anniegetyourgun

I've been a busy bee this Easter, planning and booking all my trips for the next few months. I'm going down south to attend a very good friend's bachelorette party in late April, and I travel to Sunnmøre in North-Western Norway for a confirmation in the beginning of May. I recently booked my stay at the Lion Park outside of Johannesburg in South Africa, and this Easter I finally decided on an itinerary and booked my flights and hotel in Cape Town. After two weeks at the Lion Park, I have eight days to explore Cape Town. Since I'm going to sleep in a tent for two weeks at the Lion Park, I wanted to live a little bit luxuriously in Cape Town, so I have booked myself a room at the Winchester Mansions, an iconic, 4 star hotel situated on the Sea Point Promenade, facing the Atlantic Ocean.

Yesterday I also booked a long weekend trip to Copenhagen in mid-July. I'm going there for a reunion for the people I volunteered with on Harnas in Namibia last year. It will actually be my first time in the Danish capital. I've been to Hirtshals, Fredrikshavn and Aalborg quite a few times, but never to Copenhagen. I can't wait to explore the city, and I'm sure I will have a blast at the reunion. Det er deilig å være norsk i Danmark!

Carven mountain print silk dress, USD 249 at Elizabeth Charles; H&M choker necklace, NOK 99 and Acne boots, EUR 467 at Net-A-Porter.

Easter is once more upon us, and many Norwegians have gone to their cabins up in the mountain side, or traveled to ski resorts in the Alps. I have visited lovely Chamonix in France twice. I'm not much of a skier, but I visited a friend who lived there for a few years. The last time I went to Chamonix, I took the cable car up to the summit of L'Aiguille du Midi in the Mont Blanc Massif, 3842 meters above sea level. The cable car was built in 1955, and for two decades, it held the title of the world's highest cable car. It still holds the record as the cable car with the highest vertical ascent in the world, from 1035 m to 3842 m.

From Chamonix you travel up to Plan de l'Aiguille at 2317 meters, where you change cable cars. Apart from the cable car building, there's one more building at Plan de l'Aiguille - a bar! Crazy Frenchmen...

Experienced skiiers walking in single file down the mountain ridge to the Vallée Blanche ski run.

The café.

Looking down on the L'Aguille du Midi café from a 360 degree viewing platform on top of the summit.

If the sky is clear, the view from the viewing platform is spectacular. I was very lucky with the weather. Chamonix was covered in a thick fog, but up by the summit, the sky was clear.

Me standing in front of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe at 4810.5 meters.

On my way down again.

L'Aiguille du Midi seen from Les Houches, where my friend lived.

I also had to try downhill skiing for the first time in my life. I did a lot of cross-country skiing growing up, but never downhill skiing. It just didn't interest me. I did get a pair of slalom skis for Christmas one year, but that particular winter was very dry and snowless. By the next winter, I had grown out of my slalom boots, so I never even got to try out my new skis before they were passed down to my little brother. My downhill skiing debut came at 27 years of age, and that proved to be interesting...

This picture is so funny. Can you spot me? My skiing style is impeccable.

On the same trip I also visited Annecy...

..and Geneva, Switzerland.

It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

"Africa" by Toto

I'm going back to Africa in July! I went to Namibia to work as a wildlife volunteer back in October last year, and I was itching to go back, so now I'm going to South Africa to do some more wildlife volunteering. I originally wanted to go back to Harnas in Namibia, but they were fully booked, so I have now booked my stay at the Lion Park outside Johannesburg instead. After two weeks working with lions and many other species, I fly down to Cape Town for a week of relaxation and sightseeing. Can't wait!

The latest Mulberry campaign pictures were shot in wonderful Brighton, which is one of my favorite cities in England.

Here I am in Brighton back in September 2006, all bright eyed and pig tailed, right after moving back to England to do my master's.

The Royal Pavillion is a former royal palace built as a home for the Prince Regent during the early 19th century and is notable for its Indo-Saracenic architecture and Oriental interior.

The Brighton Pier, which opened in 1899.

2012 has barely begun, and I'm already pondering about where I want to go on vacation this year. There's a world of possibilities out there, and I intend to make the most of this year. The only problem is that there are too many places I want to see and too little time and money. Here are some of my dream destinations that I haven't visited so far.

1. Chile, Peru and Equador

Easter Island, Chile

Ever since I was little, I have always wanted to go to Easter Island. It's such a fascinating place. However, it's a very expensive trip, and so far I haven't had enough time or money to realize my dream. I hope this year will be the year.

Machu Picchu, Peru

Machu Picchu is another place that's high on my list. And if I'm going to Chile anyway, it makes total sense to go to Peru, too.

Galapagos, Equador

If I have enough time and money, I wouldn't mind swinging by the Galapagos Islands as well.

2. Thailand and Cambodia

Krabi, Thailand

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Apart from two long stopovers at the airport in Hong Kong, I have never been to Asia. Thailand and Cambodia are pretty high on my dream destination list, and I hope to go to both places in one trip.

3. Japan

Mt. Fuji, Japan

I've been meaning to visit a friend of mine in Tokyo for years now. However, after the earthquake and the following nuclear leak last year, I've been a bit wary about going to Japan, so I want to make sure it's safe before I go.

4. The Maldives

This picture speaks for itself, doesn't it? The Maldives truly look like paradise on earth.

5. Namibia and South Africa

Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa

I went to Namibia to do volunteer work last year, and I really want to go back this year or the next. Only this time I want to visit South Africa as well, particularly beautiful Cape Town.

6. Barcelona, Spain

La Casa Batlló in Barcelona, Spain

Every year, I usually go on one long trip to another continent and a couple of shorter trips to European cities. This year I hope to visit Barcelona, Spain. I've actually never been to Spain, so this will be a new pin in my world map.

7. St. Petersburg, Russia

The Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg, Russia

As you may have noticed, I love architecture. I like walking around in beautiful cities all day taking pictures of the architecture and city life. From what I've heard, St. Petersburg is a stunning city. I would also love to see a ballet performance at the birthplace of classical ballet.

8. Italy

Venice, Italy

Rome, Italy

Tropea, Italy

I've been to Italy once before, but only in the north. Venice, Rome and Tropea are all on my list over places I want to visit in the near future.

9. Jordan

Petra, Jordan

I'm very interested in history and archeology, so naturally, Petra in Jordan is on my top ten list.

10. The Atlantic Road and Trollstigen, Norway

The Atlantic Road, Norway

Trollstigen, Norway

I've been meaning to take a road trip to the northern part of Møre and Romsdal for some time now. Maybe this will be the year I finally get to see this fantastic region.

It's been a month and a half since I returned from Namibia, and I still think about Harnas every day. I found this really cute video from Harnas on YouTube, but it just makes me miss the animals even more.

After one day in Namutoni, we drove along the Etosha Pan for most of the day, stopping at a few water holes on the way. We made a pit stop at the camp site in Halali for lunch, and arrived at the camp site of Okaukuejo in the afternoon.

Me standing by the Etosha Pan, which covers approximately 4731 square kilometers. At its widest point it is 110 km by 60 km. The pan is dry most of the year, except after heavy rains.

Zebras, zebras and more zebras.

Gemsboks.

Kudus by a water hole in Halali.

Zebras by a water hole in Okaukuejo.

Wildebeests.

A Southern yellow-billed hornbill.

I finally saw elephants!

A jackal scurried around our tents looking for scraps.

We were not allowed to drive in the park after dark, but there was a fenced-off water hole right next to our camp site. Two elephants came down to drink and splash water on themselves at sunset.

I saw two rhinos by the water hole after nightfall, and this is the only decent picture I have of them. We couldn't use flash because it could hurt the animals' eyes, so most of my other pictures turned out really blurry. I'm slowly getting better at holding the camera steady, though.

The next morning I hand-fed a group of ground squirrels that came to our camp site. One squirrel was particularly friendly.

And that was the end of my African adventure. Although I caught a stomach bug and was sick for one of the three and a half weeks I spent in Namibia, I can honestly say that this has been the best vacation I've ever had. It was an experience of a lifetime, and I'm so grateful that I got the chance to do this.

Already on our first day in Etosha, we hit the jackpot. A lion pride with two males, two females and eight lion cubs came up to our bus!

One of the daddies.

Mother and child.

The alpha male watched from a distance.

Four of the eight lion cubs.

The lion cubs were very interested in the people sitting in the cars. I have a whole series of photos where they're looking straight into my camera. They are so beautiful.

They weren't exactly shy...

A brave lion cub heads for the giraffes.

The next morning we saw three lions (perhaps from the same pride as the day before) fresh after a kill. They had blood all over their paws and around their mouths.

My last few days in Africa were spent in Etosha, a national park in the north of Namibia. The park was once the largest game reserve in the world, and the wildlife here is protected. I went on a safari with Bluecrane Safaris, which was an amazing experience that I'll never forget. Our first stop was Namutoni.

Springboks.

Giraffes look so funny when they drink.

It's sticking its tongue out to me!

Kudus and steenboks.

Pelicans.

The world's smallest antelope, the damara dik-dik.

Look at those doe eyes!

A wildebeest and an egret.

They were BFFs.

A gemsbok.

Burchell's zebras. They have black, white and brown stripes, as opposed to the Hartmann's mountain zebra, which only has black and white stripes.

The Sesriem Canyon was carved out by the Tsauchab River 30 million years ago, and is the second largest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon.

The animals in the Sesriem area sometimes go down to the waterhole in one end of the canyon to drink.

Before leaving our campsite, I just had to climb the camelthorn tree.

Our awesome tour group with our Namibian guides Richie and Jobe and my travel mates from China, the United States, Turkey, Italy, Germany and Japan.

Planking on our way back to Windhoek.

We drove through the Sossusvlei Corridor in the Namib desert and climbed the famous Dune 45 right before sunrise.

Dune 45 is 180 meters high, and one the tallest sand dunes in the world. It's really hard to walk in the sand, so the hike up to the top was strenuous, but so worth it.

I saw a mother and son running down the hillside, and it looked so much fun that I had to try it myself.

After mounting Dune 45, we started on a four hour hike through the desert.

The sand dunes have so many interesting shapes, and the contrast between the red sand and the blue sky is fantastic. The Namib Desert is the oldest desert in the world. The sand dunes don't change shape because the winds coming from all directions keep them in place. The sand contains high levels of iron that has literally rusted over the years, so that's why it's so red.

These spiky "melons" contain water. Good to know if you get lost in the Namib desert.

I had to empty my shoes every couple of hundred meters because they were so full of sand that it was painful to walk.

Standing on top of a sand dune, looking down on Dead Vlei (and our tour guide Richie).

Dead Vlei is a white clay pan located near the more famous salt pan of Sossusvlei. "Vlei" means "marsh" in Afrikaans, and water from the Tsauchab River used to flow into this area. However, around 900 years ago the climate dried up, and sand dunes cut off Dead Vlei from the river. The area became so dry that not only did the trees die, but it became too dry for them to even decompose.

We ran down this hill. It was so much fun!

Me doing the tree position.

The water hole at Sossusvlei.

We set up camp on the outskirts of the desert around a huge, old camelthorn tree.

