Barcelona...weheeey!

Guess who's turning 30 in less than months?

...S***, that's me! :-(((

Unfortunately, my boyfriend is having exams in November when I turn 30, so instead we're post-celebrating my big day in Barcelona the week before Christmas! :-)))))

We booked a really cheap killer apartment in the Gothic Square, take a look:

apartmentsbarcelona.com has some really nice apartments at affordable prices. It's super cheap if you're traveling in a group.

For this apartment we have to pay 265 EURO, but that's for four nights! And it's in the Gothic square, only a couple of minutes from busy La Ramblas, the shops, cafes and restaurants. Can't wait to get my hands on Spanish-style crepes, jamon serrano, cheap red wine.... (dreaming)

Amanda

We Love the 90s Concert, April 28th 2012

I just bought tickets for the We love the 90s concert at Telenor Arena, just outside Oslo. I'll be joining my child hood friend Maria and her friends/colleagues.

Guess who's coming? Some of my favorites, that's for sure like Haddaway and Culture Beat ;-)

Ticket price: 495,-

Amanda :)

New bargain -- Brown Sixtyseven Oleato

Last week I ordered a couple of brown boots -- Sixtyseven Oleato, also known as Sixtyseven Yosemite -- from baresko.no. They were the last pairs in size 37! :-) They were practically sold out at online stores and shoe stores in Oslo. I originally wanted the black pairs, but they're totally sold out.

But I don't regret purchasing the brown version of Oleato. I can wear them for school, work, dinners or out on the town :-)

Picture is from baresko.no

The shoe is narrower than Sixtyseven Sprinter, so it feels tighter. You probably should choose one size larger if you're between size 37/38. I'm more of a 36/37, so size 37 was right.

You can see that brown leather color has different shades and I really like that on these shoes. Gives you that vintage effect :)


Price at baresko.no: 1195,-

Memories from Summer 2011 -- Cabin Trip to Kragerø

In July, me and a couple of  girlfriends visited Kragerø in southeast Norway. A beautiful place and it's a popular place for Norwegians to spend their summer vacation.

This is downtown Kragerø. You can find lots of restaurants and small shops near the water. During the day in the summer almost all the restaurants near the water are full!

The view of downtown is spectacular; with dozens of speed boats, old and small traditional houses and the relaxing ambience. Unfortunately, it was raining the entire weekend we spent there :-(

Eating sea food is a must in this town! Incredible mussels dipped in white wine. Of course, with Corona beer or a glass of white wine -- it's perfect. Can't wait for next summer!

Memories from Summer 2011 -- Alicante and Torrevieja Spain

Summer in Spain was great. It was good spending some time with family. We traveled to my parents' apartment in Torrevieja. It was a quick bus ride from Alicante International Airport (1 hour).

Here's the time table: Alicante -- Torrevieja. The buses run from Monday to Sunday. 

Here's the bus station in Torrevieja. From Torrevieja bus station, there are public buses to different parts of Torrevieja (cost around 1 euro depending on where you're going). If you're tired, grab a taxi just outside the station. We paid a taxi 5-6 Euros to Altos de Bahia.

One of the fantastic towns we visited while we were in Torrevieja was Calpe/Altea. It's so beautiful there. Lots of apartments are on sale, and they're right on the beach.

There are several beaches along this stretch. We tried the beach closest to Calpe Rock. You can choose between the more crowded one, or the shorter one right next to it. The crowded one isn't very good since the water is full of garbage. This is the stretch which we enjoyed. SUPER clean water! The water is pretty shallow when you step in the water, but just step over the stones, and you can swim freely.

In Calpe we also tried a very nice restaurant right across the street. Of course, we had paella for lunch. If you're traveling in a group, you have to specify that you want a large paella for 3-4 people (or any number).

How to get to Calpe: The closest city is Benidorm. Calpe is about 20 minutes north of Benidorm. You take the Alicante Airport Bus to Benidorm to get to Calpe via Benidorm. You need to change buses at Benidorm’s bus station.

Goodies at Sjarm, Oslo!

