Good Night Oslo....

Today was our last full day in Oslo, Norway, or Europe at all for that matter. Tomorrow, we will board our 8 hour plane ride back to the US of A. It rained all day pretty much, with the exception of 20 minutes during our dinner hour. Pooh! Anyway, today was all about shopping for last minute gifts. We didn't really shop for any in Paris because we were so excited over our engagement. It was hard to buy things in Belgium because my relatives literally had other plans for us....and this was the only place to really find stuff. We also visited the Opera House, where Leonard said that he nearly broke his neck. The Opera House has a slanted roof that people can climb up onto. It was even more dangerous with the rain on the marble roof. We also saw an awesome dress store where we purchased a nice party dress for me to wear for an engagement party/theater date/ etc. I am totally stoked. 

We had dinner at Liv's house. She made the most delicious tilapia wrapped around asparagus....yummy. And home made ice cream. We also discussed my parents' coin collection back home and she gave me some expired Kroner for me to take back to Paso, along with the coins I have gotten from this trip already.

After dinner, Aaron and I went to the movies for "Mamma Mia!" It was all right... it was either that or Dark Knight and we didn't want strange subtitles on such a dark and twisted movie. What was most interesting about our Norweigan movies experience was that they have assigned seating. Since we arrive 15 minutes before the movie started, we had to sit one in front of the other. It was fine though, and we will never show up that late to a movie in Oslo again.

Oslo really was slow...lots of museums

Today was very kicked back. We woke up, met up with Leonard and Rick, had breakfast at the hotel and then walked through town to the docks so we could sail on the Fjord. We first stopped at a museum that housed something called "The Fram." Turns out there is a Norweigan boat that traveled through the arctic waters and all the way to the South Pole before returning to its home in Oslo. We saw pictures of the building and how it was built around the boat which is over 100 years old....Seeing the steel reinforcements on the front of the ship was crazy. It looked like a thin layer of metal between ice and the wood in the ship. The cabins were oh so tiny too. I felt bad for everyone that had to sleep there. 

We also checked out a museum that housed a ship called the Con Tiki. Apparently, a man thought that he could make a raft/ship out of natural materials without a motor from Polynesia to South America.....and he did it....I didn't really get to go INSIDE the museum, but from what I could see, it looked like a brush house from Africa. 

Then it was off the Holocaust museum. There I was in the Holocaust museum among an entire family of Jews who were strongly affected by Hitler's movement. Although Leonard, Rick, Aaron and myself behave ourselves, Freda, Aaron's grandmother, recalled many of her memories of the 1940's in Norway. There was supposed to be real footage of Leonard's grandmother at her own wedding, but the machine was broken which made me truly sad for him. He was so excited to see him grandmother move, as he has only seen still photos of her. The museum is going to try to send him the footage through email. We found a wall that had all the names of all the Norweigan Jews who were killed by the Nazis. There are on the wall are many of Aaron's family members. I feel like after meeting everyone here, I am closer to those who have been lost. 

We also went to another museum after this...one that contained a Viking Ship. Again, I did not walk INTO the actual museum, but I got to see the exhibit from up high and took some photos of the ship. It was unearthed in the early 19th century years. It was in great condition too. I saw no Vikings however....I am so pissed about that. I came all this way to see a Viking....if I went to Japan, I would expect to see a ninja....All I saw were Trolls....who likes trolls anyways? No one!

There was a crazy incident with bees today! I got quite scared of a bee that was chasing my food and myself. It ended in a crying fit because I got so scared. Just thought I would take note of this for the future.

We had dinner tonight at Arve Isaksen's tonight. We had a traditional meal, fish! Getting to the house was quite an adventure. Arve had a friend come pick us up in a boat. We sped on water for an hour and a half, seeing Oslo from a whole different view. The whole evening was great and the food was delicious....BTW, raspberries here are ENORMOUS!!!! I am not even kidding. They are at least 3 times the size we have back home. If we have some tomorrow night, I will have to take a picture. 

Bye Bye Trondheim.....off to Oslo.

Today was slow moving. We woke up and bought breakfast at the supermarket...(which cost us about 200 kroner which means that it actually cost us about $40 US bucks!) Norway is the most expensive country I have ever been to, no questions asked. I thought France was expensive....yikes! 

