The looong drive home went well, thankfully without any unexpected problems. We started without a plan, and decided to spend the first night (Sunday-Monday) in Osnabrück, Germany as we had to do on our way down to Paris. From Osnabrück we were planning on staying in Göteborg, Sweden (Monday-Tuesday) – but when we arrived at 1:30 AM and found that there was some kind of football cup in town, we had to get back in the car and continue on to Uddevalla. Luckily they had a room for us there, and around 3:00 AM we finally got to go to sleep. Bohusgården in Uddevalla has the best beds in the whole world, I can testify to that – and I’m officially saving up for another Jensen mattress, believe you me.

I have to say it was horrible coming back to Scandinavian roads, namely our good ol’ Norwegian ones, after having driven at the speed of 130km/h (and maybe a little more, don’t tell my mom) on the Autobahn. Driving in 80km/h felt like standing completely still on the road, and to me it made the trip home even longer. It took forever to drive from Svinesund to Trondheim, seriously! On Minnesund we met up with my sister, her man and their Chihuahua Dennis – they had been visiting our parents and were heading home. It was nice seeing them all again, unfortunately it doesn’t happen too often since we all live so far apart. On our way home we had to stop by Monica to pick up Theo, and it was awesome seeing him again! I’m pretty sure he’s had two great weeks together with his beloved Lizzi and Zita, experiencing new things – but it was nothing less than great getting him back, and being able to cuddle him again.

On the upcoming Saturday we’re off to another roadtrip, and this time we’re going up north – formerly known as “home”. We have to clear out some stuff, and it’s a nice occasion to visit my parents and their dog pack – and maybe see if I can meet some old friends while we’re there. I’m not really looking forward to the.. what.. 12 hour drive, but it’ll be very nice to see mom and dad again! This time we’re bringing Theo with us, and I’m sure he’ll have a ball with the three furry guys up north, new friends and all.

Since I’m obviously having a hard time making up my mind, I once again decided to see if I could get the M·A·C Pro items I had on my list. I know I twittered about skipping both M·A·C Pro and MUFE Boutique, but we didn’t have anything on today’s agenda but visiting the Eiffel Tower – and we weren’t that far from the store either. I hauled a little with good help from a very nice employee who actually told me whether or not she thought it would be nice with my skin tone, and that saved me a little money. I B2M for another three lipsticks, and got Red Pepper, Rebel and Peachstock (a backup) for free. In addition I bought Speak Louder and Morange plus two CCB, three eyeshadow refills, a chromagraphic pencil, a brush and a tinted lip conditioner – I’ll do an haul post later on, with pictures of everything.

We spent the rest of the day at different cafés, just watching people. Dinner was enjoyed at the same place as last night, namely because I wanted their onion soup, and now it’s time to go to bed so we’re rested for the long ride home tomorrow.

I Paris, and we’re coming back!

My first stand was the one of Bare Escentuals, where I was planning to get their matte foundation I’ve been wanting to try it for a while. The woman managing the stand was a very nice lady from Greece, and she insisted on doing my makeup while I was there. At first I said no, but then I figured “what the hell” and let her make me up a little. Once again I was amazed by the enormous difference only a little product did for my face, so I bought the matte foundation, a blush, a lighter foundation to use as a concealer, and got a ton of additional samples! She also gave me a Sephora card, and we all know how much I love those plastic cards.. I’m easy to please, you know. Øyvind took a little detour to the Guerlain shop to buy a present while I was getting the makeover. The next stand I ventured on to was Make Up For Ever, where they naturally didn’t have any of the items I wanted which caused me to end up with something completely different than I had planned.. namely a Star Powder in 951, a blush/eyeshadow in 26 and a Full Cover Extreme Camouflage Cream in 08. WTF? Then the time had come for some M·A·C and I left their counter with a single lip liner in the color “Nightmoth”. I’m sorry, but I really don’t appreciate it when the employees hide when their customers need help. The very last thing I did at Sephora was to get my hands on “Féerie” by Van Cleef & Arpels, and almost died from a perfume overdose in the attempt.

