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snuggling up to Franklin (Taken with instagram)

trying to figure out my face shape for hair cut purposes. oval? round? (Taken with instagram)

colorful happy (Taken with Instagram at yarnstory)

qt with my kitty cat. this is what winter break is all about. (Taken with instagram)

paid our respect in downtown Oslo.

#Oslo #travelogue

the film site for Midnight in Paris (which i have not seen)

#Paris #make me a movie star

La Ville Lumière

hello, Paris! initial impression: Parisians love graffiti even more than Norwegians; people watching is a national sport (as identified by the street-facing seats at every corner); dog poop is more common in the city than grass; and there is something about being here that just makes me happy. we got in last night with an unmemorable flight from Oslo through Frankfurt, wandering around a bit in the evening to get familiar with the area. i love that i'm getting an opportunity to brush up on my French; i took three years way back when, so it's there in my brain somewhere, even if i am a little slow. today is our first full day, so lots of pictures and absurdity to follow, i presume.

#paris #travelogue #poo on my shoe

an American in Oslo

it has now become a volatile time to be in Oslo, as a traveller or otherwise. a bomb and a shooting does that to a country, no matter how peaceful it may be under normal circumstances. we are returning today to our apartment in Oslo before our planned flight to Paris on Tuesday. we are still unsure what, if any, changes or accommodations will need to be made as we travel in and out of Oslo for the next few weeks. because Tolkien has family in Oslo, it was to function as our home base, but with the bombing and shooting that occurred last night the country is obviously under a lot of pressure to secure the safety of its borders. coming through customs last week was a breeze, a simple look at our passports and confirmation that we were here as tourists. i have a feeling it won't be so simple as we attempt to return from Paris next week, and understandably so. having spent a few days wandering the Oslo city center where the bomb was placed and seven lives lost, the whole experience is surreal, to say the least. my thoughts are with this beautiful country and it's people.

#norway #oslo #travelogue

the quintessential photo op spot in Bergen's historic shopping district. it's a beautiful city with lots of charm, and i wish we had a couple more days here...

sunset in Bergen

it is 11pm as i write this and the sky is still lit like it’s late afternoon. the sunset in Norway comes so late, and the sunrise so early, but my body and brain can’t seem to comprehend. so i think we’re managing on a few hours of sleep a night, plus naps. it’s far from ideal, but it is what it is. today, we took a boat tour through Sognefjord to Flåm, where we switched to a steam train bound for Myrdal, where we switched one more time to a nice cozy train back to Bergen. the boat portion was rather unexciting, a little underwhelming, but the train from Flåm to Myrdal had some gorgeous scenery. after 6 hours cooped up, though, both Tolkien and i knocked out all the way back to Bergen. this evening, we got some much needed free time to wander the city (read: not stuck inside a vehicle) and my legs are so grateful. we had dinner at a quaint little cafe and had some lousy coffee, but it was great just to be out on the town. unfortunately, we have another 6ish hours of driving tomorrow on our way to Stavanger, and then another 8 or 9 hours back to Oslo the following day. please just shoot me now. (for the record, we had no say in the planning of this portion of our trip.) more Norwegian words learned: salat - salad kup te - cup of tea apotek - pharmacy sentrum - city center

#norway #travelogue #beginning to hate vehicles

i don't remember much about yesterday because these roads got me sick. i've always been prone to motion sickness, so it wasn't a surprise, but the Dramamine i took knocked me out. so, while the scenery was epic when i was awake to see it, i was too out of it to care. side note: traveling with family is not vacation; it's torture.

#almost barfed #norway #travelogue

the view from our room in Bergen at night

#norway #and by night i mean midnight

tourists in Oslo

our first full day in Oslo was amazing. we did some typical sight seeing - Vigeland Park, Holmenkollen Ski Jump, and the Operahuset (opera house). the weather was ridiculously amazing and despite the slow start in the morning, we had a great time. amidst the sights, we managed to have pastries and caffeine at a local kaffe, wander into a few cycle/fitness shops, eat Norwegian hotdogs (called pølse), and take a boatload of pictures. after all of the walking and wandering, we came back to the apartment for nap time (like kindergarten) before dinner, which was at the family restaurant, Eden China. now, i was dead against eating Chinese food in Norway, but oh.em.gee the food was ridiculously good. and i don't even like Chinese food! so stuffed and happy, and easily a million times over the intended calorie intake for the day, we rolled ourselves back to the apartment for bed. it was blissful. running list of reasons why Norway is awesome: dedicated bike/pedestrian paths literally everywhere no such thing as road rage universal healthcare that rocks best moment of the day: learning that Norwegians call pineapple Dole (pronounced doh-lah) because of the company that they obviously get their pineapple from. more Norwegian words learned: pølse - hotdog takk for maten - thanks for the food jordbær - strawberry

#i ate too much #norway #travelogue #norwegian lessons

Harry Potter in Norway = Alt Ender which, to be honest, sounds like a really sexy guy's name to me. i've decided i'd like to name my firstborn son Alt Ender.

#harry potter #sex appeal in a name

oh… s@*% (Taken with instagram)

#oh shit #four letter words #stores i wish i'd thought of first

Oslo at night

yesterday, after much napping, we managed to get six jetlagged bodies up and out into town. the family took us to Karl Johans Gate, where there is a nice walking/shopping district. we strolled around and grabbed dinner and this Asian fusion restaurant called Brasserie 45. the food was excellent and we have officially started the weight-gain phase of our trip. after dinner, we walked to Aker Brygge, which is an extended shopping district on the water. it was 10pm by this time and still perfectly light out, which was just bizarre. aside from the weird 20-hour daylight thing, the weather is awesome. it’s brisk and a little rainy, and the air is so refreshing. it must be all the green stuff around. i believe they’re called trees… favorite moment: climbing like the monkey i am on a big ship’s anchor on display. yeah, i have a thing for climbing. norwegian words i’ve learned so far: tusen takk - thank you beklager - sorry dytt - push trekk - pull those last two words were just from reading signs on doors. just in case you had your mind in the gutter or something…

#daylight at night is cool #i might be part monkey #norway #norwegian lessons #travelogue

welcome to Norway

we made it! our flights were long, but mostly uneventful. we were delayed an hour getting out of honolulu, but the layover in San Fran was long enough to give us a cushion. the merger, however, between Continental and United made for ridiculous moments in our travel arrangements. they managed to mess up our booking twice, mix us up so that our party wasn't seated together, and lose our personal info (which could mean not travelling internationally). in the end, we were just grateful to have flights and make it to Norway. now, we are getting settled into our apartment before a simple dinner and a relaxing evening. we'll probably start our wandering tomorrow. my first impression is that everything is lush and green in a way that i've never seen before. the landscapes are gorgeous and the air is crisp and cool. we are taking a short tour from Oslo to Bergen/Stavanger later this week, so we'll have lots of opportunity to see the land, which is what i'm most looking forward to. and of course, Tolkien and i are scoping out possible routes for running. there's apparently a nice 10k-ish route that we can run from the apartment, so we'll hopefully try that out tomorrow to get going on our marathon training. ok, enough pointless rambling. i seriously need a nap. jetlag is brutal when you're dealing with a 12 hour time difference.

#travelogue #norway #continental and united suck #i need a nap

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