Our stay at the Thon hotel in Trondheim was the WORST, hands down. First off, we were staying on the 7th floor, but the elevator only went up to the 6th. We had to walk our bags up and down the stairs....second, there was no air conditioning which made it so that we had to sleep with the window open. It would not have been so bad had it not been during the part of the year where the sun rarely goes down. The birds were all confused and so they would squawk in the night....YIKES! The worst had to be this morning though. There was construction going on in the hotel, precisely right below our bed. We were awoken to a loud drill sound. When Aaron called downstairs to complain, the woman merely responded, "In Norway, it is legal to start work at 8:00 AM." And when Aaron told her that we were still trying to sleep at 9:30 and that it was a hotel, she only confirmed, "yes, I know it's a hotel..." We will not be staying there again. For that same price in America, we could get 4 motel 6 rooms for 3 days and have air conditioning.....

We picked up Aaron's grandmother Freda and took a train through the Norweigan countryside for 6 1/2 hours. It made Aaron and myself a little sick, but the scenery was beautiful. I don't take enough trains. It really is a little depressing that the only mode of transportation that I take is the subway. So now we're in Oslo, which Aaron said is THE MOST expensive place ever. I believe it too....our sub par dinner was over $70 US dollars! I am starting to miss that Euro price!

I forgot to add....when we woke up this morning, I noticed a confused fly who kept flying in triangular formations. Aaron found it quite amusing and we named him Trip....I wanted to name him Pip because I like the name and Aaron wanted to name him Tri as in Triangle....so we compromised.....bye Trip!!!!

Moving day

Trondheim has been overly sunny. It is a real treat for the Norweigans, so I've heard and seen, but for Freda and sometimes Aaron, it is a little bit much. I have been soaking up this sun though, all 20 hours of it...lol. I am bronzer than a medal. Now my mom cannot make fun of me for being white. Today we took it even slower. We went to the fish market, but nothing looked too appetizing. I did buy some nice Norweigan souvenirs for my family though. We spent most of the day sitting at one specific cafe in the shade.

We walked up the hills of Norway to an abandoned Norweigan fortress, which I learned today was actually used by the Nazis to execute Jews. There was a plaque on the wall where I presume men and women were shot. Aaron said that David and his brother were shot here and I started to tear up. There were cannons still stationed at the edge of the fortress too.

We had dinner at Christina Isaksen's house. It was delicious. 

I forgot to mention that yesterday in the church, we spotted a book filled with names of all the service men who lost their lives from 1942-1945, the time when the Nazis were invading Norway. We opened it and were able to find all of the Isaksens listed. It was quite sad and moving. Just think, these men are part of Aaron's family and soon to be part of mine.

Trondheim is fab...

Norway is beautiful. The sun is so bright, kind of like California. The only big difference is that no one has air conditioning....so instead of sitting inside with your nice lemonade, you're baking inside the houses or you go outside and get sun burned. Yesterday, we met up with Aaron's cousin Juaquim. They played a mean trick on me at lunch. After eating a really nasty looking burger, they both told me it was horse meat. I had to take some medicine to get my body to not throw up. We went to the church that is the pride of Norway....it is buried over a Saint. And no buildings can be taller than this church. We also visited the crown jewels. I learned that the name Carl probably came from this region of the world as there were 3 King Carls.

We picked up Freda, Aaron's grandmother from Inger Isaksen's house. Inger is Freda's sister in law. Inger's house was filled with antiques and polished silver. There were many porcelin plates on the wall and little porcelin figurines of couples in love on the tables. It reminded me a bit of a mix between a piano teacher and my grandmother....lol. Freda was very excited to see us. Especially Aaron....it is quite strange to hear Freda speak Norweigan because I am so used to having her speak English.

Right now, Trondheim is having a huge music festival so everyone is out partying on holiday and nice. We went to Aaron's relatives house and it was the most breathtaking view. I met the original "Christina Isaksen" and she was really excited that I was going to have the same name as her. Everyone was really welcoming. When the sun was starting to set(10:00 PM) Aaron, myself, Juaquim, Ingrid(his girlfriend), and Daniel (Juaquim's older brother) went out for drinks. We were there until last call....it was still slightly light in the sky though.....at 12:30. What do the Norweigans do when it's dark all winter?

