Åse i Brasil! :)

Black awareness day

2009-11-23T04:30:00.000-08:00

Bilder fra siste kveld på Toka med tradisjonell musikk, capoeira og caprinja.

Mamma vær stolt av meg!!

2009-11-20T08:03:00.001-08:00

Jeg reiser fra Morro på Mandag! Til min store overaskelse ble jeg ferdig med å pakke alle tingene mine allerede i går kveld! Jeg pleier vanligvis å pakke LAST MINUTE! Men i går var jeg effektiv og fikk til og med tid til å dra på strandfest! :D Jeg bestilte pizza, hørte på musikk og sorterte tingene mine! Nå er jeg snart klart til å reise! Jeg må bare sol meg litt mer før jeg reiser hjem til vintermørket! :) :) Gleder meg!!

Marthe er syk!

2009-11-20T08:03:00.000-08:00

Marthe er syk og tyr til salte kjeks og cola! :) :) Bare "litt diarè" som hun sier!

Solnedgang på Toka!

2009-11-17T21:52:00.000-08:00

Marthe, Fabian og meg på Toka!

Kyllingsonen! :)

2009-11-10T19:30:00.001-08:00

Et glimt av vår koselig lesesal Kyllingsonen:

Viktige regler vedtatt av kyllingtinget!

Statskassa fylles med godteri av de som bråker!

Flinke!

Kyllingminister Henrik

Fest hos Marina!

2009-11-10T18:58:00.000-08:00

Bilder fra grillfest hos Marina sist helg:

Fabia og Henrik i hengekøya! :)

Mmmm spiser pasjonsfrukt mouse! :) :) I ♥

Emma klar for Pulsar!!! :D

Ulrik og Anders. Who is who?

God mat! :)

Jeg har tatt dykkelappen! :)

2009-11-10T11:46:00.000-08:00

I helga tok jeg dykkelappen med Anders, Fabian, Jonas og Marthe! :) Etter noen dager med teori, øvelser i vannet, 4 dyk og en liten prøve har vi nå alle blitt PADI dykkere! :) :) Vi kan dykke ned til 18 meter!!!

Det beste dykket var på lørdag da vi svømte gjennom en mørk hule under vann. Exciting!!! :) :)
Ellers så vi masse fisk, sjøslanger, små blekkspruter og eksotiske fisk!!! :) :)

Vi har ett gratis dykk igjen!! Gleder meg masse!! :) :)

Jeg savner...

2009-11-04T12:55:00.000-08:00

Nå er det under 3 uker til vi reiser tilbake til Oslo!!! :( Er kjempe glad i Morro og vil egentlig bare være her i paradiset!! Men snart må jeg innstille meg på hjemreisen til realiteten!!! Det er nettop denne innstillingen "savnelisten" skal få frem.

Jeg savner/jeg gleder meg til:

1. Mamma, pappa, kari og MANGO!!! (Ikke frukten, det har vi masse av her!! )
2. Latte Yummmm
3. Spise klementiner på UB (eller er det mandariner?)
3. Å kunne kaste dopapir i doen!
4. Søndags brunch på BS! Yummmy!!
5. Vorspiel, Midtspiel og Nachspiel! Savner alle dere på BS!
6. Å ha eget rom
7. Å innrede rommet mitt (IKEA!!)
8. Snø?! Hmmm nei savner egentlig ikke kulden men blir koselig med turer på Sognsvann i vinterværet.
9. Havregrøt med kanel til frokost!! :)
10. Å kunne klappe søte dyr (Alle her har lus!)
11. Å kunne vaske klær i maskinen! (Jeg har vasket for hånd i 3 mnd)
12. Kose foran peisen med te, pledd og en bok! :) (Prøver komme i vinterstemning... litt vanskelig når det er over 30 grader her!)
13. Dyne!
14. Strøm og vann ALL THE TIME!
15. iPod! (Min ble stjålet!)
.....

