A broad abroad: MORE OF OSLO

After lunch we headed to the Opera House the home of the Norwegian Opera and Ballet which we could see from our hotel. It is a piece of art in its own right and is made of marble and glass and took five years to complete. It is the largest cultural building to be built in Norway since the construction of the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim at the start of the 14th century. Thre angled exterior surfaces of the building are covered in Italian marble and white granite and make it appear to rise from the water.

This is the roof and you can walk on it and enjoy the panoramic views of Oslo.

Sharon cheered because she got ot the top!

I had to sit down and rest.

From the top you can look down and see these posters of the many opera and ballets that have been performed there.

The crystal sculpture that you see in the background on many of these pictures was done by an Italian artist, Monica Bonvicini and financed by a Norwegian businessman . She Lies seems to float on the waters of the Oslo Fjord but actually stands on a concrete platform and can turn on its own axis, moved by the winds and the tides.

That evening we decided to go down to the water area and have a little dinner. we were told there were a lot of nice restaurants there and no need to make reservations. It was pleasant night so we just did a leisurely walk from the hotel to the water.

On our way I decided to stop in this shoe store to see if they carried narrow shoes. I have a terrible time finding shoes because I have a very narrow foot. I wasn't interested in buying shoes but doing research. Most shoe stores in Europe do not carry narrows. Because I am half Norwegian I wanted to see if my Norwegian heritage is responsible for my narrow feet. BINGO! The store does carry narrow sizes but they were all sold out. I am sure that proves conclusively that my Norwegian ancestors are to blame for my shoe fitting problems. Who would have thought those Vikings had narrow feet.

The entrance to the Grand Hotel.

This is the famous Grand Cafe, one of several restaurants in the Grand Hotel. It is best known as the annual venue of the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. It is situated in a very central location on the main thoroughfare between the Norwegian Parliament building and the Royal Palace. The hotel was opened in 1874. Each year the hotel hosts the annual Nobel Peace Prize banquet, and the prize winners stay in the Nobe suite at the hotel. The"Grand Cafe" is where Henrik Ibsen, the famous playright used to eat every day.

We strolled inside for a ittle peak. Who knows maybe we will stay here next time. If it 's good enough for Mick Jagger, a regular guest, it's good enrough for me. As Oslo is the most expensive city in the world I thought I would check out the rates at the hotel. Just going to the hotel I found the cheapest room to be around $753.00 a night and reading some of the reviews I'm afraid that may not get you a very good room. I looked at some of the discount sites and found they had some specials and one could book a room for around $310.00 a night which isn't bad. Again you're probably not going to get Mick Jagger's room for that price.

A cocktail area.

We continued our walk and wandered into this little park.

Discovered these wonderful statures of children.

And this not so wonderful statue of ????

We ambled down to the water.

Found the street of restaurants.

And joined this couple.

They were just really into each other and despite our best efforts we just couldn't get them to notice us.

So we just ignored them.

Now Sharon doesn't like fish so it's a little difficult to sometimes find things that she enjoys but she does like lobster so she decided to splurge - remember world's most expensive city. The waitress had kind of indicated that the lobster dish Sharon was looking at may not be enough ad perhaps she should order a side dish. Sharon is not a very big eater so "we" decided that the dish would be enough. Well, 1/2 of a cold lobster tail with mayonaise and some lettuce without dressing was not even enough for Sharon. Her stomach and her pocketbook were empty. I did have a wonderful Halibut dish so there was nothing wrong with the restaurant just probably the selection but the price being what it was "we" certainly expected something more substantial. I'm not going to help Sharon anymore with her selections.

We walked home and the city was all lit up - just beautiful.