The last Dallons family

Staying with Stephan and Melinda was great. The kids were so fun to be with and it was harder to understand their French. We went to a glassblowing factory and saw where my family got its start. We wanted to buy some crystal glasses from there, but we thought we should wait. Lunch time was good as we went out for mussels. The saying is "mussels from brussels." We also had some more french fries with mayo.....yummy.

We went back to their house, watched Pinnochio in French which was funny to hear the new voices, and then we departed. Maxime was very sad to see us go. Aaron got along with him well, making electrode models and building skyscrapers with building blocks. 

We arrived in Norway at about 1:00 and the sun was still hinting out from behind the mounains. We did not go to bed until 3 and already it looked like dawn when my father goes to work in the summer. Today we are ready for tons of daylight.

Au revoir Emmy...

It was so sad today. Emmy dropped us off at Stephan's house. We had a lovely breakfast before we left though. Patricia was so sweet but we never learned the name of her soft spoken husband. That is truly embarrassing, not knowing the name of your host. He was truly a gentleman. 

Melinda and Stephan's house was very lively and loud. He has a 9 year old son named Maxime and a 4 year old girl named Elise. Both are adorable and it has been quite a treat to spend time with young French speakers. Maxime can even say a couple words in French....(Elise claimed that she could speak English...her word was "wow") Raymond Dallons came to have lunch with us. Stephan is his son. His wife, Arlette, passed away a couple days ago so it was good for him to be around family. Raymond's nephews are Jean Luc Dallons and Marc Dallons, both of whom I am friends with on facebook. Jean Luc and Marc are brothers....so confusing but very interesting if you have a map to look at. We went into town with Stephan to check out the city of Liege. It was quiet because all the stores in Europe are closed on Sundays....can you imagine if New York did this? 

It was fun to play games with Maxime and Elise. I read her some French stories and I actually understood them. I am sad that just as I am starting to remember my French and get good, I am leaving. Tomorrow, we are going to a glass blowing factory to see where my family got its start. Tomorrow night, we leave for Norway....

Au Revoir Waterloo, Salut Gosselies

Today we left Marc and Lori's house. They really were the nicest people. They will be invited to my wedding. They love to travel and I am sure that coming to wine country would be a blast for them, except Julien, who would not be allowed to drink because the age for drinking is different. We drove by Le Leo Waterloo....the Lion of Waterloo. It is a famous statue/monument that overlooks the fields of Waterloo, the famous battle where Napoleon lost. Marc dropped us off at Emmy's house....yeah! We spent the morning chatting with her parents who claim that they do not speak English, but OMG, everyone in France and Belgium lie! The ones that say that they do not speak English can totally carry on conversations like it's nothing. I am starting to get better. I can describe many things. I have been learning a lot of the Dallons family line. I may even have to make a picture family tree to show everyone back in Paso so that we all know everyone by face. We met up with Cristal Dallons, Emmy's sister. She came to Paso when I was very young and stayed with Berna. It was nice to see her again. We went out and got REAL fries....French fries should not be called "FRENCH" fries because they are in fact, a Belgian invention....oh well. But we ate them with mayonaise.....(I am going to get fat in Belgium....all they eat is mayo...lol) It was actually tasty but too filling....(I will post pictures tomorrow) We then traveled to Brussels and walked around the city. We saw the "Mannequin Piss", a famous statue known because it pisses out wine. Sometimes, he even gets to wear costumes, but that was not the case today. We had real chocolate and I am sad to say that I might never eat american chocolate again....it is THAT good. I can't bring any back because it was melting here.....

BTW, I tried a beer and I actually LIKED it.....it was a cherry  beer so it tasted much like cherry soda, but it was delicious! The color was the most beautiful red I have ever seen....

Later, we had real meat fondue....c'est tres delicious! We also had something called le tarte aux sucres, or sugar pie! It was so good. It tasted just like french toast! We went all the way to Mons after dinner and saw Stephan Bellens, Emmy's brother. He stayed with me at my house when I was about 12 years old with Matthieu Devergne, who I saw in Paris earlier this week. It has been a series of memories since coming back to Belgium.

Au Revoir Paris

Today was the last day of L'amour. We were truly sad to leave....but we have so much more to do before we return back to the states. There is so much excitement. 