My trip to Rio

2009-10-30T17:27:00.001-07:00

Fabian, Hewan, Kristoffer, Steffen, Henrik and I ready for departure! We are heading to Rio!!!
We flew in a tiny airplane from Morro to Salvador!
The view was amazing!

The flight from Morro to Salvador was perfect! The flight from Salvador to Rio was however NOT so perfect. We were 4 hours delayed and had big problems getting to Rio. The airplane ended up in Sao Paulo instead, before continuing to Rio! The captain first told us there was a storm in Rio, then that we needed to fill more fuel and finally when we landed that we had to change airplanes due to technical problems!

We finally arrived alive in Rio!!! Here are pics of some of the things we did:

Jesus statue in Rio!! The weather was not so great but we did see the contours! Amazing statue!!!

We tok the cabelcart to the top of the Sugarloaf! We saw the most beautifull view of the city!
This mountain is owned by a privat family and not by the state! Imagine owning Sugarloaf!!!

And guess what I did???????????

"its ok to die today" Signature: Åse

Yes I did jump!! This was crazy!!!! Soooo much fun!!! :) :) Amazing feeling of freedom!

Copacabana beach!!!

Dinner at Poicao, one of Rios best restaurants!! :)

We had a great time!!! :) :)

"Jeg kommer til å knuse den *** automaten med en slegge!"- Fabian

2009-10-13T14:58:00.000-07:00

Problemet på Morro er ikke at vi fattige studentene ikke har penger! Problemet er at banken ikke har penger!!

I dag har vi brukt over 4 timer på å ta ut penger fra automaten i sentrum! Det er ikke lett, spesielt ikke etter helgens feriado! Fare for skimming er stor og banken har ofte ikke cash!

Vi klarte heldigvis tilslutt å ta ut penger til å betale turen til Rio! Kristoffer, Henrik, Fabian, Steffen, Hewan og meg reiser på fredag og kommer tilbake på tirsdag!

Blir kjempe gøy!!!!

Gleder meg masssssse!!! :) :) :) :)

Postcards

2009-10-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

My dad always sends me thousands of postcards from his numerous travels! My walls could be covered!!
At the moment Im sitting in my room writing postcards, thinking of everyone at home. The post is however disfunctional at Morro and will be sent in the fall break! :) :)

My weekend in Salvador!

2009-09-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

FRIDAY!!!

Approaching civilization with the ferry!
From Morro to Salvador! A culture shock! They have cars!!

Some essential shopping at Salvador's many enormous malls!

Sunset at Solar! Beautiful!

Getting spoiled at Salvadors beste sushi restaurant! Yummmmm!!! :)

Dancing at a local Brazilian club!! Samba?! :)

SATURDAY!!!

I was planning to be super cultural!!! But ended up at the mall 9:00 in the morning! Look at Emma´s new hot shoes! :) :)

Dinner at Boi Preto, Salvadors best meat and lobster restaurant!

Eat all you can eat buffet!!! Can´t complain! :)

Party at Madre!

Lucky Fabian! ;)

Fabian happy and Ullrik hanging!

SUNDAY!!!

Finally cultural!

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!

My Nova ♥

2009-09-21T17:17:00.000-07:00

Ingen t-bane å rekke, ingen stappfulle lesesaler eller latte overkill!! Vi nyter heller skoledagen på stranda med acaiiii!! Here is my Nova:

My paradise!

2009-09-21T16:29:00.000-07:00

Short update: This weekend we stayed at Boipeba, a beautiful island next to Tiharre. We took speedboats over the ocean, scubbadived and ate lobster at a deserted beach. The night was spent in bongaloes at a hotel next to the beach. On our way home we visited Cairo, Brasils second olders village. The architecture was unique but in ruins. Take a look at the pics:

Motivert?!

