SLIDER

helsinki

28 Jun 2010

This is going to be my last blog post for a while, I'm afraid. My laptop has just died and with it my ability to edit photos and blog. All my photo editing software is installed on the laptop so even if I were to buy a new laptop I still couldn't prepare any of my photos and what's a travel blog without any images? I might check in from time to time just to let you know what I'm up to. I'm travelling for another 3 weeks and when I have time to prepare the rest of the images, be prepared for an onslaught. Thankfully I managed to upload my Helsinki photos before the laptop crashed.

I really enjoyed my time in Helsinki and as soon as I saw the buildings I knew I wanted to photograph Helsinki in black and white. I busted out some film and shot a roll of black and white film. You'll have to wait a while for those images because I'll get them processed once I'm back in Sydney. 

All the images are of the iconic architecture of Helsinki, because that's what appealled to me.














I hope you enjoyed all the photos. So until the next time, whenever that will be,

Jillian
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Bergen

23 Jun 2010

I arrived in Stockholm yesterday to a perfect sunny day, just the way I like my summers to be. Armed with my Stockholm card, I'm off to Skansen then I'm on the search for some homewares to use in my food photography. I'll be in Sweden for the rest of the week then Sunday I'm heading to the UK.

Here are the last of my images from Norway. Bergen was the final stop on the Norway in a Nutshell tour and I wonder if I'd have liked Bergen better if the tour had begun there. After the peace and quiet of Fläm, I found the hustle and bustle of Bergen a bit confronting. I'd had great difficulty booking a room in Bergen 3 months back and according to a note attached to the door of the Information Centre, there wasn't a single bed available in the town.

The places I enjoyed the most in Bergen were the ones that took me away from the tourist crowds - the back streets behind Bryggen; the funicular to Mt. Flöyen followed by a hike up the top; the West Norway Museum of Decorative Arts and the very sad, Leprosy Museum.


Bryggen seemed to be the starting point for many tours, so it was very busy. Many of the buildings are sinking, so some major restoration is taking place.



Just a few minutes walk away from Bryggen and up a fairly steep hill you can find all of these pretty wooden houses. I walked as far as Skansen, an old fire station overlooking a water hole.


I'd bought a Bergen card before I left Australia so I tried to see as many museums/sights as possible. The first of these was the Rosenkrantz Tower.


I enjoyed my climb and the view from the top. Next museums to visit were the Kunst Museum and the Decorative Art Musuem, followed by the Leprosy Museum.


Each of the doorways you see led to a tiny room which housed a single leprosy patient. People spent their whole lives in one of those tiny rooms. It was a very Dickensian place.



The last discount involved a 50% reduction on the funicular to Mt. Floyen. I thought, ho-hum, another funicular, but the possibilty of doing a hike so close to the city was very appealling. In the end I'm glad I took the ride to the top and chose to do walk number 2 which took me to a lake. I soon discovered walk number 2 was a popular route for dog walkers and runners. The smell of the trees was lovely and fresh and so different from the Bergen below.


It was a nice way to end my last day in Norway because the following day I flew to Helsinki to start the Finnish leg of my trip. One of my lovely blog readers, Annika, gave me lots of tips for things to see and do in Helsinki. I'll tell you all about them the next time I post, but until then,

Jillian
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Flåm

21 Jun 2010

Sorry for being such a tardy blogger but I've been too busy to work on my photos until now. You should have seen me designing collages this morning whilst on the train from Helsinki to Turku. That's right, I'm in Finland now but I'm yet to blog half my photos from Oslo. The good news is that they're all prepared and ready to go, so I can promise you 2 blog posts this week. These photos are from my trip to Fläm, part of the Norway in a Nutshell tour.

First stop on the journey was Finse, the highest altitude of the journey. It may have been summer but it's hard to tell in Finse. I could have sworn I felt snowflakes on my cheek.



The journey ended at Myrdal, where we caught the Flämsbana down into the valley to the tiny village of Fläm, population 500. Fläm rests at the heart of the Aurlands Fjord and it's a beautiful and peaceful place.


