No I am not talking about Shakespeare (referring to “Richard the III”, Act 5, Scene 4 of course) but rather the Icelandic delicacy of horse meat. WE DID IT! As you might recall our guide, Denis, made us reservations at Steik Husid (AKA Steikhúsið or Steak House). Last night was our chance to put up or shut up. We saw horse on the menu and inquired if it was available; “Oh yes” was the answer. Is it fresh and where does it come from?; “Yes it is fresh, we get it from a farm in the south of Iceland”. Is it cooked?; “Yes it is cooked”. We decided to take the plunge and order the horse. As a back-up we each ordered another entree.
While waiting for our horse to arrive some new friends happened to walk by. We had met them at dinner a few nights earlier. They are a…
No I am not talking about Shakespeare (referring to “Richard the III”, Act 5, Scene 4 of course) but rather the Icelandic delicacy of horse meat. WE DID IT! As you might recall our guide, Denis, made us reservations at Steik Husid (AKA Steikhúsið or Steak House). Last night was our chance to put up or shut up. We saw horse on the menu and inquired if it was available; “Oh yes” was the answer. Is it fresh and where does it come from?; “Yes it is fresh, we get it from a farm in the south of Iceland”. Is it cooked?; “Yes it is cooked”. We decided to take the plunge and order the horse. As a back-up we each ordered another entree.
While waiting for our horse to arrive some new friends happened to walk by. We had met them at dinner a few nights earlier. They are a charming couple from New York city and we had a delightful conversation with them. When they walked by the Steak House, they stopped and waved to us. Once I realized who was outside I frantically motioned for them to come inside and visit. I am sure they thought I was just being friendly but in reality I needed someone to help me with this horse. As you probably already know I am not the most adventurous person. I needed some external courage (and I don’t drink alcohol). Although we don’t know these New Yorkers very well they seemed like they would help push me in the right direction. Patrice and I explained that we had ordered some horse and invited them to try it with us. They are definitely a couple of people who are much more adventurous than me. They accepted our offer without hesitation and seemed grateful (when it was I who was truly the grateful one). The moment of truth arrived when our server brought us our order of horse.
Horse, need I say more?
We all agreed the horse was not all that different from other meats we have eaten. The whole psychological thing about eating horse or any other meat for that matter gets to me. I am sure I would be a vegetarian if it wasn’t so much work. When you come right down to it, I am a lazy eater.
Enough about last night, let’s move forward to today. This morning we went for cinnamon rolls at a place recommended by our New York friends. The place is called Brauð & Co. (Braud and Company for people like us). We arrived before the cinnamon buns were baked but just in time to watch the buns being prepared.
Cinnamon rolls with my name on them.
If you want to see the baker cutting the rolls, check out this video. He is like a machine. The link to the 15 second video is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiRlwPtMWyo Try to see the fly who just avoids becoming part of a cinnamon roll. Actually I suppose that would have been part of two cinnamon rolls.
After filling our tummies we headed off to the Perlan Museum which is located at Öskjuhlíð, 105 Reykjavík. It is very easy to find because it is near the corner of Bústaðavegur and Flugvallarvegur. If you can’t find it on your phone just ask anyone, people are very helpful.
The Perlan is brand new having opened in July 2017. They only have two exhibits but they are both very special. First we entered what they call the Ice Cave. They have constructed an ice cave in the building. We were told that ice caves are “only” zero degrees centigrade but they keep the exhibit at minus 10° C in order to prevent the walls of the cave from melting. Prior to entering they offer you a vest to help keep you warm. “You don’t have to take a vest but we highly recommend it”. I pointed to my heavy coat and asked if the guide really thought it was necessary for this brief 15 minute exposure. “You don’t have to take a vest but we highly recommend it”. I took a vest.
Inside they explain all sorts of information about glaciers, the ice formations and the lifeforms that exist within them. Yes, organisms actually can live in the glaciers (but I don’t think they get good cell phone service). While in the ice cave they encourage you to take pictures and even touch the ice.
I found this cutie life form in the ice cave.
After the ice cave we went to a very interesting interactive exhibit where the visitor learns about glaciers. Finally we headed to the observation deck where you can see fantastic views of Reykjavik if the wind is not about to blow you off the platform like it was today. The winds in this country are incredible and are the reason you experience what Icelanders call “horizontal rain”.
