Autumn in Norway

If I hadn't booked our Hotel for myself, I would have sworn that Simon planned it. We were sitting have breakfast on Saturday morning at the Hotel and we looked outside to see the only magic store in the whole of Norway right in front of us. So, of course... the morning was spent inside talking magician talk.









Hope your enjoying that £7 beer Simon!
Ummm, the best mussels I have ever eaten in my life!
Soooooo cold on the waterfront. We had to brave it for this photo.

Quite common to have blankets outside or sheepskins in this case on the restaurants outdoor dining... not sure who would sit outside in this weather, but anyhow... looks pretty :-)
The Oslo Royal Palace



Vigeland Sculpture Park





Simon getting amongst the local dessert - apple pie :)


We flew to Oslo on Friday night for a weekend in the most expensive land in the world. To put perspective on this, let me tell you how much a few things we all know were... a pint of beer - £7, McD's meal - £12, Snickers bar - £2.... I could go on...

Anyway, we forgot about money for the weekend and really enjoyed ourselves. Lots of beautiful parks, lovely Norwegian people, and the crisp cool air. The temperatures weren't listed as that cool, but the wind chill made it all so much colder. Apparently there was snow outside one night when we were tucked up inside at a local bar... we met a few locals at the bar who then decided to close at 9pm, turn the lights off, and invited us to drink Norwegian style with them at the bar. We had our own party with a bottle of their homemade spirit... ummm... I could feel it heat my entire insides... not sure if that is good or not, but it helped us walk home. hehe

Save your pennies if you want to head this way...

England

The Heath Pond

Yep, it's definitely our last ramble for the year... boggo!












One of the pubs along the way...



Another pub... this one was sooooo cute!


We caught the train to Petersfield at the weekend and did a 12 mile walk around to Buriton and Chalton. Packed a few sarnies and indulged in the sensational weather!

Kerry, Ireland

One of the lakes in Killarney
Irish lamb stew. All good!The pub across the road from our B&B

Sculpture celebrating medieval Irish monk exploration and navigation of the seas, Cahirciveen.



















We are in love with Ireland! The hearty Irish food, the Guinness, the friendly locals and of course the gorgeous scenery. You kiwi's will probably think it looks just like home... and it does. The greenest of green grass, blue skies with a crisp cool breeze, sheep walking on the road as tame as your own pet... I could go on.

We landed on Friday night after a boozy week in London... Simon swearing he will never drink beer again because he feels so rough, but in true Irish style, after picking up our rental car, driving a few miles to the beautiful Dingle peninsula, we went straight to the pub. Locals sitting around the bar drinking Guinness or the local 'Bemish' beer with the odd banter.

The first day was spent driving around the famous 'Ring of Kerry'. We covered so many miles, it's hard to believe. Beautiul look-outs, beaches and the interesting small roads up mountains made it all an experience. Then on our way home that day, we drove through the Killarney National Park to see the "Lakes of Killarney". The lakes were so still that there was a reflection... absolutely gorgeous!

Our second day was probably the highlight. The weather was gorgeous and we drove around the Dingle peninsula to Slea Head. Amazing cliffs with a beach with no-one on it. After enjoying a shepherds pie at the local pub, we drove back around the coast and straight into Kerry airport to fly back to London.

To top the weekend off, we remembered that when flying between Ireland and the UK, you don't have to go through customs, only show your boarding pass. Because of this, we had our quickest, smoothest ride through Stansted airport ever possibly imagined.