After setting up the tents we went for a drive to a sand dune to watch the sunset.

Springboks.

You clearly see where the savanna ends and the desert begins.

I saw many of these huge nests in Namibia.

The nest was full of holes.

One of the birds that lived there.

Jumping on top of the world.

Nevermind my double chin and stiff smile... I look retarded, but the jump so good that I had to show you the picture.

A springbok came to the volunteer village.

So did a group of donkeys, and they really wanted attention.

Peacocks.

Vervet monkeys.

Herman with lioness Elsa, who's paralyzed from the waist down.

Elsa was moved to an enclosure next to the smallest leopard cubs, and she was VEEEERY interested in them for a while. Of course, the leopard cubs didn't understand how dangerous she was, and teased her through the fence.

The hyena Gumbi.

My group was responsible for feeding this little rascal and another macaw every day. He liked to hang from his beak and flap his wings.

Wild dogs.

Mmm... Milk!

This is one of over 20 dogs at Harnas, from teacup-sized Chihuahuas to Great Danes.

Big bugs.

There were turtles all over Harnas, and all the adult turtles had numbers painted on their shells. Whenever I saw this guy, he was doing another lady.

The vulture Asum, king of the chicken coop.

Jaco with Blommetije, an orphaned springbok baby.

Crocodiles.

Whenever an animal dies at Harnas, it is buried in this graveyard.

My room mates Natalie, Maya, Anne Line and I on our last night at Harnas. Miss you guys!

My room mate Maya and I with Athina.

Me trying to take a picture of myself with Athina.

Au revoir, Athina. I will be back.

Harnas houses a group of bat-eared foxes. They're so cute! One of them, Fatty, is so tame that he's almost like a dog.

Feeding Fatty strips of donkey meat dipped in milk.

The other bat-eared foxes were tame enough to hand-feed, but not tame enough to pet.

It looks like he's smiling when he's sleeping.

Fatty's such a cutie.

We had to cut a lot of gross donkey meat for all the carnivores on the farm.

The food prep area.

Mmm... Leftovers.

Feeding wild baboons on tour.

Throwing millipop.

Nice ass.

Tour guide Thomas ordering the leopard to climb the tree.

Mmm... Donkey meat.

One volunteer throwing half a donkey head over the fence.

We had many lions to feed.

Volunteers ready to do some kung fu cheetah fighting in the wild cheetahs' enclosure. Somehow I don't think those flimsy, little sticks would have been much protection if the cheetahs had attacked.

Caracal feeding.

Outside feeding in the late afternoon.

The cheetah is the fastest animal on the planet. They can't roar, but they can purr really loudly on both egressive and ingressive airstream. Cats that can roar only purr when they exhale. Cheetahs are also the only felines with non-retractable claws, so in that way they're more similar to a dog.

Fetching the cheetahs to feed them lunch.

Feeding time!

Me holding out a steak to hand-feed one of the cheetahs.

We could cuddle with them after feeding time. They purr really loudly and lick you. It's the best feeling in the world. That's why the cheetah is my favorite big cat.

Max and Moritz, two cheetahs that were part of the so-called Lifeline Project. They are tame and have their own enclosure on the farm, but they are released in the bush several times a week so they can hunt and be free. Harnas has successfully released a female cheetah, Pride, in the wild. She now lives in the bush full-time, but she has a GPS transmitter around her neck so it's possible to track her down. A research team does that several times a week to check up on her, and if you're lucky, she'll come up to you and cuddle. I sadly never got the chance to go on research, so that's one of my big regrets. Next time...

Max and Moritz with a wildebeest they caught. They were fiercly protective of the carcass, and it stunk up the place for days.

I couldn't bring my camera with me on my walks with the teenage baboons, but I took a chance and brought my camera with me on a walk with baby Chloé and the baby vervets Lolly and Isipho. They were too busy climbing trees in the bush to worry about my camera, so I got some great snapshots of them. I took some of my best pictures that day. I love the lighting in the pictures and the monkeys' different expressions.

Chloé.

Isipho.

Lolly.

Kitty carrying Chloé, Isipho and my camera bag.

Helle with Chloé.

Isipho could be very naughty and bite Chloé, and then all hell would break loose and Chloé would come sulking to us for comfort. But he also had his sweet moments.

Chloé getting ready to jump.

Playing dentist with Rikke.

A peaceful moment with Charlotte.

Every morning a few of the volunteers went on fence patrol before breakfast to count the more dangerous animals in the larger enclosures outside the farm, and to make sure there were no holes in or under the fences.

Free-roaming giraffes.

The enclosures were strictly off-limits unless we were with one of the Harnas employees.

Goooood morning! The lions' roar was the best alarm clock ever.

Jaco with one of the male lions.

African wild dogs, also called "painted dogs", are impossible to tame. They hunt in matriarchal packs, and communicate with each other with high-pitched noises to coordinate their movements before they go in for the kill. They pursue the prey in a long, open chase. Almost 80% of all wild dog hunts end in a kill. The success rate of lions, often viewed as the ultimate predators, is only 30%. Wild dogs have a bite force quotient measured at 142, the highest of any extant carnivorous mammal, and they are so ferocious that they often bite large chunks off of the prey while it 's still running.

Wild cheetahs.

Wild caracals.

Have a great weekend!

They're not exactly starving at Harnas...

One day when I was walking past the baboons' enclosure, I saw the mungooses up to no good. I have no idea what they were searching for, but the whole gang had dug a big ditch all around the foundation wall of one of the buildings, and were still digging like crazy when I came.

The tame mungooses Snoopy and Herman lived in a small enclosure, but the rest were free-roaming on the farm. Here Snoopy is trying to get under my top. They like boobs.

Herman posing for the photographer.

Mongoose feeding.

There were four tame caracals at Harnas. Two almost blind caracals, Romeo and Juliet, and two three-legged caracals, Thanda and Letago. Despite their handicaps, they live a very good life at the farm.

One morning the caracals seemed very interested in Elvis and Lloydie, the two baboons that lived next door.

They followed their every move.

What a beautiful cat.

For a long time the species was considered to be a close relative of the Eurasian lynx, and caracals were actually called African lynxes. However, DNA tests have shown that they are more closely related to the African golden cat and the serval.

There were free-roaming ostriches at Harnas, and they would often follow us down to the volunteer village and hang around our lapa, even drink from our pool. Many of the volunteers were scared of them, because they can bite really hard if they want to. So we tried to chase the ostriches away whenever they came to our village, but they always came back...

There were over 70 wild baboons, two orphaned baby baboons and eight tame teenage baboons at Harnas. We were not allowed into the enclosures where the wild ones lived, but the volunteers fed them every morning by throwing millipop, a sort of corn gruel, over the fence. However, we were allowed to interact with the teenage and baby baboons. I went on two baboon walks with the eight teenagers, which was an amazing experience. On the first walk we were only four volunteers, and the baboons didn't want to come with us at first. Then help came in the form of a black labrador. The baboons had grown up with him, and one of the them refused to leave the farm unless the dog went too. It was too adorable for words to see the monkey riding the dog as if it was a horse. The other baboons all wanted to sit on my shoulders, so the result was a lot of hair pulling, biting and a finger in my eye. We were told that they were probably going to test us by biting or pulling our hair, and if they did that, we were not supposed to scream, shout at them or pull away. Baboons are smart, curious creatures, and they may look a lot like humans, but they react totally different from humans when they get scared. Instead of running away from you, they get aggressive and bite even harder. And if one gets scared, they all gang up on you. Adult baboons have even longer canines than lions, so a baboon bite can do great damage.

Baboons like everything that sparkles, so I had to take off my watch and all my jewelry, and I also tucked my tank top into my shorts and wore a big sweatshirt over it so they wouldn't see my belly button ring. My room mate Natalie gave me the tip after she learned her lesson the hard way. They looked down her top, spotted something sparkly, and bit her all over her body to get to the belly button piercing. They also liked things they could chew or pull apart, so I didn't bring my camera with me on my two walks. I have no pictures of the baboons sitting on my shoulders, which I'm quite sad about, but at least I have the memories. One baboon in particular seemed to have a special liking for me. Jessica was the smallest of the eight and liked to sit on my shoulder and groom my hair, or even hang around my neck like a boa. Unlike the others, she was always very gentle with me. The leader of the group was the female Sana, and she always wanted to sit on men's shoulders. The baboons had more respect for men, particularly the bushmen, and we always had at least one man with us on walks. Sana was infatuated with the Danish volunteer Frederik, and would get jealous if one of us girls came too close to him. However, she warmed up to me a bit after I gave her a treat. The baboons loved a type of yellow flower that grows on bushes, so I picked a big handful of them, hid them in my pocket and let her dig them out. After that she always searched through my pockets whenever I saw her.

Sitting on top of the world.

My room mate Natalie loved the baboons.

The baboon baby Jannie snuggled inside the shirt of Herman, one of the Harnas employees.

Jannie with Rebekka, one of the volunteers. He loved to cuddle.

Chloé, the smallest baby baboon. She shared her cage with two baby vervets, Lolly and Isipho (called Easy-Poo because of his tendency to pee and poo on people). I'll post more pictures of Chloé and the vervets soon.

There were two sets of orphaned leopard cubs at Harnas. Two two-month-olds and four five-month-olds. Whereas lions and cheetahs who grow up in captivity can be tamed, leopards can not be fully tamed. They are much more agressive than the other big cats, and adult leopards are very unpredictable and dangerous. But oh my God, how beautiful they are.

My room mate Natalie and I slept in the two smallest leopard cubs' enclosure. They weren't cuddly, though. They slept in a tree until about 5.30 in the morning, when they climbed down and jumped on our heads. No more sleep after that! Some were brave enough to sleep out with the big four, but I actually like my face.

Three volunteers and I took the two smallest leopard cubs out for a walk in the bush. They loved it! I only brought my compact camera with me on the walk, and I still regret not bringing my good camera. They would have been the best pictures ever.

Showing some brother and sisterly love.

The girl is the most adventurous one of the two. She climbed the highest and walked the furthest into the bush. She wanted to walk towards an enclosure with wild caracals, so I had to pick her up and carry her back to the rest of the group over and over again. And she got mad as a hornet every time. She's growling in this picture.

One of the big four.

My favorite, Ingwe, aka Hellboy. He could be a little devil, but also very sweet. The four leopard cubs don't know their own strength, so they scratched me up pretty badly when I played with them.

Week-old scratches. I have the coolest scar now.

They don't look so big, but they are very bulky and muscly and incredibly heavy to lift. They're going to grow up to be beautiful killing machines. Their future is uncertain, but I hope they'll be released in the wild one day.

They were very curious about the vulture that lived next door.

I know this is leopard overload, but bear with me...

The meerkats Adam, Eve and Betty.

They liked playing dentist and tried to get their little paws in my mouth.

He's posing like a mini Napoleon.

Trouble in paradise.

A fight broke out over a hole in the ground that they all wanted to lie in. So funny.

The victor. Aaah, what a comfy hole!

Something interesting happened outside the enclosure.

Grooming time.

She's such a cutie. The first thing she did the first time we met was to lick me all over my face with her rough, little tongue. I miss her so much.