2009-09-10T18:58:00.000-07:00

Klokken på macen viser 3:59. Det er norsk tid og jeg vil helst ikke tenke på hvor mye den er i brasil. Marthe, Kristin, Hewan og meg sitter i matsalen/sambasalen/klasserommet å skriver oppgave om maktfordelingsprinsippet... har slitt siden i går!! Teorien er egentlig ikke så vanskelig. Hvorfor kan jeg ikke bare bli ferdig med det??? Jeg var godt i gang før i kveld... satt på senga og så på Because I said so og skrev i vei om Montesquieu, maktspredning, maktbalanse etc.... Men så gikk strømmen på hele øya. Alt ble mørkt...my mind too!!! Vi tok derfor en god matpause på Nero hvor de hadde agregat og lys!! Da vi kom tilbake til hotelet var leselampe erstattet med stearinlys og vi fikk streng beskjedd om at oppgaven skulle leveres innen morgendagens frist uansett forhold!!!
Vi begynte derfor å skrive i mørket. Det var kjempe koselig men gikk nokså tregt! Det er mange timer siden nå. Vi sitter fortsatt her å sliter.. men nå er strømmen kommet tilbake...det hjalp lite!!!
Har to timer igjen av batteri på macen! (Ellers må jeg hente forsterker og lader!!) Mål om å bli ferdig før da!
Der ser dere i Oslo, at jus i Brasil ikke bare er fest og gøy!! (Selv om jeg må innrømme at det er mye koseligere å slite med en oppgave med bølgene som bakgrundsmusikk fremfor alarmen på SV!)

Wish us good luck! :)

Taxiiiiiii please!!!

2009-09-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

Marthe måtte på sykehuset i Valensia i dag og ble hentet av en taxi!!! Luksus tenker du kansje?? Neida vi snakker ikke "yellow cabs" her på Morro!!! Check it out:

Trillebårtaxi!!!!

Fungerer også som godtstog, trailer og budbil! :)

PS: Det gikk fint med Marthe. Hun har ikke brukket ankelen. :)

Miss Limpalot!

2009-09-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

Marthe er herved kåret til høstens Miss Limpalot! På vei til Gamboa, Morro`s naboby, stoppet vi for å smøre oss inn i leire som skal være super sun for huden! I et forsøk på å løpe vekk fra Fabian som kastet leira på henne snublet Marthe i noen steiner i vannet og fikk tusen skrubbsår og en forstuet ankelen! Det ser utrolig vondt ut, men hun har jo et helt appotek i kofferten så det skal nok gå bra!! :)

Suprises!

2009-09-07T10:39:00.000-07:00

Jeg har det kjempe fint i Brasil men savner så klart alle dere på BS noen ganger!
Og da er det ypperlig å åpne en av Ida´s konvolutter! (Ja tenkt Ida er så søt at jeg fikk med meg seks konvolutter med surpises som jeg skulle åpne på forskjellige anledninger)
Jeg åpnet så klart den første på flyet og fikk nyte tyggis og en lenge savnet Freia sjokolade! :)
Og når Torsdagen og oppgave innleveringen ble for tung åpnet jeg "Når du trenger en kos" konvolutten og fikk et hyggelig brev og en liten søt bamse!! :) Ida du er skjønn!!
Har fem konvolutter igjen: En for når jeg trenger ekstra kjærlighet, en for når jeg føler meg fin, en for når jeg har vært flink og en når jeg vil ha det ekstra gøy!!!!! :D Jeg vet ihvertfall at i dag må jeg prøve å være flink!!! Lese, lese, lese, så får vi se når jeg har vært flink nok til å åpne "flink" konvolutten! Har en følelse av at kansje det blir en stund til men I will do my best!! ;)

Life at Morro!

2009-09-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

Morro de Sao Paulo is beautiful! I love it here! The beaches are pearly, the waves tempting and the weather hot!!

