Easter is finally here and it couldn’t have come any sooner! I’ve been busting my ass off lately, traveling here and there, planes and trains and cars and busses and what not. I really need some time off, sunny days filled with good food and drink, walkies with Sammy, dosing off in front of our new favourite series- Hotel Beau Séjour- and painting around the house. I’m finally selling after the holidays and I need all the help I can get from a fresh coat of paint and newly washed windows. I was about to write “if you feel like helping out”, but then I realised what I need most is some people detox. Haha! Too much socializing in my line of work, they end up eating you alive!
Easter
Sweet freelance life
Second Easter day was spent “en famille”. My father came from Romania yesterday and we had a nice breakfast with lots of lovely coffee and cozonac, our traditional holiday cake. I was lucky not to have anything on my agenda and had sort of decided not to work, but when nobody required my services, I was even happier I didn´t have to turn anybody down.
It was a fresh and sunny day and I had a long walk with Sam. I let him run free and chase the geese by the lake, then we went all the way to the marina to enjoy the view. Later on I had coffee with a friend and her 2 months daughter, in our neighborhood coffeeshop. 😉 On my way home again I picked up some fresh tulips and a bottle of wine. V is making shrimps with leeks in a tomato sauce, served with white rice for dinner, then we´re out to have a beer with a friend of ours.
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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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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Winter is back
Can you imagine how happy I was when I woke up this morning to see at least 10 cm of newly fallen snow? (hint: not at all!)
This morning was a disaster in every way, had to wake up at 6 just to find out I wouldn´t have to work after all, but then again they changed their mind, so I had to literally run to reach the train, which was delayed (Thank God!), ´cause then I was told we´ll leave it for tomorrow in the end. Of course I´m billing them, but that´s besides the point. The point is there were almost no buses, it was really early, cold, chaotic and nobody should go through that unless strictly necessary. Hahaha! Besides, I had to wear my winter boots! Bhuuuuu!
Easter blues
It´s strange how holidays always are a bit tricky when you´re far away from your family, even as a grown-up. It´s like the thread of “the way it´s always been” gets cut. And I like things to be the way they´ve always been, even though I have an ambivalent relationship to traditions. Like it or not, traditions are the glue that keeps together past and present. We can chose to keep some and forget others, but they do define us in a way or another. All these years, I´ve let customs go and embraced others, we´ve created our own traditions as a family of two and we´ve been with the big family sometimes, too. Since my husband was born a Buddhist, Easter never had loud resonances in his family. In Romania however, we celebrate by going to church, meeting family and friends and eating until we end up in a hospital. 😉
Norwegians are said to go skiing on Easter holiday. The paper said it´s more of a myth nowadays, but I still feel it´s the general rule. Since we don´t ski, we go to Romania every now and then, take a city break other times, but mostly stay at home and celebrate an urban Easter. We´ve had amazing weather, we´ve gone on lovely trips, met people for lunch and coffee and still I feel there´s something missing. I´ve been trying not to fall prey to melancholy all this time, but the church bells this morning were too much. Why don´t I go to church or dye some eggs then? Because it wouldn´t be like home anyway. So why even try?
Source: uneromaineaparis.com
Easter 2014
Thursday was all about baking and hiding inside from the rain. I made all this food and we cuddled up with blankets and Netflix. A lovely way to start a mini holiday, but would have proved boring in the long run. Yesterday however, the sun was shining and it was time for new adventures. I waited for my husband to finish a wallet he´s had an order on and when it seemed it was never going to happen, I took Sam for a walk to hip Grunnerløkka. We took some pictures on our way crossing Grønland and Tøyen, strolled through the lovely Botanical Garden and smelled the flowers. Luckily, my friend Elif agreed to meet us there, so we had coffee and pizza at Villa Paradiso. My man joined us in the end and we walked happily into the sunset the three of us. Haha!
Today we´re going to the Østensjø lake into the woods. Pictures soon! Enjoy the ride with us!
Easter break
What are you doing this Easter? We have no plans, other than a day trip to Gothenburg that might or might not go through. So I figured I should use this Easter as an excuse to decorate with flowers, bake some cakes and catch up on some reading. The weather seems to be on our side (for once!), so I welcome lazy breakfasts, walkies with Sammy and some British crime. Meanwhile, I´ll be working a couple of more hours here and there and on Thursday it´s officially on!;-) Enjoy the ride through my house!
xxx, Alina
life in a bubble 