upon closer introspection,

and for the record:

there are NO spa monkeys in iceland.

there IS a little gay scene there.

there is NO backpacking to be had unless i drive on the one road (named 'highway one,' of course,) and go to the OTHER 'city.' therefore, i will be backpacking in reykjavik. there are no railroads there, either. who knew.

there IS a fabu christmas scene. i picked a great time to be there, but there are flash blizzards. eh, these things happen.

there is NO chance of running into bjork: she doesn't live there anymore :-(

there IS a chance reykjavik may be more expensive than new york.

there ARE only four guides for iceland. about 300 each for london, moscow, and beijing. a sign?

oddly, i know more people who HAVE gone to iceland than london, moscow, and beijing. never would have seen that one coming, huh.