After three and a half weeks in lovely Namibia, I'm finally back in Norway. I'm glad to be back, but I feel as if I've left a piece of my soul at Harnas. The beautiful cheetah cub in the picture is called Athina, and she stole my heart. It was so hard to say good bye to her. I hope to go back to Harnas within a few years to see her all grown up. Tonight I've just relaxed, caught up on a couple of my favorite TV shows and looked through all the beautiful pictures I took on this trip. It will take some time to sort through them all, but I promise to show you my best shots in the coming week. I hope you are all having a great weekend. I'm completely knackered after traveling for 26 hours, so I'm going to bed now. Night!

After two weeks at Harnas, I'm now back in Windhoek. I left the farm yesterday morning, and I was so sad to go. I wanted to stay longer! Sorry about not posting any pictures from my stay here, but the internet connection in Namibia is terrible. However, I have so many good memories, stories and pictures that I want to share with you when I get back home next weekend. I have cuddled with grown cheetahs, gone on baboon walks, slept under the stars with two baby leopards, played with meerkats and mungooses, fed lions and other wild animals and cut a shitload of gross donkey meat. I met a lot of great people at Harnas, and on Wednesday this week all the Harnas volunteers and staff attended a spontaneous wedding between two Danish volunteers. It was so romantic! When I packed for this trip, I never imagined I would need a dress for a wedding, but luckily I packed two sun dresses. Tomorrow I go on a six day safari to the Sossusvlei desert and Etosha wildlife park, so hopefully I'll get more great pictures to share with you. Have a great weekend!

Today's the day. I'm going to Namibia in Africa for three and a half weeks! I have prepared a few blog entries that I will post during my stay, and hopefully I'll get to upload a few pictures while I'm there, too, but I won't be blogging every day. I will be too busy doing volunteer work at the wildlife orphanage Noah's Ark, where I'm staying for the two first weeks. Besides, I've been told that the internet connection is bad in Africa anyway. However, I promise loads and loads of beautiful and fun pictures when I get back home. And hopefully videos, too, because I'm bringing my video camera.

I'm going to the wildlife orphanage Noah's Ark in Harnas, three hours east of the capital city Windhoek. After two weeks there, I'm going on a safari trip to the Sossusvlei desert and the Etosha park.

In a couple of days, this will be me! (Pictures borrowed from Noah's Ark's website.)

So long, suckers;-)

I enter pretty much every competition there is, so here we go again... Cosmetic company IsaDora has a competition here at Blogg.no where you can win a trip for two to New York City - with shopping money! It's too good of an opportunity to miss. The only thing you have to do is to post a blog entry about the best day or experience you've ever had.

So what's the best day or expericence I've ever had? Tricky question. I'm not married, so I can't say my wedding day. I don't have kids, so I can't say the birth of my kids. I could describe the elation I felt when I graduated from university with distinction, which was something I had worked really hard for. I could tell you about the joy I experienced the day I got my first full-time job, the relief I felt when my favorite aunt went into remission after battling serious brain cancer, or describe the adrenaline that rushed through my body when I skydived, which was a life-long dream (55 seconds of free-fall, baby!). I could tell you about moments of everyday bliss with my boyfriend, family, friends and my beloved cats. There's not really one moment or experience that stands out, but in the spirit of the competition prize and this particular date (9/11), I've chosen to tell you about my trip to New York City last fall.

I've been to the United States plenty of times, and I've even lived there. I have visited 14 of the 50 states, and I recently came back home from a great trip to California. But none of the American cities I've visited can compare to The Big Apple. I love the noise, the fast pace, the fabulous people, the shopping (oh my God, the shopping!), the street fashion, the restaurants, the museums, the skyscrapers, all the sights and the fact that you don't need a car to get around town. But most of all I like the feeling that New York City is my playground - a magical place where anything can happen. I blame Sex and the City. To put it like Carrie Bradshaw: "I'm dating the city. I think it's pretty serious, I think I'm in love!" So NYC is a place I really want to revisit.

My boyfriend and I spent a week in New York almost exactly a year ago. I remember the exact date we left Norway because I didn't want to fly out on September 11. Al-Qaida are fond of symbolic dates and I didn't want to tempt fate, so we went the next day instead. New York City was our first stop on a three week trip to New York, Boston, Chicago, Madison and various places in Wisconsin and Illinois, where I have friends. Neither of us had been to The Big Apple before, so my expectations were sky-high. And I was not disappointed.

One of the first things we did, was to hit the huge designer outlet Century 21 right by Ground Zero. I found so many bargains there, including a black Michael Kors leather jacket which has become one of my absolute favorites. I'm blessed that I have a boyfriend who actually don't mind going shopping - as long as we look for things for him too (although there are limits to his patience). He came home with a great Calvin Klein suit and lots of other goodies. Some of the days we split up for a couple of hours so that I could go shopping while he relaxed at the hotel or explored the city on his own. I went to Bloomingdales and Bergdorf Goodman, many of the more reasonably priced chain stores and a couple of boutiques that sell vintage designer clothes. New York is really a shopping mecca.

One thing that surprised me about Manhattan was the amount of time it took to get from point A to B. We were going to NYC during New York Fashion Week, so Manhattan hotel prices were crazy high. After a lot of researching online, I gave up finding a decent Manhattan hotel that was within our budget, so we settled for a hotel in Brooklyn. The actual hotel was fine. It had just been renovated, so the rooms were tip-top. However, the neighborhood was a bit sketchy, and it took about half an hour to get to Lower Manhatten on the subway. So I've decided that I want to stay on Manhattan the next time I go to NYC. It's worth the extra money.

We hit many of the major sights, but opted out of going to the Statue of Liberty because we had heard that it took almost a whole day to get there and back, and you couldn't see much from the top of the statue anyway. Instead we took the (free!) ferry to Staten Island and back, and we got some fantastic shots of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. Later in the week, we also took a 20 minute helicopter ride over Manhattan, so we got plenty of great pictures of the city. We went to the Empire State Building, Times Square, Central Park, Ground Zero, the Financial District, Chinatown, Little Italy, Upper East Side, Greenwhich Village, The Meatpacking District, The Chrysler Building and the UN Building. We went shopping on 5th Avenue, ate at some of the nicest restaurants I've ever been to (I've never seen so many Hermés Birkin bags in one room) and saw the Broadway musical The Phantom of the Opera. I went on a guided Sex and the City bus tour, and my boyfriend went on a guided Sopranos bus tour to New Jersey and even got to meet one of the actors from the series. There were other places that we had planned to go to, but we ran out of time. Coney Island, Rockefeller Center, Williamsburg in Brooklyn, the Woodbury Common designer outlets, a New York City Ballet performance and several restaurants and art museums are at the top of my list the next time I go to NYC, which I hope will be soon.

So please, IsaDora, pick me as your New York "deligate". I promise to post great articles and pictures on my blog. And wear IsaDora make-up every day!

We took the ferry over to Staten Island and back to get some good shots of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.

The Flatiron Building.

Empire State Building.

The view from Empire State Building was fantastic.

Chrysler Building, my favorite skyscraper.

Details on the Chrysler Building.

Me posing in front of Carrie Bradshaw's front steps in Perry Street.

Ground Zero.

Wall Street.

New York Stock Exchange.

The Naked Cowboy on Times Square.

Times Square at night.

Grand Central Station.

Central Park.

Me and my "twin".

My boyfriend and I took a 20 minute helicopter ride over Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.

Manhattan with Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge in the background.

Central Park seen from the air. Pretty spectacular.

The Statue of Liberty.

Manhattan Bridge at night. So pretty.

We walked over Brooklyn Bridge at night.

The photograph that has become the signature picture on my blog. It was taken on Brooklyn Bridge.

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When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you

If your heart is in your dreams
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do

Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
  The sweet fullfillment of their secret longing

Like a boat out of the blue
Fate steps in and see's you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true

Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
As sweet fullfillment of their secret drowns
Like a boat out of the blue
Fate steps in and see's you through

-When You Wish Upon A Star performed by Jiminy Cricket

Main Street.

Toontown!

Goofy's house.

The Princess and the Frog.

I'm a child at heart, and I love Disney. So I just had to go to Disneyland when I was in LA. I went to all four parks in Disneyworld in Florida when I was 17, and I have good memories from that trip. But I had forgotten how many people there are in American amusement parks... I figured there wouldn't be that many people there on a Monday, but clearly I was wrong. You had to stand in line for over an hour for all of the rides, and I don't have that kind of patience in the scorching hot sun. It was so crowded and hot that I pretty much sat in the shade in a quiet corner of the park most of the day. And on top of that, my SLR camera broke down. I was pissed! That pretty much ruined the whole day. I don't think I'll go back to any Disney park until I have kids of my own. I feel like I kind of wasted a day that I could have spent in Hollywood or in Santa Monica. It was fun to se my old buddy Goofy again, though. Long time, no see, Goofers!

Everybody comes to Hollywood
They wanna make it in the neighborhood
They like the smell of it in Hollywood
How could it hurt you when it looks so good

Shine your light now
This time it's gotta be good
You get it right now, yeah
'Cause you're in Hollywood

There's something in the air in Hollywood
The sun is shining like you knew it would
You're ridin' in your car in Hollywood
You got the top down and it feels so good

I lost my memory in Hollywood
I've had a million visions, bad and good
There's something in the air in Hollywood
I tried to leave it but I never could

There's something in the air in Hollywood
I've lost my reputation, bad and good
You're ridin' in your car in Hollywood
You got the top down and it feels so good

Music stations always play the same songs
I'm bored with the concept of right and wrong

-Hollywood by Madonna

Kat von D's tattoo parlor, known from LA Ink.

The studio of the Jim Henson Company, creator of The Muppet Show, Sesame Street and my favorite, Fraggle Rock, which I actually wrote my masters dissertation about a few years ago.

The Larry Flynt building.

Paramount Pictures.

Johnny Depp's club, The Viper Room, on Sunset Strip. This is where River Phoenix overdosed and died.

The view from Hollywood Hills. The round, greyish white building that looks like a stack of records is the Capitol Records building.

Me with the Hollywood sign in the background. I'm out of focus, but that's what I get when I ask strangers to take my picture.

Me standing next to Shrek's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Cookie Monster and Big Bird!

My favorite actor.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

The Kodak Theatre, home to the Academy Awards.

This picture is taken from the Hollywood & Highland Center, where there's a good spot to take pictures of the Hollywood sign. The white church with the red ribbon is the church that was used in Sister Act.

The famous El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, where The Jimmy Kimmel Show is taped. Jimmy Kimmel is probably my favorite talk show host, and I used to subtitle his show into Norwegian until it stopped airing in Norway. Bring the show back!

The opera singer Kirsten Flagstad was the only Norwegian name I saw on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The intersection of Hollywood and Vine is where the great Hollywood adventure began all those years ago.

Where I come from isn't all that great
My automobile is a piece of crap
My fashion sense is a little whack
And my friends are just as screwy as me

I didn't go to boarding schools
Preppy girls never looked at me
Why should they, I ain't nobody
Got nothing in my pocket

Beverly Hills... That's where I want to be!
Living in Beverly Hills...
Beverly Hills... Rolling like a celebrity!
Living in Beverly Hills...