We then went back to the hotel. Patrice was feeling a little guilty about our eating so she went to the hotel fitness center. I too was feeling guilty, so I rested and then started writing my blog. What do you know, it is dinner time now.
Gott eftir (“Goodbye for now”, according to Google Translate)
Last night we were up late trying to see the Northern Lights so we tried in vain to delay the start of today’s tour of the Southern Coast of Iceland. Since we were unable to change the time, we were good campers and were dressed, fed and ready to go at 8:30AM. Soon after, we were picked up by our tour guide Denis from Top Iceland Tours (www.topicelandtours.com). We hopped into his very comfy Toyota Land Cruiser and were on our way. Denis is 23 years old (24 in November) and drives like it. To his credit he did offer to slow down but I was too meek to admit I was petrified. Patrice was too sleep-deprived to be scared and she is naturally a much calmer person than I am (e.g. she loves roller coasters). I told myself, “this kid is young, athletic and he does this all the time, Robert, you are perfectly safe”. Of course being able to read the fine print on the license of the car in front of me is not my usual preference. See below.
Taken from the passenger seat while we were flying down the highway at the start of our tour.
We arrived at our first sight (Seljalandsfoss) and it was a lovely waterfall with a walkway allowing you to view it from underneath. This was nothing like the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls. There you are given rain protective ponchos to prevent you from even a hint of a spray emanating from the falls. Here you are on your own. Everything is wonderful once you are mountainside and viewing the falls from behind. Getting there you get drenched. Patrice and I were bundled up with our heavy coats on top of two upper layers and our pants with thermal underwear. Water was dripping from us in buckets and we were very cold. Denis on the other hand didn’t want to get his nice sweater wet so he took it off and just wore a t-shirt. See below.
Denis in his t-shirt, “36°? Feels like summer”.Patrice and me in contrast. “I heard it was 85° and sunny in Hermosa Beach today, WTF are we doing here?”
Denis then proceeded to take us to one magnificent sight after another. His vitality and enthusiasm were amazing. We got to visit the Eyjafjallajökull ice cap. This mountain of snow covers a volcano that erupted in April 2010 and paralyzed a large portion of Europe due to the large amount of ash that was sent out into the atmosphere.
Eyjafjallajökull, today October 16, 2017.A sign at the site, showing the same area April 14, 2010.
I am sure you have no idea how to pronounce the name of this snow mass. Thanks to Denis’s help we know exactly how to pronounce it. Simply say “I forgot my yogurt”.
Sight after sight was increasingly beautiful and Denis’s passion for his work made it all the more enjoyable. He was great at taking pictures of us and showed us how to use the iPhone for wonderful panoramic views. At one location some young ladies from Florida asked if we would take a picture of them. Denis took their camera and instead of taking a quick shot and moving on he stepped beyond a protective railing and climbed on to the restraining wall, meant to keep people from falling off the cliff, to get a better angle from which to shoot. See below.
After taking the photo he jumped off the wall over the railing and handed them back their camera.
In the car we talked about Iceland, Denis (born in Russia and came to Iceland at 6 years old) and his family (he works with his dad in tourism, mother is an award winning cake decorator, and younger sister is still in school). Denis told us he used to be a gymnast and showed us this photo.
He said his mama took this picture.
Toward the end of our day trip to the Southern Coast with Denis he did something that I captured on video. I am not sure why this happened but I can say I am very glad I had my camera ready. Otherwise I would not have believed what I had just seen. The link to the video is: https://youtu.be/V68Ux0OgWYE
During our tour we had mentioned that we had tried to get horse to eat but were told there has not been horse in the city for the past 3 weeks. Denis was incredulous and put out the word with his friends looking for horse. On our way back to the hotel, Denis informed us that he found a restaurant close to our hotel that served horse, they had some in stock and he had made dinner reservations for us. More about horse tomorrow but for now, how about a 5 star rating for Denis and Top Iceland Tours on Trip Advisor? I just saw we are not alone, they have 39 Trip Advisor reviews and a 100% 5 star rating.
Today was supposed to be a big day. We were to fly back to Reykjavik, go on another Northern Lights tour and sample a dish that Icelanders love, “Icelandic Horse”. Yes, horse. But first, since we had an afternoon flight we had time time to walk around the lovely town of Akureyri a little more. Next to our hotel is a church with a long stairway leading up to to the entrance. We were told there were 135 steps. Not that we didn’t believe them but we did our own count.
