Dreaming of // Wanderlusting

On our new TV we have Chromecast, and after a show is done casting, a slideshow with all these really pretty nature photographs starts running. Naturally, it makes me want to travel. It's a good thing I have a few trips to look forward to the next months!

Bergen, Norway
This pretty city is always on our travel list, since my parents and two of my siblings live there. Especially now that I am an aunt I wish the distance was a lot shorter so we could have Sunday dinners and play with the kids!

Ljungskile, Sweden
A good friend and former roommate is getting married this spring, and the festivities will happen in a small town in Sweden where she currently lives. I don't get invited to a ton of weddings, and especially not cross-cultural ones, so this will be exciting.

Ebeltoft, Denmark
This summer we are renting a house with my side of the family in Denmark. Look at this, it is practically on the ocean! I can't wait for all that fresh air, eating good food and hanging out with the family. A daytrip to Aalborg to visit the new library there is defnitely on my to-do list for this vacation.

The USA
It will also be time to visit the in-laws this summer, so we are heading to Augusta, Georgia. We have talked about a possible weekend trip to Charleston, South Carolina while we are there, and I hope it works out, cause I would love to see more of the South this time. Hopefully I will manage to squeeze in a trip to Colorado as well. It is always such a treat to see my friends there, and Denver is a fun city.

Mike and I have also talked about how much we would love a super chill beach vacation at some all-inclusive place. Just for a week or so to really relax and soak up some sun while reading a stack of books. It isn't on our schedule yet, but it is a nice thing to dream about.

Whew, what a list! But that's not all. Having friends coming to visit almost feels like a vacation as well, dont you think? So we look forward to having people come here to Skien too, and interrupt our daily life and force us out of routines. Are you planning any fun trips soon?

The Atlas of Beauty

China

Kyrgyzystan

Chile

Afghanistan

Photographer Mihaela Noroc travels all around the world to show us beauty in all kinds of cultures, and the results are stunning pictures of beautiful women. See more here.

Visiting Augusta: The Canal and more

2nd & Charles is a large store with mainly used books and other media. You can spend hours in here, looking for treasures. Or pretend you are a chipmunk.

I only made it to Goodwill once, but I got just what I wanted! A small leather purse, and a vintage Nina Ricci at that. My first designer bag has been well loved and worn already, but that's alright with me, and I consider 5$ a very good price.

Here are some more pictures from our holiday in Augusta. On New Years Day we went on a walk by The Savannah River and the Augusta Canal. There is a really long trail between these two waterways, and it seemed like half of the city was out there walking with us. The trail is basically flat, and perfect for biking or walking. 

Swampy waters and tall trees. It was fascinating to see lots of new species, and I really enjoyed a break from the neighborhoods and city streets. 

Visiting Augusta: Down Town

I did a little bit of research before going on our Christmas vacation, trying to figure out what to do around Augusta if you're not in to golf. I found a couple of things I wanted to see down town, and convinced the family to join me in seeing the sights and be a tourist in their own home town. 

Sacred Heart was a catholic church for almost a century, but is now a cultural center with art exhibits and events. The artist on show when we were there even had Norwegian "krumkake" art. Perfect for Christmas! 

The building has lots of amazing stained glass windows, and we got to experience it in beautiful winter light.

If you get hungry, get lunch at Nacho Mamas on Broad Street. The food there is great! I don't have a picture to prove it, but for dessert you can get the largest slice of cake I have ever seen at the Boll Weevil. If you are looking for good coffee, I think your best shot (no pun intended) will be Buona Coffee. Located on Central Avenue it is not exactly down town, but with an in house roastery, it is well worth the trip. 

Right next door from Nacho Mamas you can shop for CRAZY hats, if you care for that sort of thing. I never saw people wear anything like it, but if you go to the right kind of church, apparently you will! 

I will also like to mention Book Tavern. We didn't stop by on this trip, but it is well worth a visit if you like to read.  

I like art, so naturally I wanted to visit the Morris Museum of Art. The collection is mainly by Southern artists, or depictions of the south, which gave a very unusual impression. I have never seen that much American art at once before, and it was quite strange to only see Southern landscapes and motives when I am used to mainly European ones. Here are a few of my favorites from our visit. 

These are the highlights from my wanderings down town Augusta. We did experience a few more things in the area, and I will write more about that later. 

Meet in the Middle: Newnan

We braved the horrible Atlanta traffic (not pictured here) and drove 176 miles to meet some dear friends in the middle between Augusta, GA and Dothan, AL. 

Fortunately, what we found in the middle was Newnan: The City of homes, with a quaint old down town. Which city doesn't have homes though? I'm a little confused by their slogan.  

To our knowledge, Newnan does not have a decent coffee shop, but we had a great lunch, and spent some time posing in Santa's Sleigh. There are also a lot of antique malls and fairly interesting little boutiques. 

This is what happens when I let my husband take pictures:

3/18

10/18

17/18

This building used to be a civil war hospital, 

like so many other buildings in the south.

I could have bought the original dress from the movie "Big Momma". I didn't.

Silly selfie on the streets of Newnan. 

We enjoyed our stay, but considering the location, I doubt we will ever come again. 

Southern Christmas

It has been a while since Christmas, and even longer since I wrote anything on here, but I hope it isn't entirely too late to post some moments from our American holiday. 

From the neighborhood: An abundance of wreaths, both inside and out! 

American tree, and very surprisingly - Norwegian choir song on tv.

After the Christmas Eve service.

First Presbyterian Church Augusta dressed up for Christmas. 

And one of my favorite Christmas presents: a new high-tech porcelain tooth! It kind of makes me feel like an old lady, but I prefer a whole fake tooth over half a real one, for sure.

Kindled reading interest

For being someone who loves both books and travel, I have been quite hesitant about e-readers. I just love the feeling of a book in my hand and turning the pages the old fashioned way. Mike on the other hand, embraces technology in a different way, and his Kindle is always with him. Since he is not into cufflinks and watches and other suggested wedding gifts for your groom, I figured a new Kindle would be perfect.
It was.

While we were in Athens on our honeymoon, we spent one afternoon in a book store looking at tons of books.There were so many pretty editions of classics, but our budget was limited and the weight of them would have been too much to bring. Though I must admit I bought three books on the trip, before we left the airport in Norway...

In USA, books loose their copyright if they are over 75 years old. I like a lot classics, so the fact that pages like Project Gutenberg lets you download these books for free is great news! Now that I have inherited Mike´s old Kindle, I have a lineup of books like "The Man in the Iron Mask", "The Journey to the Centre of the Earth" and "Les Miserables", just waiting to be read. And in the meantime it wont´t take up space on the shelf or room in a bag, win - win!

PS. A little travel tip for book lovers - Santorini has an amazing bookstore. It is located in Oia, and called Atlantis Books

Santorini in Daylight and Sunset

For the second half of our honeymoon we went to Santorini. Here are some of the things we saw:

The husband! 

Church with the best view in Imerovigli 

Former windmill turned residence

Our little hotel

Amazing succulent bushes

A volcanic crater

And a fancy church in Fira

Basking in the sunset

This is what Santorini is famous for

We hung out with our wedding photographers... 

And saw black rocks 

On a date in Oia. There was also an amazing bookstore.

PS. Part One of our honeymoon here.