friday five: along the water, past the boats, over the bridge, down the street and to the café!

rain, rain. . .

when the clouds return it's always good to remember the sunshine (was just here yesterday); or perhaps he's just taking a nap ;)

an orange-socks kind of weekend

we enjoyed a quiet weekend here in alesund, watching the cruise ships and fishing boats dock outside our window and revisiting our favorite spots. saturday we joined the crew for xl's signature bacalo dinner and then enjoyed some mojitos at the newly refurbished hotel atlantica.

sunday we had planned to go down to the atlanterhavsparken--the aquarium--and walk along the coast but realized when we got to the deserted bus stop that the buses, of course, don't run on sunday. so we headed up to the park, for a quiet family afternoon. we ended the evening with pizza up at pepe's and then all watched bug's life and went to sleep. . .

cruise ships spotted

In Alesund today. First is a German cruise ship:

On the other side of town, the famous MS Queen Victoria:

community victory!

wellhead and sdg&e are revoking their permit request to build a "sneaker" plant in our neighborhood!

here's info from ladera hope
and the oc register

owen adds new life to the café scene

here are a couple of snaps from one of our favorite cafés here in alesund (here's owen last spring standing out front)--invit espresso cafe. the top is from the barstools upstairs, which was a major mark of how much owen has grown since last we were here. he was very proud and assured me that he was "very big" to be sitting on the "tall chairs." they make the best fresh fruit smoothies and a proper cappuccino. the second is taken from the very fun downstairs basement--attached to a scandanavian design shop. i confess it does make me want to refurnish our house in magenta and black and white.

this view is made possible by. . .

here's a shot of our boat room--complete with the orange begonias owen picked for the windowsill and cozy writing desk. we've been abroad now over a week and our home away from home is starting to feel, well, like home. but i wanted to thank the "behind the scenes" people who have helped make the settling in possible. like nana for gathering and sorting all our mail, papa who went back and set up sprinklers so our roses would continue to bloom, grandma who shipped the small black bag of essentials that was left behind in the car, and grandpa who scanned no less than thirtysix pages of teaching evals so i could complete an application due back on the west coast. and that's just in the last week. and then my neighbors who keep an eye on number seventeen. and our wednesday friends who had stamped love waiting for us when we got here. and then of course just being out here in blogspace connected somehow to the wider world of fidfam. so thank you all for making hte view possible. we promise, in turn, to stop and smell the croissants, to count ships, and to dance in the cobblestone streets.

"look! a pirate ship"

it's been a busy day outside our window--right now the norland and the nordfisk are busy loading/unloading freight at the docks. this morning we watched the hurtigurten trollfjord (the same ship we rode from bergen) unload passengers and owen got this great snapshot of the "pirate ship" (he took the picture and positioned the hat all on his own!):

"train hotdog" and "SAS YES": owen's post and pictures

gdm vnmm./bv

the flip side of five

so if there are five things that are storybook and sexy about travel there are certainly five (if i can say so on a tuesday) that are not. and since owen is finally sleeping after being up since two am it seems a good time as any to unwind the other five.

5. well, sleep certainly. we're on day six of owen's commimtment to california time--which means wake up calls between 2 and 4 am that sound something like: "but WHY can't we go down to breakfast now?!"

4. cold soft boiled eggs. the allure of breakfast buffet quickly loses its appeal with runny cold eggs.

3. running out of diapers. this goes something like the walking five miles up the hill in the snow at the crack of dawn--only it was sometime before stores opened, in the rain, through muddy cobblestone.

2. trying to unpack six suitcases in something like two hundred square feet of space. although i have to say i did have some wonderful mary poppins moments--if only i had packed that hat rack.