We could not figure out how to use a French laundry machine. No joke. It was quite serious actually. French words do not always translate well. My french has been getting better and slowly but surely, my english grammer and pronunciation is suffering as well. If I stayed in France for a month, I am sure that I would be quite fluent in French and I would be stuttering in English. 

We took the train to Brussels and waited for my new relatives to pick us up. When I say new, I mean that one of my family had ever met them before. In fact, I knew practically nothing about them until they picked us up from the station. They could have been murderers and I would not have known. But Marc, Lori, and Julien Dallons are not murderers.....they are the sweetest family in Waterloo, Belgium. They were so hospitable and fun to chat with. Their English was superb. Julien taught Aaron and me how to dribble in field hockey and we even played a game of soccer where everytime I kick the ball to him, I must say a new French word. I learned many and of course, I forgot nearly all of them by morning. Julien is 16 years old, ad strangely, a red head....like, Ariel little mermaid red....it was insane! And Marc, who is the same age as my dad, is technically MY 3rd cousin. I also met Danilo Dallons, Lori's older son. He was quite nice as well. We tried some authentic Belgian beer and I thought of Dan Ford and how much he would like to sip the same beer that I wanted to vomit back up.....

Aaron is holding an electric fly swatter. We are going to buy one and bring it back....the flies sizzle. And the other picture is Marc Dallons' family. The red head is Julien, then his mom Lori, and Danilo in the back. Marc is sitting comfortably in the chair like the Dauphin.

Le Tour Eiffel

Our last full day in Paris had to be memorable. We slowed up the pace even more than the day before and only did 1 or 2 sites. 

We went to the famous Eiffel Tower....it was quite beautiful to see in the light of day. We both decided that walking was the best way to get to the top. Unfortunately, the stairs are closed to the public from the 2-3 platform. We did however walk up the first 2 platforms. It was so memorable, a moment I will never forget. It was actually quite easy to get up there. It took us a longer time to wait in the lift to go to the 3rd platform than to walk up over 700 steps....lol.

The views were spectacular. We were able to see the entire city and everything looked tiny. As we stood together, I was glad that Aaron proposed to me where he did and not at the tower. Not only do I not like the tower, but it is not personal and it is way overcrowded. You would get a ton of applause and it would be extremely cheesy. We met two ladies from Iowa in line for the lift and we talked about her recent marriage. She looked at my ring and I finally got that "OMG, you're getting married" feeling. She was so excited about it for us and she loved my ring...which is good because I have not been flaunting it around.

We also got to wade in a fountain across the street from the Tower. It was freezing but some of the pictures were beautiful. I guess the kids here do not swim in public pools but in fountains instead. Hey, whatever floats your boat.

We had dinner at this awesome Fondue place. We learned that fondue is a winter food, but we didn't care. We really wanted melted cheese. 

Les Catacombs

So here is 2 days' worth of info. Yesterday, we woke up late but made it to a huge line to wait for 2 hours to go underground and see....THE CATACOMBS! It was hella scary. I seriously psyched myself out. It didn't help that every corner, Aaron was either poking me, whispering "Dead Men Tell No Tales" or "There are no windows and no doors, now find a way out. Of course, there's always my way." I made him sing me the "Pirates theme" though to make it more like the ride at disneyland. There were SO MANY bones down there though. Row after row of femurs and skulls....and we were able to see how they stayed up. Bone Jenga. It literally just looks like a log cabin, only with femurs. Katie and Dan would have been uncomfortable in there though as it was almost too short for me. I was glad to leave, but I am really happy to have done it. I was very brave.

We also went to Napoleon's tomb, which I have to say was really interesting and had a great audio tour. If you have a day to screw around and are not sure what to see, this might be something to consider. It was interesting to know that he was buried on an island and then 19 years later, the French went back, dug him up, and brought him to where he now is. Kind of sick if you think about having to dress him up before the ceremony.

We went out to dinner with an old friend of my father and we had a traditional french dinner....We had Fois Gras, 2 kinds of pate, rabbit, crayfish, and assorted desserts. The French have a great system with wine in which they say that they are "feeding the meter." They do not charge by the glass. They actually figure out how much of the bottle you drank and then charge you by the amount that is missing. So if I drank 75%, I would pay for 3/4 the cost. C'est tres magnifique!