Look at all those movie stars
They're all so beautiful and clean
When the housemaids scrub the floors
They get the spaces in between

I wanna live a life like that
I wanna be just like a king
Take my picture by the pool
Cause I'm the next big thing in

Beverly Hills... That's where I want to be!
Living in Beverly Hills...
Beverly Hills... Rolling like a celebrity!
Living in Beverly Hills...

-Beverly Hills by Weezer

Via Rodeo, a walk street by Rodeo Drive.

Rodeo Drive.

Self-portrait.

Gucci...

...and Prada...

...and Choo, oh my!

The Beverly Wilshire Hotel, known from Pretty Woman.

The Farmer's Market, where celebs buy fresh produce and lots of other organic goodies.

The famous dog bakery at the Farmer's Market.

Caramel apples. Soooo good!

Lunch at Johnny Rockets. Combo platter with mini burger, hot dog and chili beef slider and a chocolate malt. Mmm... I LOVE chocolate malts! I always pig out when I'm in the United States...

And for dessert: Starbucks iced coffee with sugar-free hazelnut sirup. My favorite! I can't wait till next year, when Starbucks comes to Norway!

The Grove, a popular outdoor mall frequently visited by celebs.

The Harvard-Westlake School is a private school with approximately 1600 students enrolled in grades 7 to 12. The annual tuition is USD 29 000... Yikes! Notable alumni include Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tori Spelling, Lily Collins, Shirley Temple and Matthew Weiner (creator of Mad Men).

Britney Spears' house.

La Belle Vie, owned by Iris Cantor. Worth between 50 and 60 million dollars!

If I remember correctly, this is Val Kilmer's home.

Matt Damon's house.

The gate of Michael Jackson's last home, where he died.

We drove past the houses of  Anthony Kiedis (of Red Hot Chili Peppers), Nancy Reagan, Halle Berry, Rupert Murdoch, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Joan Collins, Ricky Martin, Reese Witherspoon, Jay Leno, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Mick Jagger (though he hasn't used the house for years) and Salma Hayek and Francois-Henri Pinault (CEO of PPR, owner of the Gucci Group). We also drove past the Playboy mansion, the Spelling mansion and the huge estate known as the Beverly Hillbillies Mansion. However, you couldn't see much because of the high fences and gates.

All I wanna do is have some fun
I got a feeling I'm not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
Until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard

-All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow

Santa Monica Pier

I found a war memorial right next to the pier. I thought it was a strange location for a memorial - with a rollercoaster, ferris wheel and screaming kids on the one side, and people sunbathing on the other. What a contrast.

See what I mean?

There were pictures of all the soldiers that have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I found a picture of a guy that I went to high school with in the United States. His name was Mike Wendling, and he was a few years younger than me. I didn't know him very well. We just passed each other in the hallways in school. But it's so sad that so many young men and women lose their lives before they've really started living. I think he was only 19 or 20 years old. Tragic. Rest in peace, Mike.

If you're looking to shop in Santa Monica, go to The Third Street Promenade and the adjacent Santa Monica Place. There you'll find popular chain stores and department stores such as Bloomingdales, American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch, Forever 21, American Apparel, Kitson, Armani Exchange, Fred Segal, Hugo Boss, Barney's, Tory Burch, Victoria's Secret, Michael Kors, Banana Republic, Foot Locker, etc. You'll also find plenty of cafés and restaurants there, as well as a couple of movie theaters. Santa Monica was walking distance from my hotel, so I went to see Bridesmaids one of the nights I was there. The movie was hilarious, but the highlight of my night was actually when the lady in the ticket booth carded me. Haha! I'm 29 and I got carded buying a ticket to a rated R movie! Talk about confidence booster;-)

Santa Monica Pier at night.

I had a lot of fun playing with my camera at the pier. I didn't use flash, so some of the snapshots turned out quite interestingly.

Psychic spies from China
Try to steal your mind's elation
Little girls from Sweden
Dream of silver screen quotations
And if you want these kind of dreams
It's Californication

It's the edge of the world
And all of western civilization
The sun may rise in the East
At least it settles in the final location
It's understood that Hollywood
Sells Californication

-Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers

More pictures from crazy cool Venice Beach.

Sadly, there were a lot of homeless people on Venice Beach.

Lots of people who begged me to take pictures of them...

The Starry Night mural.

Dress from Vila, bag from Mulberry, sandals from New Look and sunnies from Versace.

Venice got its name from Venice in Europe because of its many canals.

The house next to my hotel was so cool. It had wolf statues in the window sills, on the balcony and on the roof.

This picture is taken through the window of a moving car, so it's not very good. But the blue house with the mural of Jim Morrison used to be the rocker's house.

This picture is also taken out of a car window, so sorry about the glare. Lots of exentric houses in Venice...

And cars...

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Welcome to the jungle, we got fun and games
We got everything you want, honey, we know the names
We are the people that you find, whatever you may need
If you got the money, honey, we got your disease

In the jungle, welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your kn-kn-knees, knees
I wanna watch you bleed

-Welcome to the Jungle by Guns n' Roses

Venice Boardwalk is the perfect place for people watching.

Check out the Baywatch life preserver!

No stealing. No kidding.

I saw a lot of people exercising with these stupid boots on.

I got a random guy to take a picture of me in front of the Venice mural.

Muscle Beach, where Arnold Schwarzenegger trained between 1968 and 1975.

Instead of showing you the Guns n' Roses video, I want to show you a crazy cello version my boyfriend found on YouTube a couple of months ago. Hilarious!

As He Came Into The Window
It Was The Sound Of A Crescendo
He Came Into Her Apartment
He Left The Bloodstains On The Carpet
She Ran Underneath The Table
He Could See She Was Unable
So She Ran Into The Bedroom
She Was Struck Down, It Was Her Doom

Annie, Are You OK
So, Annie, Are You OK
Are You OK, Annie
Annie, Are You OK
So, Annie, Are You OK
Are You OK, Annie
Annie, Are You OK
So, Annie, Are You OK
Are You OK, Annie
Annie, Are You OK
So, Annie, Are You OK,
Are You OK, Annie

You've Been Hit By
You've Been Hit By
A Smooth Criminal

-Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson

The ferry building.

Bay Bridge.

We experienced strong winds on the ferry over to Alcatraz Island, and a seagull sort of wind-surfed and hovered over the ferry deck for several minutes.

Alcatraz means pelican in Spanish, and is a reference to the first inhabitants on this rocky, windswept island in San Francisco Bay. It lies 5 km east of the Golden Gate, and because of its strategic position the US military built a fort here in 1859. In 1907, it became a military prison, and from 1934 to 1963 it served as a maximum-security federal penitentiary.

Notice the "Indians Welcome" tag next to the United States Penitentiary sign. After the prison was closed in 1963 because of deteriorating buildings and high operating costs, the island was unoccupied until 1969, when it was seized by Indians of All Tribes laying claim to the island as their land. They were evicted in 1971, and the island has since then been part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The guard tower.

The Rock's water tower.

The prison gardens were meticulously kept by the inmates.

Seagulls and other birds have completely taken over the island.

The cell house contains four cell blocks.

Alcatraz was never filled to capacity, and the average number of inmates were approximately 260. The prison also had 90 correctional officers, most of whom lived on the island with their families.

The famous D Block, which had solitary confinement cells for unruly inmates. One of The Rock's most famous inmates, Robert "The Birdman" Stroud, spent all of his 17 years on Alcatraz in solitary confinement. Despite his nickname, he was prohibited from keeping birds in his cell. Other famous inmates were Al "Scarface" Capone, who served a five-year sentence for tax evation (and left Alcatraz mentally unbalanced), and George "Machine Gun" Kelly, who served 17 years for kidnapping and extortion. In the 19 years The Rock served as a federal penitentiary, 36 inmates tried to escape. However, all but five were recaptured. Three who were unaccounted for participated in the same breakout. The brothers John and Clarence Anglin and fellow inmate Frank Morris dug their way out and left dummy heads in their beds before they escaped The Rock on a raft. They were never captured. The June 1962 escape was immortalized in the movie Escape from Alcatraz with Clint Eastwood.

The prison library.

The menu from the day the prison closed. Inmates were actually well fed in order to quell rebellion.

The exercise yard.

The warden's house suffered extensive fire damage during the American Indian occupation, and soon after the birds took over the house.

Everywhere you look , everywhere you go (there's a heart)
There's a heart
A hand to hold onto

Everywhere you look , everywhere you go
There's a face
Of somebody who needs you

-The Full House Theme Song

Castro is the heart of the gay community in San Francisco, and the neighborhood around Castro Street is often called "the gayest four corners of the world". It was certainly a colorful district. The building with the big Castro sign is the famous Castro Theater. They were showing a Grease sing-a-long that week. How fun!

A colleague of mine, who was in town for the FIT Congress, came with me to Twin Peaks. However, since he's suffering from a severe fear of heights, he didn't want to walk up to one of the peaks with me. He was more comfortable standing in the middle of the road, so that's him way down there in the black outfit.

The view from Twin Peaks was fantastic.

Then the famous San Francisco fog started blowing in over the city, and before I knew it, it was overcast. It happened in a matter of minutes!

It was so cold and windy on Twin Peaks, and I wasn't exactly dressed for hiking. I hadn't planned to go to Twin Peaks that day, otherwise I would have worn jeans. Here I'm trying to avoid a Marilyn Monroe moment...

Waiting for the bus, I noticed something I've never seen before: pinecones growing on tree trunks. I've only ever seen them hanging from thin branches.

Postcard Row by Alamo Square, known from Full House.

City Hall.

I cringe when I watch the opening credits for Full House now. It's so gay! But I admit I used to watch the show, like everyone else my age.

After 11 days in California, I'm finally back home with a bad jetlag, almost empty bank account, huge credit card bill, a pile of new shoes, and cankles after the long flight home. It was an interesting experience to travel completely on my own for once. It was a little lonely at times, and I had to ask complete strangers to take pictures of me everywhere. Most of them had no clue about photography, so the pictures are crooked with tops of buildings cut off and things like that.  I had a few "hick-ups" on the way. Some unforseen expenses, like when I missed my flight in San Francisco, and the memory card in my SLR camera just suddenly stopped working when I was in Disneyland. I have to go to a photo store to see if they can retrieve any of the photos on it. I'm exhausted and nearly broke, but I'm home! Home, sweet home!

Well, I finally arrived in Los Angeles yesterday afternoon, two and a half hours later than planned. Long story short, the frickin' shuttle bus driver caused me to miss the check-in for my flight, even though I left the hotel two hours before my flight and the shuttle bus company promised the drive would take 20-30 minutes. I arrived 35 minutes before my flight, and by that time it was too late to check in luggage. I had to buy a new ticket. I was fuming. I haven't called the company to complain, but I'm going to write an email and rip them a new one when I get back home. Right now I'm sitting in my hotel room at the Cadillac Hotel on Venice Beach. For some reason I can't log onto the hotel's wireless network on my computer, so I can't upload any pictures. I'm writing from my iPod. You'll just have to be patient and wait till I get back home to see the pictures. But I'll tell you this much: the people here at Venice Beach are some interesting characters. So far I've explored all of Venice Beach and most of Santa Monica, and tomorrow I'm going into Hollywood and Beverly Hills. I plan to get an early start, so I better hop to bed. Peace out.