1. explaining to owen that despite the fact that he sang a lovely song for his best friend west at four am he was not going to be at breakfast and neither will nana, papa, grandma or grandpa meet us for cake later today.

of course writing all of this is restorative in itself, and as the rain clouds literally clear, yes i can see them moving outside of the spectacular ocean view windows in our teeny room, i know it'll be ok. i'm tired, anxious and irritated with myself for all of the little things back home i'm still trying to manage. and then that's why we're here really--so we can manage it all together. i had this teary moment at the h&k dinner bar with michael while owen was konked out and explained that i knew we could do this because i've read mrs. dalloway and believe in it, believe in her. and i really think i explained it like that, but i believe in this moment as definining all moments and that one must walk down busy streets and eat brie sandwiches. yes, something like that. oh, and if you're blessed enough to have a room with a view (couldn't help that reference) it's even better than a room of one's own (or this one--but a desk will do with a napping child and your loved one coming back on the four o clock ferry).

friday five

as we took our walk through town this morning i was reminded of all the things i love about travel--here are five that are at the top of my list.

5. hand painted artisan buildings-- i love the unassuming shop front of this glass shop (and the woman sneaking up to her loft above). it just seems like part of a novelistic version of what belongs on a city street.

4. owen's ability to literally stop and smell the flowers--we stopped to check the map on our way out to the iconic mermaid statue and owen literally jumped out of his stroller and sat on the asphalt to pick dandelions.

3. architectural details--i love the pattern in this ornate cobblestone outside of the four royal palaces of amalienborg. i'm also fond of wrought iron (i've got some gorgeous pictures of that outside of the frederikskirken--far more beautiful, i think, then the imposing popish statues) and statues in unexpected places.

2. this goes along with number five-- i love fun shop signs. this one was for a danish kids clothing boutique.

1. i confess, and this goes along with navigating my way through cities by following novelistic threads, eating a cafe lunch takes the cake. i had to put two pics up here--after a pretty intense walk across town with some jetlag wearieness i nearly cried when i came back to our cafe table after ordering and found owen intensely at work writing his postcards. it was just a perfect serene moment. and then our cappuccinos and cafe brunch came and i knew we found my corner of heaven.

beautiful sunny copenhagen morning

Owen had us up at 4am this morning - just enough time to get showered up and ready for breakfast that opened at 6:30. We were ready to hit the town and explore. We decided to walk to the other end of town (where the little mermaid statue is) and back.
Along the way we walked through the Royal Gardens (the Amalie gargen) and the four Royal palaces of Amalienborg - home of the Danish royal family. We also walked by the Frederikskirken (the Marble church).
We're taking a break after a big brunch near the Kongens Nytorv (King's New) square and at least two of us are trying to get a nap (Owen is too busy bouncing off the walls still) before checking out the Tivoli gardens amusement park across the street.

Buildings lining Nyhavn (new harbor):


Cara and Owen in the square of the Royal palaces of Amalienborg with no one around:


Michael and Owen down by the Little Mermaid bronze statue:


View from hotel room of the Tivoli gardens:

in københavn

here we are in copenhagen, denmark at the swanky royal sas radisson
and i thought i'd do a quick post to say as much, but mostly because i'm deliriously tired and trying to stay awake until a proper danish bedtime even though it definitely feels like 6 am or some such nonsense. i wish we could take our danish modern room with us to aalesund--it's bright and spacious and feels very much like a metro loft-- there's a spacious writing desk separating the sleeping area from the sitting area where owen's konked out on a fold out bed and a separate toilet/shower and TUB! with fun green/blue/white small glass tiles.

the flight was long, but decent. michael got a deal and booked us in economy-extra and the extra included a footrest and 3 seats instead of 4 to a row. all of these miles m. puts in are wearying but the perks are definitely making this fidfam a little spoiled. in fact, michael just discovered the hotel robes and i'm so into that! i'm just so ready just to unpack these suitcases and make our home-away-from home homey. i spent so much time packing that i'm loath to unpack just to try to fit everything jenga-like back into these suitcases (one of which--the one i obtained after 4 weeks of warranty negotiations--busted at the seams. luckily they have duct tape in norway). i'm also missing my headphones which is a bummer and hopefully is either in the back of the fidler jeep and not somewhere lost at seatac.

but we're here. we'll be here until sunday and hope to see some castles and eat some hotdogs (apparently that's what you do with the danes) before nesting in norway. and we have not one, but two cameras--owen's grandparents got him his owEn camera! and he's already taken some great snaps. look for the new owen's weekly snaps feature on the blog! in the meantime, love to everyone, email often and keep the comments coming--it reminds us that we're not all that far away from loved ones ;) and if you're feeling stamp-y i'll send you our address!

