Fjord Cruise to Mostraumen!

Frozen waterfalls

Frozen waterfall

Frozen sea water

Frozen sea water

Frozen waterfall!

The weather we are having at the moment kind of reminds me of my trip to Bergen in February! I am not joking it is really cold and windy here, okay maybe not as cold as this boat trip but pretty dam near!

One of the highlights was a 3 hour boat trip to visit one of the many fjords in Norway. The choice is endless, there are many different types and lengths of boat cruises to take. Since I was with Alessio I opted for a 3 hour fjord trip to Mostraumen, part of the Osterfjord, so hopefully I would not have to hear endless "is it nearly finished or how long now to go".

It started at 10am and there were many people waiting to go on this trip, once on we went up on deck and found a seat. Slowly the boat started and the captain informed everyone of the sights on both sides. Once we were out of the Bergen harbour, the boat started to move faster and that is when it got much colder!

We both braved the outside for at least 30mins and we were rewarded with such amazing scenery. Typical Norwegian colourful houses, bridges, snow covered hills and further into the trip frozen waterfalls!

We then got into the narrower part of the fjord and the captain told us that a few weeks earlier the sea here had been frozen. Now is had mostly melted but still in certain parts the boat had to move very slowly and break the ice. It was quite exciting being on a boat braking the ice, then we moved right up close to one of the frozen waterfalls and some of the passengers were able to collect water with a bucket and drink it!

It was a great boat trip and certainly one of the best I have ever been on, seeing the many frozen waterfalls was amazing.

A Day in Zagreb!

View of the Cathedral

Croatian Parliment

National Theater

For the Easter break I went with my friend Arlene to Ljubljana, Slovenia. Ljubljana is situated pretty much in the centre of Slovenia, which makes it good for days trips to many places. We decided to go to Zagreb in Croatia, it only took a little over 2 hours and the best part it only cost 15 euros return. We could not believe how cheap that was, so it was an early rise as the train left 8.25am, off we went.

It being Easter Sunday everything was closed, (not a surprise really) but we kind off assumed since it is the capital of Croatia something would be opened. We were just really happy to be in another country and it was a lovely day.

We walked around, visited the Cathedral which as it was Sunday was extremely busy, went on the little train that takes tourists around the old town. Zagreb is a very lovely city, lots of lovely colourful buildings, parks and churches.

We went up the Zagreb 360 observation deck and got a really fantastic view of the city! It is on the 16th floor and situated in the heart of the city.

We had a great day and saw lots of Zagreb, and can really recommend visiting this city!

Photo of the Week - Daffodils Galore!

Yesterday we returned from an extended weekend in Scotland, we had a great time and did lots of things. One of the things I noticed was an abundance of daffodils everywhere, they looked amazing, a sea of yellow!

This photo does not really show how wonderful it really is, there were just loads of them and not just here!

The good thing about having two days off during the week is that now I only have one working day left and next week I am working only three days (sorry about the boasting). Alessio has two weeks holiday starting at the weekend.

Wishing you all a good rest of the week!

Photo of the Week - Amusing Signs

Spotted these amusing signs outside a bar we were eating in Ljubljana, there was another but for some reason did not take a photo of it!

Tomorrow Alessio and I are off to Scotland for a extended weekend, my father is turning 70yrs old Monday. We will have four full days so it will be busy time for us



Some links to check!

This is twice I have seen an article about Mauritius in a matter of days. One was in the latest Sunday Times Travel Mag and now here. It makes me think about this as a destination to go with Alessio!

Some items for your home!

Some awesome loos!

While I am in Scotland I will finally get to see The Great Tapestry of Scotland! Part of it is showing in Dundee at the Verdant Works

My father helped stitch some of the tapestry set in Dundee, here is some information about the tapestry.

Postcards from Ljubljana

During the Easter weekend I went away to visit the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana. It is a very lovely city and very small indeed, that really two days is quite enough to see it all. We didn`t visit any museums as they were all closed for Easter, there were a few which looked interesting though.

Our hotel was right in the centre and all the major sights were within walking distance. The castle which looms high about the city is reachable with a funicular. Once up there are some nice views and we visited some parts of the castle and stopped for a coffee.

The main square has the wonderfully colourful Francisan Church of the Annunication and the Triple bridge. It is as the name says three bridges connected together and joins the old town to the new town. The city is full of lovely coloured buildings and walking along the river is a great way to see these buildings, the river and many bars and cafes. There are many bridges here are some of the names the Butchers, Cobblers and the Dragon bridge.

Ljubljana is situated in the middle of Slovenia, therefore you can visit many places as a day trip. We visited Lake Bled and also went to Zagreb in Croatia. Also not far and would have been really nice to visit was Trieste in Italy. More about these day trips at a later date.

Towards the end of this week Alessio and I go to Scotland, my father turns 70 next Monday, so we will celebrate that at the weekend.

March Reads

Now that we are in April time to post about what I managed to read during the month of March, 5 books.

In no particular order first comes Whiskey From Small Glasses by Denzil Meyrick, this is the first in a series about DCI Daley. In the first book he has to investigate a body washed ashore in the west coast of Scotland. I really enjoyed this book and will definitely continue reading this series.

The Irresistible blueberry Bakeshop and Cafe by Mary Simses, this one I also really enjoyed and liked the front cover too. Set in Maine, Ellen Branford sets off to deliver a letter for her grandmother who has just died to a man she once loved. It was grandmother`s last dying wish that Ellen would do this and also has serious consequences for Ellen too.

A Dangerous Place by Jacqueline Winspear, Maisie Dobbs is back and after losing her husband and unborn child, she finds herself on a ship returning to England. At a whim decides to disembark in Gibraltar and while there stumbles across a dead body and stays to solve the crime. It is set in 1937 so the Spanish civil war is raging and plays a part in the murder. This book is in my challenge as part of it is set in Spain. I liked the character of Maisie Dobbs and will try to read more of this series too.

Freeze Frame by Peter May, it involves Enzo Macleod a leading forensics investigater, a Scots based in France. He made a promise to a dying man, to study the room in which the man died and left clues in said room which has been untouched since the murder. Enzo has to discover what these clues are and find the murderer. This is fourth book in this series, also very good! Another for my crime challenge!

My Biggest Lie by Luke A.M. this is the last book for March, set in London and Argentina it tells the tale of Liam Wilson is has a good job and a girlfriend and then one evening it all goes wrong. He goes off to Buenos Aires to try to get it back, but it is not so easy to do. It was okay, quite funny but hard to feel sorry for the guy though!


So links of interest!

Vanilla shortage means paying more for ice creams!
I would like to visit Oman once, so may read this book for a feel of the country.
Stories from flight attendants I guess they have seen and heard lots of stuff!

Alessio`s First Communion

On Sunday Alessio had his First Communion and to celebrate my parents came out from Scotland for the occasion. I think Alessio was a little nervous that morning as he could`t wait to leave for the church. His other grandmother came, along with his Uncle Luca and Aunt Andrea and their two children Valerio and Mattia and also my friend Arlene.

We arrived just before 9.30am and all the kids got their photos taken, then we waited for the beginning of Mass at 10am. Their was a band playing for the occasion and they were very good, it really lifted everyone. Alessio had two readings which he read out loud very well. All the kids did very well indeed and no one seemed nervous at all. In fact I was probably more nervous than Alessio!

Afterwards all the children, the priest and the ladies who helped the children with the communion got a group photo. Then we could photos with the family, poor Alessio was getting totally sick and tired of getting his photo taken. There was an apero at the church and then we headed off into Zurich for a meal.

Alessio got really lovely presents and he was very happy. It was a lovely day!