travel

Weekend trip to Tønsberg

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I´ve been really jealous of all the people with boats, summer houses or cabins this summer. Not because we haven´t had a holiday or been out drinking wine most evenings, but because the weather has been so perfect and no matter how close we live to the harbor, it´s not the same as being somewhere else entirely, a place you get to take a break from daily routine and chores.

So I remembered I had a lot of hotel points from that time I worked in Bergen for three months in a row and ordered a weekend in Tønsberg for the two of us. Tønsberg is a cute little summer town 1,5 hours away from Oslo, not much to do there, but very picture perfect for a short trip.  Thus we took the train, even upgraded to first class (called “Komfort” so it sounds less class-oriented- haha!) so we´d avoid sitting with chatty teen-agers and there we were by mid-day Saturday, ready for check-in and lunch. We ate at Kolonihagen, a nice spruced up place with emphasis on local and organic food.  They were terribly busy that day, so the service wasn´t great, but the meals were as lovely as always. We had Jerusalem artichoke soup and pie with salad and for desert we shared a pannacotta.

After a round in the “city center”, a couple of pictures of quaint wooden houses and wondering if we should or we shouldn´t have some ice-cream, we headed for the hotel for a nap (we´re known as the nappers in our circle of friends!). Besides, the 4th season of the Killing was just posted on Netflix, so we were dying to see what was happening. After a couple of episodes we freshened up for dinner at Champagneria, a classy place they have in Oslo, too. We ordered lots of tapas, skipped the bread and the “patatas bravas” for once and gorged ourselves on “jamon iberico”, baked chèvre, chorizo and so on. 😉 Unfortunately Peppes Pizza, their neighbor, were having an open-air private party of some sort and they were so loud, we couldn´t even hear our waiter speaking, let alone converse. After a heavy dinner with lots of bubbles, a walk was in order, so we strolled around white washed houses and said hello to many cute cats on our way up to Slottsfjellet, the Castle Rock, to put it in a Games of Thrones way. The view from there was sublime! The sunset, the wilderness of it all, who would have figured they´ve just had a festival a couple of weeks ago? Everything seems so untouched and for an asphalt girl, as I called myself many years ago, to experience that in the middle of the city is just surreal!

On Sunday everything was closed, even some eateries, so walking about with no purpose proved little fun. And it wasn´t warm enough to swim, so we mainly hanged in our hotel room and watched the Killing, except for eating mussel soup for lunch and burgers for dinner. The burger place is worth a trip, it´s called Kverneriet and it´s a hipp place with pretty good burgers and nice atmosphere. Vuong´s conclusion was that Munchies in Oslo is still the real deal! That was our weekend! How was yours?

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Heat wave

These days have been so hot it´s crazy! Luckily, I spent them either at the beach, in the shade of the garden or sipping an ice coffee at the terrace. I can never tell you enough times: There´s no place like Oslo in the summer!<3

If in Oslo, you need to check out Delikatessen, they now have 3 locations, but the best one is still in Grunnerløkka, if you ask me. Generous salads, yummy tapas and cool cats serving them to you.

I´m still on low-carb, 8 days to go, on Monday I´m starting yoga and pilates again, after a couple of years´laziness.

I hope your July is FAB and feel free to leave a message if you care!:-)

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Living is easy

Although this is not always true and we stumble and fall more often than we can pick ourselves up, it should be summer´s general rule. Less clothes, less work, more spare time to do whatever we enjoy most, eat lighter, drink more, you name it!;-)

These days have been strange for my part, without needing to go into details. Today however I feel better than in a very long time. My thoughts feel clearer and I can breathe without restraints. I´m listening to the feel-good `Smart is the New Sexy´playlist on Spotify, drinking green tea, the cat purring beside me and life is simply good.

I´ve been dieting on low-carb for 9 days now and I´ve lost 3 kg, my skin hasn´t been this radiant in ages and I feel fit. 3-4 more kg to go and I can start eating what I want again, as long as I work out and stay away from buns and tarts on a regular basis.

We´ve been having amazing weather, although a bit too hot if one works or is too lazy to go to the beach. 😉 We went to the beach twice, though and it was so much fun for the dogs! I realized I´ve become a bit of a chicken, couldn´t bring myself to swim although the water must have been 19-21 degrees. Brr! Otherwise I can’t wait for Santorini, 5 weeks to go! Three more weeks of general staff holiday, better hurry and enjoy it! Prosecco is still on my list of groceries, even though I´m on low-carb!;-) haha! Have a lovely week!

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Belgrade II

Finally I get the chance to tell you more about our lovely stay in Belgrade. I couldn´t wait to do that, but the first two days after returning were chaotic, especially since our luggage hasn´t arrived yet and I keep remembering all the things we had in it that I don´t want to lose. In addition to that I spent 3,5 hours at the Romanian embassy (for the very last time!) waiting in line for a piece of paper and getting frustrated, it was as comic and tragic as a Kusturica movie.