California knows how to party
California knows how to party
In the city of L.A.
In the city of good ol' Watts
In the city, the city of Compton
We keep it rockin'! Keep it rockin'!

I'm off to LA. Woohoo!

Does this place look familiar? Did you watch Full House growing up? This is the famous "Postcard Row" by Alamo Square.

I also went to Alcatraz later in the afternoon. I promise I'll show you more and better pictures later.

I went shopping today. Again. Bad Annie.

I have really bad blisters on my feet after walking so much the last few days, so I had to buy band-aids. I was so happy when I found Spongebob Squarepants band-aids at Walgreens! Haha! I also stocked up on my favorite skincare products plus a new, fabulous OPI nailpolish at Sephora. I save so much on skincare here.

A new, open cardigan from Abercrombie & Fitch.

It was really, really windy and cold up there, and I wasn't exactly dressed for hiking. H&M dress, Sam Edelman flats, Mulberry bag and Versace sunnies.

One of the twin peaks.

I have a new crush - on shoe designer Sam Edelman. I bought another pair of shoes today at Nordstrom... Gunmetal colored Sam Edelman leather flats with studs and rhinestones. I'm really, really bad when it comes to shoes. But aren't they cute?

If you're going to San Francisco
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
If you're going to San Francisco
You're gonna meet some gentle people there

For those who come to San Francisco
Summertime will be a love-in there
In the streets of San Francisco
Gentle people with flowers in their hair

All across the nation, such a strange vibration, people in motion
There's a whole generation with a new explanation, people in motion

For those who come to San Francisco
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
If you're going to San Francisco
You're gonna meet some gentle people there

I'm off to San Francisco today! I'm not particularly looking forward to the two long flights from Oslo to New York and New York to San Francisco (20 hours in total...), but it will be worth it. I'm going to attend the international FIT translation conference from Monday till Thursday, but hopefully I'll have time to go sightseeing in between the seminars. Can't wait!

My trip to California is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I can barely wait! I'm going to spend six nights in San Francisco and four nights in Los Angeles, so I've bought travel guides for both cities. I've been to the United States plenty of times, even lived there, but I've never been on the West Coast, so that's going to be a new experience. Before a trip, I always read up on the countries and cities I'm going to visit, and plan which sights to take in. Sometimes even which restaurants to eat in and which stores to shop in. So I'm definitely not a "go with the flow" kinda gal. After much consideration, I booked my hotels two weeks ago. In San Francisco I'm staying at a hotel near Union Square, which is a good starting point for shopping and sightseeing. In L.A. I've booked a hotel right on the Board Walk at Venice Beach, and I'm going to be disappointed if I don't see muscle men, life guards in red bathing suits, cops on bikes and skinny girls with implants wearing minimal bikinis and roller blades. Why yes, I watched a lot of Baywatch and Pacific Blue growing up.

I've been super touristy all weekend because I've been showing my Colombian friend around town. The weather wasn't too good yesterday (although according to Yr.no it was supposed to be sunny all day. I'm so suing them!), but we decided to brave the rain and go out anyway. We took a stroll around the new commercial buildings in Bjørvika and visited the new ski jumping hill and ski museum at Holmenkollen.

I'm wearing a Lindex top, Tiger of Sweden jeans, Mango jacket, Office sneakers, Chanel bag, my new strand necklace and Ray-Bans.

We went to Holmenkollen to see the new ski jumping hill.

The top of the ski jumping hill had a fantastic view of Oslo.

Holmenkollen Chapel.

My boyfriend and I have shown my Colombian friend around town, and yesterday we took him to Bygdøy in the Oslo Fiord. First we hit the Viking Ship Museum, and then we went on a guided tour of Oscarshall Castle, which is one of my favorite places in Oslo.

Me posing in front of the Oseberg ship, which dates back to 800 AD. It was excavated in 1904-1905 and is the best preserved of the three viking ships at the museum.

Look at the beautiful carvings. It's amazing that this wooden ship is over 1200 years old.

The Oseberg ship.

The Gokstad ship dates back to the 9th century, and was excavated in 1880.

The Tune ship dates back to around 900 AD, and was excavated in 1867.

The museum has also displayed different artefacts found on the ships.

After the Viking Ship Museum we strolled over to Oscarshall Castle.

Oscarshall Castle was built for King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway in 1852. It was designed by the Danish architect Johan Henrik Nebelong, and has only been used as a holiday home. We joined a guided tour of the castle, but unfortunately you're not allowed to take pictures inside. So the next picture is borrowed from the Norwegian royal family's website:

My favorite room in the castle: The ultramarine foyer.

I'm wearing a By Malene Birger dress, H&M belt and sandals, Mulberry bag and Ray-Bans.

The castle's boat house down by the harbor.

A friend of mine from Colombia arrived yesterday and I showed him around town. Our last stop of the day was the Vigeland Park, which I think is one of the most beautiful places in all of Oslo. I like to be a tourist in my own city sometimes. It's easy to forget to really explore the city you live in, but I make sure I do that whenever I get visitors.

Me standing next to my favorite sculpture in the whole park - a baby in a mother's belly.

The Angry Boy.

I'm wearing jeans from Tiger of Sweden, top from Topshop, ballet flats from Marc by Marc Jacobs and sunglasses from Ray-Ban.

All of the sculptures are made by Norwegian artist Gustav Vigeland, who lived from 1869 to 1943.

The Monolith.

I finally got around to see the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie over the weekend, and I noticed that they had shot the opening scenes at Hampton Court Palace. I visited the palace back in 2007, when I still lived in England. The palace is situated in Richmond upon Thames, about 20 km southwest of London, and was built by King Henry VIII (the one with all the wives) for his friend Cardinal Woolsey in 1514. However, King Henry took back the property in 1529 when Woolsey fell out of His Majesty's good graces. The following century King William III rebuilt and added on to the palace to make it rival the Versailles of France. Thus the palace has two distinctive architectural styles: tudor and baroque.

You find the palace's website here.

Picture from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie set at Hampton Court Palace.

The Great Gatehouse at Hampton Court Palace.

Gargoyles guard the palace entrance.

The astrological clock above Anne Boelyn's Gate.

The Fountain Court.

The King's Staircase. Soon after taking this picture, a guard informed me about the photo ban inside the palace. So the next two pictures are borrowed from a London tourist website.

The Chapel.

The Great Hall, which you can actually rent for weddings!

The palace gardens are absolutely amazing, with beautifully arranged flower beds, trimmed bushes and trees, fountains, a maze and a large, artificial lake.

The Privy Garden.

Afterwards we walked along the river Thames to Kingston.

Kingston upon Thames.

It's been raining non-stop for a week, so I was so happy when I woke up to sunshine this morning. I've been cooped up indoors all week, so I wanted to go out and do something. I decided to visit the National Gallery, because I hadn't been there for over two years. Afterwards I just walked around and soaked up the sun.

The National Gallery. Surprisingly, you're allowed to take pictures of the art.

Edvard Munch's Madonna.

Edvard Munch's Scream.

Theodor Kittelsen's Soria Moria.

Self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh.

Tidemand and Gude's The Bridal Party.

My favorite painting in the whole museum, Harald Sohlberg's Winter Night in Rondane.

Coffee break. Cappuccino and New York style cheesecake. Yummers!

The Royal Palace.

The National Theater.

A quote by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen on the sidewalk: "Vi ejer Tiden; men Tiden ejer ogsaa os." We own the time, but the time owns us, too.

Karl Johan Street.

Stortinget, the parliament building.

Ekeberg Restaurant.

The fantastic view of Oslo from Ekeberg Restaurant.

The opera house.

I'm wearing a dress and trilby from H&M, sunnies from Ray-Ban and earrings from Argos.

Leather bag from Marc by Marc Jacobs.

Sandals from River Island.

Sjømannsskolen with Oslo in the background.

The Oslo Fiord.

Relaxing in the sun with a good magazine. I've had a great day!

I didn't win the trip to India, but I'm not moping (not too much, anyway). It's settled! I'm going to Namibia in Africa for three weeks in October! I'm going to stay at the ranch Noah's Ark for two weeks to work with wild animals, and after that I will go on a desert safari to Sossusvlei. Hopefully I'll have time to see the beautiful coastal town of Swakopmund as well.

The Noah's Ark project is situated 250 kilometers east of the capital Windhoek, close to the border of Botswana. Over the past 30 years, the family ranch has taken care of orphaned, injured, abused and neglected wild animals, and they now house over 25 species, including lions, cheetahs, leopards, baboons, meerkats, antelopes, vultures, wild dogs, etc. The farm relies significantly on volunteer work, so that's what I'm going to be doing for two weeks. It's hard, unglamorous work, but I will also have time to just hang out with the animals. I'm especially excited about seeing the big cats.

Volunteer duties at Noah's Ark include:

• Feeding cheetahs and baboons (twice a day)
• Feeding and meal preparation for other wildlife (4-5 times a day)
• Caring for, hand rearing and cleaning baby animals
• Night duty of infant animals (surrogate parenting in bed)
• Cleaning the enclosures
• Assisting with repair and building of structures on the farm
• Building wildlife camps
• Erecting fences around Noah's Ark
• Assisting in the clinic with injured animals
• Training to assist as field guide for daily tours of Noah's Ark
• Assisting at the local bushman clinic

I booked my stay at the ranch through X-Plore, but you can also book directly with Noah's Ark.

Pictures from Noah's Ark:

Pictures above borrowed from X-plore.

The Sossusvlei desert.

A video made by a volunteer at Noah's Ark:

Escada obviously liked my blog entries about Australia and New Zealand, because I've been picked as one of the 20 finalists in the Escada Taj Sunset competition! I'm one step closer to winning a trip for two to Goa in India! I guess they only could pick one of my four entries, so they chose the one I wrote about Queensland (read it here). The voting starts today, and you can vote once a day until the winner is announced on Sunday. So please, pretty please, help me win this trip to Goa. Tell all your friends and remember to vote for me every day! If you've read my blog, you know how much I like to travel and how much this would mean to me. I promise that if you help me win, I will take lots of pictures and be a good blogger. Go to www.escada.blogg.no and vote now! (For those of you who don't understand Norwegian, just press the "STEM" button next to my name.)

This is my fourth and final entry in Escada Perfumes' blogger competition here at blogg.no. I'm trying to win a trip for two to beautiful Goa in India, and to do that, I have to write about my fondest summer memory. I spent four weeks in Australia and New Zealand in 2009, and that turned out to be the best vacation of my life. Read my first three entries about Australia here,  here and here.

After spending three weeks in Australia, my boyfriend and I flew to Auckland, New Zealand. We stayed in Auckland for one night before we rented a car and explored the central part of the North Island for seven days.

Auckland Sky Tower.

I did the Sky Walk, a 360 degree walk around the Sky Tower, 192 meters above the ground.

We visited Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, which is an active geothermal area in New Zealand's Taupo Volcanic Zone.

