Saturday, February 23, 2019
Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen-day #1
Paul and I are so excited to hook up with Drew!! We last saw him at Christmas. Usually our trips with Drew are just one of us, however, this time both Paul and I decided to go. They are so excited to show me northern Norway and the Lofoton Islands. Should be an epic trip with my boys!!
Drew’s good friend, Shawn Stender, is joining us for the first half of the trip, the foodie leg. When I say foodie leg, these boys have researched all of the notable resturant’s in Copenhagen and we have reservations at most. Several of them are Michelin resturants and the boys are so excited, you would think it is Christmas when you are 5 years old. Our original reason for going to Copenhagen is because Drew got a reservation several months ago at NOMA, one of ther top resturants in the world. ...serving 21 courses of fish...should be interesting.
We took off from Minnesota, about 30 degrees with 3 feet of snow, around three o’clock in the afternoon on Friday 2/22/2019. Flight, via Delta, was a very easy. 7 hours time difference. Landed in Amsterdam around 6:15 a.m. We had a hour layover and had to rush through customs. Made it through customs, extremely hot waiting area, so now we are all sweaty, and flew Transvani, the low end airline sister of Delta. We were served a chicken sandwich on the flight, not too bad. No customs in Copenhagen, thank goodness!!
Copenhagen was beautiful, sunny and bout 40 degrees! Best of all, no SNOW!! Instead of taking the train, we grabbed a taxi, 208 Krone, about $38 US Dollars. None of us slept on the flight and were dragging a tiny bit, cuz it was only 11 p.m. in Minnesota.
Our Airbnb was great! Centrally located sleeping 4 very comfortably and a flat on the fourth floor. The flat is only 5 blocks to the metro and across the street a coffee house with PASTRIES!! We decided to break one of Drew’s rules and not stay up until Copenhagen bedtime and took a nappy. Drew was due to arrive around noon, however, his flight was delayed in London due to fog (imagine that). He arrived around 2:30. Shawn, Paul and I got in a good nap before he arrived and were ready to go when he got here.
Shawn had made reservations at a well known foodie joint called BARR. We walked to the Metro and took a ride. Our exit was Christianhaven, one of the more upscale neighborhoods in Copenhagen. From the exit, we walked for the next half hour around the area, beautiful area, until our reservation at 5:15. This is the ex-NOMA restaurant space. Very cozy along the water front.
Large selection of craft beers. I was chilly, so I started with a cuppachino and the boys had beer, several I may add.
The menu selections were fun. They stated us with two fresh breads in a basket. Could have eaten those all night. The first was a rye, bird seed kinda bread served with a lard spread. Yes, you read it correctly, lard spread. The other bread was phenomenal!! It was served slightly warm and was fresh... with a hard crust and homemade butter you could have eaten with a spoon.
Then our appetizers. Bone marrow with a chutney that was my favorite for the evening. We ordered plum pickeled herring and another one I could eat all night, waffle with lumpfish. OMG it was unbelievable! Still enjoying the craft beers, next was the main course, glazed code, the house specialty. Fresh, moist and just cooked, it was fabulous. We were all satisfied!
I enjoyed listening to the boys’ evening banter of all the chefs and food shows the boys watch. The evening was very relaxing and very pleasant. Love seeing Drew and watching him gear down from the week. We all needed to gear down. Instead of walking home several miles, we hopped in a taxi and rolled on back to the Airbnb. We all stayed up and chatted about the next day, the morning coffee run and Copenhagen’s design museum before hitting our next infamous resturants for bunch. Good night!
Drew’s good friend, Shawn Stender, is joining us for the first half of the trip, the foodie leg. When I say foodie leg, these boys have researched all of the notable resturant’s in Copenhagen and we have reservations at most. Several of them are Michelin resturants and the boys are so excited, you would think it is Christmas when you are 5 years old. Our original reason for going to Copenhagen is because Drew got a reservation several months ago at NOMA, one of ther top resturants in the world. ...serving 21 courses of fish...should be interesting.
We took off from Minnesota, about 30 degrees with 3 feet of snow, around three o’clock in the afternoon on Friday 2/22/2019. Flight, via Delta, was a very easy. 7 hours time difference. Landed in Amsterdam around 6:15 a.m. We had a hour layover and had to rush through customs. Made it through customs, extremely hot waiting area, so now we are all sweaty, and flew Transvani, the low end airline sister of Delta. We were served a chicken sandwich on the flight, not too bad. No customs in Copenhagen, thank goodness!!
