Moving on...up?

No, probably down a little. The truth is I need to move out of my parents house and actually let them enjoy their post-child life without me living with them. When they held me in their arms 25 years ago I bet they didn't think "I hope she is living with us when she's 25!". So...after their subtle hints at when my departure might be and my eventual cry and panic over affording to live alone in the south of England (where renting costs a small fortune), I have begun my search for a new home.

Mum says I need to "nest". I'm not totally sure this is true because 1) I'm not an animal I'm a human and 2) I'm not expecting a baby and I think "nesting" happens when you're pregnant. I have come up with a helpful little list of positives of moving out though (collated from past experience of living away from home...don't worry I have actually left home a few times...I just bounce back like I'm on a bungee cord):

• I can eat cereal for dinner (there is probably nothing stopping me from doing this now though)
• Temperature will be perfect and suited to me (not too hot, not too cold)
• I can hang bunting and lights (family aren't fans of these things)
• Don't feel like washing up? No problemo
• Washing can be hung around for days and worn straight off the drying rack (laziness)
• Crafting stuff doesn't ever need to be cleared away (ready for inspiration to strike at any time)
• I can get a fish (I like watching fish swim around and around...)
• I can watch Greys and Gilmore Girls on repeat and not be judged

There are probably more positives than that but really, the down sides are starting to dawn on me:

• Have to do own food shopping (I HATE food shopping...I used to get it delivered at university to avoid shopping myself)
• Who will tell me my outfit is all wrong? (My mum is a pro at this)
• Plumbing issues will be fixed by who?! 
• What if I get a break in and I have to fight off the intruder myself? (My arms are pretty weak...)
• When my car runs out of petrol how will I get places?
• I'll miss my dog lots (I might steal him)
• Who will I talk to? 

I'm going to see two places this week and will probably freak a little that they're on the ground floor and people could climb in the windows. When I was at university a naked man climbed in my window in the night and to be honest that has put a dampener on ground floor properties for me. 

Norway: the final chapter

Easter Sunday marked our last full day in Norway and what better way to relax from our Fjords excursion than to go on a hike!

Bergen city is in a valley between multiple mountain peaks. Mount Floyen was the closest to our hostel and had a cool funicular to ride to the top, so naturally we decided to hike that one. We took the funicular to the top which in itself was an experience, then hiked about at the top of the mountain, finally walking down at the end of the day.

I wasn't up for the mega peak walk so the man and I broke off from the group and relied on my awesome map reading skills. This involved lots of roundabout path walking, chasing waterfalls to find a lake, getting lost in woodland when we had thought the sign pointed that way and finding ourselves in a housing estate half way down the mountain. We started our hiking expedition (this terminology makes it sound grander than it was and I love that) at 11am and didn't return to the hostel until 5pm. That's a whole lot of walking time whilst wearing Toms which have, as I found out, little foot support. There was also the embarrassment of an argument and tears at the top of the mountain which made my trusty partner seem like a horrible boyfriend.

On our final morning we explored the famous Bergen Fish Market which actually turned out to be little more than a market stall just a little bigger than Tesco's fishmongers. We sat by the wharf and enjoyed the sun on our faces one last time before returning to Britain where, surprise, it was grey.

Norway, I loved you for a weekend but I don't think i'll be moving anytime soon. You're too expensive!

I took the plunge

I finally took the plunge and did an aquacise class (pun intended). I was looking forward to this class the most out of my "exercise class try-out list" because it genuinely seemed fun and hilarious to do.

There are multiple benefits of aquacise according to a national website dedicated to the promotion and training of the activity, including but not limited to hydrostatic pressure and the cooling effect benefits the exercise has over other activities not in water.

Ideally, the water level should be chest height and the movements should be pushing through the water and not above the waterline. This is okay in pools which are multi-depth or if you're really short, neither of which apply to my experience. You see, i'm 5'11 and every time I stood to my full height in the pool I felt like Godzilla.  Consequently, I spent the entire time with bent knees to keep my body at the same height as everyone else's. Awkward. 

This photo is from the Virgin Active Website and is my club's indoor pool that I swim/float about in.

We did the whole class to retro 90's music and did lots of jogging, jumping jacks, moving around and water weight work. It was really good fun and there were times I had to bite my lip to stifle the giggles at how ridiculous we all must have looked to the onlookers in the spa area. I didn't actually feel worked at all at the end of the class though and for me personally, the benefits were pretty minimal for time expended. I can see how it would be great if you were of poor health, new to exercise or had a physical disability as it was gentle and the water does aid movement. 

I obviously ended the session in the jacuzzi and sauna to allow for adequate recovery time!

High Five for Friday

1. I found troll figures all over Norway thought it would be a wasted opportunity if I didn't embarrassingly pose with one.

