Three Girls in Oslo

Melanie, Wendy and I all headed up to Oslo, Norway on Saturday morning (a little rough since the Crud Tournament was the night before) to embark on some Norwegian "girl time". We'd been searching for a fun travel location for a few months, when Wendy & I both found a great deal on airline tickets to Oslo. We quickly booked the tickets, found a hotel, and started envisioning ourselves shopping to our hearts content (a vacation w/o our husbands...oh the shopping possibilities!!) Little did we know; however, that Oslo is the most expensive city in Europe!!! Heehee...oops, no turning back now! So, we geared ourselves up for a great trip with a little less shopping :)

We arrived on Saturday mid-day and set off to find our hotel, after a quick trip to McDonalds, of course! We stayed just off the main road (Karl Johan's Gate), and our hotel was perfect for just the three of us. We visited the Oslo City Hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, and then went to the Nobel Peace Prize Center. They were having an exhibit on Freedom of Speech, but we were "shooed" out before we really got to look around...something about them being closed or some nonsense like that :) We then walked along the harbor to Akker Brygge...just FYI, it's not actually a bridge like I thought it was! I took the picture on the left from there...it's of the Akershus Fortress which was built in 1299. We did some shopping in the shopping center there before heading to TGI Friday's for dinner. It was so nice to sit down at a normal restaurant and actually have some delicious food and nice waiters. The prices were insane, but I have to say, I think it was worth every penny!

On Sunday morning we got up (a little late thanks to me forgetting to change the time on my phone) and headed to Holmenkollen to see the ski museum and the ski jump tower. That's me posing w/ a troll outside of the ski museum...he was pretty cute! The museum was cool, and the ski jump was amazing! I can't believe that skiers actually ski off of that thing, it was unbelievably tall and extremely steep! From there, we made our way to the Viking museum (after roaming around Oslo for awhile, chasing a bus, several stops into convenience stores to ask for directions, and lots of laughter). That museum was pretty interesting as well, but very small. We then went to the open-air Folk Museum, and then to Vigelandsparken (or Vigeland Park to you non-Norwegian speakers!). The Folk Museum was great...it was the perfect time of year to visit w/ the trees being so beautiful, everything seemed to just glow. Vigeland park is huge and a sculpture garden runs right up it's center. We walked through it in it's entirety and took lots of pictures of the beautiful Norwegian scenery. For dinner we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. Why go all the way to Oslo for American food, you ask? Ummm, try living in England for a year, and I'm pretty sure that's where you would pick as well!! :) We stayed up late both nights, just chatting and catching up. Those girls are so much fun, and I couldn't have asked for two better travel partners! We had a wonderful trip, and I'm already planning the next one :)

A Time to Remember

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. ~Stanley Horowitz

I love the fall...the beautiful leaves, the crisp cool air, the delicious smells, and the memories that seem to swirl around me during this time of year. My Nana's birthday was today. She passed away almost two years ago, yet I felt her spirit embrace me from the moment I woke up this morning. She loved the autumn leaves, the deep purples & the bright reds. She loved to listen to the sweet morning songs of the birds who resided outside her window. I remember the little things that she noticed as the weather turned cooler...and today, maybe for the first time, I noticed them too. I took the time to enjoy the golden serenity of this evenings sunset, and the silly crunching sound of the leaves under my feet as I walked around our village tonight (I might have joyfully kicked a few piles too!!). I laughed as two colorful pheasants scrambled across the street, trying to find refuge in the too tall grass. I treasured the soft smell of smoke coming from chimneys, and imagined families cuddled up together, safe and warm inside their homes. My heart ached to share these things with her. As I sit here now, I remember her...her unconditional love, her goodness, and the simple things that she cherished. She was loved, and she is missed...and I really like to remember.

When in Rome...

Our first stop was Rome, one of the places that Chris and I have always wanted to visit together. We woke up early and headed to the "Stardust Lounge" to wait for our tour number to be called. Try to picture an immensely crowded room, filled with anxious cruisers, all of whom just know that THEY will be the ones who missed their tour! It was quite comical actually! Anyway, our number was called and we were soon herded to the buses. Our tour guide, bless her heart, seemed to have done one too many tours of Rome and wasn't just the most enthusiastic lady we've ever met. Thankfully, she's the only one who seemed to be this way, as all of our other guides were unbelievably helpful & kind. But, we did get to see all the major sites. The Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, and many of the arches that leave their mark throughout the city. We then headed to Vatican City and the beautiful St. Peter's Basilica. It was so fun to look out and see the same view that the Pope has each time he speaks from the church steps. We stood in a seemingly never-ending line (there's a picture of us standing in it on the left), but eventually made it inside the most spectacular church we have ever seen. The sheer size of it is enough to move you, but add to that the beautiful mosaics, sculptures, writings and design, and it just simply takes your breath away. We saw Michelangelo's "pieta`", which is now my most favorite work of art. It just leaves you speechless when you see it in person. We were also impressed with the 9 foot tall letters around the dome that had this message: "you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. ...I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven....". Such magnitude and grace. I just can't explain how beautiful it was.

We ended our tour there, did a little shopping in St. Peter's Square, and (of course) had some wonderfully delicious gelatto before getting back on the bus. The day was everything that we hoped it would be!