We also went to the Disney Store, I mean.. one has to love Disney? The store was mostly filled with products from “Toy Story 3″, and since the elevator was broken I had to stay on the first floor. There was quite a lot of stuffed animals from different Disney movies, and I even found the crab from “The Little Mermaid” – which was one of my favorite Disney movies as a teenager, and the only animated film I actually prefer to watch with Norwegian voice-over. I was hoping for some stuffed characters from “Finding Nemo”, but there was no products from that movie so I bought a big purple Heffalump from “Winnie the Pooh”, and a keychain instead.

Oh, and at Adidas on Champs-Elysées I walked into a very nice employee who actually knew a bit Norwegian! It’s fascinating how small the world really is.

After having had a well earned break to get some food at Café George V, crêpe for me and onion soup for Øyvind, we ventured on up Champs-Elysées towards the Arc de Triomphe de Paris. Now, we didn’t cross the road to see it all the way up close, but it was massive nonetheless. We took some pictures, admired the carvings, and decided to cross the street to experience the other side of Champs-Elysées as well. Here we found a Nespresso store, and I fell in love with a €375 purse at Lancel. Don’t worry, I didn’t buy it – I’m not that crazy! After Champs-Elysées we decided to see if we could find the MUFE Boutique, but when we finally found it it was closed for the day. I wanted to get the items I didn’t find at Sephora, but I think I’ll skip it and just order it from Sephora online when I get home.

We finished of the day by having dinner at Le Soufflot Café, where I had an Omelette Complète and Øyvind had a Belle Sole Meunière. And then we moved on to an Irish Coffee and a Malibu Pineapple. A very nice and eventful day indeed!

Yesterday we visited the great Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris, a place I’ve wanted to visit for a long time. A majestic cathedral indeed! We attended Vesper and mass by the archbishop, and also lit a light for all the loved ones who are gone. On our way to Notre Dame we passed a lot of those small tourist shops, and I ended up with a few t-shirts and some keychains. I was planning to buy a rosary when in Notre Dame, but when mass was finished they had closed the shops as well. Bummer. Fortunately we were able to go back there today, so I bought one gorgeous rosary made from rosewood and another made from Hematite. Later in the evening we had dinner at Latin-St Germain, and decided on snails as a starter, and duck for dinner accompanied by a bottle of red wine – all while Spain won the World Championship. And believe me, there was quite a lot of celebrating in the streets afterward!

Before we went to Notre Dame for the second time I finally got to visit M·A·C and Sephora for the first time ever, and ended up buying.. nothing. I B2M for five lipsticks, so I actually got Chili, Ladybug, Creme d’Nude, High Tea and Lovelorn for free (they now live happily in our cooler), and picked up one MUFE eye shadow and “Smoky Lash” mascara. HUGE score! ..or not. Maybe I’ll be in a hauling mood when I get to Champs-Elysées, but so far I haven’t felt like shopping for makeup. Or maybe when I find M·A·C Pro. I promise, I’m not ill, I’m feeling quite fine! Taking the bus here in Paris is a dream compared to doing the same at home, and I’m feeling completely at home here. I wish we didn’t have to go back to Norway anytime soon – but I miss Theo like crazy.

Our dinner tonight was consumed at Le Cosi, where we ate a magnefique veal ragout followed by a chestnut souffle. We also had an excellent red wine from Corsica. Once again, pictures will be added later! And please cross your fingers and send a few prayers our way, to help the charger reach us first thing tomorrow morning..

Happy Birthday, pappa!

Let’s see, what else? I’m now online with my MacBook, so I’ll try to have some pictures up soon. I’m kinda prioritizing other things at the moment, like enjoying beautiful Paris! But now.. I’ve got a date with Nemo in Dreamland. I’m happy, and I love Øyvind.

