My father is visiting for a couple of weeks and since I didn´t have a lot of work these days, Sam and I got to be tourists, too. Today we went to the Akershus Fortress, where I´d only been a couple of times before, but which remains a “hidden gem” by the harbor. It´s from medieval times and they still use most of the buildings housing museums, the National Defense Guard, military offices and this sort of things. The cobblestone alleys and the low houses make you feel like you´re traveling back in time. If only there hadn´t been this many cars parked around!
dog
Cute Dog ‘Q’ Sitting On Things
Tomas Werner photographed this cute little dog outdoors, using the incredibly photogenic Miami as a backdrop. The dog is willingly posing as a real model. Werner gathered his pictures in a book called “A Handbook Dog Walkers”. Take a look!
Weekend
Although we´re celebrating orthodox Easter this weekend, the Norwegian Easter break is over and our friends are back from Nice. So we got together over dinner and wine at our place to start the weekend right. Sammy was very happy to see them both and was all over the place with joy! 😉 And so were we! They came with stories of the Mediterranean, of 20 degrees in the shade and of antique markets. We have to go there together!
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A gettaway to Cristina´s cabin
I wrote about feeling a bit lonely since almost everybody was gone this Easter break and the city was empty of people. As a response to that, a fellow countryman whom I´d only met a couple of times, but who was on my list of fb friends, invited us over to her cabin! Can you imagine such an act of generosity? 🙂 And we said yes, although my man was so anxious after having watched so many horror movies in his life that he had to check her fb page and see what she was up to! Haha! 😉 Luckily it was all ikebana and benign stuff. 😉 haha! 
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Good Friday
This year we´re so lucky as to have 6 days off for Easter! 🙂 And since we stayed in Oslo and the weather has been on our side, we thought we´d take Sammy for nice trips here and there and enjoy our time together as a family. Now I won´t lie to you by saying that I couldn´t imagine a better Easter and that leaving town is overrated, ´cause I´d love to be somewhere nice and warm right now! However, since we´re heading to Romania in a month´s time and my father is visiting at the end of next week, we might as well make the best of our “staycation”, as they call it these days. 😉
Easter Break
The last couple of days in Oslo have been sunny and wonderful! And it´s been great, since it´s Easter break for most of us. Although I worked a tiny bit on Monday and yesterday and V is at the shop today, it still feels like we own the city, since many people have already left on a holiday. I remember a time when it used to depress me, especially hearing people saying they liked the quiet and empty streets. I used to think “what are you doing in the city, then”? But I don´t mind it anymore, it feels good to travel at other times of the year and we´re not so sporty, so the mountains are fine where they are, far away. 😉
Today it was spring in every sense of the word! Although only 3 degrees in the shade, the sun was warm and lovely and you could see a carpet of flowers on the ground and the trees getting back their green coat, too! A couple of weeks from now and everything will be in bloom! 😉 Can´t wait!
Walk with my Best Bud, Sam
Yesterday I worked for 14 hours straight, including traveling hours and believe me, they were work! Sitting in front of two chatty teen-agers on the train is no fun when your head is throbbing with pain and all you want to do is get some sleep! I did get to wolf down a burrito and a beer with some friends, though, before heading home to sleep for 10 hours on end. The upside is I woke up before 8 today! 😉 Meaning I had lots of time to unwind before embarking on an adventure in the woods with my bud, Sammy boy. 😉 The weather was gorgeous, as you can see, the snow was melting and my influenza is finally giving me a rest. 
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A Sunday in Oslo
Today was such a bright and beautiful day it would have been a shame to spend it anywhere else than outside. Although we´re heading towards the end of February, the weather is still quite crisp and we had to go back for gloves, to put it like that. 😉 We live in the Eastern part of Oslo, the multicultural “old town” and love it! It´s such a nice and friendly place, a brisk 10 minutes walk from the city center and only a stone throw away from Grønland and all its colorful (and extremely cheap) eateries. 😉 So we walked to Punjab, as I mentioned in my earlier post, but couldn´t settle for a potato nan, so we had the whole shebang- Chicken Karhai. Oh, yum! If you´re ever in Oslo, it´s a must!
Saturday peek
I love Saturdays so much and even more so when V has a day off! Today we started the day smooching Sam by the bed, then we had coffee and cuddles with Beo in the living room and a walk to the city center for wine and groceries. We´re having guests for dinner and we´ll be serving them Vietnamese fresh rolls and Pavlova cake. Fresh rolls mean that everybody grills their own favorite (fish, shrimps and beef) and assembles it with noodles, greens and veggies, then rolls it in a rice sheet and dips it in a homemade Hoisin sauce. 😉
Family Gathering for Christmas
On the third day of Christmas we were invited to a family gathering at Våler, where Vuong´s sister recently moved with her husband and child. Although the Trans are Buddhists, they do find a day around Christmas to get together, eat good food and do some catching up. And yesterday was that day. 🙂
Since interethnic marriages are not very common in Norwegian-Vietnamese communities, that´s given us some heart-ache along the years. In the end we all had to admit we were stuck with each other and make the best of it. So now we meet once in a while and smooth things over for the sake of our nephew, who is one gorgeous and lovable little guy!
Today we went for a walk in the woods and had the best time ever! Sammy was super happy and so was Benjamin, who slid like a pro! After taking in the fresh air and the amazing landscape, we felt our cheeks flush with blood and our feet ache with cold. So we went in for cakes and coffee. Take a look!
life in a bubble 