We counted only 105 steps. Icelanders like to drink on Saturday night so I guess their counting is a little off come Sunday mornings.
Once we made it to the top of the stairway we found that the church was having a service (imagine that on a Sunday morning) so we didn’t want to disturb the worshipers. Instead we walked around the neighborhood and found some beautiful homes. Each house was a single family dwelling and they had two numbers. One indicated the address and the other was the year it was built. See the two homes below, one built in 1926 and the other in 1928. We were told this by one of the owners.
I previously mentioned how Iceland is rich with the natural resource of thermal energy due to the numerous volcanoes. They manage to direct this hot water into pipes under the street preventing the roads from freezing during the winter. Here is an example of a road being repaired.
Pipes slated to heat the road. I was not able to find out the reason for this irregular pattern requiring extra piping. Possibly the construction foreman’s cousin owns the company that provides the pipes?
Before leaving Akureryi I had to try their hot dogs. I had heard they are a true delicacy. We asked our guide to recommend a place were we could buy the best hot dog in the city. He recommended a place not far from the hotel so we went there. See below.
Robert with hot dog in hand and the “restaurant” in the background.
The dog was very good. I was told it contained lamb, pork and beef. I didn’t ask if it was the meat or other byproducts of those creatures. But I did ask where else one could buy a hot dog in Akureyri and was told that the only other vendor could be found at the local gas station.
Then it was off to Reykjavik on our prop plane. This time we went straight to the hotel instead of visiting the Blue Lagoon. We are again staying at the Canopy Hilton. The staff is great, they do the little things that make me so very happy. See below.
Sweet note and even sweeter gift. I do love chocolate.
We had a spectacular dinner at Grill Markadurinn (Grill Market). We asked about the horse but our server said horse in not currently available. Horse is not raised for consumption. It is only available if a horse has to be destroyed due to an orthopedic or behavior problem (you just get to eat the horses who are either lame or have ADD). Instead the server recommended we have the 8 course pre fixe meal. How could we not agree? My friend Joe always wants pictures of the food so here they are. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the first course of Duck Salad (sorry Joe, I was hungry and forgot).
#2 Deep Fried Dry Cod with Squid and Tartar Sauce served on real lava rock.#3 Whale with Chile Pepper Threads#4 Arctic Char and Char Roe with Coriander.#5 Cod with Green Apples on Top and Apple Puree Underneath.#6 Rib Eye with Mushrooms, Onions and Parsnip Puree.#7 Lamb Chops with Peanut Sauce and Garlic Potatoes.#8 Assorted Desserts.
After dinner we went on a boat tour in search of the Northern Lights. All we saw were Icelandic clouds. Good news is that we are allowed to return for another trip for free. So we can go nightly until we see the Northern Lights. Allen and David: don’t expect me back to work until December.
We planned this trip during this very cold time of year so we could see the Northern Lights. The daily presence of clouds and comments we have heard from other visitors has made me somewhat pessimistic that I would break my bad luck streak this trip. Last night after dinner Patrice looked up and said, “I think those are the Northern Lights”. I looked and didn’t see much. But we walked further and searched for a relatively dark area of town and saw what definitely were the Northern Lights phenomena but not like what you see on picture postcards. So I felt like a baseball player with an 0 for 30 slump who had just hit a little dunker in front of the outfielder, not a line drive but it was a hit to end the bad streak. Tonight we tried again. With the help of our guide we definitely saw the phenomenon. It might not have been the equivalent of a grand slam home run but it was definitely at least a solid double.
Earlier today we also had lots of fun exploring this very beautiful and very cold nation. We got to see some more impressive waterfalls. First we went to Goðafoss (no that isn’t a typo) Falls. Watch this 30 second video and find out why they call it the “Waterfall of the Gods”. https://youtu.be/vDflxYxMjWM
Then we went to Dettifoss Falls. These are similar in size to Niagara Falls but it was very cold and we also had snow flurries which made it hard for this Southern Californian to appreciate the natural beauty. Here is an 11 second tidbit of this wonder: https://youtu.be/Jru6ZeOTtgI By the way that isn’t static you hear on the videos but rather the sound of some very intense winds.