The Champagne Pool. The intense orange color originates from deposits of arsenic and antimony sulfides, and the hot spring has a temperature of 73 °C. That's one hell of a hot tub!

The sulphur smell was overwhelming. No amount of Taj Sunset could disguise the intense odour of fart!

The Devil's Bath. It looks like a pool full of snot.

I went on a dolphin safari - but didn't see a single dolphin although we were out at sea all day.

I tried kayaking.

I did, however, see a seal. Moments after taking this picture, I actually crashed into the poor creature with my kayak.

In Te Puia, a maori park in Rotorua.

Maori warriors outside a temple.

I bought a similar, but much smaller mask to hang on my wall.

Short name...

We went to a sheep shearing show in Rotorua.

I tried zorbing in Rotorua. I'm inside the giant plastic ball going down the hill.

Tongariro National Park, which was used to film the Mordor scenes in The Lord of the Rings.

We stayed at the Hobbit Motel in Waitomo.

The Aranui Cave in Waitomo.

A random ostrich we saw at a farm. He wanted to protect his little lady friends and show who's the boss, so he spread his wings and moved his head frantically from side to side to scare us off.

Skydiving in Matamata was one of the highlights of the whole trip. I thought it would be scary, but it wasn't. I jumped from 12 000 feet, and experienced 55 seconds of free fall in 260 km/hr before the parachute opened. What an adrenaline rush!

Our last stop was Hobbiton in Matamata, where they filmed parts of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. This is Bilbo and Frodo's hobbit hole, Bag End. Read more about Hobbiton here.

I have great memories from Australia and New Zealand, and it really was the best vacation ever. I'm definitely going back someday, but in the mean time I hope to go to gorgeous Goa in India! So pretty please, Escada, pick me as one of your finalists in your competition!

Innlegget er et bidrag i ESCADA Taj Sunset-konkurransen, klikk HER for mer.

This is my third entry in Escada Perfumes' blogger competition here at blogg.no. I'm trying to win a trip for two to beautiful Goa in India, and to do that, I have to write about my fondest summer memory. I spent four weeks in Australia and New Zealand in 2009, and that turned out to be the best vacation of my life. Read my first two entries about South Australia and New South Wales here and here.

After five days in Sydney, we flew to Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays. The Whitsunday Islands are perhaps the most perfect place I've ever been. The group of islands is situated on the Great Barrier Reef, perfect for sailing, diving and snorkeling. We stayed at a resort on Long Island for three nights, and went on a day cruise to the other islands.

Sunset on Long Island. Perfect for Taj Sunset!

Hook Island.

Fish feeding on Hook Island.

Snorkeling outside Hook Island. Funny story. I managed to pop both my eardrums... The snorkeling mask wasn't air tight, so I got water in my nose. When I blew my nose, both my ears went poof, and large amounts of blood came out of my ears. I was half deaf for the rest of the trip. This has happened to me before, though, so I wasn't too worried.

The picturesque Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island.

I had to sneak in a picture I copied from Google. It's an aerial photo of the inlet by Whitehaven Beach. Beautiful, isn't it?

The fish at Whitehaven Beach were white as the silica sand, almost see-through. What a camouflage.

Daydream Island.

Trust me... I'm a cat! So random...

After three days in the Whitsundays, we took the ferry to Airlie Beach, where a Wicked camper was waiting for us. Since Airlie Beach is such a remote place, we had made reservations with Wicked Campers before we left Norway to make sure they had an available car. We wanted to have the freedom to drive wherever we wanted and not worry about finding a hotel room late at night. Therefore a camper seemed like the perfect choice. I wish we had rented a small car instead, though. The Wicked camper was an old, converted Toyota spray painted in crazy colors. Since my boyfriend was ill, I had to do most of the driving. It was my first time driving on the opposite side of the road, so I was a bit nervous. It didn't help that it looked like a giant toaster. The car was so tall and narrow that it felt as if it was going to tip over whenever I made a turn. We weren't allowed to drive faster than 80 km/hr because of the car's useless radiator. For some strange reason Australians don't use cooler in their radiators, so they easily boil over. We had a radiator gauge on the dashboard that told us when it was about to boil over, and we had to stop every two hours or so to air out the car because the motor was under the driver's seat. To make matters worse, I had booked us two seats on a tour bus going from Hervey Bay to Fraser Island the next morning. I'm an eternal optimist, and when I planned the trip, I thought it would be a piece of cake to drive from Airlie Beach to Hervey Bay in one day. Maybe it would have been a piece of cake if I hadn't driven a toaster with a useless radiator, but now we were stuck with this monster camper, and we had to cover 925 km in less than 24 hours. Nothing "wicked" about it. As we left the car rental, the lady said: "Oh, by the way, you're not allowed to drive after dusk because of all the kangaroos. If you hit a kangaroo after dark, your insurance policy will be void." Thanks a lot, lady. The Fraser Island trip was expensive and non-refundable, so we decided to ignore her warnings and keep driving after dusk. We had to slow down a bit, though, because I was terrified of hitting a roo. Every 200-300 meters or so we saw a dead roo lying on the side of the road, so it was a real danger. About half-way, in Rockhampton, we had to drive through a forest fire. We couldn't see the flames from the road or anything, but we could certainly smell and see the smoke, and we listened to the local radio station in case the fires were coming our way. We got through Rockhampton, safe and sound, and got about two or three hours of sleep that night in the back of our camper before we had to keep driving. We arrived in Hervey Bay 07.55 and pulled into the first parking lot we saw. It turned out to be a private parking lot, and the parking attendant's office was empty, so we had to leave the car without paying a parking charge. That pretty much ruined our whole day on Fraser Island, because we were so worried the car would be towed. However, when we got back to Hervey Bay that night, the parking attendant hadn't even noticed it was there.

A sticker on our dashboard said: "Kangaroo's (Aussies obviously can't spell) - Run the fuckers down!"

Fraser Island is the world's largest sand island, and was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1992. It was at one point called Great Sandy Island, but got its current name after Scottish captain James Fraser and his wife Eliza shipwrecked outside the island in 1836. They were captured by Aborigines, and the captain was later killed. Eliza survived captivity and moved back to Great Britain, where she sold her sensasional story to the newspapers.

There are no paved roads on the island, just dirt roads. Consequently you're not allowed to enter the island without a 4 wheel drive car or bus. We booked a day tour with a 4 wheel drive bus, and it was quite an experience to ride in a full-size bus on the narrow, bumpy dirt roads through the bush. Once I forgot to fasten my seat belt, and the bus hit a big bump in the road. I jumped so high in my seat that I actually bumped my head on the ceiling.

The rain forest in the heart of the island.

Fraser Island is one of the few places where you still can see wild dingos.

The Pinnacles - one of many sand formations on the island.

Eli Creek.

The shipwreck Maheno on Seventy-Five Mile Beach.

Fraser Island has over 100 freshwater lakes, and Lake McKenzie is one of the most beautiful. The sand around the lake is pure, white silica sand, and the water is so alkaline that most fish can't survive in it. We used the sand as an exfoliator and rubbed it all over our bodies before washing it off in the lake. Because the lake is so alkaline, you don't need soap or shampoo. Both my skin and hair felt super soft afterwards. It was like a free spa!

Surfer's Paradise seen from The Spit.

At a sea lion show at Sea World in Surfer's Paradise. The sea lion and his helpers are on the lookout for criminals.

At a dolphin show at Sea World.

A polar bear at Sea World.

Feeding lorikeets at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane.

Kicking it back with a roo.

This is probably my favorite photo from the whole trip. I came close to winning a photo competition at vg.no with this photo.

The peacock is my favorite bird.

Koalas have a slow metabolism and sleep most of the day.

This picture is incredibly gross, but I had to include it. It's an owl with a half-swallowed mouse in its mouth.

That's it from Queensland. Check out my blog later tonight to read my final entry in the Escada Taj Sunset competition. Apparently the competition ends today (I thought it was next week), and I want to finish what I started, so there will be one more entry about New Zealand.

Innlegget er et bidrag i ESCADA Taj Sunset-konkurransen, klikk HER for mer.

This is my second entry in Escada Perfumes' blogger competition here at blogg.no. I'm trying to win a trip for two to beautiful Goa in India, and to do that, I have to write about my fondest summer memory. I spent four weeks in Australia and New Zealand in 2009, and that turned out to be the best vacation of my life. Read my first entry about South Australia here.

With a population of 4.5 million, Sydney is the largest city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Because we had only four weeks to explore all of Australia and New Zealand, we couldn't stay in one place for more than a few days. We stayed in New South Wales for five days, using Sydney as our base. Because my boyfriend was ill (read my previous blog entry), we couldn't go at a fast pace. But we still saw and experienced quite a lot, and I have great memories from Sydney. I even had time for a bit of shopping, which was nice. The weather was so-so. We experienced everything from clear skies to rain in the five days we were there, and it was much colder than I had expected. Queensland, however, was warm and lovely.

Sydney Opera House with Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.

Sydney Opera House was designed and built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, and it opened in 1973. Since then it's been one of the most iconic buildings in the world.

I always thought the opera house was plain white, but it's actually covered in tiles in two different cream colors.

The opera house seen from the side.

Sydney skyline.

An Aborigine playing the digeridoo.

Inside a humongous tree in the Royal Botanical Gardens.

The fountain in Darling Harbour. Nevermind my boring outfits in these blog entries. It's impossible to look good when you're backpacking Down Under. Practicality trumps vanity. And I also gained like four or five kg from all the fatty and sugary food. I have a tendency to do that on longer vacations... But luckily it usually drops off within a week or two when I get back home.

Sydney Tower.

The view from Sydney Tower.

Lovely Manly.

The Chinese Garden in Sydney.

There were lizards everywhere in the garden.

Me making an ass out of myself in a traditional Chinese costume.

I love bonsai trees!

Bondi Beach. We were there in spring/early summer, and the weather was cold and overcast, so the beach was almost deserted apart from a few hardcore surfers.

"You know we belong together. You and I forever and ever..." I spent a day in Palm Beach, aka Summer Bay, about two hours north of Sydney. Read more about it here.

If you're going to Sydney, I really recommend spending a day or two in the Blue Mountains, a couple of hours west of Sydney. The landscape is absolutely breathtaking, and there are plenty of walking trails if you're fond of hiking. Just remember to stick to the marked trails (otherwise you might get lost!), bring water and wear good shoes.

Here I am with the Three Sisters in the background.

Wild cockatoos in the Blue Mountains.

Innlegget er et bidrag i ESCADA Taj Sunset-konkurransen, klikk HER for mer.

Escada Perfumes has a blogger competition going on here at blogg.no where you can win a trip for two to beautiful Goa in India. I enter pretty much every competition there is as long as it's free, and I've actually won quite a few in my time. No money prizes, but I've won several tickets to concerts, festivals and sporting events, gift cards and stuff like that. My friends compare me to Gladstone Gander (Fetter Anton, for those of you who haven't read Donald Duck comics in English), but if you enter a lot of competitions, you are bound to win one sooner or later. I've never won a trip, though, so that would be neat. To enter the competition, I have to write about my fondest summer memory. And I intend to do just that. I went to Australia and New Zealand for one month in 2009, and it was the best vacation ever. I can't sum the whole trip up in just one blog entry, so I've decided to divide the story into four entries: South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and New Zealand.

