Cpl Punnishment
Caldari
Steel Fleet
Ocularis Inferno
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Posted - 2009.11.16 05:23:00 -
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I went to my first FF this year. I had a great time and flew direct from Seattle. My friend and I booked a package deal. I think getting there and back with stay at the Grand Hotel, (pretty nice btw, and couldnĘt be much closer to the venue.) ran somewhere around $1200 give or take. That was for five nights. I would like to go again, but now I would know what to do. First, book travel and stay separate. The package, while convenient, can add a couple hundred extra to the total. I stayed at the Grand Hotel and I liked it. The staff where very friendly and the rooms where very clean. I am not sure if they have FF at the same venue, but it was about a seven minute walk to FF from the hotel which is situated a bit away from the downtown core. This was nice if you are into sleeping when you want to sleep. If you stay in the middle of the downtown core, it can be quite loud at night, and the walk to the venue will be a bit longer. All and all itĘs not a huge city though. You have the option to grab a cab to get where you need to go as well.
You will spend more money depending on what you do outside of FF. You can choose to eat Pizza hut or KFC, (sorry no more McDonnalds) the whole time, and go on the cheap. Or you can go to restaurants and have a better variety. I did a mix of both and didnĘt spend too much. And I think the Grand Hotel has an option to include breakfast with the stay. We did this and It worked out well. One less thing to worry about, and it was good to boot.
My friend and I decided to take a day off FF and go on an ATV tour that combined running around the landscape with ATVs and ended up with a stop at the Blue Lagoon. Both very fun and well worth it. They are also in very close proximity to one another. The ATV was about $130 usd and the Blue Lagoon was not that much, maybe around $20-30. DonĘt be scared off by bad weather. We did both the ATV tour and trip to the Lagoon in a sort of foul weather gale. Rain, high wind, and maybe a bit of sleet made for a FUN time. No seriously! They provide Overalls, Boots, and Gloves on the ATV tour, so you stay mostly dry. But who cares? You get into the water at the Blue Lagoon and all is good!
The Lagoon is set up a bit like a spa. You get there; you can eat in the nice restaurant, or grab a sandwich at the cafT there. Then you check in, put your stuff in a locker, shower off, and head to the Lagoon. It was awesome. All this wind and a bit of rain and sleet, but once you are in the water, none of that matters. Bring some conditioner for your hair though. That water makes your hair feel like hay when you get out. They have all that there for you in the locker room, but you canĘt have enough. Lol. You will understand once you have been there. This is the one non FF that we did, and it was well worth every penny.
We might have done a bit more outside of FF, but during the Pub Crawl, my friend impaired with much Vodka, had a spirited discussion with Hostiles about politics and got blobbed. LOL. We had become separated during the Pub Crawl and I figured that we would meet up at another bar. Long story shortą he got back to the Hotel deep into structure and required much repping in order to move about. He was able to attest to the fine treatment of the local Hospital and Police services. DonĘt worry, concord was not after him, just the Red Blinkies. DonĘt let me scare you though. There is very little in the way of real crime in Iceland. But when 0500 hrs rolls around, and you are good and liquored up, it is time to go home.
Overall, I had a real blast! Met a lot of cool people and saw a lot of cool things.
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