It is however a primitive society. The roads are made of sand and transportation happens with wheelbarrows, donkeys, horses or tractors! I haven´t had time to blog much lately but here is a short summery of an average day as a lucky law student:

The day starts at early with joga or a jog and a swim at the beach. Already by six guys are playing football and volleyball, people are swimming and kids are playing. Breakfast consists of yummy omelet and lots of exotic fruits!!! Which ofcourse includes mango, my favorite!!! ☺ After breakfast I isolate myself at my desk overlooking the ocean and the monkeys jumping around outside. I study for a few hours and at 11:00 I hed off to the day´s lecture in the opened aired classroom. After two hours of deep concentration we eat lunch and head to the beach right below the hotel. We play volleyball, swim in the waves, tan and surf! At night we read a bit (Yes we do study here too!), have portugese class and go out for dinner and caprinjaas!! ☺

Life is good! ☺

The PERFECT delay!

2009-08-30T17:54:00.000-07:00

Today everything went against me!!

First of all I had a HUGE problem with my baggage when checking in! Apparently my grandma´s 50 year old scale didn´t weigh my bags correctly and instead of having the ideal 29 kilos I had 43 kilos!! The check-in guy required that I pay 3500kr for the excess weight! Thats insane! I refused and finally they catagorised me under an exception rule!!! J I was super releaved!!

But my bubbly happiness soon dissapeared as I discovered that my flight from Oslo to Frankfurt was delayed by almost two hours, which meant that I`de miss the connection from Frankfurt to Sao Paulo and from Sao Paulo to Salvador! Not only would I arrive a day later to Brasil, but I would also miss meeting the other law students in Salvador as planned to take the arranged transport out to the island! (I was flying with points so didn´t taket the same flights as them. They traveled from Oslo to Lisbao to Salvador)

Worst case senarious immideatly rushed through my mind!! What if this... and what if that???When would I arrive? Saturday? Sunday? Monday? Ever????? Would I have to sleep in creepy undergrounds or broken down hotels in Frankfurt... or even worse... in the slums of Rio de Janeiro for all that I know!?! ....Ok ok I´m exagerating!!! But would I need to take the bus or a cab alone for two hours from the airport to Salvador? Ofcourse I would manage fine, but I couldn´t help think of The Bone Collector!!! I immidiatly wished I wasn`t a blond, cute girl, but a manly bodybuilder!! (Picture Schwarzenegger times three!)

The man in the service counter told me to fly to Frankfurt and see what happened from there on! He said I shouldn´t make problems out of nothing. But all I could think of was how would I possibly have time to run from one gate to another in under ten minutes?

I finally tok his advice and ended up on the airplane to Frankfurt! Apparently the original airplane had technical problems and was filled with water!! Good thing they discovered that in time! I nevertheless shed some tears in my own pity, as I sipped a glass of sparkling wine and tried to solve some impossible Suduko puzzles!

My pessimism was on a roll and when we landed in Frankfurt I missed my flight to Sao Paolo by five minutes!! I was stuck and went to the service counter for help! To my big suprise they had booked me on a flight to Lisboa 6:30 the next morning and from there on I`de take a direct flight to Salvador! And guess what?! The flight to Salvador is the same one as the other lawstudents will be on! I was thrilled!!! J

I spent the short night in a really nice hotelroom at the five stars Sheriton hotell! I ordered a yummy fruit salad from the room service and eventually fell asleep! J

In the end this delay was perfect!! I got to travel with the points, stay at a nice hotell and even travel with all my future law friends from Lisboa to Salvador!! J

I guess the man at the service counter was right: Ikke ta sorgene på forskudd!!

PS: When I was waiting in Frankfurt for the flight to Lisboa I received a note informing me of a strike at the airline TAP, which is bringing me to Salvador. They appologise for any inconvenience that this might cause! This time around I am however not going to get annoyed over such a bagatell! Worst case senarious have been dropped!! J

PPS: I have now arrived to Moro de Sao Paulo. There was a strike and we were 2 hours delayed. But everything worked out fine! I had a really comfy seat in business class due to the points, and met lots of nice people! :)

PPPS: Its beautiful here!!! Will come with an update as soon as I get time!! :)

