Oslo With Paul!

After our fantastic holiday in London, Paul and I flew back to Oslo for our final week together. Our time in Oslo was a skiing, seeing the sights, and of course, chowin' on some good grub!

One Must-See spot for every visitor to Oslo is Vigelandsparken, the famous sculpture park. We headed there on our first full day in town, after finding some sweet scores at a local shop. (Who are we kidding? It was the thrift store. It wouldn’t be a K & P Adventure if we didn’t do a little thrift store shopping, right?)

The following day, we started the “Great Goose Chase of 2010”: trying to rent skis in Oslo. Goose chase, you ask? Shouldn’t it be easy to find a pair of rental cross-country skis in the capital of the nation that INVENTED the sport? Well, that’s what we thought too. Turns out that we were wrong. After hours of sports shops, T-bane rides and dead-ends; we ended up at a tiny one-man hut near the top of one of the hills that surround Oslo. It is the only place in the whole city that rents skis! We asked the man behind the counter why that was, and he was as baffled as we were. He said that it was ‘crazy’ that more places don’t rent, and we agreed. We spent the days before the hut trip warming up on some flat terrain behind the student village where I live. Paul caught on quickly and by the final day of his visit, he smoked me up the six-kilometer climb to Ullevålseter.

 

City Hall, New Year's Eve

For New Year’s Eve, Paul and I headed down to City Hall to watch the fireworks display put on by the city. It turns out that more than just the city puts on fireworks. The plaza in front of City Hall turns into a firecracker war-zone, with inexperienced pyro-technicians (aka whoever wants to buy a firework) setting them off left and right. We managed to avoid stray fireworks and the show overlooking the Oslofjord was pretty incredible. I was glad to ring in 2011 with Paul, and even more glad to have all of my limbs attached at the end of the night.

Earlier in the week, a friend of a friend had described their visit to the Norwegian Musuem of Science and Technology, and it sounded right up our alley. I think what really hooked us was when he said “It is great for kids, but we had fun anyway.” We made a day of it, and were not disappointed. The upper floors had information about the progression of music players through the ages, modes of transportation, computers, Norway’s role in oil extraction in the North Sea, and advancements medicine. On the bottom floor was the hands-on portion, complete with a thermal camera, mega-Tanagrams, and an entire display on alternative energy sources.

The second museum that we visited was the Norwegian Folk Museum. It is a collection of buildings from around Norway from all periods of time, and visitors are able to stroll through the open-air museum and be part of the time period in which the building are from. The central attraction of the museum is the Stave Church, an incredible piece of architecture that was brought to Oslo in 1884. It has a long history, and it took 3 years to even get it to Oslo from Northern Norway because of snow conditions! 

Eating out in Oslo is an expensive proposition, but thanks to many generous Christmas donations from friends and family, I took Paul out to a charming restaurant Tullins Café. The atmosphere was almost as cool as the tables, which were inlayed with old lockets, jewelry and photos. The food was fantastic as well! 

It was more than hard to say goodbye to Paul. Just as I was getting used to life together again, my apartment turned from messy and loud to clean, quiet, and more than a little lonely. Since my return to the States in the summer is still open, we don’t know when we will see each other next. He has given me a huge gift by supporting my decision to move away for an entire year. Thank you, Paul! You are incredible.

It was the greatest Christmas present I have ever received to have Paul with me for three weeks. I want to THANK both sets of parents for helping make all legs of our vacation possible!

Brighton

During my visit to London over Christmas holiday, my hosts took me to Brighton for a quick visit to the sea. Brighton is on the southern coast of England and is a quick train ride away from London. 

We were greeted at the train station by Alex's sister Jordan whom we would be staying with that night. After dropping our bags, we headed down to the water front for an evening walk, and were rewarded with a magnificent sunset. Starlings were flocking over the pier and the whole scene was surreally beautiful.

photo courtesy of visitbrighton.com

On our walk, we passed through the grounds of the Royal Pavilion. The Royal Pavilion was built by George IV and is quite an architectural contrast to the rest of Brighton. Successors of George IV used the Pavilion for an escape on holiday, but Queen Victoria wasn't too taken with Brighton and picked a new vacation destination for the Royal Family. Now the Pavilion serves as Brighton's main tourist attraction.

The next morning we had a fashionable tea experience at Metrodeco, a tea and furniture shop wrapped into one.

Pinkies out, please!

Brighton has an zesty atmosphere and I really enjoyed the eccentric vibe. I can imagine city folks from London flocking to the pier on a summer day much like their wintery replacements did during our sunset walk.

Christmas Time In The City

I spent my Christmas holiday in London, England! My boyfriend's sister, Erica, lives in London with her wife, Alex, and they graciously hosted me and Paul for ten days in December. We were so lucky to have a beautiful home to stay in, knowledgeable guides, and fellow foodies that kept us well fed and happy.

