01_01_2011 Norway New Years Eve

After a very eventful night (see previous post), I received an MMS from Norway.

This photo show the party taking place in Oslo with the star being a magnum of Penfolds I delivered earlier in the year.

04_07_10 – Frukost, Tryvann Vinterpark, Holmenkollen, Canard-a-la-Des

Today we had an awesome “Swedish” (not Norwegian) breakfast with Vanessa and Frederick.  There was nice bread, kalles kaviar – a Swedish fish roe spread, boiled eggs, sour milk, a nice sharp cheese, a ‘dotty’ ham/salami, tomatoes and cucumber, fried sausage, apelsin (orange juice) and coffee.  Tack så mycket Fidde och Vanessa!

Frederick drove us up to Holmenkollen in his VW to see one of the world’s biggest ski jumps.  Last time I was here it was in winter and it had just decommissioned, so we go to see the new one.  Kiri had a Snickers icecream and bought an original Lapland Christmas bauble.

Tryvann is a small ski resort just up the road from Holmenkollen, which makes it accessible to people living in the city and is open til late so people can have a ski after work.  It was different to see it in summer.  We had some good views of Oslo on the way home.

On the way to Des’s place we caught the long (scenic) tram to the city centre and saw the excellent new Opera House – a real feature.  However the gloss was taken off the positive note we were on, when we walked past the central station and the drug addicts.

Des prepared the duck for lunch.  He created a celeriac and potato side dish and served the duck with an apple and cabbage braise.  Another awesome feast.

We then watched Germany flog Argentina in the world cup…

03_07_10 – Frognerparken, Brugatta, BLÅ

Wiley – Des’s new dog – enjoyed going to the park today, there was a special dogs-off-leash zone where he could run wild.  He’s a strong boy.  It , the park, is a pretty big tourist attraction due to its famous sculptures.  You can read more about it here.

Me, Dave and Andreas went shopping down at Brugatta in a Chinese supermarket,

and we also went to the Vinmonopolet (see earlier post).  Des had planned a chinese steamboat shabu-shabu party for the night.  After a huge ($$$) bill at the supermarket – since when did a piece of beef cost $120? – there was only one thing left for us to do : watch Germany thrash Argentina. The steamboat was awesome: crab balls, fish balls, prawn and coriander dumplings, entrecote, mushrooms, udon, vegetables, etc, etc…

After dinner we went to the local club called BLÅ to see the German crew who own Klang Elektronik, play a party called sunkissed.  After that we went to Dave’s bar which was absolutely packed.

02_07_10 – Hello Oslo

Woke up this morning to blinding rays of sunlight coming in our bedroom window.  The large number of sunlight hours up here is really starting to have some effect on usual sleeping habits.

Brazil vs Netherlands was the game of the day and we arranged a bbq in the park with Dave, Des, Britta, Kiri, Andreas and Line.  Des and I got the beer (Hansa SommerØl) and Dave organised the grill.

I was the only one going for Netherlands, everyone else took Brazil.  Tiesto tweeted earlier in the day that the score was going to be 2-1 to Holland.  He was right.

The park was packed with people.  It was also packed with gypsies.

After the game, Des, Kiri and I went to a seafood restaurant called Babord Cafe.  Des used to work there and we had a customised tasting version of the full menu.  Some highlights were the french oysters, swedish caviar and the king crab.  We also had a taste of some Spanish wine, a German riesling, Chablis and Sancerre to go with.

After dinner, the owner came out and told us he had just been given a tip from one of Norway’s most prolific wine bloggers for his dinner service the previous night.  The tip was a 1955 Barolo that was in great condition.  The lucky new owner shared a glass with us, what a wine!

Thur 01_07_10 – Stockholm till Oslo

This morning we ran to catch the buss to IKEA headquarters in Kungens Kurva, just outside of Stockholm city.  IKEA run a free bus from the city out there.  We missed the first bus due to a problem with the change machine at the train station when we were trying to store our luggage for the day.

So, we got the next bus after cruising around for an hour in the city.  When we arrived, it was obvious the store was pretty big.

It was really massive and took us ages to walk through the whole shop.  It is awesome to see how they can make such a small space look so spacious and stylish.  They showed a whole house with everything you could possibly imagine and it was 50 square metres.

The IKEA restaurant was really busy and we ordered två köttbullar klassik (two servings of swedish meatballs).  They serve meatballs, mashed potato and lingonberry sauce.