Oppsummering på plass 97

2009-08-25T23:03:00.000-07:00

Jeg sitter klemt mellom rammer, sekker, Cactusposer og våte joggesko på plass 97. Destinasjon Oslo. Jeg lengter allerede etter Mamma og søte Mango! Etter fire måneder med herlig ferie vender jeg nå tilbake til skolebenken! Tenk fire måneder! Det er jo nesten et halvt år!! ☺

Tiden etter Madrid har jeg tilbrakt med familien i herlige Ny-Hellesund og på fjellet. Jeg har kost meg med flotte kajakkturer med Mamma og Kari, vellykkede fisketurer, en 13 timers fantastisk moltetur til Gluben med Pappa, fjell-og joggeturer med Mango, blåbærspising, shopping i Kristiansand, kakespising hos mor og (is)bading i Gluggevannet! Også har døtrene dine så klart blitt sterke med den årlige dosen steinbæring, pappa! ☺

Men nå markerer halv pris av halv pris slutten på sommersalget og høstkolleksjonene fyller butikkvinduene. Jeg ville vanligvis ha vært i ekstase! Høsten gleder oss med nye farger, sene kvelder i ølteltet med venner og kastanjeblader som maler byen oransje. Det vil snart friste å gjemme seg inni varmen med kakao og et altfor mykt pledd!

Jeg skal derimot slite mine sprakende shorts og rosa hawaiianas i enda tre deilige måneder! Jeg skal studere jus på en idyllisk øy utenfor Salvador i Brasil og erstatter derfor kakaoen med en frisk caprinja og høstjakka med en bikini og en stråhatt! ☺ Jeg gleder meg masse!!!

Takk for en utrolig fin sommer på Sørlandet! ☺

Langt fra UB!

2009-08-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

Kan dere anbefale noen nye kristne spenningsromaner?” spør den unge damen. Den ivrige bibliotekaren suser av gårde!

TF?? MF??????

Neida, neida jeg er langt fra noe fakultet i tigerstaden! I dag befinner jeg meg i en bitte liten lesesal på Kvinesdal bibliotek hvor jeg okkuperer en av kun ti leseplasser. Plass er for så vidt ikke noe problem da jeg er den eneste flittige leseren her i dag.... ja bortsett fra den dypt konsentrerte mannen som lager familiekart på første rad. Men koselig er det og her er det ideelt for å fokusere!

Jeg gjemmer meg i det innerste hjørnet omringet av microfilmede kirkebøker fra Liknes, Feda, Fjotland og Hægebostad til venstre, mens fristende Norske Kunstner Leksikon og noen litt mindre fristende Vennesla bind I, II og III stirer ned på meg fra høyre hylle.

Dette er altså verken Novas stilfulle Catwalk eller Blinderns sjelfulle festsal, men totalt lost er jeg ikke, for lovsamlingen har jeg med meg og forvaltningsrett skal jeg lære!!

Men tankene min vandrer og jeg ser for meg solfylte timer på surfebrettet, lange hvite strender, bølgete pensumbøker og masse brasilianske fristelser!

Men ferien her på sørlandet er ennå ikke over for min del og flere dager i sensommerregnet skal nytes før jeg stikker av gårde til Brasil! ☺ Jeg undrer hvordan lesesalene er der?

Back in Lux

2009-07-13T00:56:00.000-07:00

We spent out last day in Toledo, a middelaged city 70 km south from Madrid. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage as one of the former capitals of the Spanish Empire. The architecture is amazing fusing islamic, jewish and christian iconography in temples, cathedrals and churches. The city was also the home of the famous spanish mannerist painter El Greco. Kari and I went to see one of his exhibitions! I love his strong use of color! We also took a tour around the city seeing the beautiful wall once served to protect Toledo.

I are now however back in Lux after 3 wonderfull weeks in Madrid. Kari is already in Norway at our summer house. I will be leaving later today! :) Can't wait for spending some nice weeks by the ocean with the family!