We then saw a very interesting phenomenon that is very common throughout Iceland. We were at a land mass covering a volcano. Deep underground the lava is in contact with sea water resulting in an agricultural equivalent of a tea pot. See this 16 second video to get what I mean: https://youtu.be/Z9zO1u5F_d0
I almost forgot. We had a great lunch. Check out this 23 video to see who we ate. https://youtu.be/FmZafHup788
Today is a travel day and we leave Reykjavik and fly to the northern city of Akureyri in search of the Northern Lights. We have been told that it is much easier to see the natural phenomena the further north you go and away from the lights of the city. Unfortunately the weather forecast calls for rain and cloud cover which would make seeing the natural wonder an impossibility. That is no surprise since as I previously mentioned we were unsuccessful in our attempt to see Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro and the total eclipse of the sun in Nashville due to fog and cloud cover. Our friend, Mary, a reader of this blog, reminded me that we also missed out on a very special volcano in Costa Rica due to weather conditions. We are getting use to hearing from tour guides, “If you had only been here yesterday”. If we hear that again this trip I might be detained by Icelandic police.
We are currently sitting in the Reykjavik domestic airport (as opposed to KEF International Airport from which we arrived). This place makes Santa Monica Airport look spacious. For a 33 second tour (that would be a complete tour) see this video: https://youtu.be/tXyaModCIeQ
One interesting aspect of the airport is that it seems like everyone is speaking Icelandic. Everywhere else we have been we have heard predominantly English spoken with occasional sprinkles of Icelandic. Here I have heard zero English thus far. It is a bit unnerving because the airport announcements that are in English are very hard to understand. I hope I don’t have a similar situation as I did years ago when I was traveling alone in Spain. I spoke to a ticket agent and grabbed my ticket then darted out of the station thinking I only had minutes to catch my train. As I got to the train I saw it was empty. I turned and saw the ticket agent running after me to explain that I was at the wrong train and I needed to wait about another hour for my train to leave. My Icelandic is not nearly as good as my Spanish so who knows what will happen today. I know what the reader is saying right now, “That is why he travels with Patrice”.
Signing off for now. The next time you will hear from me we will be in Akureyri (I hope).
Getting ready to board our plane to Akureyri. Notice it is just a propeller plane
Back with you again. We arrived in Akureyri after an uneventful flight. Unfortunately upon arrival we were greeted with a thick cloud cover. Prospects look dim for seeing the Northern Lights. This morning we met some Canadians who were leaving for home today without accomplishing their goal of seeing the Northern Lights. Misery might love company but it didn’t make me feel any better.
Akureyri is a lovely little town and I do mean little. We decided to spend an hour or two strolling around the town. After about 20 minutes we were done. We saw a number a restaurants and gift shops. There wasn’t much activity at any of the stores except for one. We saw what we thought must be a grocery store because there was a tremendous amount of foot traffic. We decided to take a closer look and it turned out to be a liquor store. We were told that Icelanders like to drink on weekends. From the look of the activity in this store the people of Akureyri like to get an early start on the weekend.
Tomorrow night we are supposed to go on our Northern Lights tour. If the chance of seeing the Northern Lights is slim, the trip will be canceled. If that is the case Patrice and I will go to a local tavern and watch the locals partake in the Icelandic Saturday night drinking custom. Possibly, we might even join in.
Local liquor store. Not much happening outside but lots on the inside.Nothing but the finest for the people of Akureyri.And of course, we need a gluten-free option.
Please pray for clear skies for tomorrow night. If the skies are not clear, you will have one sad correspondent writing home to you.
So far, except for hotel personnel, the only people we have met here are from Canada or the States. That is not totally true, we also met a couple from Dubai. So I started to wonder if we really were in Iceland. Today’s adventure answered that question for sure and the answer is YES! Fantastic sights proving that what we had heard about Iceland’s natural beauty is indeed true.
After breakfast we were met by our tour guide, Jon (pronounced “Yawn”). We have had two tour guides thus far and both have been named Jon. We were given some local history on our way to our first stop, Thingvellir National Park. Don’t ask me to try to pronounce it. Let me just say that National Park in Icelandic is “þjóðgarðurinn”. Need I say more? The park was wonderful and looked like a miniature version of Zion National Park in Utah. In addition to beautiful cliffs that have been formed by the separation of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates we saw huge trout in the streams. We were told they weighed 20 lbs and I think that might have been understated.