A six train journey later and we were in Oslo.  Des, Line, and Andreas picked us up from Oslo Sentral.  Vanessa and Fidde graciously loaned us their apartment in Majorstuen while they were away on holiday in Sweden.

Unpacking took about a minute and then we headed to Aker Brygge, which is a harbourside area in Oslo that is busy with seafood restaurants in the summer.  We met Niklas there and had some nice cremant bubbles from Bourgogne.

After the sun {almost} set we went to Dave’s bar called Jekkyls.  We had a few beers there (and some fine scotch and fernet) before going to Des’s place in Grünerløkka.

Wed 30_06_10 – Stockholm

Arriving in Stockholm on the ferry from Helsinki this morning.

Hotel Sven Vintappare is an old hotel/cafe in the old part of Stockholm, an island called Gamla Stan (Old Town).  It is in a vcry small lane and was built around 1600s.  Great location and neat room.

For lunch we went for a coffee at Mellqvist Kaffebar – the place where Mikael Blomkvist, from Millenium novels, hangs out.   We also went down the lane where he was living (fictitiously in the novel).  There was a bit of action on the street too, with some alchos running amok.

Sebastien Ingrosso is always having dinner at Mäster Anders restaurant in Kungsholmen, so Kiri and I decided to go check it out. (Luckily) We got a table straight away even though it was really busy.  Kiri had Char with truffle hollandaise and I had Sirloin with chilli bearnaise.  It is all cooked on a charcoal grill.  The wine was also really good.

After dinner we went to the Absolut Ice Bar at the Nordic Sea hotel.  We donned the big arctic jacket and had our absolut served on an ice bar in an ice glass.  It was pretty fun (expensive).

Tue 29_06_10 – Silja Symphony (Helsinki to Stockholm)

Helsinki is a very small city, you can walk around it in about 30 minutes.  But after lunch today, at a Nepalese place, we caught the 3B tram around the city – well halfway around the city.  The tram couldn’t take us the whole way because a Mercedes parked in the way of the tram tracks; owner nowhere to be found.

Silja Symphony is the name of one of the ships that traverses the Baltic Sea back and forward between Finland and Sweden.  It is owned by a company called Tallink.  They also run boats to Riga, Tallin and St Petersberg.  Boarding starts at 3.30pm before a 5pm departure.  This vessel is also a car and truck ferry.  On board it is like a cruise ship.

The observation deck on the top floor gave us an excellent view of Helsinki.

29_06_10 – This is too good to be true

In Scandinavian countries, alcohol sales are controlled by the State.  That means the government is the sole operator of take away liquor stores.

Norway has Vinmonopolet.  The Norwegian Wine and Spirits Monopoly.  www.vinmonopolet.no

Sweden has Systembolaget.  The Swedish Alcohol Retail Monopoly. www.systembolaget.se

Finland has…

wait for it…

ALKO

www.alko.fi

28_08_10 Helsinki Walk

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Mon 28_06_10 – Helsinki, Helsingfors

Getting used to seeing all the names for everything in two languages.  (Three.)  In Finland, everything is written in Finnish and Swedish (and English).  I can recognise a fair bit of stuff in Swedish, but with Finnish, I have no hope.  To me, it is like reading Romanian…

Today, after our luggage didn’t arrive as scheduled, we walked to a sports shop – Stadium – to buy some clothes to carry us over.  From there, the gardens of central Helsinki were too inviting and we had a coffee in the park before heading to the Kauppatori.

Near the ocean, there is a tourist market selling all kinds of things, and when I say all kinds of things I mean three things specifically – green beans, new potatoes and chantarelle mushrooms.  Every single store was selling those three things!!!

Our bags finally arrived and we got changed and went towards the main square.  Cafe Strindberg was very busy, but we got a seat.  Netherlands had a decisive win over Slovakia whilst we had a beer at Sports Pub Chelsea.

Ravintola Vtlava – Helsinki’s Czech speciality pub – was outstanding (http://www.vltava.fi/).  The Roasted Pork Knuckle and Half Roast Bird were fantastic and the beer and wine to match were perfect: I would highly recommend this restaurant/bar to anyone visiting the city.

Sun 27_06_10 – Hong Kong, CDG, Helsinki

Left early am from Hong Kong to Paris. This is a pretty gruelling leg of the journey, especially cause it’s daytime the whole trip. Flying Air France was a new experience for us. The food was great – and the Champagne and Bordeaux.