I saved up for this trip for over a year, and planned it to every detail. I had wanted to go to Oceania since I was a child, so my expectations were enormous. It turned out to be both the best and the worst vacation I've ever had. I loved the places we visited, the animals we saw and the people we met, and I would have loved to stay there longer. However, my boyfriend got very ill on the way to Adelaide, and even though he eventually got better, he struggled with this medical problem the entire trip and had to see several doctors and hospitals. It started on our stopover in London, where he had to go to the E.R. We missed our flight, but decided to take another flight the next day. After a 16 hour stopover in Hong Kong, we finally arrived in Adelaide, South Australia, three days after we had left Oslo. We were exhausted. Especially my boyfriend, who was still ill and sleep deprived. But we had a tight schedule to follow, and sadly, because we had lost one day already, that meant we didn't have time to see much of Adelaide. My boyfriend decided to rest and get some sleep while I went on a day trip to Kangaroo Island, which I had already booked for the two of us before we left Norway. Kangaroo Island was awesome, but I wish I would have gone on the two-day trip instead of the one-day trip, because there was so much that I didn't get to see on the island. It's definitely a place I want to revisit somtime in the future.

Kangaroo Island is Australia's third largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is situated around 112 km southwest of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It's one of the state's largest tourist attractions with more than 140 000 visitors each year. British explorer Matthew Flinders gave the island its name after landing there in 1802, and there's also a huge national park named after him called Flinders Chase National Park. The island has a population of about 4260, and the two largest townships are called Kingscote and Penneshaw. To get to the island, you can either fly into Kingscote airport or take the Sea Link ferry from Cape Jervis on the mainland. I chose to book a seat on a tour bus that picked me up from my hotel in Adelaide, but you can also rent a car if you'd rather explore the island on your own.

Kangaroo Island

Our first stop after landing in Penneshaw was Seal Bay Conservation Park on the south side of the island, which has a large colony of Australian sea lions. In order to protect the animals from the visitors (and the visitors from the animals), you're not allowed onto the beach without a park guide. Some of the male sea lions are really big brutes, and they can move very quickly if they feel threatened.

Me standing in front of a large male basking in the sun.

Australian sea lions relaxing on the beach in Seal Bay after a few long days out at sea. The Australian sea lion is an endangered species, and there are only around 14 730 left of them in the world. It only breeds on the south and west coast of Australia.

After Seal Bay and a quick lunch, the group was treated to an Australian birds of prey presentation.

Bird handler Dave Irwin with a tawny frogmouth, a bird with frog-like features.

Casper the Owl liked to sit on people's laps and be cuddled with. He was super soft!

This nankeen kestrel was super fast in the air.

Me holding the laughing kookaburras Banjo and Clancy.

Jedda, a beautiful, male wedge-tailed eagle.

After the birds of prey presentation, we hopped on our bus and drove to Remarkable Rocks, which are naturally sculptured formations balanced atop a granite outcrop.

Next stop was Cape du Couedic, the south-western point on the island.

Admiral's Arch at Cape du Couedic is a natural arch shaped by the ocean. The area is also home to a large colony of New Zealand fur seals.

The Cape du Couedic lighthouse.

And then it was time to go back to Adelaide. I would have liked to se Little Sahara (huge sand dunes on the south side of the island), the Penguin Centre and the birdlife in Murray Lagoon, but that'll have to wait till next time I go to Australia. On the way back to the ferry, the bus driver almost hit a Kangaroo Island kangaroo, a subspecies of the western grey kangaroo unique to this island. They rest in the shadow all day and come out at dusk. The kangaroo came out of nowhere and the bus driver had to hit the breaks really hard. It happened so fast that I didn't have time to get my camera out, so sadly I don't have any kangaroo pictures from the island.

The next day we went to visit friends in Gumeracha, a small town about an hour outside of Adelaide. I spent half the day in Gorge Wildlife Park, a small zoo outside Gumeracha. I'm a big animal lover, and although I love taking pictures of people, landscapes and great architecture, there's just nothing like a good animal snapshot.

Dingo.

An albino peacock.

An albino wallaby with a joey in its pouch.

A cassowary - a big, mean bird!

Fruit bats.

Pelicans.

Koala cuddle!

Group meeting.

Beautiful mandarin ducks.

So tired...

They loved popcorn.

That's all from South Australia. Tomorrow I'm going to tell you all about the places we visited in New South Wales. So long!

Innlegget er et bidrag i ESCADA Taj Sunset-konkurransen, klikk HER for mer.

Ancient Thira (or Thera - both names are used) is an ancient city situated 360 m above sea level on the mountain Messavouno. It got its name from the island's mythical ruler, Theras, and was inhabited from the 9th century BC until 726 AD. To get to this ancient city, you can either hike from Kamari or Perissa, or you can drive up the winding road from Kamari. We rented a car in Kamari and followed the steep, narrow hairpin bends up to the ancient city. I had to drive on first gear and pray that I didn't meet any cars going in the opposite direction, because there was hardly any room to pass, and no safety fence... Luckily we met only two cars on the way up and one on the way down.

Ancient Thira with the mountain Profitis Ilias in the background.

It was incredibly windy in Ancient Thira. I can't imagine how it would be like to live in a windswept place like this. Trenchcoat from Banana Republic.

The town of Perissa seen from Ancient Thira.

Akrotiri lighthouse on the southwestern tip of the island.

I'm wearing an H&M dress, Moschino belt, Din Sko sandals and Ray-Bans.

Black Beach.

Santorini - where stuffed animals go to die?

Trying to click my heels mid-air!

Gorgeous Imerovigli, the last stop on our trip.

I do love my churches.

In my opinion, Oia (pronounced Eea) is the most beautiful place on Santorini. The town is situated on the northwestern tip of the island, and every day people flock here to watch the sunset.

We stopped for coffee, pancakes and Greek yoghurt with honey at a café with an amazing view of the city and the caldera.

Fun details.

Dogs run loose on the island. At first I thought they were strays, but then I realized there's no leash law, and that all dogs run loose.

I'm wearing a Topshop kimono and bag, H&M tank top, Guess jeans, New Look sandals and Ray-Bans.

The three blue domes in Oia are one of the most iconic images in Greece.

As you may have understood by now, I absolutely love to take pictures on vacation and share my memories with others. I know it's picture overload, but bear with me.

My boyfriend and I travelled to Santorini with Apollo, and they offered all kinds of day trips to various places. We decided to take a day trip out to the volcano, Nea Kameni, and the nearby island of Thirasía. It was a wonderful day, the weather was windy, but warm, and I got plenty of great snapshots to share with you.

Santorini (also called Thira), Nea Kameni and Thirasía used to be one single island, but after an enormous volcanic explosion 3500 years ago, the center part of the island sunk into the ocean and a caldera was formed. The explosion killed all the Minoans living on the island at the time, and the island stayed uninhabited for 500 years.

Nea Kameni is a dormant volcano, but it is closely monitored by scientists in case of an eruption. The uninhibited island was formed over the past two millennia by repeated eruptions of lava and ash. Major eruptions are documented to have taken place in 1707-1712, 1866-1870, 1925-1928, and 1939-1941. The last eruption took place in 1950 and didn't cause any damage. In 1956 a strong earthquake hit the islands, killing 57 people and destroying many of the buildings on Santorini. Many expected a following eruption, but it failed to take place.

Starting on the 1.5 km long hike up to the crater.

The volcanic crater.

I'm not particularly scared of heights.

On the other side of the volcano, those who wanted could jump from the boat into the ocean and swim to the hot springs in the cove. You had to swim about 50 meters in cold water before you reached the hot springs. It was also very windy that day, and I'm a wimp when it comes to cold temperatures, so I decided to stay in the boat.

There are churches in the strangest places on these islands. Where else can you find a church on a volcano?

 After a refreshing dip in the water (for some of us), we sailed to the nearby island of Thirasía.

I'm wearing a Ralph Lauren shirt, Primark shorts, Topshop bag, Office sneakers, Gina Tricot hairband and Ray-Bans.

On our way back to the port of Athinios we sailed past all the villages on the edge of the caldera. This is Oia.

Like I said, churches in the strangest places...

Close-up shots of picturesque Oia taken with my long lens. I love the blue domes.

This monastery in Imerovigli is depicted on many postcards from Greece.

Imerovigli.

Firá.

The winding road down to the port in Firá.

Firá is the capital on Santorini, and the largest town on the island. It is situated approximately 400 meters above sea level on the western side of the island, clinging to the edge of the caldera. The view from the town's many restaurants and cafés is absolutely breathtaking, and it's especially beautiful at sunset. Firá is also a great place to buy sterling silver and gold jewelry. There are small jewelry shops everywhere, selling everything from super expensive Bvlgari jewelry to beautiful, one-of-a-kind pieces made by local designers. I fell completely in love with a long, delicate gold necklace with amethyst, citrine and blue topaz stones, but it cost 2200 euros, so that was out of the question...

Me posing with humongous cruise ships and the volcanic island Nea Kameni in the background.

It took about half an hour to walk all the way down to the port.

Donkey jam!

If you don't want to walk, you can ride a donkey down to the port in Firá.

Cave houses.

We took the cable car up.

Goofing off for the photographer.

Some of the restaurants in town had a fantastic view of the caldera.

Sunset. Love it.

We stayed at Aegan Plaza in Kamari in the southeastern part of Santorini. It's a lovely, four-star hotel, and I especially loved our balcony and the pool area. The hotel is built around the pool to shelter the guests from the wind, which can be quite harsh at times. Kamari has a population of around 1800, most of whom I suspect work in the tourist industry. It is definitely a resort town. Sleepy in winter, bustling with tourists in summer. The tourist season had just started when we arrived, so not all the beach shops and restaurants had opened yet. You find the really breathtaking views on the other side of the island, around the caldera, but Kamari was still a very nice place to stay. The restauranteurs here were much friendlier than in the bigger towns of Fira, Imerovigli and Oia, and we were constantly treated to free desert, drinks and ouzo. Fira is a 30 minute bus ride away, and there are also plenty of places where you can rent a car, scooter or ATV.

The black pebble beach in Kamari.

Me wearing bikini and board shorts from Billabong, tank top from H&M, sandals from Din Sko and my boyfriend's Ray-Bans.

Kamari seen from Ancient Thira.

There are Greek orthodox churches everywhere on the island, and I just love the bright blue domes that are characteristic of Cycladic architecture.

Kamari at sunset.

Going out to eat in a maxi dress I bought in Sydney, my Jimmy Choo for H&M clutch and New Look sandals.

Another outfit. Jeans from Guess, top from H&M, blazer from Zara, leather clutch from Jimmy Choo for H&M and leather heels from Red or Dead.

If you read my previous blog entry, you may have guessed that my holiday destination was a Greek island - more specifically Santorini. And what a wonderful island it is! I will post more pictures soon, but here's a small teaser.

I bought a one-of-a-kind silver flower ring in Fira.