After the park we headed to the Gullfoss Waterfalls. On our way, Jon #2 said that they were more spectacular than the Niagara Falls. They were special but sorry, Niagara has them beat. See this 17 second video for a glimpse of the falls at this link: https://youtu.be/MEOy5JcyPsA
Next we were on to Geysir Geyser. Geysir is Icelandic for Geyser so a bit of redundancy in the name. Apparently it is spectacular but it only erupts about twice a year so you will have to settle for this video of its neighbor, Strokkur (“Churn”) Geyser that erupts every 8-10 minutes. Sorry about the red line (not sure what caused that) and I have no idea what is being said (in what I assume is Icelandic) in the background. The link to the video is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsj2SH1Imow
Next the most important stop on the tour …………. you guessed it, lunch. We ate at a local green house, sorry but I don’t recall the name. They grow all their tomatoes indoors (correct, minus 2 degrees Celsius is not ideal for tomato growth) and according to our server produce 18% of the tomatoes eaten in Iceland (30% according to Jon #2). The food was spectacular. We both had the tomato soup and it was delicious. At the table your centerpiece is a fresh basil plant from which you can use a specially formed scissors to harvest and slice the basil into strips. For dessert they offer Tomato ice cream, Tomato Cheese Cake, or Tomato Apple Pie. NO I AM NOT KIDDING! And here is a picture to prove it.
From L to R: Tomato Cheese Cake, Tomato Apple Pie, Whipped Cream.
Upon leaving the restaurant we got to see some Icelandic horses. This is the only breed of horse in the country. No other horses are allowed to be brought into the country and if any of the horses ever leave the island they are not allowed to return. This is in order to preserve the breed’s purity. Check out this 7 second video of them licking what we were told was a salt cube: https://youtu.be/JyiiS-tEs_Q
Our last stop on the tour was at the Kerid Crater Lake. The crater was formed an estimated 6500 years ago as the result of collapse of the land over an emptied volcano unlike a volcanic explosion which experts (not me) say is the cause of most volcanic craters (I am a parrot repeating what I was told, I have no idea what I am saying). This was my favorite spot because of its beauty. This 19 second video doesn’t do it justice but you do get a peek at our guide (Jon #2) and Patrice. I think you can tell how cold it was by looking at Patrice. The link is: https://youtu.be/tfoUHMGLCY0
Our plane touched down in Reykjavik at about 6:00 AM this morning. We had a very long wait for our luggage because it was delivered on carousel #2 when we were told it was be on carousel #1. I suppose we should have anticipated that since when we left New York we were told to board at Gate #2 but actually entered the plane at Gate #1. Getting through customs took seconds. I have to admit I was a little concerned because we hired a driver to pick us up and have had problems with that in the past. Last year, in London, we looked all over for our driver. When we finally found him he said he was sitting in the cafe. Now why didn’t we think of looking for him at the cafe rather than at baggage claim WHERE WE WERE SUPPOSED TO MEET HIM! So upon exiting the Reykjavik baggage claim area I was very relieved to see a young man holding a sign that read, “Robert Reiss”. He was standing next to another young man with a sign reading “Robert Reiss”. I suppose two drivers are better than none. We got that mystery solved and were on our way to the Blue Lagoon .
The Blue Lagoon has been described as one of the most famous sights in Iceland. We were told that the Lagoon was formed by an industrial accident. In an attempt to harness the geothermal power created by the mixture of volcanic lava, fresh water and ocean water this wonderful bed of warm (about 100 degrees Fahrenheit) water was created. Mother Nature met Corporate America (oops I mean, Corporate Iceland) to create the park. The facility is very well run. Upon arrival you are given a robe, sandals, towel, identification bracelet and taken to showers where you cleanse prior to entering the Lagoon. You then move very quickly from the warm shelter of the dressing area into the water. No one is shy about getting into the water when they are outside in a bathing suit with an ambient temperature of 36 degrees.