Paris was stinking hot – about 30 degrees. Whilst transiting from Terminal 2F to 2D (bloody long walk btw), we were diverted because of a bomb scare in the railway station below the airport. After only just making it to the Finn Air transfer desk, the staff informed us that we would fly upgraded to Business on the Helsinki flight.

What goes up must come down. Of course, the upgrade must have been a sweetener to compensate our lost bags in Charles de Gaul. Yes, lost bags again in EU.

Caught the Finnair bus to our hotel in the city centre: Holiday Inn. The sun was just going down when we got in about 12.20am. However, the sun was coming back up in only about 20min. Long days in Scandinavia…

Sat 8_8_9 – Piazza di Spagna, Terme di Diocleziano

Today we had a brilliant last day, we went to the Piazza di Spagna to check out the Spanish Steps (apparently the longest and widest steps in Europe).  We took the day pretty easy, but enjoyed the walk through the narrow main streets and ended up at Piazza del Popolo.  This is a typical tourist pic of the steps espanol..

Almost so typical I can’t recover from it.  We had dinner at the restaurant named in the latter part of the subject line and all meals were delivered with the usual Italian perfection.  I recommend the restaurant.

Fri 7_08_09 – Vatican City, Piazza Navano, Pantheon

We caught a train (subway) to Vatican city today.  We got hammered by tour touts but preferred to do a solo walk through.  It was really hot today.  The square at the Vatican centre was really huge.

The partheon is one of my eternal favourites. See below.. (and for a further reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon,_Rome)

Thur 6_08_09 – Colosseum, Gnocchi (?), Trimani Wine Bar, Taverna Flavia

Well today was supposed to be Gnocchi Thursday in Rome.  However, the restaurants we went to weren’t playing.  The first place, net-renowned for their gnocchi, were open and gnocchi was on the menu but they just wouldn’t serve it to us.  Don’t know why?

After our nice gnocchi lunch, we walked down Via Cavour to end up at the Colosseum – the real one.  What an impressive sight: and that was just the line up to get in! We got suckered by a tourguide with their “avoid-the-lines” pitch and only a few extra euros later, we were “avoiding the lines”.  Money does buy you some things.

Inside we got a tour with little radios and some historical information about the place.  After heaps of photos, we ventured downstairs and explored the hypogeum (the underground tunnel bit).  It is, for me, a recommended site to visit.

Trimani Wine Bar is noted for its funky and sophisticated wine list and I was hell bent on trying a good Italian wine.  I researched a little and because I love Shiraz variety wines, I ended up trying a Sagrantino red which was from Umbria.  Some more information here

I was given Taverna Flavia as a recommendation for a lively dinner place and it was certainly that.  Live music and funny staff can really make for a good night.  Once again the food was excellent (as it has been everywhere in Rome).

Wed 5_08_09 – Ibiza -> Madrid -> Roma

Had a quick breakfast at Central Park Apartments because Donald’s was shut (unfortunately).  Flew to Madrid and caught our onward connection to Fiumicino Airport in Rome.  A quick 40 euro cab ride into town and we were there : The Marsala Hotel.

After some major dramas checking in (ask Clif).  Dinner at small Italian restaurant, pasta cacio e pepe for me at the instruction of my waiter.  Apparently there are three pasta dishes that make up the holy trinity of Roman cuisine.  Carbonara, Amatriciana and Cacio e Pepe.  I’m going to try them all!

Tue 4_08_09 – Sa Cova Wine Tasting, Tapas

For our penultimate day in the beautiful island of Ibiza we decided to take in a country wine tasting tour just for some random fun.  Sa Cova wine tasting tour is was and we were off on a small car with trailer disguised as a train.  Did I mention we had a very interesting, and very funny, tour guide : Vincent.

Vincent believed – or just liked the word – that everything in Ibiza was “fantastic”.  From the melons, to the potatoes, to the wine, to the tomatoes, and most of all the panoramics.  “Please folks take in the fantastic panoramic”.  The tour was memorable, the wine not so…

For our last dinner we went to a simple place called “Tapas”.  It’s off a backstreet near Bar M, probably only 500m back but it feels like you are in the middle of nowhere.  We virtually ordered everything on the menu and shared it between about 10 people.  Food was really good.

We did our final stroll down the strip and watched the legendary Jose Padilla play a set at Savannah…

Mon 3_08_09 – 10 Years Cocoon Ibiza “Special Sunset Party”

Cocoon is celebrating 10 years in Ibiza.

