Melissa the Lifesurfer: 2017

After a lot of fun on our 28th anniversary in Paris (the evening was spent in the colorful Pigalle District, in O'Sullivan's Irish Pub, right next door to the Moulin Rouge). It was time to move on to Oslo, Norway. But we did a few new things in Paris: the Zoo, Pigalle district, visited Sacre Coeur church, Paris' Hard Rock Cafe, saw about a hundred soldiers mounted on horses go by the area where the "new" ferris wheel is, and spent an evening along the Seine, across from Notre Dame, drinking beer and delighting in the lovely laughter of some Asian college girls and the lively lighting of bateaux (boats) drifting by.
So new was good. "Paris is Always a Good Idea" (quote from an Audrey Hepburn movie) became a theme for us.
Now for some last Paris pix...when you see the pictures change to radiant blue fjord water, you'll know you're in Oslo...

Sacre Coeur

Always writing in journal

Ah, the D'Orsay Museum is a must. This time we all had to clear out of the museum because there was an unattended bag left. But we got to go back in.

Because of the bomb scare, the fancy cafe was so glad to have us show up!

Gene always manages to find a laundry mat and gets our clothes cleaned.

Looks like a Norwegian fjord to me!

The buildings across the water were my favorites: King Olav V's old castle : The Akershus Fortress, and a building dedicated to the Norwegian Resistance against Hitler. So moving I cried.

There was a WONDERFUL Thai Restaurant called YaYa's next door to our hotel (Thon Vika Atrius, thumbs up).

The Hard Rock Cafe is in this building...you can't miss it.

Outdoor cultural museum of Norse life on a beautiful day

Stave church

Viking Museum

Kon Tiki Museum

Riding back from the museums on the local ferry boat

My most favorite place to visit in Oslo....The Nobel Peace Prize museum....gives one hope

Nobel Peace Prize museum has a darkened room with the stories of the Prize winners. Very, very moving. MLK, Malala, Desmond Tutu, Tich Nhat Hanh, Obama, Foundations such as Doctor's Without Borders, much more...

One of the tedious things about travel is managing photos. Just today I finally ordered the prints from Snapfish so I can make a Norway 2017 photo album.

And now I will post a few more Paris photos and then move into Oslo and wrap up with Amsterdam. In Amsterdam our usual hotel over 30 years (the Thorbeck) was closed. Hotels.com purchased it and we look forward to seeing what they do with the space. But we fell in love with the Carlton (on the corner of the Flower Market, has awesome balcony, worth the extra $). But Gene was depressed about the Thorbeck. This is part of our story on the trip; things change. We're getting older, too.
Here's some pix;