It's a sunny day and after a nice day in St. Hanshaugen park, I decided to do a little bit of shopping. 'Sjarm' is the store located in Waldemar Thranes gate 22, filled with goodies for ladies! They have a great selection of clothing, organizing boxes, kitchen stuff, leather purses, jewelry and much more.

I want to organize my stuff so I bought a jewelry box brass. This box is one of the stunning items of Lisbeth Dahl and her team (they're from Denmark). Visit her site Lisbeth Dahl website and collection

Here's the box I bought (329 kr). Isn't it stunning?

Kind of reminds me of old Moghul Indian time. It has this pink velvet bottom to give a 'royal' feeling. LOVE IT!

Here's other stuff from Lisbeth Dahl -- as you can see it's perfect for girls and women who love romance/antique goodies.

Here's another box I bought from Sjarm (139 kr). I'm going to collect all my spices in this green catty-baby.

Stop by SJARM! You're gonna love it there!

Amanda

I love it: Summer theme

I just stumbled upon weheartit.com. A great website with hundreds of beautiful pictures. The theme for now is: SUMMER!

AND FINALLY: this picture is so cute! :-)

Memories from India 2011, especially Kerala

Just thinking about India. What a great travel experience from Kerala and north India! Here are some pics: 

Picture: Still on Black Beach in Varkala

Picture: At Pumpkin restaurant in Kochi, Kerala

Picture: By Maria D.Z -- near Muhamma, Allapuzha district Kerala

Picture: At KITTS (Kerala Institute for Tourism and Travel Studies) with some of the students

Picture: Fried vegetables -- delicious!

Picture: At the Elephant festival in Jaipur -- pre-Holi!

Sixtyseven Sprinter ankle boots!

I finally bought a pair of shoes from Sixtyseven Sprinter. They look like the Acne boots, but they're cheaper. I can't afford 3000 kr for a pair of boots, so instead I bought them for 1198kr!

They're good for parties, dinners, office -- basically everywhere! I'm so happy right now! :-)

Shopping doesn't cure madness. It is the madness.

I bought them online from Lille Vinkel Sko. This shop has been around since I was a child, and this shop is not like other dull shoe shops in Oslo. They observe the trends, and have favorite brands like Keds, Kanna, Sixtyseven, Ed Hardy, Camper, Miss Sixty and much more!

Tullins Cafe in Oslo, Norway

Yesterday me and my bf were at Tullins Cafe and gorged on their fantastic ciabatta dishes.

Check out this cheese ciabatta, only kr 89! :-) Tullins has for years been a popular cafe. I remember sitting there with my former students from Faculty of Law -- the days when we were young and single. It's only five minutes away from National Theater and three minutes away from campus.

Great food! Recommended!

They also serve pizza and pasta dishes (below kr 100), burgers (kr 124) and cheap lunch meals.

Waiting for summer to reappear in Oslo

Hey folks,

it's June, but it feels like April. Typical Norwegian summer is sun and rain at the same time. We had a bit of a summer a couple of weeks ago, with temperature over 20 degrees, but now it's around 15. To remind myself of how great summer time in Oslo is, I pulled out these pictures from a sailing trip with my boyfriend's family.

We started at Aker Brygge where most people in Oslo spend the day if the sun is shining :-) Fresh breeze from the ocean, ice cream and cold beer!

Picture: Rådhuset (City Hall)

Picture: Operaen (The Opera)

Surprisingly, a couple of tourists started to take pictures of us while we were sailing. WE WERE THE ATTRACTION!

A very nice day where we sailed for 6 hours, around Oslofjorden to Nesodden bypassing Snarøya in Bærum.

Picture: Small boat houses at Nesodden


Typical summer lunch in Norway: fresh shrimps on fresh bread, mayo, dash some lemon on. And for dessert, strawberries! :-)

Here we are :-) Me and my boyfriend :-)

Pictures by E.W: Me taking a nap

Arctic Monkeys concert May 6th, 2011

Hey long time ago,

We've got a lot to catch up. First thing I'm going to tell you about was the Arctic Monkeys concert in Oslo. My cousin, Andros, bought the tickets for us! :-)

The concert at Sentrum Scene was awesome, they played mostly songs from their newest album "Suck it and see" and a couple of songs from "Whatever people say I am, that's what I'm not". Their music has become more darker and mature -- it was very catchy and good! :-)

Here are some pictures:

Then we went onto 'Jeger' -- one of the coolest bar clubs in Oslo. It replaced punk and rock place 'Garage'. I really liked 'Jeger'! :-) Great electronic music, mostly chill-out lounge music, older clientele, and cool furniture. Recommended.