Cruise Tidbits

Much to our dismay, we are steadily getting back to our daily routine here in England. Gone are the leisurely mornings, the relaxing days by the pool, and the delightful midnight chocolate buffet! Yes, sadly, we are back to the grind...but at least we have pictures and made memories that will last a lifetime.

I think the best way to write about this trip is to cover a different place every day. We got to see and experience so many amazing things that if I tried to write about them all tonight, I'd be here til next week!! So, first just let me say that our cruise line (Norwegian) was just awesome! We flew to Barcelona early on a Sunday morning and then caught a cab to the port. Now THAT was an interesting cab ride!! Our cabbie got lost and actually had to pull over and look at one of those gigantic maps on the side of the road. He also didn't speak a WORD of English. He knew less English than Chris and I know of Spanish, so we quickly knew we were in for an adventure! We understood about 3 of his words..."andale" (hurry), "cinco" (five...we're still not really sure why he was screaming this), and "oh" (as in "oh, oh, oh", which he said over and over and over again!!). We really couldn't help him at all because we were too busy laughing in the backseat, really hoping that we didn't miss the boat!

The ship was just incredible. There were two swimming pools, 12 restaurants, a spa, a fitness center, a huge theatre, a casino, & so much more. It was overwhelming when we first boarded, we didn't stop getting lost until our 3rd day at sea! I played Bingo (those of you who know me, know that I'm a huge bingo fan) and won about $70! We also played Blackjack and won a little money there too! BUT, the thing that I'm most proud of winning is the bottle of champagne that we won while playing the Newlywed/Not So Newlywed Game! We were competing against 4 other couples, one of which had been married 64 years! We also did a Murder Mystery Dinner. We'd never done one of those before, and it was actually really fun. Chris ended up being the "murderer", and completely fooled everyone all night...pretty funny! We also got to see some wonderful performers. Magicians, singers, dancers and even a Cirque du Soleil type act that was unbelievable. They really turned the ship into something spectacular!

More tomorrow :)

Cheers!

This is why I love working with children!!

So, I went to work today and in my class we were talking about cities and states. Here's just a just one excerpt of our 30 minute discussion....

Me: "So Caleb, what city and state were you born in?"
Caleb: "Mississippi"
Me: "Okay, that's the state, but do you know the city?"
Caleb: "Uhhh, Mrs. Duncan (insert very exasperated little face here) I was a baby when I was born, how do you expect me to remember what city it was in?"

LOVE IT!

Anyway, we're obviously back from our WONDERFUL cruise. I still have trouble putting into words just how amazing this trip was. Don't worry, pictures are coming soon! We're still trying to get acclimated to being back at home...not having someone cook for us, not having constant entertainment, and not having a pool to lounge around by all day long. And that was just on the boat!! We're thankful to be home safe, and to have had the opportunity to explore some of the most beautiful places on earth. What a blessing that was :)

Istanbul or Bust!!!

So, Chris and I leave tomorrow morning for our 12 day cruise, and I am so excited that I can barely stand it!! A friend (a very, very sweet and wonderful friend) is picking us up at 5 in the morning and taking us to the airport. Our first stop is Barcelona, Spain where we'll board the ship and head to Italy. I am almost overwhelmed at the fact that we're actually going to be in Italy in 2 days. So fun!! Traveling there has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl, and being able to actually go now with Chris is just almost unbelievable!! We've already picked all of our "excursions" (did I mention that I am a little obsessive about planning things??), and I'm most looking forward to our Wine Tasting Adventure in Tuscany. I think Chris is most looking forward to climbing Mt. Vesuvius...funny how our tastes are just a little bit different :) Our next stop is Athens, Greece. (I'll let y'all know how that goes since I've heard a rumor about a few tiny fires somewhere in that vicinity!) Then it's on to Dubrovnik, Croatia where we'll be visiting a coastal yachting village. Then we head to Izmar & Istanbul, Turkey. We've heard such wonderful things about Turkey that we decided to stay an extra 2 days there at the end of our trip! I think Istanbul is going to be just amazing. I can't wait to go to the Beylerbeyi Palace, the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market!! It is going to be such a fantastic experience, something that we never even imagined that we would be doing! We'll be sure to take plenty of pictures and we'll let y'all know how it was when we return :)

Totally 80's!!!

So...how do you like our new look?? The above picture is of me and my friend Meredith before our Totally 80's party!! The wives here get together every month as a group to go over the "schedule", snack on some fabulous food, and just catch up on each other's lives. Each month is a different "theme", and this month was a tribute to a decade of tight-rolled jeans, insanely high hair, leg warmers, & (my favorite) jellies!! Our friends Mhari & Emily went down to High Street and purchased some RAD clothes & accessories to complete our look. The funny thing is, we could all go out in Newmarket and completely fit in with the regular pub crew!! The party was great...complete with fondue...and though we didn't win a prize for "best dressed", I think we were definitely rockin' the 80's spirit! See for yourself....Emily, Mhari, Me, Kelly & Meredith...mmmm, side pony-tails & spandex tights should definitely come back in style!!The wives...We have 2 Madonna's & a Flash-dancer in the front row!!