So far we’ve been out on deck, eaten banana/smash ice cream, almost been stampeded by insane charter-looking passengers, and spent a little money too. I was planning to get Juicy Couture edt while in Paris, but I discovered that it was actually cheaper onboard! We also took a trip down to the tax-free shop, looking for a few items for a couple of friends, and ended up buying a lot of those super cute miniature bottles of liqueur just for the fun of it, a bottle of Malibu and some candy for the car ride tomorrow. I’m planning on getting a few more things, but there’s no use in bringing it to Paris and back.

I have a few pictures to share with you, but since I’m typing this on my iPhone it’ll have to wait until I have my computer at hand. I’ll let you know!

The first part of our trip went excellent. The weather was nice, it was little traffic and no major delays anywhere. We even saw a badger! I just hope he didn’t decide to run back across the road and commit suicide in the attempt.

Now we’re off to have dinner at the fancy a la carte restaurant. Yep, it’s fancy! And food is excellent too! We had dinner there last time we were onboard, and really regretting eating at the buffet the first evening. I’ve already decided on the Saltimbocca, and I can hardly wait.. 

I’ll post another update again soon, I promise!

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I think Lady Karma was proud of me though. I gave my queue ticket to an elderly lady since Øyvind and I used one spot together – no use in hanging on to it if I knew I wasn’t going to use it myself. It saved her a little time at least. So with our two passports everything’s finally set for our trip to Paris, and I even have money to spend when we’re there. Fantastic!

Last Thursday was a little interesting though, as it started with me waking up at 7 AM. Hello, 7 AM – what’s up with that? And even though I stayed in bed for one and a half hour pondering whether or not to get out of bed, I slowly had to realize that there was absolutely no use in laying completely still, hoping to fall back asleep. I’m like that when I have something scheduled. I always wake up several hours before the alarm clock sounds, and there I am.. wide awake. Thursday was a rather big day, as we were told that our car would be ready for us to pick up from Handicare Norge at 2:00 PM, and on our way there I added another taxi to my list of taxis-I’d-rather-kill-myself-than-ride-with. Frigging maniac. We have a few of those in Trondheim. I really don’t care if you’re in a hurry or what, but when you have taken passengers at least act as a responsible driver! I felt like I had a small part in one of the “Taxi” movies.

Thankfully we got our car back, and was able to drive home ourselves! I have to say, it was amazing to be able to sit up front with Øyvind and actually see the surroundings while driving. It’s a completely new world to me, and now I’m looking forward to our road trip to Paris even more! Fantastic. I know I promised Ingrid to refrain from counting down until Paris, but.. now it’s only 38 more days until we’re heading towards France!

Yesterday was another one of those eventful days I’ve had several of lately, and don’t misunderstand, I’m not complaining! It started out pretty lousy with an empty mailbox, but got a lot better when I later discovered that Mr. Postman had only been running a little late. I received an important letter I was waiting for, a letter from HMS (Medical Center for Technical Aid) informing me of the decision about an application, and “Paris Encounter” which is a travel guide by Lonely Planet. And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better.. it did, as I received an e-mail with some very good news regarding my student loans. The perfect day!

Let’s start with the letter from HMS. On March 29th I had a meeting with my OT (occupational therapist) about an application for all the technical aid needed for our “new” car. He finished the application just in time for Easter vacation, and I was told that processing would take at least a month. Since I’m used to having to wait a lot longer than first anticipated, I was just keeping my fingers crossed – no technical aid, no trip to Paris, and that would be a real shame. Yesterday Mr. Postman brought me a rather thick envelope containing a letter informing me that I could just go ahead and make an appointment to have the needed work done! Who would have thought. It took them less than four weeks to process my application, making me very surprised yet happy! So we called the workshop today, and was informed that their schedule was pretty much empty, and that all the needed bits and parts would be ordered today. As soon as the order arrives we’ll be notified, and the work will begin. One step closer to Paris! Fantastic.

I won’t go into further details on the last two events just yet, but I promise to tell you all about it in the beginning of May if everything goes according to the plan. I feel like I’ve just finished a very long and troublesome chapter of my life, and now I’m ready to start on a brand new one. It feels good, like I’m finally able to breathe!