"no mom, i can do it MYSELF."

so being three is definitely all about asserting your three-ness. today owen insisted on buckling his carseat himself, walking the dog himself, and undressing himself--here he is after shouting "mom! unstuck me!" because he needed to be completely naked at 6:30 in order to play cars.

"ooooooh. that's baby stella."

5.2

and then there are the unexpected, the quiet players inside fidfam. like last night j. played soccer with the boys while i held stella and b. read all 37 pages of my chapter and gave me both the love and critical scribbles i needed. now owen is sleeping, dreaming i'm sure of papa building his hotwheel and kicking the yellow ball with west and i'm enjoying a quiet morning with the balcony door cracked open drafiting 3_2 with my pink pen; exhausted, but content. if only i could get sierra to make me some coffee. . .

required reading

so you must indulge in this book for the fanciful and surreal illustrations by mordicai gerstein or for the poetry of jacques prévert that sings how to paint the portrait of a bird. if possible, have owen read it to you--he makes the most intense pages come alive with shrieks and song. it does at the very least make me want to spend the day hauling around a canvas and a paintbrush.

and whether or not you're planning to take a parisienne tour this summer you should read this is paris
because it opens by introducing you to three cats you might meet in paris--and i'm not being hipster here, really three meowing kitty cats with names like kiki and rita--but then also illustrates the kinds of post boxes you might find (like one hiding in a street lamp) as well as gives a quick history lesson of paris (much better than i remember getting in french 1A) by giving you a walking tour of sorts of the city.

this perhaps goes with number six on my list--beautiful new books we've discovered and owen's latest predilection to sit with a stack of books and give his own reading which is a cross between dr. seuss rhyming and sesame street counting with a little jon&john from TMGB thrown in for song.

5.1

so as soon as i post my friday five i'm thinking of everyone that defines number five--and right now i'm especially thankful for my own mom, nana, because she's the reason i get this indulgent morning in a cafe to write (ummm blogging counts) and drink machiatos and otherwise find some zen equilibrium. plus this picture is too fabulous not to share. now to revise file vw_draft_2_9.

fabulous friday five

needless to say the last couple of weeks have been manic--as the ticker counts down days and hours until we go norway! we've been doing all those things you do before leaving home for 7 weeks which includes extended visits to the post office and readjusting the sprinkler system. personally i'm trying to finish my dissertation chapter i began working on in our last trip to norway and hand it off to my chair. i'm at the coffee depot now typing up what i hope to at least to be the penultimate draft. so i thought rather than rant about the frustrations of the week (which have been many and varied--including farcical conversations about our damaged luggage and diaper bags that never shipped) i'd start my writing day with five fabulous things that have kept me going--those things that if i hadn't been so manic i would have blogged about weeks ago. so here they are:

5. our three-year old wearing his birthday pants dancing in the street at cal adventure before the pixar play parade

4. beautiful baby stella

3. the upcoming birth of owen's baby cousin--and having a healthy, beautiful sister in law as the mother-to-be

2. having a brother--because who else would take owen to chuck e cheese? (that's chocolate cake all over owen's nose, btw)

1. having a fidfam--which is family in the most beautiful, largest sense of the word.

perks and Happy Ascension Day!

Here's a shot from within the SAS lounge in the South terminal in Seattle. SAS upgraded me to gold recently, which is kinda nice, wish they would upgrade me to business class instead... maybe after a few more trips. Less than two weeks until the whole Fidfam comes over! The sun is up at 5am now and is setting about 10.30pm.