Today we went to The French Cinema Museum. It would have been truly awesome if they had stuff in English. There were many films with special effects from before the turning of the century. We spent a lot of time browsing the films and the props they owned there. After the museum, we traveled to the Pantheon, another grave site. Paris is a city of blood, war, and honoring the dead. The pantheon holds all the "great men of Paris." Victor Hugo, Rousseau, and Voltaire are among some of the people who are laid to rest there....oh, also both of the Curies. They are actually next to each other....tres romantique. We have been spending too much time around dead bodies. I am definitely ready to stop seeing tombs. Our 6 day sightseeing pass ended so I am sure that we will not be seeing anything else unless it is a necessity, like La Tour Eiffel. 

We then went to the Champs Elysees. Not too many shops that interested me however, as we live in NYC where we have everything you need to shop and be happy. We went back to the suite, and then had dinner with Dorothee and mattheiu Devergne, 2 family friends who came to stay at my house when I was about 8-12 years old. It was great to reminisce and learn new French words. The food was spectacular. We are having a blast and tomorrow we are going to climb up that big bad tower.....

Tres Tres busy!!!!

Today's adventures included going to the Lourve to see Mona Lisa, Venus De Milo, and the Winged Victory. We also saw the Crown Jewels, but my jewel is better.....haha. The Lourve was actually very frustrating because once again, people do not respect the rules and there are flashes going off everywhere. Aaron and I are bothered at knowing that the paint is only deteriorating with each flash! So sad....

After that, we saw the George Pompidou building which is just another modern art museum. There were some interesting bits inside, but for the most part, I am all modern art-ed out. The best part of the building however, is that all the piping is on the OUTSIDE....and they are all colorful too. 

After that, we went to the most romantic area of Paris, Montmartre. There, we were able to walk around in the bohemian area. We also climbed up a million steps to the Sacre Couer and started talking about our future wedding. It was really spectacular. We also rode the 2 story carousel at the foot of the stairs, which I remember doing when I was 10. We walked the back streets and made our way to the famous "Moulin Rouge!" Not sure if we will be visiting the tourist trap, but it might be between that and eating at the restaurant in the Eiffel Tower.....coin toss?

We also visited Pigalle which is Paris' red light district....not very interesting unless you like sex shops, but it was kind of nice to have a change in the scenery. We rode more bikes today as well.

Last stop tonight was the Arc de Troimphe! We got there right as the sun was leaving the sky, giving us great views of the Champs Elysees and the Paris skyline.

Pictures....The view from the Arc de Triomphe at the Champs Elysees at night, The Moulin Rouge, The Sacre Couer, A double decker carousel, Aaron in front of the George Pompidou museum, and me in front of the Lourve.

Tomorrow we will be visiting the catacombs, Napoleon's tomb, and the Champs Elysees....not sure if we will be able to stomach the catacombs as it is a tomb for over 3 million bodies! We'll see.

Exciting day

So, yesterday was a huge day for us. Woke up and went to a fruit market described in one of our tour books. It was really cute and the fruit all looked super edible. Then we biked to the Musee D'Orsay where we say a lot of Monet's collections and pieces. His famous water lilys were there. We also saw Whistler's Mother which I thought was somewhere else, like Germany or some other dreary place....lol.

Afterword, we learned what frustration is with the bikes, finding a parking spot. We spent 20 minutes or so trying to park the bikes but there were no spaces. This is a problem. But after fighting for spaces, we were able to go to the gardens across the street from the Lourve and ride an enormous ferris wheel. It was super expensive (6 euros an adult! OUCH!) but once we were above the buildings, it was spectacular. We could see EVERYTHING. I took many photos. (BTW, I am trying to upload them slowly onto facebook.) 

We the walked to the Sainte Chapelle. Stained glass paradise. It is almost too much. But we were transfixed. If you ever go to Paris, make this a priority. It is one of my favorite churches in the world, even though it is pounded with religion. 

We popped by a crepe stand and had delicious snacks. We are planning on getting more today. Visited the Luxembourg gardens where there were many modern sculptures and lots of old men playing speed chess. They were really fun to watch. In fact, I even gasped "non" when one man made a bad move and they all stared at me, annoyed that I might have given something away.

Also saw Saint Sulpice, the famous church from the Da Vinci Code. I will not break any spoilers but we couldn't find the rose line.  After Sulpice, we went home and got ready for the best dinner ever.....

