A couple of these friends (Erik and Annette) we'd only seen briefly in December - and that was after not having seen them for over 20 years, so it was great getting some more time together and we had a lovely, lovely evening, with lots of good food - and wine of course :) In the photo below you can see chocolate and 'flødeboller'. Flødeboller is very Danish - it's stiff egg-whites with a bottom of marzipan/biscuit and covered in dark chocolate - that's the classic 'version'. By now you can get them with all kind of flavours and with white chocolate, etc. (as you can see below)
Friday we walked to town and did some shopping (or rather - Mette did some shopping) and had lunch at Cafe Flora - very, very good food! And later we did home-made healthy gummies - made from blueberries and lemon. I really liked them but Silke thought they were too sour...... Friday afternoon Morten and Mathias came up for dinner (Maja was working) and we had home-made burgers - made on the fire of course - it was SOOOO good :D And the boys had a lovely time playing with fire - it must be in their genes :) Saturday morning, after a trip to the pubic pool - again - the 'M Family' - as we call them (sounds better in Danish), went back home and we spent the afternoon shopping and preparing for a dinner party with friends that same evening. A couple of these friends (Erik and Annette) we'd only seen briefly in December - and that was after not having seen them for over 20 years, so it was great getting some more time together and we had a lovely, lovely evening, with lots of good food - and wine of course :) In the photo below you can see chocolate and 'flødeboller'. Flødeboller is very Danish - it's stiff egg-whites with a bottom of marzipan/biscuit and covered in dark chocolate - that's the classic 'version'. By now you can get them with all kind of flavours and with white chocolate, etc. (as you can see below) Sunday Per was feeling a little bit 'used' - but we were still up quite early to do a bit of cleaning up after last night - as my brother and sister-in-law (Jens and Marianne) were coming for breakfast. Before they arrived I was sitting at the dining table and suddenly had another 'visitor' - or actually a couple of visitors and some of them hungry and thirsty :)
0 Comments
We've almost been here for 2 weeks now - hard to believe! The weather has continued to be almost perfect. We've had one day with rain and then a couple of days with a shower or two - so that's not bad for spring in Denmark. It could have rained for 2 weeks :) Per had some meetings Monday and Tuesday this week, where I just relaxed at home. Wednesday our friends Søren and Anette came to visit. We had a lovely breakfast together and then took a walk to Gilleleje and then back to have some lunch, before they left to pick up their grand-kids. (But we'll be seeing them soon again in Greece) Later Wednesday Mette and Silke arrived, to stay for 3 days. Thursday morning Per went to the public pool with Silke and later we drove to Helsingør to have lunch and visit some friends, Arne and Inger. After visiting Inger and Arne we did some grocery shopping and then went home to Mette and Morten's to do dinner and say hello to the rest of the family - including Maze the cat :D (Made us miss Misty and Molly....) When we got back to 'our' house later that evening it was still light outside - summer in Denmark means the sun doesn't go down till 9-10pm - so Silke just had time to do a few somersaults on the trampoline. Our 'last day' with Tina, Janus, Lucas and Marcus - and what a wonderful day. Again the weather was amazing - clear blue sky and lots and lots of sunshine. We had a quiet morning, where grand-dad took Lucas to the public pool and when they came back we walked into town (Gilleleje) along the water - such a beautiful walk. And then it was time for lunch in town. We found a sweet little inn - as I think you would call it - and we had amazing fresh sea-food. So yummy!! After lunch it was time for a nap :D Marcus was completely relaxed while Per was swinging him in the hammock - but then, who wouldn't be relaxed just lying there :)
On Saturday Mette had arranged a lovely day for all of us. We met in Helsingør and boarded an old train - there's probably a name for it..... but let's just call it 'old' for now :) It was a lovely ride - starting out in the open carriage and then we moved to a closed carriage to have our lunch. After the train ride we arrived in Klampenborg - from where we walked to the forest (Dyrehaven). And here - in the middle of the forest is 'Bakken' - an amusement park - loved by all Danes, especially the kids :) I remember going to Bakken as a kid - and it was just so special. Not only did you go to an amusement park, but it was in the middle of a beautiful forest with lots of deer - so a double whammer. :D After a couple of hours on 'Bakken' we needed a bit of peace and quiet, so we sat down, just outside Bakken and had a glass of wine - and some very big ice creams :) An absolutely lovely day - and we were all very tired when driving back in the train - except of course, the kids.... they were still full of beans :D