For our first full day together in England, the four of us headed into the heart of the city, armed with Oyster Cards, cameras, and healthy appetites. We landed in Trafalger Square, an iconic London destination, happy to be exploring and happy to be together. After strolling through some classic art at the National Gallery (Picasso, Monet, van Gogh, no big deal), we sat down to a delicious Mexican meal at Wahaca (very much recommended).

Trafalger Square

After a whirlwind trip to Brighton, we returned to London to celebrate Erica's birthday. To continue a long-standing birthday tradition, Paul, Erica and I hit the ice at the Somerset House, one of the fanciest ice rinks in the city. Despite not having been on ice skates since middle school, I fared pretty well and had a blast.

In brainstorming about places we would like to see, Paul had the idea of visiting the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, home of the Prime Meridian. I quickly concluded that the idea was brilliant, and we made a "pilgrimage" to see the real deal. (Nerd Alert!)

Tower Bridge

One of the coolest parts of the visit to the Royal Observatory was taking the "Thames Clipper" river taxi! We cruised right through London on the infamous river, floating right under Tower Bridge. We got back on land at the London Eye, looking across the river to this gorgeous sight:

British Parliament at night 

We even did some obligatory sight-seeing:

Big Ben

One place that goes on the "MUST SEE" list for anyone visiting London: Borough Market. The place is awesome. It is the ultimate foodie paradise. Whether you are looking for artesian cheeses, fresh seafood, or a freshly brewed cup of chai, Borough Market has it all. You can check it out here, but you'll never get an idea of how rad it is until you visit in person. 

There is always time for a little fun too, right?

Weighing the turkey on the bathroom scale

 Then the big day came. Listen up, folks: The English know how to do a proper Christmas. We are talking food upon more food, a flavorful, hearty, traditional, scrumptious meal. Which took a lot of prep. Yes, that turkey is wrapped in bacon.

Prep for sausage rolls

The final product was more than worth it.

Photo courtesy of E. Gillingham

This was my first ever Christmas away from Wyoming, but my adopted family made me feel right at home. I am so fortunate to have shared the holiday with such incredible hosts and second family. Thank you, thank you!

Edinburgh Adventure

Edinburgh Castle

After my semester came to a close in early December, I had some time to burn before my Christmas trip to London. I decided to extend my time in the UK by tacking on a visit to Edinburgh, Scotland in mid-December. I'm so glad I did! I was able to fit a lot in during the three days that I had there.

The Royal Mile, High Street

I spent my first day exploring High Street, the main street through the oldest part of the city. Edinburgh Castle sits at the top of the mile long road, and the Scottish Parliament building is located at the base of the street. The meetings of Parliament are open to the public, and I was really interested in the climate discussions happening later that day, but after sitting through an hour of banter about how the government handled the latest weather catastrophe, I decided to escape when I had the chance. I spent the rest of the afternoon checking out neat graveyards, public parks, and free musuems.

Edinburgh was a culinary adventure for me, too. Restaurants were considerably cheaper than Norway, and I jumped at the opportunity to dine on some regional delights. When in Scotland, one must eat haggis, right? I went for it, and was not disappointed:

Haggis "Stack"

Fish and Chips

Hearty Scottish Stew, with a pot of tea, of course

I spent my last full day walking through Hollyrood Park, and made it to the summit of Arthur's Seat. At a 823 meter elevation, the vantage point was great for seeing all of Edinburgh, and across the Firth of Forth, an arm of the North Sea. There are three lochs within the royal park, one of which rests in the shadow of St. Anthony's Chapel, built in the 15th century and now a ruin.

Edinburgh calls itself "Athens of the North." Accompanied by my trip to Stockholm, I feel like I'm creating a theme. Maybe I'll just visit the northern versions of the most famous European cities! If there a "Rome of the North," it will be my next destination...

There is a lot that I still don't know about Scotland, and it is a place I would like to return to. Edinburgh was a fun city, but I know the country has much more in store. I was very much "on the beaten path" for this visit, which was fine given my limited time, but I'm looking forward to seeing the rural parts of the country.

There is no better way to travel than by train. The train from Edinburgh to London took less than five hours and from the perspective of a Wyoming girl, that's nothin'! I had an amazing view of the ocean along the East coast, complimented by rolling Scottish hillside and, of course, sheep. Lots of sheep.

I was greeted at the station in London by Paul's sister, Erica, and whisked off to her lovely flat to start what would be a wonderful Christmas holiday. 

Long Time, No Blog

I've been a busy lady. 

Since my last post (which was shamefully long ago) I have:

Gotten a small taste of Scotland

Ridden a train along the coast of the United Kingdom

Been reunited with Paul(!)

Celebrated the birthday of an incredible woman

Shared a brilliant English Christmas with some folks who know how to do it right

photo courtesy of E. Gillingham

Explored Norwegian forests with my Partner-in-Crime

and so much more!

Come back soon for full recaps. Thanks for your patience.