Kaffi

I have a huge huge huge caffeine problem. If I don't have enough at the right time I have an enormous headache. Heathrow is one of my most hated airports and that alone was enough to give me a headache even with a large coffee. So looking for some more once I got to Reykjavik was a top priority.

Things close early there. Shops close at 5.30 or 6. The Bonus supermarket closed promptly at 7. I arrived in the city at about 6.45. I decided to go for a walk in search of the 24 hour supermarket and the apartment manager said opened until 11.30, but stopped short at Babalú, an unbelievably cute cafe at Skólavördustígur 22a.

It was a nice day, so I sat outside.



Iceland doesn't have many trees and the wooden houses were made of driftwood and shipwrecks. French shipwrecks were especially coveted because they brought WINE! Most of the houses are made of corrugated metal or concrete and painted vivid colors which look amazing against the changing greys in sky.

This was my first stop in Reykjavik and I wanted a bottle of water for my outdoor adventures in the next couple of days. I asked the guy if he had some bottled water and he told me pointedly that bottled water came from the tap.



That's glacial ice. And it tasted GOOOD. It is better for drinking at the source, but not for washing off in. I sunk knee deep in mud after being warned not to go too close to the water and had to wash my legs and feet in glacial melt. FREEZING. I love Icelandic water. It tastes amazing. If you travel by Icelandair, you can grab as many free bottled glacial waters as you want, but hey, the tap water is just as delicious. It makes New York Catskill water taste gross.

But back to the cafe! They are a small operation, so depending on how busy they are, they will or will not get to making some of the food (on the first day I was a little too early for crepes, but not too early for sandwiches). Everything is made with much love. I went back on the last day for a coffee and the owner was mixing up some cake batter for a cake!

Sorry about my shaky iPhone, but they had some adorable ads on the walls...







On the last day, I was chatting with the owner and found out he was from Long Island and he'd moved to Iceland 5 years ago to marry his husband. They met at a new year's eve party in Los Angeles and when 9/11 happened, his boyfriend had to move back. Since they could legally get married in Iceland at the time, they decided to both move there. So now he has bought this cafe and has made it unbelievably charming, warm and cozy. I could've stayed for hours.