We have arrived in Denmark - ready for some spring time enjoyment. We had an easy flight(s) and we're now in 'our' bach in Gilleleje - a lovely summer house, 100 m. from the water - and about 1.5 km. from Gilleleje. And Gilleleje is one of our favourite small towns in Zealand. (Still find it so funny that we come from Zealand in Denmark and moved to NEW Zealand :) Anyway - the weather is beautiful but cold - which is absolutely fine. I would rather have it a bit cool but with clear blue sky and sunshine. And the spring colours are amazing. All the trees are this crisp apple green colour and the birds are all love sick and very noisy - in a very nice way :) Just what I wanted :) . And then of course the family :) This long weekend we have Tina, Janus, Lucas and Marcus staying - and today (Friday) the weather is a bit wet..... but it should be better tomorrow :) Our second to last weekend before we're leaving for Europe, and as usual so much to do before we leave.... not just packing and getting ready but also making sure we got to see everybody before leaving. Saturday we started with a good long walk - going out for breakfast, which is what we usually do. Then in the afternoon I went to a quilting show with Gaye: I've always wanted to do quilting, but I don't think I've got the patience for it - and I definitely haven't got the technique or tools - never touched a sewing machine..... but I love, love the finished product. Here's a few of the quilts that really 'spoke' to me. The last one is my clear favourite!! After the quilting show we went to Russell and Gaye's for dinner - and Judy and Dave came as well :D We didn't have time to cook so we ordered Indian food via Uber Eats - so easy - and good food :) And then today - Sunday - we went to Matakana to visit Roy and Alison - where we bought both our cats 15 years ago - and they're still good friends :) While we had a cup of tea we said hello to the 3 cats - and then of course Ruby - the dog :) Later some other friends of Roy and Alison's arrived - Ian and Jan - and we then went to see Sculptureum - a beautiful place in Matakana with lots of art, birds, rabbits, etc. Quite a mix of interesting things :) After a nice long day - with a lovely lunch - we had a nice drive back to Auckland, admiring the autumn colours.....
Last night we celebrated my 2nd birthday - as we call it. Yesterday it was exactly 2 years since our world was turned upside down - and I had my first big surgery. I guess you could argue that the birthday should be on the day I had the diagnosis, but to be honest when we were told I had cancer I didn't believe it and not until after the surgery did I reaslise what was actually happening - so that's why we chose the day of surgery as my birthday - my second chance in life. So the only thing is that this year my 2nd birthday happened during Easter so a lot of people were away on holiday. But we've decided that it's the 19 April every year, no matter what day of the week, no matter what's going on. And some years there'll be lots of people and some years - not so many. And there's an advantage to both scenarios, so yesterday we had time to talk to everybody, which was really nice. Time for another visit to one of our favourite places or areas in New Zealand - Arrowtown in Central Otago. We arrived Thursday where the weather was a bit mixed - and it was definitely colder than I had expected..... But it was fresh and lovely as always. After having landed we drove directly to New World Supermarket to do some grocery shopping. And the first thing we saw was this cat :) Apparently it lives outside the Supermarket and the staff is looking after it. On the left side is a little sign saying 'On duty'. To the right is another sign saying 'Do not disturb - cat napping - off duty' :)))) Only in New Zealand! After the shopping we drove to 'our' house and unpacked and then it was time to go to Arrowtown for a little welcome drink and a walk around town. Friday we had a day in Queenstown. I was thinking about getting a warmer jacket - didn't bring enough warm clothes.... but decided I would be OK for the next couple of days, so we went to Botswana Butchery for an amazing lunch instead :) Saturday we had decided to do a bit of a road trip, so we started early - which is why we got these amazing photos of fog/clouds. We started by visiting a couple of wineries and then we had tea and cake in Cromwell. Then we had a couple of 'dead ends' looking for vineyards - up and down little dirt roads - with no exits. Per likes to know where his wine comes from - literally where it has grown....... And then we had lunch at a little boutique winery called 'Lazy dog' - very nice lunch and 4 very sweet dogs :) Then on to Wanaka and home via the Crown Ranges. A beautiful, beautiful drive and the weather was just clear blue sky all the way - amazing! And now it's Sunday and we're on our way home again. It doesn't feel like we've been here for 4 days - at all. So we'll be back - still so much to see and do in this area of New Zealand.
