) and goose (oddly chewy). After much obnoxious blowing of party blowers – not a euphemism – and alcohol consumption, it was back on the coach, to find our vantage point for the fireworks.
We set up our turf in the shadow of a giant church, at the centre of the city; really, there were enough fireworks exploding at any one time that we could’ve stood ten miles OUTSIDE of the gorram town and still had an excellent view. I was told repeatedly that Icelanders knew how to PARTAY and 2012 was no exception. Firework after firework exploding in the sky, continuously hammering away at my sound and sight, and I loved every second of it.
I can’t go without mentioning the unadulterated joy I felt at pretending I was casting spells at passers-by with my sparkler. I’M A CHILD AT HEART WHAT LEAVE ME ALONE.
What has been the best fireworks display you’ve ever witnessed, guys? <3
On a completely unrelated note, I’ve been getting back into using my Formspring. If you’re at all interested in hearing my STUPID opinions and RUBBISH advice – and why wouldn’t you be?!!? – don’t hesitate to click and ask! I may even answer!
- Becky
x
Love the tags and the blog post. Wonderfully said. Leaves me quite jealous. I am glad you had a fantastically good time.
Awww that’s what I always do with sparklers! So fun!
The best fireworks display I’ve EVER witnessed was at Disneyworld! It was a complete barrage of never-ending explosions accompanied by a fucking light parade. Soooo good :p
I am told that I was once the witness of a really rather magnificent firework show hosted by a manufacturer of fireworks close to where I grew up. I was one and a half and have no recollection, but I’m sure it was brilliant.
On a rather unrelated note, I wish there was a way of contacting you women involved in the Sarcaschicks without the character limitations imposed by most comment boxes and Twitter and so on. You see, perhaps I’m rather silly — a view that has been put forward to me by many independent sources — but I somehow feel that I ought to give back to you… after all I watch all of your videos, read your blogs and source your Twitter pages, yet I am doing so, for a lack of a better term, for free. I am not even giving you the chance to get to know me (something I say knowing full well that I might well be a completely unbearable person). Had I the comfort I would make a great big amount of videos for this purpose, but I quite simply cannot bear the thought of such an endeavour, for I’ve got terrible performance anxiety along with other rather annoying psychological conditions that seem to somewhat despise me.
Now, I fear this is a quite odd message, and frankly you need not care for it at all if you don’t wish to — I just wanted to have it said. Regardless, I do hope you are having a good evening and I wish you a good night.
PS. In Swedish one says that one’s skin becomes a raisin after having been submerged in water for a great amount of time.
I was lucky enough to work with Tate Liverpool at the same times as an exhibition by a Chinese artist was feature. During the private view of his work we were treated to an amazing firework show on the banks of the mersey. It was brilliant!
Isn’t the guy who owns Suger Hut Mick from The Only Way Is Essex?