Cover charge: 100kr after 23.00-23.30

VIP-tickets for Sensation White Norway are ready :D

I'm a huge electronic music fan, and now I've actually bought tickets for Europe's largest electronic and techno festival!

Who's going?
I bought tickets for me and my boyfriend (an early birthday gift for my loved one hihi). My sister is joining us as well, and some of my girlfriends + their boyfriends are coming too! Going to be a blast!

Who's playing?
According to the Sensation Facebook page, DJs like Nils Noa, Chuckie, Fedde le Grande, Laidback Luke and much more are playing this evening. The music will play from 20.00 to 03.00 am.

The event will take place at Telenor Arena outside Oslo (Snarøya) on April 16th!

VIP-tickets cost 1500 kr and cost twice as much as regular tickets. Carrying a VIP-ticket we have access to own lounge, wardrobe, dance floor, toilets and free welcome drinks -- hope it's worth it :)

Amanda

Still waiting for my Indian entry visa... how long should bureaucratic bullshit take?

Me and 30 others in my class are still waiting for our Indian entry visas. We went to the TT Visa Services in Oslo almost two weeks ago, and still no visa has been dispatched.

We're neither tourists or students, so entry visa is our only way in to Kerala.

I had to pay 50 kr extra because my parents aren't ethnic Norwegians... in total I had to pay 985 kr, while my ethnic Norwegian class mates paid 935 kr.

Apparently the rules have been stricter because of the recent terrorist attacks in India. What appears weird is that they asked for my father's name, his nationality and any previous nationalities. They didn't even ask for his date of birth -- so how can they check his background...?

On top of that, my application is supposed to take at least 11 days to process. Do they really need that much time to check out my father's background (without his date of birth)?

All of this smells very bureaucratic, and a way to suck money out of Norwegian pockets especially students.

TT Services is lousy when it comes to service. Our teacher sent them several emails asking if we could still apply for a entry visa since their website was not clear on this. Their reply was:

"Please look at our website for answers."

Great!

I just hope that we will get our visas on time --

Amanda

Christmas Arabic Dinner with My Former Colleagues

I just got home from a dinner party with my former colleagues. Being without a "formal" job nowadays leaves me out of the Christmas dinners and parties that each work place arrange for their employees. I think that's probably one of the nicest things about having a job -- a work place that actually spends some money on their employees to show their appreciation.

Well, even though I quit my job 4 months ago I still got invited to their Christmas dinner party :-)

There's no shock that a group of Middle East experts chose an Arabic restaurant, Sahara Bedouin Restaurant. It was Arabic "Christmas" food last year as well, at Habibi Cafe near Oslo City.

We arrived at 19.00 and we were met by a Swedish lady dressed in a traditional Arabic cloak. The atmosphere was nice and I liked their Bedouin concept which was reflected in their furniture, warm design and earthy colors, strange decor and exotic music.

After 20 minutes the appetizers arrived!

Meza! Great meza and their hummus was delicious. Every one was having a good time, and I got the chance to hook up with my favorite colleagues :-)

While we were eating and in between the waiting, there was some belly dancing in the room. The belly dancing was OK. I've seen better and I personally think that she could have shaken her hips a little harder! The guys were just staring at her like she cast a spell on them... MEN! :-P

Time went and we were still waiting for our main course.

How long did we have to wait?

1 hour and 15 minutes. They apologized and said that they were short-staffed...

The main dish:
Lamb with rice and vegetables. How was it? My god, I've tasted better than this. It didn't taste awful -- it just didn't taste...anything. Lifeless salad and cold lamb. So I'm kind of disappointed about their food. With such a reputation you would think that they served the best Arabic food in town. The only dish I liked was their Meza.

Price: 259 kr (appetizers + main dish)

Address: Dronningens gate 21
Tel: 22 41 90 00