Dear Prudence

I've got plenty to write about today! I'll start at the beginning...

Shortly before our trip to Rome (about two weeks ago) the other American player on Trav's team was released. I was sad to hear the news, because I enjoyed sitting with his girlfriend during games. Then, after we got back from our trip, Travis learned that the Finnish defenseman quit. The team wasn't paying him, so he left. 

Coming into this past week, Manglerud was ranked #10 in the league. On Tuesday, they beat the #3 ranked team. It was one of the best hockey games I watched all season. I was on the edge of my seat all three periods! Thursday, they lost to a top-ranked team. Travis was awarded player of the game for his team! He was given a 500 kroner mall gift card. We went shopping on Friday, but Travis didn't find anything that he couldn't live without. 

Saturday, we went to the Munch Museum. Edvard Munch is known as one of Norway's most famous artists. He is most well known for "The Scream." We had fun at the museum, and particularly enjoyed that museum entrance is free during winter months. 

Recreating Munch's portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche.

"The Scream"

Travis gives the Munch Museum two thumbs up!

Yesterday afternoon, I hiked through four fresh inches of snow to get to Travis' game. Okay, I didn't walk the whole way, but by the time I got to the game, I felt like Frosty the Snowman! They played the #2 ranked team in the league and the game was tied 2-2. Nothing happened in the five minute overtime. Then came the shootout. Unfortunately, Trav's shot didn't go in. In the end, Vålerenga won. Overall, it was a week of good hockey. Manglerud managed to keep up with (and even beat!) top-ranked teams.

As of right now, it is looking like we'll be celebrating Christmas in London! Travis has a two week break in games, so I'm crossing my fingers that we'll have around 6 days to get out of town. Once he gets paid (very important) and we know his practice schedule, we're going to book it. I'm so excited!!! 

All My Loving

Because it is Thanksgiving back at home, I wanted to share some things I am most thankful for:

• Travis. His hard work, dedication, and talent brought us to Norway. I wouldn't be here without him, and I am thankful for the time we have to spend together.  
• Our families. Both Trav's family and mine have been incredibly supportive of our move to Oslo. Talking to our parents on Skype is one of the highlights of my week. I'm excited for them to visit us!
• My friends. New friends, old friends, and best friends.
• My health... May it remain this way until at least until January 1, 2011!
• The internet. Facebook. Gmail. Skype. Netflix. Hulu. Need I say more?
• The overwhelming prevalence of English-speaking Norwegians.
• Oh... and YOU! There is this handy feature on Blogger where I can see how many times my blog is visited. I am so happy that people read this!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you get your fill of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, rolls and jello! (Man, I'm making myself hungry!)

Love Me Do

And now for part two of our trip! We saw a lot of places on our list on Saturday, so we were able to take our time at the Colosseum and nearby sites on Sunday. We stopped at Trevi Fountain right away in the morning to toss a coin into the fountain and make a wish. From there, we went to the Roman Forum, Colosseum, Arch of Constantine and Vittoriano.

Making a wish at Trevi Fountain

Roman Forum

Colosseum

Colosseum

Arch of Constantine

Roman Forum

Gelato

My mom asked me on Monday about my favorite thing in Rome. I said food, history, and prices. Obviously food was one of my favorite things, because there are four pictures of me with food in my last post! It was so incredible to see historic, world-famous places in person. And as far as prices go, the prices in Italy are a hell of a lot better than in Norway. I actually could go shopping! I also need to add another favorite to the list: weather. It was in the high 60's, low 70's! This trip to Rome was exactly what Travis and I needed. I've definitely been bitten by the travel bug. I'm already thinking about where we should go over Christmas!

A Taste of Honey

We are back from Rome! I don't think I can put into words exactly how wonderful it was, but I will try. When we woke up Friday morning, there were a couple inches of fresh snow on the ground, so we were ready to get out of town! Both flights (Oslo to Frankfurt and Frankfurt to Rome) went well. After our landing, we bought a map and headed to the train. We took a train into Termini station, then hopped on the Metro to the Piazza di Spanga stop. After marveling at the beautiful weather and the incredible Spanish Steps, we set to finding our hotel. About an hour later, we finally made it there. Little did we know that the street we were looking for was located at the top of the Spanish Steps!

