Mother’s Got A Dot Com

A terribly late post this week, but I couldn’t resist posting a photo of the main “rosace” of the Cathedral in Strasbourg, France, the city where I spent most of my childhood.

All the windows are spectacular, but this one is in a league of its own…

More on the PhotoHunt

I sometimes miss France. The exhibits of the Chocolatiers in particular…

have a look at these Easter creations, by Chocolatier Patrick Roger, 108 bd St Germain, Paris…

A chocolate chicken coop and beautiful golden eggs/chickens…

No comment on the first one - only that it’s all chocolate - and sweet hedgehogs, complete with their plate of food.

Here’s the maestro himself!

Great Balls Of Fire…

A cannon from around 1700, in front of one of our fortresses - designed to keep the Swedes at bay!

Find out more about the PhotoHunt!

New York is one of the places on my to-visit list…

I’ve spent one night there, but I was 11, on my way to Massachusetts, and all I saw was traffic. If I ever get the chance again, the objective will be to see as many of the sights as possible, without exhausting myself completely. The answer - a city tour.

To get the most out of a New York Sightseeing experience, a Hop on - Hop off tour is a flexible way to get around everywhere, and you can hop off at the places that interest you, and hop on again when you’re ready for the rest.
City Sights NY offer guided tours from a fleet of new double decker buses and motor coaches. They also offer harbor cruises and helicopter rides. I’m not too bothered about helicopters, but I’d absolutely love seeing the city from the sea.
If you’ve got the energy and inclination, they also arrange day trips from New York City to Washington DC, Philadelphia and Amish Country, The Boston Freedom Trail and shopping trips to Woodbury Common Outlet Mall.

How I like to visit a city? I buy a map and a city guide, and spend a day or two looking around, feeling the atmosphere. I’ll then go on a city tour, either by coach or by boat (or both). The last few days will usually be spent off the beaten track, trying to locate the not-so-touristy side of the city I’m visiting.

The world is getting smaller - even traveling half way around the globe is affordable for the likes of me these days. You might see me in the Big Apple yet!

A while before Christmas, Hubby and I managed a trip alone to Paris. We enjoyed it so much that one of the first things Hubby said to the kids when we got home, was: “We must all go there some time”…

Although I agree with all my heart, I sometimes wonder if he’s had kids for as long as I have. “When are we going to Paris?” “Have you booked yet?” “Will it be this spring?” “I’m sure we’ll never go” - it goes on and on!

No one knows this (I’ve got 18 years of experience, you see…), but I’ve started to plan for it. I’ve found a nice litte hotel in a quiet little street on the Left Bank, and I’m now in the process of planning for things to see. 2 people can be impulsive, for 7 people (we’ll leave Miracle Boy at home), a little more planning is in order.

At Isango!, I’ve found lots of useful info about all the tourist attractions, and their offers of various Tours in Paris are very comprehensive. They offer tours with various themes - Paris By Night, Versailles and Monet’s garden, the dreaded Disneyland (probably unavoidable…), a perfume making workshop(!), various sight-seeing tours of the main attractions and monuments (saves a LOT of walking!), and all the shows at the Lido, Moulin Rouge and Paradis Latin, of course.

We’ll be skipping the shows, I think - #5 Brat is 5 years old, and we’ll have to plan the trip around her attention span and staying power - while catering for the teens as well. Wine tasting won’t be in the cards either… What we will do, is to take everybody on a Dinner Cruise on the Seine. The sight of Paris from the river, all bathed in lights, is something they’ll all enjoy, especially if combined with a nice meal on board! I might be able to get a “Da Vinci Code” tour in as well - I know the older kids would love that as much as I would…

For booking tours and attractions in advance, Isango! is certainly a place worth checking out, and not just for Paris. They have trivia and pertinent information, as well as activities offers for scores of popular destinations.