For a special treat, Sven decided to do a sunset terrace set at Amnesia with Cassy warming up, followed by Josh Wink and Richie Hawtin (Yes! you are reading this right).

At the start of the night Carl Cox showed up and perched at a bar next to us, I gathered up some courage and introduced myself and he had a conversation with me, we talked about his gigs at Family and how he fondly remembers them.  Sven showed up and handshakes all round before he jumped on the wheels of steel..

Cassy played a perfect warm up as the crowd piled in and then sven finished the job off in fine form.  As opposed to the previous Monday, he seemed in a really good mood and it was really rubbing off on the crowd…

We left the party about midnight and it was absolutely pumping.  We were going home to get 4 hours sleep before heading back to the club at 5.30am (when Sven would be hitting the decks in the mainroom).  When we were leaving Clif ran into Sven in the carpark and had a chat with him, Sven wanted his feedback on the night (whilst sitting in his RangeRover with number plates DJ9000).

When I got back to the club later it was full.  Apparently Cocoon @ Amnesia is the one of the only clubs to consistently shut the doors and put up the “CLUB FULL” sign.  After a 30min wait, I realised there was no chance of getting in, and dejectedly caught a cab home

Link to terrace set here

Fri 31_07 -> Sun 2_08_09 – A few days off, Savannah, Eivissa, Dalt Vila, Cafe del Mar

We took the weekend off to recover because Ibiza showed us what a toll it can take you (note: don’t go to NYC and Las Vegas before a trip to Ibiza).  When I say we took it off, I mean we still did the tourist things – like sightseeing – but we didn’t go partying.

Eivissa is the catalan (as opposed to castilian) name for Ibiza and is also the name of the capital(?) of Ibiza.  In Eivissa is an old walled fort and township that is called Dalt Vila.

We walked to the top of the hill Dalt Vila is set on, we got some more photo opps…

During our days off we got up a little earlier morning by morning, but because the sun goes down about 10pm it makes the days really long. We took in some beaches and some local restaurants.  Pretty much just chilled out.

On the last night we got a table at Cafe del Mar and ordered a few coronitas (small coronas – I’ve only ever seen in Spain).  And took in a really nice sunset…

Check this out for a sunset view overlooking the Mediterranean.

Thur 30_07_09 – Sunset, Sangria, Rey de Copas

Thursday is a pretty big day in Ibiza.  The weekends are usually quieter than the weekdays.  But this weekend was going to be massive as it was Radio1 in Ibiza’s massive weekend.  The town was really busy all day.

When we headed to the sunset strip for a few drinks we couldn’t get a seat at Savannah, Cafe del Mar or Mambo, so we ended up at Rey de Copas (which I think translates to King of Cups).  In other words we were relegated to the last spot on the strip that you could see the sunset – and we couldn’t even get a deck seat.  Because it was T and Wool’s last night we ordered dinner (they had to be at the airport by 11pm).  Dinner was ordinary but they were saved by their champagne sangria, everyone had pretty much had it, so we all crashed pretty much straight after…

Wed 29_07_09 – Rincon del Pepes, Erick Morillo @ Pacha

Rincon del Pepes is a small authentic tapas bar in San Antonio.  The staff here know their stuff and take pride in the food they present, you can just tell by the way they serve it.  All the classics were ordered:

• boquerones con vinagre
• higado plancha
• mejillones
• aceitunas
• jamon iberico
• choricitos (to name a few…)

A trick in Ibiza is to have dinner at the club to get free entry to the night’s event.  As we were going to see Erick Morillo @ Subliminal, we dined at Pacha Restaurant in Eivissa.  Pacha restaurant is such a nice place (everything Pacha is unbelievable).  The food was good to quite good, although I wasn’t overly awed by my piece of turbot with citric oil.  After dinner (11.30pm res) and some cava, we headed into the main room to hear Abel the Kid going to town.  Pacha has had a remodel since I’ve last been there, and now there’s a major stage and some more decor areas.

Annie Mac was the night’s guest and she looked fairly nervous, I don’t particularly like her style of music but the club was still rocking.

Erick showed up and the mood changed.  Erick himself was in quite a mood and was very publically giving it to, what looked like a personal assistant.  It appeared as though something wasn’t set up right or working properly.  After sending a few texts on his two Blackberries, he ordered some drinks and systematically sent the crowd wild.  This man is one of the alltime djs.