One of my pet peeves in life is people who show up late to live events, interrupting those who had planned well and showed up on time. Well, tonight, we became THOSE people! More on what happened in a moment.

Our morning started with the most amazing buffet breakfast that either one of us had ever eaten. Counters filled with warm loaves of bread and pastries were followed by another area of nothing but cheeses, huge jars of pickled beets, veggies and things we weren’t sure of and salads. Next in the line were cold cuts of every kind. We hadn’t even begun yet. Around the next corner came the hot entrees… bacon, potatoes, different sausages, eggs cooked right in front of you, and of course, pancakes. Drinks consisted of many juices and Jason had a chilli energy shot––a great way to start the morning. If you were still hungry you could have a choice of about a dozen cereals with an array of nuts, berries, and seeds to top it with. Yogurts and flavor add-ins were next followed by the coffee bar. I am trying to stick to my healthy eating program but a girl can only stand so much so I was pretty full when I left there. Especially when I finished my breakfast with a piece of chocolate cake. WHAT????

We met Cousin Ottar about 9 o’clock and off we went to catch the tram to head downtown to the harbor area. The sun was shining and the water was shimmering as many ferries came and went to the various islands nearby where the locals own cabins and the days are calling them to spend time. We walked for a long time chatting as we walked and Ottar gave us some of the history of my family, which, sadly there are not many members left. We sat on a bench and talked while Jason went around and took pictures before heading to a beautiful fortress overlooking the bay. We have certainly been getting our steps in. Jason did about 20,000 and I did 23,000 today. No wonder we are tired. We climbed to the top of the hill and were rewarded with amazing views all the way around. We could even see the Oslo ski jump far in the distance. On the way down the hill we decided to stop for a coffee at a local shop and sat under a beautiful canopy of trees. Jason had his first beer of the trip here and we continued our talk about the family. We planned what we would do tomorrow during Constitution Day. One more stop at City Hall where Ottar said he had never been in all the years he’s lived here. A beautifully decorated building greeted us inside with more views of the harbour. Ottar was getting tired so we walked back to the train where we parted ways with him and continued walking around the city. Heading home for a break, we stopped at a bakery where they had huge freshly baked buns of various flavours to choose from. Jason chose a pistachio one and I still wasn’t hungry after breakfast so just had a banana when we got back to our room. After a short rest, it was time to leave for the opera which brings us back to being one of THOSE people.

We had lost track of time while working on our computers and when we finally realized the time, we were shocked that we only had about 45 minutes to get back downtown to the Opera House which was a long ride on the tram followed by a few block walk. To make things worse, Jason got confused about which tram to take and thought we should be on the other side of the tracks, so we walked over there to meet our train and while standing there, the train that we SHOULD have taken went by. He then realized that we had been on the right side of the tracks in the first place so back over we went. We finally boarded and rode to our departure point, walked the rest of the way to the Opera House and got into the building two minutes late along with some other stragglers. The attendant wasn’t happy with us but got us seated very quickly and the performance began right away. It was a little stressful but we were happy we made it… until we weren’t. It wasn’t a great production of Cinderella as we know it but some unusual version. We both kept falling asleep but happily, there was no snoring going on. We sat through it for two hours and it finally ended and we left promptly. The upside is we enjoyed walking outside and to the top of the building. The Opera House is a beautiful feat of architecture and we were able to climb to the very top so Jason could get some fabulous pictures.

Another long walk back to the train and homeward bound but not before our stomachs started telling us to feed them. It had been a long time since breakfast with only a bun to satisfy us in between. We stopped for burgers and nachos and came home, tired and happy to be here. It will be an early night tonight as we have an even heavier day planned tomorrow for Constitution Day which we are looking forward to. Something very special has been planned for us so come back tomorrow for an update on that.

Good night everyone.