I decided to stay over night at the Flämsbrygga Hotel and I can thoroughly recommend it. The hotel is very new and the room was really sweet looking out over the fjord. I decided to take a walk to old Fläm to visit the church. It's a popular walk and I met many fellow travellers along the way, some animal and some human.






The next morning after another very hearty Scandinavian breakfast I boarded the boat for my fjord cruise to Gudvangen. Well the scenery was as breathtaking as promised so I took way too many photos. I'll just share a few with you.



 


Whilst I was AWOL, I noticed Holly from decor8 featured some of my Bison Shopshoot photos. Brian, the owner, emailed me last week and let me know that Bison now shops internationally which is good news for all of you not lucky enough to live around the corner from the Bison store. Brian also lived in Sweden for a time so he's given me some things to see and do when I hit Stockholm next week. 


Next time I write, I'll be sharing my photos from Bergen on Norway's west coast. So until then,


Jillian
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Oslo continued part II

15 Jun 2010

As promised, here are some more images from Oslo. I'm now in Bergen so my time in Norway is almost over. Next destination, Finland but for now, back to Oslo. The first day I arrived I went to see the National Gallery which was quite close to the hotel. The gallery of course features the work of Munch but they also have quite a large display of French Impressionists.




From there I walked past the National Theatre and it's pretty summer gardens. My friend Bea tells me in winter the ponds freeze over and people ice skate.


I attended a conference reception which was held at the Oslo town hall, an interestng example of the brutalism school of architecture. I can thank my brother, Farmer Andrew, for that piece of architectural information.



The city hall is where the Nobel Peace Prize is presented. The town hall's marble interior and colourful frescoes are at complete odds with it's exterior. 



I had no time for shopping but I did pass by a sweet flower shop, Bare Blomster and snapped a few photos.



When the conference was over I visited the Viking Ship Museum and walked back through Dronningen - lots of trees and gorgeous wooden houses. I wished the day had been more pleasant to enjoy it's prettiness without the soggy jeans and sodden feet from walking through too many puddles.


My last day in Oslo was spent with friends so apart from lunch in Majorstuen and dinner downtown, we visited the Munch Museum, the Nobel Peace Centre and Vigeland Park.


I discovered that wearing gumboots in the rain is a fashionable thing amongst the beautiful people in Oslo. Who knew?


It's time for me to get ready to walk the streets of Bergen with my camera so I better go. I'll be back in a few days with some photos of Flam and the beautiful fjords, so until then,

Jillian
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Oslo continued

14 Jun 2010

As promised, here are some images from my stay in Oslo. I thought I should really get these posted as I've now left Oslo for Flam. I'm on the Norway in a Nutshell tour and I'm staying overnight at the Flamsbrygga Hotel in Flam. My room is lovely, overlooking the fjord and I worked up a healthy appetite walking to the old church and back.


I took over 300 images in Oslo so trying to edit them down to a reasonable number was a bit difficult. I decided to show you my highlights and I've divided them into 2 separate posts. I'll start with Den Norske Opera, Oslo's new opera house. I really liked the low marble clad curved building and the use of wood in the interiors.


My Oslo Hotel was on St Olaf's Plass near St Olaf's Church and the gorgeous Cafe Tekehtopa. I walked past the church on my way to a beautiful peaceful cemetery, the Var Frelsers Gravlund and found some lovely old wooden buildings along the way.





I loved Oslo's main cathedral, the Dom Kirke



I walked past the church each day on my way to the conference.



I took most of these images the first few days I was in Oslo before the weather turned nasty. Unfortunately no city I know looks its best in the rain.

I'll be back in a day or two with some more images of Oslo so until then, enjoy the Queens's Birthday Long Weekend,

Jillian
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Oslo

11 Jun 2010

Greetings every-one from a not very sunny Oslo. It's a bit cold, grey and grim out there so I've come back to my room to dry off a bit. As anticipated, I haven't had a moment to spare the past few days hence the lack of posting. As well, I've been suffering from a bad case of jetlag that has me fast asleep at 9.00 p.m. then wide awake anywhere between 1.00 and 3.00 a.m. Hopefully I'm through the worst of it now.



