Wonderful Andrew comes for a 2 hour bus ride just to collect me from the airport, wait around for another hour or so and then take the return bus for a 2 hours ride back to his.  I get off the plane and the trees are all beautifully while and glistening (even though it is after 10pm).  Am promised that it will be like this for the next few days so leave the camera packed away.  Turns out the glistening I saw was mostly from raindrops - still, don't let it be said I didn't enjoy Norway.  Fabulous place to spend Christmas.  And lovely being with family over Christmas, especially since everything was shut for 3 days.  Just as well Andrew is one of the prepared ones and the household was never wanting for food or beverages.

This can be seen in our Christmas eve table!  Most of the food stuffs I was not able to pronounce (or remember) but there was reindeer - perhaps by Santa skipped our place - oh well, am just hoping it wasn't one of the major players like Dasher or Prancer.  Anyway, Christmas eve and Andrew and I worked a few miracles of our own by walking on water on the lakes up from his place.  Dinner (as I said) was fabulous and I ate waaaaaay too much - not that I ever had much willpower, but perhaps even less than usual (who am I kidding you don't get someone with lower will power than me).  Okay so Christmas breakfast was chocolate kiwi coins and then headed out to the beach.  A kiwi's gotta do what a kiwi's gotta do!  We had a picnic lunch on the beach - that is if shiveringly unwrapping a chocolate truffle and scoffing it before it freezes counts.

We had some lovely walks around and it was great to be so far up the globe.  Plus I got to have some v salty licorice which is a passion the Norwegian apparently share with us dutchies (half-dutchies).