We had arranged to eat breakfast each morning at our hotels because that was convenient and there were many delicious options.

Lunches were at restaurants for a few days, then we visited a Bonus grocery store for some squeezable peanut butter and crackers and a fruit/nut mixture so we could maximize our time on the road. No time to stop for lunch!

Konar is another grocery chain that we walked through. Bags cost extra, but we were prepared. The store hours are typically posted in large-sized numbers (Iceland uses military time), and we didn’t see any 24/7 stores.

We found restaurants for supper that had vegetarian options on the menu, which was common across the board.

The cat cafe, Kattakaffihusid, was our first stop for lunch on our very first day. We walked from the hotel and up the rainbow road to find it. They had a fence with a gate inside to keep their cats safe and prevent the neighbor cat from coming in with customers. We watched him try to get in, pause to get some pets on the street corner, then use his own cat door across the street to get back home.

The Lindin chocolate mousse had a layer of raspberries with small pieces of watermelon that gave it crunch. That took the chocolate mousse up a notch. The waiter seemed surprised that I knew the watermelon was there.

We had planned to eat at the Borgarnes Settlement Center on July 8, but the waitress sent us to another restaurant down the road because they had two large groups coming. The Englendingavik was full, but they found an unreserved table for us. When I asked for a to-go box for the bread, which was very delicious, our waiter brought me a big box already loaded with bread. So very kind!

On our final day we drove for two-plus hours to get back to Reykjavik in order to have ice cream at Omnom Chocolate Factory, which we missed during our first two days. They directed us to the Food Hall down the street so we could get a proper dinner after our dessert. Food Halls are stand-alone food courts with a variety of options, lower prices and public restrooms. This one even had a food truck indoors along with several individual kitchens. The fried rice at Ira’s Kitchen was delicious.

Chain restaurants are not common, but ice cream places certainly are, including the Efstidalur dairy barn where we could watch the cows that provided the milk for the ice cream. Martie made me eat lots of ice cream:)

There were some traditional Icelandic foods that we tried. Geysir (Icelandic spelling) Bread (also called rugbraud) is a type of rye bread where geothermal heat is used to slow-bake it over twenty-four hours. It is moist and slightly sweet. We sampled it in the Sel- Myvatn Hotel and I brought some home from a Bonus store. Skyr has the consistency of yogurt, is served at all of the hotel breakfasts, and comes in squeeze pouches in the stores. We both skipped the various fish offerings which included cod liver pate and fermented shark. Martie did try a hotdog at a food truck as Icelandic hotdogs are supposed to be the best. She didn’t think it was any different.

Costs of meals ranged from $20 to $50, the food hall and pizza being the cheapest and restaurants outside of Reykjavik being the most expensive. We kept costs down with peanut butter sandwiches on the road and eating pizza leftovers if the room had a fridge or the car would stay cold enough.