So this weekend we visited Barbara and Tony in Hamilton. It's a nice drive to Hamilton and even nicer having some time with Barbara and Tony. As always they made sure we didn't leave Hamilton hungry in any way.... Those two can cook! Absolutely no reason to ever go to a restaurant when you're with Barbara and Tony :) We had a nice morning tea - we always bring pastries from Armano in Auckland - as they do good pastries :) After that we took a little walk in the bush - first bush-walk for me in a long, long time - felt sooo good :) And we visited a farm where they still had strawberries, raspberries, etc. So yummy! And then back to eat an amazing home-made lunch - all healthy and so good tasting!! Actually so good that we just invested in a new cook book :) So as always so good for your soul to visit Barbara and Tony! Not a lot going on at the moment - other than us enjoying this amazing summer. Don't think we've ever had a summer as good as this. It just goes on and on - and we're now at the end of March. I'm actually longing for a bit cooler temperatures - especially at night. It's still 25-27 degrees in the bedroom at night, which makes it very difficult to have a good nights sleep! And to think that when winter is finally on its way - Per and I will leave for Europe.... :) (Mid May) Last night Per we were looking at Greece on YouTube. We were just a bit worried that there's going to be way too many tourists in June, but hopefully it's still a bit too early for there to be too many people.... When you read about it most people say that the big load of tourists doesn't start till mid June - so we're hoping!! Anyway - there's nothing we can do about it - other than enjoy ourselves, no matter how many people is there :) In the meantime - as you can see from photos below - it's crowded in our place as well..... Just look at how much space these cats take up.... (and Per). Doesn't leave a lot of room for me..... (we need a bigger bed :) Next - a week or two ago a sea-lion was having fun with a piece of styro-foam. It just played for about an hour - right in front of our apartment. And it was a very big sea-lion (hard to see from photo). And then a couple of photos from Head-Quarters, our local bar. There's always so many people - but then again Head-Quarters is perfectly located in the middle of Viaduct Harbour - with good music and good food and drink - and lots of sun - so why not :) Other than that we have just booked a trip to Queenstown/Arrowtown on South Island, to see some autumn colours. We went last year as well, but that was about 2 weeks earlier, so we're hoping for a bit more colours this year - and if not - we'll just enjoy Arrowtown anyway - as it's gorgeous any time of the year. And this weekend we're going to visit Barbara and Tony in Hamilton, which is always nice. We're really looking forward to that.Maybe even another visit to the Hamilton Gardens - one of our favourite places. So good to travel, but oh my - even better to get back home :) Less than a week after we got back we had visitors from Denmark - Søren and Annette from Denmark. They stayed with us for a week and it was absolutely lovely to have so much time together. And then I started treatment again - but I'm now getting ready for going to Europe again in May :)
And - as always - lots of good times with very good friends. From top left; Judy, Dave, Russell, Gaye, Nick, Ali and Per and I - of course :) After Samnaun in Switzerland we drove to just outside Venice where we had a couple of days before flying out from Venice to UK . Just finishing off with a couple of days of work :) We stayed at another Relais & Chateaux hotel but it didn't really live up to the standards - just look at the food. The taste was OK but it wasn't very appetizing to look at. We finished off with 3 days in Bath in UK and then back home.
Tomorrow we leave Samnaun to go back towards Venice. We fly out from Venice on Sunday and over the weekend we're going to stay at another Relais and Chateau about 20 km. from Venice. (That is if we can get out of here - it's supposed to begin snowing again today and all night.....) We've had a great time here in Samnaun. It's a lovely hotel, but the town itself is not worth a visit. It's just 7-10 duty free shops - so only come here if you're after watches or jewelry Samnaun is a duty-free area in Switzerland, so if that's what you're after - great, GO. But if you're after a cozy little town with lovely shops and restaurants - DON'T go. We've just stayed at our hotel the whole week - basically because there are 5 different restaurants in the hotel - and there's a lovely, lovely spa and the ski slopes are just outside - so in that sense it's been great. Yesterday we had dinner at *Miranda' - the hotel's 1-star Michelin restaurant. We originally had a reservation for the day before - but because the roads were closed they couldn't get fresh food - so we had to postpone a day - which was not a problem! We had an amazing dinner - ended up with us being the only ones in the restaurant (only 8 tables).. So even if we only ordered 3 courses we ended up having 5 courses - as the restaurant provided snacks and sweets :) They also provided 'refreshment' which we both thought was edible - sooo funny. It's the glass with a slice of lime and what looks like a marshmallow. The waiter came and poured hot water over it - and it expanded and then we both 'attacked' it with knife and fork - until we realised it was a face cloth........ so we laughed and laughed :) When we were done with dinner and was about to leave the waiter came and said there was one last thing we had to taste - and then came with this amazing board of sweets which we took to our room; candy floss, popcorn, hot chocolate, marshmallows, chocolate nuts, etc. And none of it was what we expected - so exciting. We wished for snow, but maybe we should have been a bit more specific........ There's so much snow now that everything is closed. You cannot get in or out of the town - all the roads are closed and we're totally isolated from the rest of the world. Schools are closed - and the ski slopes are closed.... So apparently you can get too much of a good thing :) Below you can hopefully see the difference from Sunday morning to Monday morning - quite a lot of snow over night :) But lucky for us we're staying at a wonderful hotel - with lots of good food - 5 different restaurants in the hotel - so we're not complaining. I'm definitely NOT complaining - one of the restaurants are called Pasta and Pizza - and I just had the best pizza ever here - amazing! And... as I said earlier we're on half-board and the food is amazing in the 'normal' restaurant. Wednesday we're trying the 1 star Michelin restaurant they've got here.... So all is well - almost :) Per hurt himself yesterday - strained his calf muscle, but he saw a doctor same day and had an ultra-sound and it's not bad so he should be able to ski again tomorrow - so perfect timing with one day of rest, where the slopes are closed anyway. And... Per just found out that there's a new season of Berlin Station - one of Per's favourite TV-series - so not a problem :) We arrived in Samnaun yesterday and the closer we got - the more snow - YAHOOOOO ::) This time we're staying in a hotel instead of an apartment - and it's a very nice hotel - Relaix et Chateau - our favourite kind of hotels :) And... we were welcomed with pink champagne, chocolate and fruit - what I would call a good start :) We've tried half-board before and it's always been with mixed feelings - as we like to choose ourselves instead of a more or less fixed menu. But we thought we'd give it another chance.... We started out by saying that we didn't like what was on the menu for the day - and we were told we could just choose whatever we liked from one of the other restaurants at the hotel - the Pasta and Pizza restaurant - so all good. But I wanted to try some of the food from Today's menu - the healthy Spa Menu - so I had the salad bar, which was very nice and I had one of the starters. And hey - it's a Relaix et Chateau hotel and one of the other restaurants in the hotel's got 1 Michelin star....... so the one starter I (we) tried was amazing. So today we're going to be brave and try the menu and see what it's like - 6 small courses - so we're actually quite excited based on that one starter we tried yesterday :) (And... they have NZ wine, so how can it go wrong :) So the only thing that has gone a bit wrong is that there's almost too much snow now - and it's still snowing heavily. So Per went up this morning - but couldn't see a thing and he ended up with a pulled calf muscle - so he's lying in bed now with his leg up......... Hopefully it's just a very mild strain... which would fit perfectly as they say there's no skiing tomorrow as a lot more snow is expected - so he was going to have a day off tomorrow (Monday) anyway - so fingers crossed he's OK on Tuesday! The last couple of photos from Venice - from when Tina and family left for the airport by speed boat - and we left the next morning - as a big cruise ship came in through Grand Canal....... crazy! (24 mill tourist a year in Venice...) Driving from Venice to Cortina was only about 2 hours - so not a problem. We did some grocery shopping on the way and were in Cortina right after lunch. Not a lot of snow - but enough for Per to do what he wants :) And as we heard in the News there should be lots of snow where we're going next - maybe even too much...... Yet again we've been lucky with the weather here in Venice. Yes, it's cold (because it's winter.....) but it's absolutely beautiful. Clear blue sky and lots and lots of sun :) Admittedly it's not easy to get around Venice with a pram - but we've managed. Marcus sleeps twice a day, so everything has kind of been fitted around his sleeping routine, which is OK, as it kinds of divide the day up in chunks. So we've made plans for BMS and AMS - before and after Marcus sleeps :) Venice is basically all about walking, walking, walking. Down one little street, back another and over a bridge - and then you're completely lost - which is to me the biggest charme about Venice. I love, love, love - getting lost in Venice. Oh my - find it very hard to NOT photograph canals and bridges in Venice..... I just love the rustic, rough look of most of the houses and bridges - and I love the subtle colouring and reflective surfaces - such a good mix of textures, colours and shapes - so can't help myself :) We started - of course - with champagne at 6pm when Queen Margrethe II did her annual speech. And then dinner at a place the hotel had helped us find - not easy to get a table on New Year's Eve..... When dinner was finished the kids were tired, so we went back to the hotel to wait for the fireworks. The only problem was that we still had 3 hours before the fireworks - and with kids, that's a long time. So we agreed to just relax for a bit..... with the result that everybody ended up falling asleep - except me :) But... we were all ready at midnight - or at least most of us...... Janus was sleeping with Marcus - and we only got Lucas up 2 minutes before the fireworks :) No matter what - it was all worth it. The fireworks were amazing and they lasted for almost half an hour !!!! Still my favourite city in the whole wide world - besides Auckland and Copenhagen of course :) The only thing I DON'T like are all the pigeons - but then again, I never, ever liked pigeons........ Tina and Janus had an amazing transfer from the airport to Venice - in a speed boat that Per had arranged - and they loved every minute of it :D So picked up in the airport by a speed-boat and taken directly to your hotel - that's the way to do it when going to Venice :D Our first couple of days here in Venice have been amazing - clear blue sky and sun all day long.... what more can you ask for? And...I think we've passed on our love for Venice to Tina and Janus <3 So right now - very excited about the fireworks tonight :D HAPPY NEW YEAR <3 |
G&PThis is our blog - we use this to keep track of what we've done and where we've been.... as we can't always remember :) Archives
October 2019
Categories
All
|