Copenhagen was beautiful, sunny and bout 40 degrees! Best of all, no SNOW!! Instead of taking the train, we grabbed a taxi, 208 Krone, about $38 US Dollars. None of us slept on the flight and were dragging a tiny bit, cuz it was only 11 p.m. in Minnesota.
Our Airbnb was great! Centrally located sleeping 4 very comfortably and a flat on the fourth floor. The flat is only 5 blocks to the metro and across the street a coffee house with PASTRIES!! We decided to break one of Drew’s rules and not stay up until Copenhagen bedtime and took a nappy. Drew was due to arrive around noon, however, his flight was delayed in London due to fog (imagine that). He arrived around 2:30. Shawn, Paul and I got in a good nap before he arrived and were ready to go when he got here.
Shawn had made reservations at a well known foodie joint called BARR. We walked to the Metro and took a ride. Our exit was Christianhaven, one of the more upscale neighborhoods in Copenhagen. From the exit, we walked for the next half hour around the area, beautiful area, until our reservation at 5:15. This is the ex-NOMA restaurant space. Very cozy along the water front.
Large selection of craft beers. I was chilly, so I started with a cuppachino and the boys had beer, several I may add.
The menu selections were fun. They stated us with two fresh breads in a basket. Could have eaten those all night. The first was a rye, bird seed kinda bread served with a lard spread. Yes, you read it correctly, lard spread. The other bread was phenomenal!! It was served slightly warm and was fresh... with a hard crust and homemade butter you could have eaten with a spoon.
Then our appetizers. Bone marrow with a chutney that was my favorite for the evening. We ordered plum pickeled herring and another one I could eat all night, waffle with lumpfish. OMG it was unbelievable! Still enjoying the craft beers, next was the main course, glazed code, the house specialty. Fresh, moist and just cooked, it was fabulous. We were all satisfied!
I enjoyed listening to the boys’ evening banter of all the chefs and food shows the boys watch. The evening was very relaxing and very pleasant. Love seeing Drew and watching him gear down from the week. We all needed to gear down. Instead of walking home several miles, we hopped in a taxi and rolled on back to the Airbnb. We all stayed up and chatted about the next day, the morning coffee run and Copenhagen’s design museum before hitting our next infamous resturants for bunch. Good night!
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Saturday, March 31, 2018
Day 8 - Scuba Diving and Raining
Drew got up this morning and was picked up for his scuba dive in Dubrovnik. I stuck around the room and caught up on blogging and relaxing.
Drew returned around 1:00 and had a good dive! Unfortunately the rain came and it has been raining all day. We took an Uber into the walled city and had a long lunch and back to the Airbnb for relaxation. We leave tomorrow...Drew back to Leuven and Lisa to Paris.
Not ready to go home, still so much to see and do. Have really enjoyed my time with Drew! Thank goodness he knew where we were going and how to get there!! I would never have been able to navigate this trip without him!! He is also very easy to travel with!! I am going to miss him!! But know that he is thriving and doing well in Leuven!!
Drew returned around 1:00 and had a good dive! Unfortunately the rain came and it has been raining all day. We took an Uber into the walled city and had a long lunch and back to the Airbnb for relaxation. We leave tomorrow...Drew back to Leuven and Lisa to Paris.
Not ready to go home, still so much to see and do. Have really enjoyed my time with Drew! Thank goodness he knew where we were going and how to get there!! I would never have been able to navigate this trip without him!! He is also very easy to travel with!! I am going to miss him!! But know that he is thriving and doing well in Leuven!!
Happy Birthday Drew, March 29, 2018
We both woke up and sprung out of bed to catch a plane to Inverness to start our Scotland adventure. Inverness is in the northern part of Scotland known as the highlands. We took a taxi to Heathrow and had breakfast at the airport. I had eggs Benedict with salmon instead of ham and it was delicious!! Drew had noodles (we ate a Japanese place). The flight via British Air was packed. Lots of families going on holiday for Easter. In Europe, Good Friday and Monday after Easter are holidays. The plane had no less than 10 babies. We laughed, it was like a kid zoo on the plane.
Happy 27th Birthday Drew!