And a proposal by the Seine as the sun was setting. Tres romantique! So yes, 

We are now engaged and will be having fun talking about weddings for real. Today's adventures will include the Mona Lisa, Montmatre (Moulin Rouge area) and maybe we will eventually get to the Arc!!!!

The first picture is of the ever fun contraption, the Velib bikes of Paris. The stained glass windows of Sainte Chapelle in the next 2 and finally, my diamond ring, my champagne and my creme brulee.

Au revior!

Chateau De Versailles

OMG, my feet are KILLING me! Today we woke up to go to some pattiserie on the same street as us. The quiche was delicious and cheaper than one that you would get in NYC. Took the train to the Chateau de Versailles.....OMG, it was huge! We spent 10 hours in Versailles, 6 of which were at the actual palace. We tried to bust through it sans an audio tour, but being stupid, uncultured Americans instead of cheap Jews, we sprung for the cultural path. Smart idea. The palace took at least an hour to speed through, skipping all the blah blah blah (this painting is of the Countess blah blah blah) to get to the hall of Mirrors. Gorgeous, and the light hit it perfectly, making pictures awesome. I do have to say that Katie would have been the perfect companion today, what with her being at least a foot taller than the crowd. I have a picture of the hall where I am on my tippy toes to avoid the crowd....not quite as high as Katie's extension.

We also sprang for the Garden and fountain tours (so many pictures) and lucky us, the fountains were ON! My favorite was the outdoor ballroom. Looking on the horizon, we realized that these people must have been carried or something to get to the very back of their "yard" as it is gigantic!!! We played a game called, "If I was King". We came up with some awesome rules, most ending in beheadings or banishment! "It's good to the King!" 

We also visited Marie Antoinette's little villa....it was quite nice, and we even thought that a rich person today could even live there. It was very modest compared to the palace. My favorite part of her farm house was her theater. Yes folks, she had her own theater and I did take pictures. It came with an orchestra pit, a mezzanine, curtains, 8 fire exits, and even fly space...

We even bought tickets for a pyro's dream, "La Face Cachee Du Soleil." It was the Cirque du Soleil for Fireworks! At one point, we felt there were TOO MANY big fireworks. And it took place at the Neptune Fountain in the garden. 

Lastly, after riding back to Paris, we found a new mode of transportation, biking! The mayor put free bikes on the street that you can take from one station to another within 30 minutes of checking one out. We are going to explore on bikes tomorrow. Tomorrow's adventures include Musee D'Orsay, Sainte Chappelle, L'Arc D'Troimphe, and maybe the Catacombs.

First picture is of Aaron and myself at the King's outdoor ballroom. I loved the fountain....Next picture, Aaron thought was incredibly funny....IDK, do you know why? And the last picture is of me in the Hall of Mirrors.

PS- I can already feel myself losing both my French and English. I find myself stumbling on my own language to remember the new one. But, we have not had any trouble getting around, whether it be English or French. Bisoux!!!

Paris, Day One

Aaron and I arrived in Paris this morning at 10 AM. It still hadn't hit us that "hey, we're in a different country." I guess that is what Manhattan will do to you; make you numb to anything and everything around you. It literally took us 20 minutes to figure out how to use the ticket machines just so we could leave the airport and get into Paris....as you are reading this, know that we eventually made it out.

After dropping off the bags, we ate some "dejeuner" and hit up Notre Dame. We bought these awesome little "museum passes" which allow you for 60 euros to get into all kinds of museums and monuments without waiting. The walk up the bell tower was a piece of cake and we are definitely ready to climb that big bad ass antenae, the Eiffel Tower. "We don't need no stinkin' lifts!" We took a million pictures of the views, the bell tower, the gargoyles...etc. (No hunchback though) We also checked out the Cryptes underneath the cathedral, which interestingly enough, have been here since practically B.C. and civilization has just continued to build on top of the previous towns. Then, after being underground in a cave, we actually went inside the cathedral to see the famous rose window. Mass was going on so we also got to hear some arias. 

The first picture is of a gargoyle overlooking Paris. The next picture is of the two of us from the first level of the Notre Dame. You can see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. The white picture is of the overhang to get into the actual cathedral.

After the center of town, we walked around the part of town called Mauris. Very trendy and very delicious food.....more to write tomorrow.