Botin-The world´s oldest restaurant

2009-07-09T14:53:00.000-07:00

Down some curvy stairs from Plaza Major lies Botin, the world´s oldest restaurant, where Kari and I enjoyed a lovely dinner on Thursday evening. The atmosphere was amazing and we almost felt as if we were sitting in a cave. (A cosy cave that is!) The building is from 1590 and the restaurant or back then the inn, opened in 1725 by a french cook called Jean after the reform of Plaz Major!! One interesting thing is that before XVIII inns in Madrid could only cook what the guests brought inn. Good thing I didnt live in the 17th century... I think I would have brought brown goatcheese and wafles... I bet the tapas in Spain wouldn´t have become as popular as they are today if that were the case! :P

http://www.botin.es/INGindex.html

Noruega ♥

2009-07-09T08:55:00.000-07:00

Today was our last day at work! We celebrated the end of an era at ... one of Real Madrid´s favorite restaurants. As always, all the girls got a plant! I still have the one I got when I was 15. It was tiny back then, but it still lives and is huge now!! Two more days left. I will post some more pics untill we leave. It will be nice returning to Lux and Norway! Can`t wait for a fresh and sporty summer by the ocean and in the mountains!! :)

Angels and demons...and sailors at Chueca!

2009-07-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

Words can´t describe the fun we had at Chueca Gay Pride festival Saturday night.... (uhhh or rather its 7 in the morning and I´m too tired to write!!) Anyway the parade was amazing! Here are some pics.

This angel apparently did not fly down from heaven to meet me! :(

Normally I`d want a pic with Mickey Mouse, but here I am with two supertall transvestites!
Notice their heels!

We also bumped into some random Italians! They liked Kari so much that they started carrying her around!! :S We quickly ran away!!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for icecream!

2009-07-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

New city, new icecreams! We will here determine the best summer icecream(s)!

1. Fantasmikos.

6 small icecreams in one pack. Points for many different flavours. I was really excited about the surprise inside! It was a tattoo, but I couldnt make it stick so that bring it down!

2. Haagen-Dazs cookies and cream on a stick!

I love Haagen-Dazs! But I must admit that its better eating from a box while watching a movie than on the go!

3. Lemonade sin azucar!

It seems like you cannot simply go into a supermarket and buy only one icecream here in Madrid, so Kari and I ended up buying a pack of 6 Limonades! Only 1 euro and it claims to be sugarfree! Wahhh!! Tasted sour and refreshing! 3 for me and 3 for her! :)
This is definitely the winner!

4. Super Twister

OK Ok this is a winner too! :)
Brings back childhood memories from the years we lived in Madrid! I love it! :)

5. Vanilla with brownie

A classic but kind of boring.

6. Calipo Fresa and Calipo Limon

Yummy but it can`t beat twister and Limonade 6 pack! ;)

Cool in the city!

2009-07-05T02:50:00.000-07:00

Its HOT in Madrid, often up to 37 degrees! Here are some effective ways to cool yourself down in the city!

1. Drink lots of cold water!!!

2. Swim in the fountains!

(Uhhh we thought this looked really wrong but everyone seemed to be doing it. Pics: in the fountain by the park next to the Palacio Real.)

2. Eat LOTS of icecream!!
We bought a pack of 6 lemonade fruit icecreams for 1 euro the box and ate them all in one go!!! Aiiiii brain freeze!!! :D

3. Eat cold watermellon!! Yummy!

4. Go to museums!!
(Good air condition :D )

5. Go swimming!!!!
(Here at the Pisine Municipal)

6. And if none of that works, hide under an umbrella like these guys do! :)

Work, archiving and metro life!!

2009-07-04T03:29:00.000-07:00

Each morning on the way to work is usually very similar! We start the day by eating a small breakfast, going to the metro, trying to come on time. We always bring a book because after living here, we realized it was the best way to pass time. Everyone reads on the metro whether its e-books, magazines, novels or even bibles!!!

First of all the strange thing here is that the metro comes from the left side. This was very confusing for us...It still is!! The engineer of the first metro was british and so Madrid started following the british metro system. Recently however the newer lines have been built the other way around.

