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My Life in Oslo

The Belgian's view of life in Norway

Posts tagged with "travel"

STICKY POST

Places I Have Visited

Parallax View

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Parallax View

Like a penny for a thought, the clever beggar,
at the railway station asks a Euro for himself,
To print the ticket for the airport express train.

Upon arrival there, and through the duty free,
When I see you in that other cash register line,
But you fail to spot my very longing gaze.

Both of us are headed for a different nation,
So again, I lose you to another waiting gate,
In that queue towards that other destination.

But in the fate of life, a little chaos intervenes,
And for a moment crosses the parallel tracks,

For one last time to catch those jewel eyes,

For one last time to see your pearly laugh.


SV - Rome-Fumicino/Kopenhagen-Kastrup/Oslo-Gardermoen, September/October 2008

Optical Illusions

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Optical Illusions

With the sky high above cerulean blue,
the ghost of the old Cardinal, led him
over carpets glowing emerald and jade,
to surroundings of gold and yellow ochre.

Here his eyes were touched, by sharp
slivers of polished lapis lazuli,
cutting with neurosurgical precision,
paths of carmine passion in his brain.

But when he piped this painted story,
in gentle groups of ones and zeros,
down into transluscent optical fibres,
the mermaid failed to answer his request.

An Spidéal

:sing: Yell of the day: Goooooood Moooooorniiiing, Viieetnam :yes:

Well, on Saturday I made myself a hearty breakfast with fried striped bacon, and some melon cubes, sandwiched between a ciabatta (actually two of them). Since the weather was nice - some showers during the night, but now a broken overcast - I stuck to my plan to take the bus to Spiddal (pronounced more like 'spiddle'), a town :rolleyes: , about 18 km from Galway.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiddal (yep, very accurate description)

After gathering my paint gear, I took my usual bus to 'The Square', i.e. Eyre Square in the city centre, which is near the bus/rail station.

After double checking the bus schedule (didn't want to get stranded out there) at the ticket office, I got myself a day return ticket for Spiddal. The bus departed right on time (13.00) (on time in Ireland? :eyes: ). There were a few fellow passengers, including two old gentlemen talking 'as Gaeilge'. Yep, were in a Gaeltacht area here :up:

The bus drive goes out via Salthill (yes, could have taken the bus there), the Promenade, Knocknacarra, Bearna, and then the set-down stops become highly 'unofficial' - basically, you tell the driver where you want to get off :lol:
After about half an hour's drive you reach the main street of Spiddal.

I walked down to the (a very rocky) beach. My first impression was that the view across the bay wasn't very different than the one in Satlthill; same perspective on the Co. Clare cliffs and hills, not withstanding the 18 km parallax!
Some people were sea angling and had their lines set up, and their bright coloured outfit made a nice contrast, with the dull colours of the scenery, so I decided to capture the atmsphere in a watercolour painting



At the entrance of the town there is a collection of 'Craft and Design Studios' - the local tourist trap, of course :wink: - but fun to visit anyway (see www.spiddalcraftvillage.com ). Unfortunately, outside the main tourist hunting season, a lot of the units - including the bistro - are closed.
Nevertheless, a few were open, and I walked out with a green polo shirt, and a 'The Very Best of Maura O'Connell' CD.

By that time I needed some food, so I walked back to the main street, and decided to have lunch at restaurant of the 'An Crúiscín Lán Hotel' ( see http://www.cruiscinlanhotel.com/ ). Can't really recommend their lunch menu... :worried: I should have choosen the seafood place across the street...

After that I had a walk to the harbour - very deserted. If you climb the pier though, you are rewarded with a view of the Aran Islands at the horizon :cool: (image source ---> http://www.karott.com/ireland/journal_2002.asp#13 )

By then, I had seen about eveything there was to discover around the place, so I went for a pint of Guinness, before making my way to the bus stop for the trip home. By that time the sun was on its way down, and the main street started filling with the slightly acrid smell of peat fires...


December 2009
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