Oslo, Norway

Arrived in Oslo and hopped on the Flytoget train which took us right into the city center.  After dropping our stuff off we headed out to explore the city. 

This city is very ethnically diverse, has a population of about 550,000 and is amazingly clean!  I was surprised at some the chains that we saw there.  TGIF  and BK, seriously?!

Toured around the Nobel Peace museum.  Which highlighted all winners with a special focus on Ghandi although he was never officially given the award.  FYI 2012 winner- the EU

There were some interesting sculptures around the city

Look!, they have a "T" also

The architecture was gorgeous.

 

One popular street to wander in Oslo is called Karl Johans Gate.  The street is a pedestrian thoroughfare that connects the City Center to the Palace.   It used to be several streets that were all combined into one.

 

At Harald and Sonja's house : )  The Palace.

Nice view from the Palace

We enjoyed touring around this city





Ithaca, New York

Traveled to Ithaca, New York this past weekend for a friends wedding.  What a cute town.  I love the "Commons" area with all the restaurants and independently owned shops.  Had some tastey food and of course took advantage of some drink specials.  A cocktail for $4.  Definitely not a possibility in Boston.

 

The Students a Cornell even provided some learning opportunity while walking around the Commons with information on the Planets. 

 





The walk was set to scale and ventured away from the Commons.  I did not follow the entire path.  But found the ones I did read interesting. 

 

An interesting sculputure.  Here horsey...

 

 

ohh and incase anyone was wondering where the Octupus is....





Any idea what this is referring to? I was kind of curious, but didn't see any further info.

The wedding was lot of fun.  It was held in an old barn that has been renovated for weddings and other events.   There was lots of dancing, drinking and COOKIES!

The bridal party- Eric (Gay of honor) Beth-(Matron of honor) and the happy couple Phil and Tara
I loved that her dress was silver.  I'd never seen that before.  It looked amazing

They cleared the chairs  away for dancing after the ceremony

Tara's Aunt made all these cookies.  Now there's a connection that is good to have :  ).  Oh and yes they were just as delicious as they look

The wedding cake

 

I was able to get soemone to take a photo of the bride and I together. 

 



Very happy for you.  Hope you have a wonderful time on your honeymoon.

Next up...Norway!

Long Island/NYC, New York

Aunt Joyce and Uncle Bobby are packing up and leaving the cold Long Island winters for the hot, humid Houston summers.  Fortunately had an opportunity to get down to see them before they left.

Aunt Joyce and I went and ventured into NYC.  To experience some NYC style holiday cheer

The tree at Rockefellar Center.  This year a 74ft (or approx 22.6m for my loved ones around the globe) Norway Spruce.  Thanks to the Acton Family from Mahopac, NY for donating the tree for us all to enjoy.

Aunt Joyce and I- Rockefellar center

Skaters at Rockefellar Center.  The person a little left of center on their back best depicts my skating abilities.

NYC stores do a great job decorating for the holiday season.  I love seeing the window scene at "Lloyd and Taylor".   This year they had Christmas scenes from around the world.

 Makes me want to go experience the holiday season in other areas around the world.  Any invites for next year?

 After we we headed over to Grenwich village and found a cute restaurant for some lunch.  Stuffed our faces with some delicious mussels, pizza, and eggplant

We also spent some time touring around the Huntington area.  Cute little town with some great restaurants, cute little shops... a nice change of pace from NYC

mmm...some deliciousness

Glad I had an opportunity to see you before you move.  Will have to look into coming to Houston once you are settled in there.

Walpole, MA

Finally, after months of talk, Audra and I made it out to Walpole to have Joe take us shooting.

This deer doesn't look to happy : )

 

There's a lot to know about guns and that look, aim, pull, fire thing isn't as easy as it sounds.

 I did however manage to obliterate one of the clay targets.  At least wasn't a total bust

Had a great time.  Hoping ot make it back out that way.  Thanks Joe for taking us out

Tucson, AZ

Had an opportunity to show my friend Diana around my old stomping ground Tucson.  Definitely very different from Boston!

It was a quick trip, so didn't get to take her everywhere I would have liked to. 

We made it over to the Desert Museum.  Which I recommend to anyone in the area.  The drive over is pretty and it's a great way to see a variety of desert animals

  Definitely ate a lot of Mexican food while there.  Enjoyed some fresh table made salsa at Guadalajara grill

A Sonoran dog at El Guero Canelo

Cafe Poca Cosa, and Martins Comida Chingona- Which I've been told translates to Martin's fucking good food.  Anyone know if this is correct?

I know Di really enjoyed seeing the Saguaros and desert vegetation.  I did too.  I forget sometimes how beautiful the Sonoran desert is. 

Thanks Matt for making the drive up.

The weather was warm, but not as sunny as I would have liked.  I know the people who live there were charishing the clouds.  Fortunately we did get to enjoy some pool time on our last day.

It was great to get back.  Wish I could have spent some more time. 

Rochester, NY

Went back to Rochester for my friend Tara's Bridal Shower.  Flight from Boston is only an hour.  Really can't complain.  The shower was fun.  She had a brunch with yummy fruits, potatoes, french toast, eggs, mimosas.  The venue was an old mill that is now used for weddings and such.

 

 

 

We also enjoyed some cake. 

Can you guess the flavor? ... Strawberry.  A blue, strawberry flavored cake.  Definitely a little confusion to ones senses

After eating ourselves into a food coma we went back to her place and relaxed, before going out for the evening.

Unfortunately didn't get many pics of the night out.  We started off with some margaritas at a Mexican food restaurant

Chili pepper lights : )

After dinner we went and met up with a couple of friends for a 30th bday party.  Definitely some interesting bars in Rochester.   Made for some interesting people watching.  Lets just say you can dress up the woman, but it won't make her classy.  : )

The next day we went and wandered around a park.  I was kind of sad the leaves were already off the trees, but still beautiful in its own way

 I didn't get any photos, but they had  interactive booths set up all over with info on the flora, and fauna

We did see a deer

Was fun to see Tara's friends again and of course meet Phil.  See you guys in January!