The second strange thing is that however stressed or late people are, they always take their time to stand in a long quew to the escalators. They refuse to walk the stairs. And when some sporty norwegian girls, like us, start walking up the stairs, they look shocked and strangely at us. But we however take the advantage of walking from floor 1 to floor 10 every day. Bikini season here we come!! :) :)

But our bikini workout doesn´t stop at the metro.
When we finally arrive at work, located in Madrids business street Paseo de Castellana, we are ready to pump up our arm muscles with som archving. If you ever need an expert at archiving, contact us! :)

Archiving is fun!

Tapas and mojitos with our Spanish friends! :)

2009-07-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

Turquoise feathers, rainbow colors, tapas and mojitos!! Sounds great no? It was!

Last night Kari and I met up with Aitziber, a friend from work, and a friend of hers called Julio!

We started at Chueka. Chueka used to be one of Madrid´s worst areas filled with prostitutes and drugies. In the 80s the gays started buying apartments there and things started calming down. The streets cleaned up and eventually fashionable stores opened, as well as spas, hairdressers, trendy bars and organic restaurants! :) They now have all they need and the area is also known for its good clubs!

This week the "Proud to be gay" festival started. Welcome to the carnival!! :) Feathers, pink glitter, huge purple wigs, men running in highheels... you see the picture! :) (And yes Mrs. Thayer you are right, men actually DO wear purses... well atleast in Chueca!) The three of us girls shared a huge glass of mojitio, here sold at stands like beer, and watched the flamenco dancers, the drag queens and checked out the several good looking, very fashionable and perfect guys. (whom sadly ofcourse were gay)

We then walked to Plaza Major for something to eat. Julio is however from Madrid and so instead of Plaza Major, he showed us some of the best local places for tapas at La Latina. We found a cosy crowded little place, where we had Gazpacho, chorizo and some bread with black pudding. We later found out that the pudding consisted of pig blood mixed with bread crums!! (It was yummy before I heard this!)

As we walked home through the streets of Madrid de los Austrios, we passed the town hall, the old Madrid market plass now filled with bars, and the house of San Isidro el labrador, the Catholic patron saint of farmers and of Madrid. The architecture is amazing her and I did take some photos with my mobile, but my technical skills are not that good and I have not yet been able to upload them. Hope to do this later! :)

It was nice seeing Madrid´s nightlife from a local´s point of view and not simply the typical tourist sites. :)

Heaven is a halfpipe ♥

2009-06-29T02:35:00.000-07:00

The other day when Kari and I were walking to work, a group of skateboarders passed us in the middle of the busy Madrid streets!! Our first thought was "....risky but fun..." :)
But suddenly we were surrounded by skateboarders! Boys and girls! Young and old! They were everywhere! In the middle of the street and on the pavement! Hundreds!!! Police cars followed!

We later found out from one of our co-workers that it was a protest! The skateboarders wanted more skateparks! Smart move!! :)

More shocking however is the way biciclists protest their way to better bikingconditions in Madrid! Listen to this: Hundred of protesters bike NAKED down Madrid's busy streets!! My first thought was wahhhh crazy... but my co-worker didn't see a problem in this... "Its warm in Madrid" she said."It would be much worse in chilly Oslo!!"

Hehe she's got a point there! :)

Ase

Shocking news: Our Longchamps have been stabbed!!!!

2009-06-28T10:38:00.000-07:00

Jo soi muy enfadado!! (I am very angry!)

Today we slept in and started the day with fresh baguettes and an omelet!! We were ready for the perfect sunday with shopping at El Restro (Madrid`s biggest fleemarket) followed by a nice
day in the Retiro park!!
But we should have known better!

Soon after we got to the market things started falling out of our bags! Both of our Longchamp bags had been stabbed/cut with a knife by a romanian pickpocketer! Luckily she didnt manage to steal anything! See video for shocking details!!!! The dramatic happening led to some shopping therapy... uhmmm well of new bags... ugly S.O.S bags simpy to protect our belongings... and a nice lunch! (The best turkey hamburger I`ve ever tasted!!!)