2. These shoes were my friend and foe during my Norway trip. They were comfortable, warm, waterproof and went with everything, yet really hurt my feet by the last day. I haven't worn them since coming home because I can't bring myself to put them on again. Okay, feet aren't exciting, moving on...

3. This yacht was one of the poshest in the marina. While eating lunch this tiny dog strutted up on deck wearing his life vest. Classy dog. 

4. My new cookbook will teach me how to be a complete Asian cookery hero! I watched their series on TV this Spring and really looking forward to trying out some of these delicious recipes.

5. We had such a great Easter weekend away in Bergen with friends. We're not really a photo crazy couple so it's a pretty great day when we manage to get a good shot together! 

Norway Part 2

Saturday we were up early to catch our day tour of the Fjords from the local train station. We went through Norway in a Nutshell and chose the day long Fjord and mountain train tour.

Essentially this was a day of transport with little stops to browse the local area and take photos of the beautiful scenery. We took a local train to somewhere (not sure where) and from there a coach through the winding roads to Voss. At Voss we found our Fjords boat waiting for us. I'll let the photos of the Fjords do the talking because the beauty can't really be described with words.

After the Fjord cruise we went on the Flam Railway Line which is a world heritage mountain railway. Doesn't sound too exciting but the views were fantastic. We went all the way through a mountain range, some of the time on open track and other times through tunnels which were dug with hand picks in the 19th century. The historic line ends high on a mountain range which was deep with snow. 

The final journey, down the mountain and back to Bergen, was long and on a modern train. After all the fresh air and excitement most of us slept through this part of the day! 

Norway Part 1

Last week I went to Bergen Norway for the Easter weekend. Don't ask how a skiing holiday turned into a Norwegian city break because quite a few people already have and to be honest, I haven't a clue. One minute we were planning to ski, the next we were booking flights to Bergen!

Plane selfie: If you try and say "Bergen" when a photo is taken this is how ridiculous you look

We flew Friday afternoon after a delay and an unhealthy holiday snack in McDonalds. There were 9 of us in all from Church and it was great to get to know some people I haven't spent much time with before. Arriving in Bergen in the early evening and catching our transfer to the hostel, we ventured to the historic harbour to find some food.

We found this shop when searching for dinner 

The first thing which struck me was how expensive everything was! We ended up paying about double what we would in England for everything, from bottled drinks to food. The alcohol was astronomical so I didn't drink at all whilst away. Then again, we didn't see any drunk people at all so that was a plus to the expensive prices! I tried some reindeer soup and some chicken soup for dinner the first night and was nonplussed by it.

The Unesco World Heritage street...a.k.a. where we found the best food

Our hostel was Marken Guesthouse and it was genuinely the best hostel I've ever stayed in. The decor was fresh, the rooms, lounge, kitchen, toilets and showers were always clean and well stocked. The price was pretty good too! Definitely recommend to anyone visiting Bergen. We were split between three rooms but thankfully didn't have to share with anyone we didn't know. It was nice to have others to chat to in the lounge area though and we met people from all over the world.

The hostel from the outside. It was on the fourth floor and reachable by lift an ancient lift with a cage door

Zumba

I'd wanted to try Zumba for a long time but never really took the plunge and went to a class. I'm glad I finally did because it was an experience to laugh about for a while!

The official Zumba website states: "Shake, shake, shrink! The most fun and effective workout ever!" Well, that pretty much sold it to me.

I thought maybe it would be a little bit like a dance class where the instructor would teach the steps and we'd all give it a jolly good try. Nope. The music went on and like robots these women all started a dance routine that only they knew. It was like joining a dance troupe which had been practising for months without me. I was concentrating so much on the copying the steps from the person in front of me that I was always one beat behind and my weight distribution wasn't right for a lot of the moves. There were times when they walked back whilst I was still jumping forward and so many close calls with squishing ponytails and bright pink Lycra. I don't think I've ever felt so much like the elephant in the room.

Did I enjoy it? Well, despite the review above, yes I did. The music was great and even though I caught the instructor shaking her head at me, it was fun to be the quirky in her perfect class.

Will I go again? Sure will. If all they do is repeat the same dances week after week I figure I'll pick it up eventually. I mean, I have to right?

Next up: Aquafit. This will be a tricky one because the classes are always fully booked. I'm interested to know who goes and then gets out of the pool and immediately books the next class. Bit keen? The plan is to slip into the pool unnoticed and join in anyway (note: this plan will fail if they're all old and I'm quite obviously the young one).

(N.B. Being sly with these things isn't my forte I admit. I once slipped into a university physics lecture wearing heels and a dress - you can only imagine how much I stuck out in that room.)