When I haven't been locked inside the conference hall or trying out new exercises at the Olso Olympic Centre I've been roaming the streets of Oslo with my camera. When I have time to prepare them, I'll have many images to share with you but for now, I'm off to have a little nap. I'll post more Olso photos some time during the next few days.

Until then every-one, have a great weekend,

Jillian
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Lime Curd Crumble Cake

7 Jun 2010

One of my colleagues came back from an overseas trip raving about a cake she'd tried at the airport - a lime curd crumb cake. She took a photo of the cake with her i-phone and from that I was supposed to recreate the cake. Well I tried my best and the taste was close but it wasn't quite right.


I made the lime curd using the microwave method and adapted a Bill Granger recipe using the grated rind and juice of 2 limes. I used a Martha Stewart recipe for the base but sorry Martha, apparently the texture was a bit heavy and there was too much crumb. I'll use my own lemon cake recipe next time and work on the lime curd which tasted right but wasn't soft enough. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to rectify that as the curd ends up being cooked twice.


I also forgot to dust the top of the cake with icing sugar but that's easy enough to rectify because undoubtedly, there will be a next time.



There's going to be quite a long break now before I can post any baking as I'll be on the road until the end of July. I hope I can keep you entertained with images and stories from the road. I'm not sure how regular the posting will be especially for the next week. It's a long way from Sydney to Oslo so it's going to take me about 30 hours to get there and once I'm there I'll be attending a a conference for 3 days.

I can't even tell you the challenges involved in negotiating a strange place with a head in a jetlag fog let alone staying awake through 10 hours of lectures when you keep waking at 2.00 a.m. Wish me luck!

Until the next time,

Jillian
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Happy Non Birthday to Me

4 Jun 2010

It's my birthday next week but instead of celebrating the day with family and friends, I'll be en route to Norway. I've chosen tomorrow, June 5, to be my offical non-birthday. I'll be opening my cards and presents in the morning before a visit to the gym then I'm having 2 celebrations - a lunch at my favourite restaurant Sean's Panaroma with family, followed by a dinner at La Scala on Jersey with friends. Why so many celebrations? I've always liked to stretch the birthday festivities out as long as I can.



This little flowergirl has little to do with today's post other than a blog post is always better with a picture and it was shot on black and white film! I don't feel very organised this trip and just the other night I wondered if I had enough film to take with me. I always take a film camera away with me to shoot black and white film as it's my favourite medium.

I checked the fridge and I'm down to the last 2 rolls of black and white so tomorrow after the gym and before lunch I'm heading to my local camera store to track down some of my favourite film, Fuji Neopan 400. Film is too hard to come by these days to assume I'll be able to locate it easily in Oslo.

Have a great weekend and I'll be back again on Monday morning to post the rest of my lime curd crumble cake photos before I fly out. Unfortunately, I left my slice in the freezer at work as I raced out the door today so I won't be able to tell you what it tastes like. Many apologies.

J
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My New Toy

3 Jun 2010

I know I don't post much personal stuff here and that's quite deliberate but I wanted to share with you my latest shiny new toy.



I bought a new car 3 weeks ago to replace the 12 year old car that wasn't going to pass it's roadworthiness certificate. I wanted to take the car to some windswept buff overlooking the ocean to take it's photo but it's rained every weekend since I bought it. I thought urban grunge in Rozelle would have to do instead.



Thanks to my friend Bianca for taking this photo. I have very few photos of myself. It's not that I dislike having my photo taken, it's just that I'm always behind the lens.

It's just a few days now until I fly out and I haven't a clue what to pack for Scandinavia. It's officially winter here in Sydney yet our weather is still a bit warmer than Oslo! I've been busy arranging my mail, a house sitter and storage for the car whilst I'm on my holiday. So many things that still need to be done.

Thanks to the ladies at Remodelista (one of my favourite design blogs) for featuring some of my photos of Donna Hay's General Store.

Bye for now,

Jillian
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