After dropping our stuff off in the hotel, we started to wander around to find a restaurant. We both enjoyed our dinner (but not the neighboring table, who proceeded to argue with the waitstaff about their bill.) After eating, we found a bar/restaurant to have a few more glasses of wine. Well, next thing you know, one bottle turned into two and it was time to get some rest before our first day in Rome!

Pasta and Wine (oh, how I love wine!)

The Spanish Steps were just a few blocks from our hotel

Our plan for Saturday was to see the Holy City. We took the Metro there and followed the droves to St. Peter's Basilica. We decided that the line to get into the basilica was too long, so we headed to the Vatican Musuem, which is home to the Sistine Chapel. After the museum, we stopped into a bar for a fantastic panini and a coke. The grand total? 5 euros!

St. Peter's Basilica

Vatican Museum

Forbidden photo of the Sistine Chapel.
Somehow, I missed the five guards shouting "No photo!" every ten seconds.

We did stop back at the basilica to see if the line died down at all, but it got even longer. We headed on to Castel Sant'Angelo then got some gelato. YUM! 

Castel Sant'Angelo

Gelato! I got chocolate and cookies and cream.

After gelato, we went to the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo dei Fiori, Piazza del Popolo, and Villa Borghese. After seeing all those sights, we were pretty hungry, so we got pizza to refuel. It was delicious!!!

Piazza Navona

View of St. Peter's Basilica from Villa Borghese

Margherita pizza-- my favorite!

We went back to the hotel for a much-needed siesta then walked all of five minutes to Trevi Fountain. Travis spotted a restaurant nearby, and we had a delicious dinner of handmade gnocchi and rigatoni. After dinner, we strolled around and stopped into an Irish pub for a pint of beer before turning in for the night.

Trevi Fountain

My favorite meal of the trip!

Well, that is enough for today! Considering I had to sort over 150 pictures from just Friday and Saturday, I'm kind of pooped. I'll write about Sunday tomorrow.

Come and Get It

Two posts in two days! Can you believe it???

The main reason I am posting is to show you these delicious looking banana blueberry muffins that just came out of the oven:

They are delicious looking, but unfortunately they are pretty bland. I think fresh blueberries would be better. I've been relying on the internet for recipes, but if anyone has any tried and true recipes, please e-mail me at laynetralle@gmail.com.

Oh, and I have a correction for yesterday's post. Travis prefers the term househusband. Sorry, Trav! And I forgot to write laundry on his list of activities yesterday. What a guy!!!

Fixing a Hole

Before getting to my post, let me explain why I haven't written in so long. I have been told thousands of times, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all." For the first time in my life, I actually took that advice!

On to better things...

I've been baking! I bought an oversized muffin tin last weekend, and so far I've made blueberry, chocolate chip, and banana-chocolate chip muffins. I think my next batch will be banana-blueberry!

On Saturday, Travis had an early practice at 9:30 then had to help out at hockey school at 2:00. (The hockey school is a weekly camp for 5-8 year old boys and girls.)I went to Manglerud and met him for a walk between the two. There is a lake behind the arena, so we made our way around and were surprised to see these swans...

Saturday night we went out to a real restaurant for the first time! We went to a pizza place and stuffed ourselves with half margherita, half pepperoni and ground beef. It was quite an occasion! 

Ugh. I hate this picture, but it has been a long time since I've posted a photo of myself. Please forgive my high-on-pizza face!

Travis wore the gold helmet again at last night's game. He wore it for a couple of games earlier in October, then got it back. He says it fits him better than his regular helmet, so that is extra incentive for him to keep scoring!

Travis had the today off, but I had to babysit. While I was gone, he cleaned the bathroom,went for a run, made peanut butter cookies and prepared dinner! It turns out that he makes a better housewife than I do!

I love my babysitting job! The kids are so much fun and well behaved. I am learning Norwegian... even though it is mostly food, toys, books, poop, pee, and, of course, NO! 

We are both getting very excited for our trip to ROME on Friday! I don't know if I'll be posting until we return, but I'll be sure to share loads of pictures!

Ciao!