A bit sunburned, but happy! Flower dress from H&M, bag from Mulberry, sandals from New Look, hairband from Gina Tricot, sunglasses from Ray-Ban, watch from Anne Klein, silver rings from Santorini and a street market in New York, and earrings from Argos.

Tonight I have tickets to Thor, which I have high hopes for. I don't know much about the movie, other than that it's based on Norse mythology. The real reason why I want to see it, is that the protagonist is played by hottie Chris Hemsworth. If you've ever watched the Australian soap Home and Away, you'll know him as Kim Hyde. I grew up with the show, and I still watch it. It's the only soap I've ever really liked (American soaps are so pompous). As a result, I have for years had an obsession with all things Australian, and particularly Australian actors that have been on Home and Away (so pretty much ALL Australian actors, then...). The show has been a stepping stone for many successful actors, including Heath Ledger, Naomi Watts, Isla Fisher, Ryan Kwanten,  Julian McMahon, Melissa George, Guy Pearce, Dannii Minogue, Isabel Lucas and now Chris Hemsworth. I think Thor is going to be his big break.

I'm such a big fan of the show that I actually visited Palm Beach, aka Summer Bay, when I went to Australia in 2009. It's a small sea-side town situated on a peninsula about two hours north of Sydney. It's a wealthy neighborhood with a lot of architect designed houses, picturesque beaches and a golf course. Many people go there to surf, and it's worth a visit, even if you're not a fan of Home and Away. If you're interested in seeing the cast, outdoor scenes are shot every Tuesday.

A picture of Hemsworth from his Home and Away days. I watched the very first episode that aired in Norway when I was around 11 or 12, and I was hooked. Now I sometimes provide the TV subtitles for the show. Ah, it's nice to be paid to watch TV all day!

North Palm Beach, the iconic beach in Home and Away with the lighthouse in the background.

The Surf Club.

"Club official: A. Stewart".

The rock pool.

The Pier Diner at the Back Beach.

Bath is situated in Somerset in the south west of England, approximately 155 km from London. It was granted city status by Queen Elizabeth I already in 1590, and it now has a population of about 84 000. However, the city was first established as a spa resort by the Romans in AD 43 under the latin name of Aguae Sulis, "The Waters of Sulis". The Romans built a temple and several baths around the hot springs of Bath, which are the only natural hot springs in the UK. The city expanded in the Georgian era, thus Bath also houses many beautiful examples of Georgian architecture. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

Bath Abbey, which dates back to the 7th century.

The Great Bath at The Roman Baths.

The Royal Crescent.

The Circus.

The gardens in front of the Royal Crescent.

The river Avon.

I lived in Guildford for two years while I attended University of Surrey, so this is my home away from home. (Or really my second home away from home as Wisconsin always will be my first home away from home. Once a Cheesehead, always a Cheesehead!) I have really fond memories of my time here, so I wanted to go back to reminisce a little. It's only half an hour from London by train, so we also went to London one day and to Bath another. I will post pictures from Bath in another entry soon, but sadly I spent all my time in London shopping. I didn't take one single interesting picture there all day! I've been to London so many times before, and I've seen every tourist attraction about a gazillion times, so I didn't feel like spending my precious shopping time on tourist traps. I will, however, post a guide about London real soon using some of my old pictures.

The "haunted" pub, The Three Pigeons.

Looking down High Street, the main shopping street in Guildford.

It was warm enough to wear a tank top! That was just undescribable after a long, cold, Norwegian winter.

My favorite spot in Guildford is Guildford Castle and its surrounding gardens. It is thought to have been built shortly after the 1066 invasion of England by William the Conqueror. It is just amazing in spring when all the flower beds spring to life.

The city of Guildford seen from Guildford Castle. The towering building in the horizon is Guildford Cathedral, which is part of the university campus. I lived right next to it for two years, and let me tell ya, it was fun to wake up to church bells chiming several days a week (not only on Sundays)... They even had a "church chime club", or whatever it was called, that got together to ring the church chimes a few times a week. They had a different melody each time, and they would play it for like an hour straight. Fun times!

Here I am by the sluice gate in Guildford.

The river Wey runs through town, and houseboats are a common sight.

A new addition to the town is the Woodbridge Meadow Park. It's basically just a narrow strip of land next to one of the main roads, but they've cut down all the trees and made the tree stumps into fun sculptures. The last time I was here, this area was all overgrown and full of garbage. I'm glad they cleaned it up!

Hands, nose and feet sticking up from the ground.

Some of these hotels I've actually visited, while I would like to visit some of the others (maybe not all of them...) sometime in the future. Enjoy!

Beautiful Ashford Castle Hotel in Cong, Ireland.

Houses stacked on top of each other at Inntel Hotel in Zaandam, The Netherlands.

The whimsical Dog Bark Park Inn in Idaho, USA.

The picturesque Union Hotel Øye in Øye, Norway, which is supposedly haunted.

Sleep like a vampire at Propeller Island City Lodge in Berlin, Germany.

The Hobbit Motel in Woodlyn Park,  Waitomo, New Zealand. You can also stay in a train, a plane or a boat:

Sleep in a trojan horse at La Balade des Gnomes in Durbuy, Belgium.

The Tree Hotel in Harads, Sweden.

 Get the Lost experience at Hotel Costa Verde in Costa Rica.

The master bathroom in the front of the cabin has an amazing view.

The world famous Burj al Arab in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is the only seven star hotel in the world. My uncle actually won a trip to Dubai and stayed at this very hotel. He said the suite was enormous, and that the the water faucets were made of real gold. I was so envious...

The Burj al Arab lobby.

Alta Igloo Hotel in Alta, Norway. Everything is made of ice and snow.

Have you ever wondered what prison is like? Stay at Hostel Celica in Ljubljana, Slovenia, which used to be a jail.

Maison Moschino, an art hotel in Milan, Italy. Each room is decorated differently.

Maison Moschino.

Cute pillows at Maison Moschino.

Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

The Infinity Pool on top of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

After getting my masters in England back in 2007, I moved back to Norway and started working full time as a translator and TV subtitler. Since then a lot of my income has gone towards travelling. I've been on several great trips in Norway and abroad. Here are a few highlights:

I went back to Guildford, England for my graduation ceremony.

Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Islands, Australia

Amsterdam, The Netherlands - The City of Bikes

Wai-O-Tapu, New Zealand

Milan, Italy

Sydney, Australia

L'Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix, France

The Pulpit Rock, Norway

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane, Australia

The Vasa Ship in Stockholm, Sweden

New York City, USA

The Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains, Australia

Bergamo, Italy

Gamla Stan in Stockholm, Sweden

Remarkable Rocks on Kangaroo Island, Australia

Zaanse Schans, The Netherlands

Chicago, USA

Zaandam, The Netherlands

Fraser Island, Australia

Statue of Liberty in New York City, USA

Zaanse Schans, The Netherlands

Seal Bay on Kangaroo Island, Australia

Old State House in Boston, USA

Skydiving in Matamata, New Zealand

Chicago, USA

Lake McKenzie on Fraser Island, Australia

Geiranger, Norway

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Hafrsfjord, Norway

Waitomo, New Zealand

Peacock at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane, Australia

Right now I'm dreaming of white beaches and tropical weather. Just one more month, and I'll be in Greece! But before then I thought I'd give you (and myself) a little travel inspiration.

Tropea is a small village situated on a cliff in Calabria in Southern Italy. The town has around 8000 inhabitants, and is connected with the mainland by a narrow strip in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It's surrounded by 4 km of white beaches and crystal clear, blue water. The town's architecture is striking, and some buildings are almost a thousand years old. Tropea and its surrounding villages are known for a special type of red onion, cipolla di Tropea. It's so famous that one of the town's many gelaterias even makes red onion ice cream. There are also plenty of trattorias and lovely restaurants in the village. On clear days you can spot the volcanic island Stromboli on the horizon. The volcano is constantly active with minor eruptions, which are visible from many points on the island and from the surrounding sea. Thus the island has been given the nickname "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean". You can go ashore with a guide, hiking up to the summit between rivers of scorching lava.

Tropea is a popular holiday destination for Italians, but tourists from other parts of the world haven't really discovered this gem yet. I haven't been there myself, but I saw a picture of Tropea by chance when I was googling something else, and I was intrigued. I have so many places I want to visit in the next couple of years, but this is pretty high on my list.

To get to Tropea, you can fly into the international airport in Lamezia Terme, or take an express train from Rome. The island of Sicily is also close by.

This architecture just takes my breath away.

After some initial teething problems, the filming of the Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit, is finally under way. I'm so excited! Director Peter Jackson has released these photos from the Hobbiton movie set in Matamata, New Zealand:

There's a similar picture of Jackson in Bag End taken during the filming of The Lord of The Rings about a decade ago. Man, he's lost a lot of weight!

I went to New Zealand in October 2009, and I actually visited Hobbiton in Matamata. When the movie set was abandoned after the third Lord of the Rings movie, the land owner, who owns one of New Zealand's largest sheep farms, asked New Line Cinema if he could turn the area into a tourist attraction. New Line Cinema agreed, but insisted on tearing down a few of the larger buildings as well as painting the fronts of the hobbit holes white. That's why the set doesn't look exactly like it did in the movies. All of the hobbit "holes" are just flat fronts, except Bag End, where Bilbo and Frodo lived. The Hobbit will be divided into two movies that will be released in late 2012 and 2013 respectively.

The so-called "party tree" where Bilbo gave his speech, slipped the ring on his finger and disappeared.

Inside Bag End.

Outside Bag End. I also went to Tongariro National Park, also known as Mordor...

And I stayed at the Hobbit Motel in Waitomo:

If you're interested in LOTR locations on New Zealand, I suggest you buy this excellent book by Ian Brodie:

I know. I'm a nerd.

All the leaves are brown

And the sky is gray

I've been for a walk

On a winter's day

I'd be safe and warm

If I was in L.A.

California dreamin'

On such a winter's day

I'm sick and tired of winter, dirty snow, thick clothes and freezing cold. So yesterday I booked a trip to sunny California! It's not just a vacation, I'm actually attending Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs' translation conference in San Francisco August 1-4, but I'm going to take a few extra days off to explore San Francisco and then fly down to Los Angeles for a few days. I've been to the U.S. plenty of times - even lived there - but I've never been on the West Coast, so I'm really looking forward to this trip. There will probably be a lot of good photo opportunities and good shopping, so I will keep you updated:-)

I collect books, and my small apartment is starting to look more and more like a library. I have to go to IKEA to buy yet another Billy bookcase soon. The books are mainly novels, all kinds of dictionaries and books on linguistics, but in the last couple of years I've bought quite a few fashion and travel books as well. They're great inspiration, and the travel books are also very handy when I'm planning a new trip somewhere. My favorite travel guides are the DK Eyewitness Guides, and I have quite a few of those. The reason why I like them much better than other travel guides, is that they have a lot of color pictures of popular tourist attractions, city maps and extensive hotel, restaurant and shopping guides. They come in both English and Norwegian, and possibly many other languages as well. I always buy a DK Eyewitness Guide before I go somewhere on vacation, and I buy mine from either British eBay or www.play.com.