When we landed in Inverness it was sunny and beautiful. We were expecting rain or snow, but the air was fresh and crisp, with sunshine. We grabbed a cab to Inverness Palace Hotel and enjoyed our cabbie. We laughed the whole way but only understood every fifth word he spoke. He was a bachelor and liked the fact that he didn't need to listen to anyone else but himself. We arrived in Inverness (about a 10 minute drive). It was beautiful. The town is side by side with the River Ness. Clearer clean fast moving water. Their mountains were in the far west, covered with snow and beautiful.
We dropped our stuff off in the hotel room and decided to catch a quick lunch. Coffee and tea sandwiches....no crust, smothered with butter and cream cheese with the following filling: chicken salad, tuna salad, egg salad, and salmon. Refreshing and we were off for a hike to explore the city.
We walked along the River Ness for about a mile until we came to a number of islands. The last island had a suspension bridge and we crossed the river. Walking along the other side we could see the Inverness Palace. It was on top of a hill and was quite old. Presently it is used as the courthouse and police station, but future it will be a museum. We walked around the castle and stopped for some tea and coffee for a short break.
We were now in town and shopped all the tartan stores, which was many. I have never seen so much tartan in my life. Every family has its own pattern and color and it was quite educational.
DInner reservations took us to Riverplace. Recommended by friends and TripAdvisor. It was a quaint little place, seating about 20 at a time. Drew was greeted with a glass of champagne for his birthday. I had a grey goose oyster shot to get the evening started out right! We ordered a dozen oysters on the half shell and fish for dinner. Drew had turbot and I had hake. Both well prepared and very good. Topped dinner off with a dessert wine and piece of Dutch apple pie with Carmel and sea salt. We were not overly stuffed, which was nice. We walked back to the room and promptly fell asleep.
Happy 27th Birthday Drew!
When we landed in Inverness it was sunny and beautiful. We were expecting rain or snow, but the air was fresh and crisp, with sunshine. We grabbed a cab to Inverness Palace Hotel and enjoyed our cabbie. We laughed the whole way but only understood every fifth word he spoke. He was a bachelor and liked the fact that he didn't need to listen to anyone else but himself. We arrived in Inverness (about a 10 minute drive). It was beautiful. The town is side by side with the River Ness. Clearer clean fast moving water. Their mountains were in the far west, covered with snow and beautiful.
We dropped our stuff off in the hotel room and decided to catch a quick lunch. Coffee and tea sandwiches....no crust, smothered with butter and cream cheese with the following filling: chicken salad, tuna salad, egg salad, and salmon. Refreshing and we were off for a hike to explore the city.
We walked along the River Ness for about a mile until we came to a number of islands. The last island had a suspension bridge and we crossed the river. Walking along the other side we could see the Inverness Palace. It was on top of a hill and was quite old. Presently it is used as the courthouse and police station, but future it will be a museum. We walked around the castle and stopped for some tea and coffee for a short break.
We were now in town and shopped all the tartan stores, which was many. I have never seen so much tartan in my life. Every family has its own pattern and color and it was quite educational.
DInner reservations took us to Riverplace. Recommended by friends and TripAdvisor. It was a quaint little place, seating about 20 at a time. Drew was greeted with a glass of champagne for his birthday. I had a grey goose oyster shot to get the evening started out right! We ordered a dozen oysters on the half shell and fish for dinner. Drew had turbot and I had hake. Both well prepared and very good. Topped dinner off with a dessert wine and piece of Dutch apple pie with Carmel and sea salt. We were not overly stuffed, which was nice. We walked back to the room and promptly fell asleep.
Friday, March 30, 2018
Wednesday, March 28, 2018 - London
I landed at 7:30 a.m., London time. That would be 12:30 a.m. Minneapolis time. I had a great flight. The plane was only half full and I had a whole row to myself. I watched a movie and needlepointed for the first 2 hours and then threw the armrests up, layed down and slept on and off for the next 4 hours.
When we landed in London, it was raining. Drew had given me directions to get to the center of the city to our hotel called Marylebone on Welbeck Street. I stood in line for customs in London for 45 minutes, picked up my luggge and made my way to the Heathrow Express. The cost was $25 dollars or take a taxi for 2x that. I jumped on the Heathrow Express and got off at Paddington Rd station to exit and enter the tube on the brown line, Bakerloo. I purchased a ticket for the subway and got off at the Baker Street station. Then the fun began.