But let´s leave it at that and let me take you back to the Balkans and demistify the area for you. As I mentioned last time, we were there for the wedding of our friends Dragana and Alex and since we´d already taken a couple of trips each in May, this was also our summer holiday. Meaning we splurged a little on our hotel and eating out budget to compensate for the fact that Belgrade isn´t a coastal town and that the weather was either too chilly, too hot or too rainy to make the best out of it. And boy was that a good idea! We felt so spoilt in the end we couldn´t wait to get back home and cook our own food and fill our own fridge!

Jevrem restaurant in the lovely Dorcol area

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Belgrade

Missed me, yet?! I´ve been away for some time now and I apologize. I´ve been going through a sort of a 30 years´old crisis, working too much, sleeping too little and questioning my priorities. That´s no joke, I tell you! Luckily, all that´s gone now! I´m on a fabulous holiday in Belgrade with my husband, staying at a 5 stars hotel, eating our way through Serbian and international cuisine and discovering whatever this surprising mix of East and West has to offer us. We came here to attend the wedding of some friends of ours, a lovely Serbian-American couple and it was such a show! For now I´ll let the pictures talk for themselves, details when I get back home, on Thursday!

Old building in the old part of Belgrade

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I love Paris in the fall

We´re going to Paris for a week in September! Weee! There´s a trade show my husband is attending and I get to toggle along. I´m soo looking forward to it! All the croisants and the eclairs we can eat, walk till we drop, shop at the best fashion boutiques, attend a jazz concert and drink wine all night! Besides, I need to go to some antique markets this time, plus meet a couple of friends. Ai, ai, ai, la vie en rose!

http://www.purple-papaya-films.com

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Santorini

Thinking of going there in September, any of you been there yet? We´ve been looking at this hotel, it looks amazing and the view is divine! I´m looking forward to it already, all the sun bathing, the caipirinha sipping and the lazy days… Oh, holiday!

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Lisbon, my love

I haven´t been outside Europe yet , but I´ve seen quite a lot of the old continent. And although I knew that there will always be new places to discover and fall in love with, I was still taken aback by Lisbon. What a city! What a vibrant, colorful, charming city! It´s the architecture, the people, the food, the fado, the sweeping views, they all make Lisbon the place of one´s dreams! And let´s not forget the weather! For a Romanian living in Oslo and bitching about it 70% of the time, 5 days of glorious sun were just a soothing patch after a long and grey winter!

But let me tell you more about what you can do in Lisbon! Take the tram 28 and see the city sliding by! Walk from Estrela cemetery towards the city center, stopping by the Jardim da Estrela for the best beef sandwich you´ve ever had!

Shop in Principe Real area, it´s perfect for special shops! If you´re into the famous brands, Avenida da Liberdade can boast with both Max Mara and Louis Vuitton. And in the weekends, don´t miss the Thieves´Market, a charming antiques and rarities marked!

Dine at A Travessa, a wonderful restaurant located in an old cloister, incredibly romantic! The food is exquisite and so is the atmosphere! The waiters are attentive and speak flawless English. Next day, go to Pharmacia by Mirrador, a really cool concept restaurant located in an old mansion, with carefully prepared dishes served from apothecary vessels. For the next day, book tables at Adega Machado in Bairro Alto, a bit in the pricy range, but absolutely worth it for the divine music! Order duck with risotto and the cinnamon ice-cream!

If you´ve seen it all and still have some time on your hands, go to Cascais for a day and stay at the beach sipping caipirinhas! Sintra is a must I hear, but it´ll have to wait for next time. ´Cause I need to book tickets for Lisbon soon!

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Holbox Island

Sorry for spamming, I´m home alone with the cat, the dog, a glass of Valpolicella and Billie Holiday. And I feel like sharing my holiday plans with you! Next year, I and my husband will have been married for 10 years, so I invited some of our dearest friends to an exotic holiday (at their own expense!;-)). I thought of different places, beginning with the Maldives and Seychelles, then Mauritius, La Reunion, Tahiti, Fiji, Hawaii and Zanzibar. They all have their charm and their advantages, the first two are known for being pricy, the others far away, so on and so forth. I keep going back to Holbox, a paradisiac island just outside Cancun in Mexico. It looks divine and it´s not as expensive as the others. Besides, you get to be around the inhabitants and get the Mexican spirit instead of being isolated in a resort. I dream of wearing my gorgeous wedding dress again, this time barefooted on the beach, with a crown of white flowers and a glass of champagne. And share this moment with my love and my closest friends.

 

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Walking Down on Memory Lane- Croatia

Summer is approaching and I can´t help but think of all the incredible places we´ve visited along the years. To put it like that, Croatia was definitely one of them. We spent 12 days in Dubrovnik in 2007 and we were dazzled by the architecture, the pine tree forests and the sparkling sea. We´d take the boat to different places every other day and enjoyed some quiet time on the Lokrum Island, a nature reserve with peacocks and pine forests. The food was a mixture of Italian- with risotto and pasta and Mediterranean with grilled squid and shrimps. 😉 Although the services suffer from the post-communist syndrome, people were really nice. I could definitely  go back, maybe to Hvar Island this time? Any suggestions?

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