We then headed off for the Retiro were we spent the rest of the day relaxing and reading!

We also saw the Puerta de Alcala and the beautiful Igelsia de San Manuel y San Benito!

Todays highlights!!

2009-06-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update as we need to go to bed soon. We are getting up early for the market tomorrow. Today we went to Museo del Prado and saw lots of paintings of Goya and Velazgues. It was fun. The highlight was the newly opened Sorolla exhibition. We luckily ran into some people who wanted to sell some extra tickets. This made our day. The impressionists use of light was amazing! This was followed by a lunch at Plaza Major! Bogadijos with tortilla!! Mmmm!! :)

In the evening we went for a jog all the way to the bullring in las Ventas, which was closed. But a very nice building :) Always a tourist!!!! Now we however got to sleep. Good night!! :)

Felice cumpleaños!!

2009-06-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

Happy happy happy sweet birthday Kari!! :)

On Thursday Kari turned 21!! At the office she got three cute candy flowers and we all sang happy birthday to her in Spanish. :) Mmmm yummy!! At night we ate tapas and drank wine at Vinotheca at Plaza de Santa Ana followed by a late Spanish dinner! Calamares! We just about missed the last metro at scary Sol since we had to stop for ice-cream! ;) But it was worth it! When we got to Barrior de la Conception the streets were filled with gross cockroaches, which we did our best to jump over! We finally made it back home safe and asked the reception for a six o´clock wake up call! Yaikkksss four hours of sleep! Fun work day followed :D

Words of the day

2009-06-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

We used to speak Spanish when we lived in Spain, but that was a long, long time ago and sadly we have forgotten a lot! But we are eager to learn again and the people at work only speak spanish with us. For our own sake we will have a words of the day list!! :) hehe nerdy yeahhhh....

1. cansado: tired
2. cereal: cereal (haha we will remember this one!!)
3. maiz: mais (haha this one too!!)
4. supermarcado: supermarket
5. acabado: finished
6. busco: im looking for
7. ayer: yesterday
8.pregunta: question
9. no lo encuentro: I cannot find it
10. jo has acabado: I have finished
11.vivido: lived
12.comer: eat
13.caja: box
14. pluma: pen
15. natacion: swimming
16. escritorio: desk / mesa: table
17. niños: kis
18. algo: something
19. bottle: botella
20. train: tren :)
21. calculator: calculadora
22. rabajas: sale
23. compras: shopping
24. coche: car
25. hair: Pelo
26. nose: Nariz
27. eyes: ojos
28. cheeks: mejillas
29: chin: menton
30. mouth: boca
31. neck: cuello

Te quiero Madrid! ♥

2009-06-26T16:50:00.000-07:00

Wahhhhhhhh we have summer jobs in Madrid!!! And we LOVE it here!!

Its soooo nice to be back. We lived here as kids with our family from 1993-1996. As we on Sunday walked through Retiro, memories of those days return. Walks in the park, twister ice-cream, tapas, the heat!!!

Even though we lived here for three years, I feel as if we are experiencing the city "from scratch" or I guess at least from a completly different perspective now that we are older! We are ofcourse UBER EXCITED!!! We are seriously worse than the stereotypical chinese turists who tours Frognerparken eight o´clock on saturday mornings!

So here is a little summery of some of the things we have done so far apart from working: jogged in the Retiro park, visited the Cripta at the Cathedral Almudena and the Palacio Real and celebrated Karis 21st birthday by eating tapas and dinner at Plaza de Santa Ana!! (We ate Spanish time....so definetly past our bed time!!) And oh I must mention that we have shopped in Grand Via! Sales started the day we arrived and the shopping is amazing!! Tomorrow we are however taking a shopping break and visiting El Prado and other museums!

Time to sleep! :) Buenas noches!!!