As I exited the Baker station it was pouring rain, but I remembered Drew saying the hotel was a 10 minute walk from the station. The problem was that I didn't know where Welbeck was. I started walking and since I bought the ATT Passport Plan for internet time, I put the address in the phone and I went walking. By the time I got to the hotel I was drenched. A nice doorman greeted me, pulled my wet suitcase into the hotel and put me in front of a hotel desk person. It was 10:00 and they were just finishing up my room. The clerk took my luggage and escorted me to a sitting room and served English Breakfast tea. Hot English Breakfast tea! It warmed my soul, wet head and hands!! After 20 minutes and almost falling asleep, my room was ready.
The Marylebone is a beautiful old hotel. I decided to break the rules and take a 2 hour nap. No problem falling asleep! When I woke up it was 1:30 and I headed down to the concierge. He directed me to Hyde Park to catch the hop on and hop off bus. I walked for 15 minutes down Marylebone and Oxford Road. Lots of retail stores and a wet walk again. Did not bring my camera,
using my cell phone.
The Hop-on bus goes until 8:00 p.m. Tour around city was 2.5 hours. I saw everything from the Parliment, Big Ben (being restored),Kensington Palace, London Eye, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral and more. I hoped off the bus and started walking back to the hotel and stopped in an Italian restaurant to have dinner and warm up. I had lasagna and bought Drew a pizza to have when he got to the hotel. He called earlier and was stuck in a traffic jam and didn't know if he would make the last train. He did make the train with the door closing as he got on. He will be here around 9:00
I was tired. Took a shower and jumped into bed. Drew got here around 9:30 and dropped off his bags, and went downstairs to the lounge to meet a co-worker for drinks. I fell asleep quick and don't remember a things until dawn. Pictures to come
When we landed in London, it was raining. Drew had given me directions to get to the center of the city to our hotel called Marylebone on Welbeck Street. I stood in line for customs in London for 45 minutes, picked up my luggge and made my way to the Heathrow Express. The cost was $25 dollars or take a taxi for 2x that. I jumped on the Heathrow Express and got off at Paddington Rd station to exit and enter the tube on the brown line, Bakerloo. I purchased a ticket for the subway and got off at the Baker Street station. Then the fun began.
As I exited the Baker station it was pouring rain, but I remembered Drew saying the hotel was a 10 minute walk from the station. The problem was that I didn't know where Welbeck was. I started walking and since I bought the ATT Passport Plan for internet time, I put the address in the phone and I went walking. By the time I got to the hotel I was drenched. A nice doorman greeted me, pulled my wet suitcase into the hotel and put me in front of a hotel desk person. It was 10:00 and they were just finishing up my room. The clerk took my luggage and escorted me to a sitting room and served English Breakfast tea. Hot English Breakfast tea! It warmed my soul, wet head and hands!! After 20 minutes and almost falling asleep, my room was ready.
The Marylebone is a beautiful old hotel. I decided to break the rules and take a 2 hour nap. No problem falling asleep! When I woke up it was 1:30 and I headed down to the concierge. He directed me to Hyde Park to catch the hop on and hop off bus. I walked for 15 minutes down Marylebone and Oxford Road. Lots of retail stores and a wet walk again. Did not bring my camera,
using my cell phone.
The Hop-on bus goes until 8:00 p.m. Tour around city was 2.5 hours. I saw everything from the Parliment, Big Ben (being restored),Kensington Palace, London Eye, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral and more. I hoped off the bus and started walking back to the hotel and stopped in an Italian restaurant to have dinner and warm up. I had lasagna and bought Drew a pizza to have when he got to the hotel. He called earlier and was stuck in a traffic jam and didn't know if he would make the last train. He did make the train with the door closing as he got on. He will be here around 9:00
I was tired. Took a shower and jumped into bed. Drew got here around 9:30 and dropped off his bags, and went downstairs to the lounge to meet a co-worker for drinks. I fell asleep quick and don't remember a things until dawn. Pictures to come
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Scotland with Drew March 27 to April 4, 2018
Leaving Minneapolis on direct flight to London today, Tuesday, March 27th at 5:45. Minneapolis weather is cold, snow all over its cloudy. I hope this is gone when I get back!! Planning to, or hope to, get some sleep on my flight to London. I would like to have some energy to hop off the plane and onto the hop-on and hop-off bus to tour London. Drew will be working in Belgium all day. He will train over to London tomorrow night and catch up with me. I have the day to view sites and take pictures!! Oh, and can't forget to find me some mushy peas!! I love. fish and chips, with mushy peas!!
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