Once in the water you feel amazing immediately. You then wade yourself over to the the “Mud Bar” where you apply a “Silica Mud Mask”. After 10 minutes roaming around the water looking like a monster you remove the the mud and apply an “Algae Mask”. These treatments are supposedly very therapeutic for your skin. I don’t know if they do anything but they do make you feel great. I am ready to return for another dip right now. And I do think it helped my skin? What do you think? See below.
Robert post mud and algae mask treatments.
After the Lagoon we were escorted to our hotel in Reykjavik. Having not slept on the plane we were exhausted and decided to take a nap. Upon awakening we took a free city walking tour. We learned a lot about the history and culture of Iceland. For example we were told that spelling of all Icelandic words is determined by grabbing letters from a bag of “Alpha Bits” cereal and then placing them down in a random sequence. We also saw some interesting sights. Our guide pointed out some typical Icelandic eating spots. See below.
After the tour we went back to the room to warm up. Dinner was at the hotel tonight because one of us was too wimpy to get his toes cold again. Did I say “his” toes? …………Yes.
Today was our getaway day from New York but since our flight didn’t leave until 8:40 pm we had some time to do some more things in “The City That Never Sleeps”. We had a wonderful breakfast at Margon. Patrice read about the place in a food magazine and we were expecting a special experience. The place looked like a dive. Once again we tried to use our Spanish but were answered in English. The place might not have looked very special but the food was excellent (see below).
Food was excellent. If you don’t like plastic utensils this might not be the place for you.
After that we took a walk over to the main office of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. We were very impressed with the office and staff. We will tell you more about that place later when we will return to New York in three weeks to do some work for the Foundation.
Upon walking back to the hotel we saw some very interesting sights. For one thing, there were loads of food trucks lining the streets. I suppose people are too busy and the streets are too crowded to stray far from the workplace to go somewhere for lunch.
People lined up at one of the many food trucks parked along the street.Just a small group of the many food trucks we saw.
But this restaurant appealed to those wary of dining from a food truck (see below).
Healthiest, maybe; busiest, definitely not.
Leaving the city was not easy. JFK airport is only 18 miles (13 miles as the crow flies) from our hotel but it took us about an hour and 30 minutes to get here. The cabs in New York are equipped with small televisions that have interesting sound bytes to keep you entertained during your ride. They play a series of stories then repeat. The first 2 or 3 times are fine but after hearing the stories 6 or 7 times you start getting a little disturbed. Luckily I discovered a mute button.
The cab driver’s “Little Friend”.
Our flight will board soon. The next time you hear from me will be in Reykjavik. I just love showing that I can spell. Patrice here now, took him about 5 minutes to figure out how to spell Reykjavik and that was even WITH Google’s help.
I know many of you think our trips are all about going to great restaurants and baseball games. I hear your whining about poor Patrice and how she has to suffer while I pursue my goal of attending games in all 30 MLB parks. Well relax, today was all about her.
We started our day by going shopping. I found a great store that sells high end purses (see below).
Look at this fine collection of Gucci and Prada purses.
Then Patrice expressed an interest in going to the Statue of Liberty. She didn’t have to say it twice and I had her there (see below).
Funny, I thought it would be a lot bigger.
Being the nature lover I had to show her some of New York’s natural resources (see below).
Nothing like seeing and smelling nature at its finest.
Museums are also among her favorite things to do so I took her to a museum dedicated to private investigators (see below).
This way to the museum.
But of course how could I forget her favorite (see below).
That would be Sticky Toffee Cake with Ice Cream.
I am happy to say that tomorrow we leave for Iceland. This trip to NYC does not rank among my favorites. One thing I did enjoy was the Museum of Moving Images where we saw a very interesting documentary “I Am, Or How Jack Became Black”. The film maker explored the problems presented to multiracial individuals in our culture. We had the opportunity to meet the filmmaker who was born deaf and had a black father and white Jewish mother. The film reminded me of the book “The Color of Water” by James McBride where the author discussed his Jewish mother and black father. If you have not read the book, I strongly recommend you do.
We also went to see the shows “A Bronx Tale” (based on the film and gave it a C+) and The Band’s Visit (about an group of Egyptian musicians who visited Israel and we gave it a B+). For this trip Broadway Lights were not a big success. Hopefully that will mean that the Northern Lights will be spectacular. I am hopeful but based on past performance (Christ the Redeemer being fogged in and the Total Eclipse of the Sun blocked by cloud cover) I am not getting my hopes too high.
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 