An ambitious title, isn’t it… Especially since I know very little about the country/half continent, come to think of it…

What comes into a European mind when thinking about visiting the States? Obviously, that depends on who he is, what he is, what he knows, and what his interests are. In reality, I can only speak for myself… Which I won’t. So, without further ado, here’s a list of things to do and see in the US, as perceived by a random European, in no particular order:

* Mount Rushmore, and if he’s a drunken Norwegian, he’ll try to get up some big guy’s nose.
* Mardi Gras in New Orleans
* Capitol Hill, Washington DC
* All the theme parks in Florida
* Grand Canyon, AZ
* face lifts in Los Angeles CA - throw in a visit to Hollywood and the movie studios
* Las Vegas (beats me)
* traveling along Route 66 on a Harley or in a rented Cadillac
* New York, and he won’t miss the Hard Rock Cafe and Ellis Island
* any rodeo show that’s on during his stay
* Movie and soap locations: Tara (Gone with the Wind), the Overlook Hotel (The Shining); Southfork Ranch (Dallas) aso, asf
* If he’s Norwegian, you can bet he’ll want to visit any locations where Winter Olympics have been held; Lake Placid,NY, Salt Lake City, Utah, and I’m sure there are more…

I promised myself I’d stop at 13… how’m I doing? 12? OK, one more:
* Again, if he’s Norwegian (or Swedish, Irish, you name it), he’ll want to visit any place his kin emigrated to. Minnesota, the Dakotas, Indiana, Washington State, Brooklyn,NY…

OK. No more. My point? We know far too little about the places we visit. We tend to go where people have gone before us, missing out on the real stuff that goes on and that we never hear of or see. I would like to visit/do quite a few of the above, but I hope that if I ever travel over the pond, I’ll also get to visit some “real places” and meet some real people.

Who knows, if I keep up this blogging lark, I may get an invite one day!

Mo’s had an explosive week…

I don’t keep photos on file that connote well with explosive. There is the odd sunrise and screaming brat, but I’ll leave those alone today. What did come to mind was volcanoes, and the closest ones around here are found on Iceland.

Now, Iceland is explosive in many ways, and it’s also a place I would absolutely love to visit one day. Iceland has hundreds of volcanoes, varying in age, maturity and activity. Many are extinct, but there are 27 central volcanoes of various size and activity considered active at the moment. Some of these haven’t erupted for a few centuries, but some erupt on a fairly regular (but not easily predictable) basis. This makes Iceland the largest volcanic island in the world, and many people there are literally living on top of a powder keg, on an island or islands with an ever changing topography.

The most famous volcano is Hekla, and it has a very explosive history. As far as I’ve learned, the last eruption was in 2000, when these pictures were taken.

Explosive can be said of other natural occurances on Iceland, both results of the volcanic activity on the island(s) -

Geysirs

And hot springs

- where you don’t need a fire to boil your eggs…

Geysir pics: Kjiver.no (go there for more) Volcano pics: Volcano Discovery

I could really use a spa holiday right now. A Norwegian winter, however mild, does that to my joints and muscles. I’d really love to just call a number, tell them what I want, and have a tailor-made holiday arranged for me a day or two later.

If you live in the UK, Dialaflight.com can arrange virtually anything for you. A spa, an exotic holiday, a city break or a flight to Australia - have a look at their website first, find out where you want to go, and then call them. I wonder if I can have a spa holiday in Australia?
Yes, you get to speak to a real person, and I must say I find that somewhat reassuring. Booking online is fine, but there is nothing like the personal touch to make you feel taken care of.
Well - I’m not going anywhere any time soon, but a girl can dream, no?

Here are a few photos…

Scenery:

Snow lanterns and tunnel, as seen from the outside:

And brats inside the tunnel:

Third brat, #6, on his way home from his winter break!

We had three fun days at our cabin. Upon arrival, we had to fight our way in with the little ones through snow that reached my thigh, and leave them indoors while we shoveled a path to get the luggage inside… Luckily, the snow was old, hard and heavy, so we got some serious exercise!

The roof hadn’t caved in. Apparently, there hasn’t been this much snow for many years, but it had fallen off the roof, as well-behaved snow should do.

The kids had loads of fun - they made lanterns and dug out caves and tunnels. There will be photos, as soon as hubby comes back with the car - my camera is in the glove compartment!