Back to Normal... and Easter!

Back to school, back to reading for a new midterm.. But there's an upside this time - easter!

Not only are the stores full of Lindt bunnies (gotta love those bunnies) but I have the honor of eating the famous Norwegian Freia Påskeegg. The egg is chocolate and inside it is a milky, creamy white chocolaty filling that just blows your mind.

I know I write a lot about chocolate, cupcakes, candy, energy bars, ice cream etc.. but there's just sooo much tasty out there waiting to be eaten.

To all Americans: start the Norwegian egg import!

To all Norwegians: save me some...

Detox

Coming back from our spring vacation our bodies feel terrible. The vouchers they gave us on spring break were to be used at Burger King and SubWay for certain menues at certain times and we got so sick of fastfood we just felt nauseous at the end of it.

We therefore decide to start working out the very next day - not once a day, but twice. It was so hard. We were sweating more than ever and when we came home our stomachs were twisting trying to get rid of all the alcohol and bad fat we had stored during the week.

It's strange to actually feel how alcohol is pure poison to your body (no reason to give it up - but at least now we can go back to drinking just once a week or less). And never has a homecooked meal tasted better.

Our bodies may be shaky and tired but at least now for the first time this week we're neither dizzy, drunk or hung over. Just sleepy.

Turbulence & Starvation

To fly across the US tends to be very shaky compared to other flights and I was therefore prepared this time with sleeping pills so that I wouldn't get scared. The instructions said to take two pills, but the pharmacy lady warned me - I must only take one!

So I took one right before bording. Then another after a couple of hours. I was exhausted, but couldn't sleep whatsoever.. Hopefully dinner would get my mind off things..

But no, dinner never came. On our 7 hour flight, all we got was water and cookies. You didn't even get the possibility to buy a sandwich.

Several bags of cookies and crisps later my eyes were blood shot, I could hardly move my arms - every part of my body was asleep but me. And the turbulence didn't exactly make it better.

I don't recommend JetBlue to anyone who's planning to fly 7 hours and whose diet consists of something else than water and crackers. And blue chips.

But we made it home to Berkeley in the end - and I finlly got my long awaited sleep. Zzzz.. Looking forward to eat tomorrow..

This is not Ibiza - This is Miami

People ask us why we left the Bahamas so early, and the answer is just that we had already fallen in love with Miami. And that we kinda felt a bit old for the American spring break.. :P

Returning to Miami was nice, it was incredibly hot outside and we finally got to lay on the beach - the beautiful beaches of Miami. The hotel we booked in all our rush was fantastic and was situated about 15 meters from the beach - and we had a pool and a jacuzzi.

Miami is all what you've heard plus more. Fancy cars, fancy people. Guys who work out on the beach (show-offs) and girls that show more skin than you would in a bikini. The south beach area is all about setting the right mood for a good party. Everything is so classy and the music so good - we're looooving it..

What was great about Bahamas was that everything was sooo cheap. Going out in Miami on the other hand turned out to be the quite opposite. It was close to Norwegian pricing. We didn't know this and decided to enter a club that had a fairly high entrance fee (35 dollars). When we got in (a very nice place) we went to the bar to get some drinks and were shocked that we had to pay 60 dollars for the four of us. Don't think the bartender liked us that much as we refused to tip more than 2 dollars.. Cheap tourists..

It was shocking. How were we supposed to afford a night out like this? We couldn't, so the options were leaving or staying sober. Leaving would be losing all the entrance (there's no reenrty).. Staying would mean being bored. Untill one of us got the brilliant idea of sweet-talking to the bartender in the far corner in the bar and maybe get some cheaper drinks since we're poor sudents. At first it sounded quite stupid. Poor students from Norway that study at Berkeley and fly to Miami for drinks.. But he felt sorry for us and we ended up paying nothing for a great night out.

Sadly (and obviously) the manager of the bar discovered what the bartender had done (there were cameras there) and a classy club doesn't just give out drinks like that. The night ended with us being thrown out of the bar and the bartender most likely getting fired..

Before all this, we had a great time - it was definitely a memorable night. Though we do feel sorry for the bartender. Who probably had to pay for all of it in the end. I think he learned his lesson: never trust Norwegian girls..

Hit n Run

Today we witnessed something awful on our way out in Miami. About to cross the road to catch our bus, a car in full speed comes out of nowhere and hits a guy crossing the road right in front of us. He got thrown several meters up in the air and landed in the middle of the road. The car just kept on driving. There were cars everywhere, we couldn't run out, we couldn't move at all. None of us could even get out our cell, we were in total shock, so I ran into the hotel lobby crying for help.

None of us believed he was alive, but the police, that arrived very quickly assured us he was. And he was gonna be ok. We still cannot believe he was that "lucky". That no other car hit him. The police interviewed us later, and we tried to remember the car that hit him, but it was dark, we weren't much help standing there crying and shaking.

It was a total wake-up call for us and the irony of it all is that my last words to the girls before the hit was: "Seriously, be careful when you cross the road, some drivers might be drunk and they're driving awfully fast". Truly an horrific experience.

Musical snorkling

Today we went snorkling at the Bahamian reefs - it was amaaaazing.. The fish were friendly enough to swim close to us and we had a underwater camera which was very much fun to use. Too bad I can't post the pics here as they're not developed.

Sunny Bahamas was definitely paradise compared to yesterday. The beaches, the pool, the hotel - all we could wish for, but sadly two of us underestimated the sun.. And got burned. Bad.

The cruise left at 3 and we boarded ready to eat the wonderful buffet dinner. It was incredible. As we left 2 days before the other spring breakers, we were quite alone on the boat with the retired people. But that was nice. We like the calm, and now that the wind had settled and the sun was out - we lay on deck most of the trip. Wonderful <3

As darkness fell we went inside to discover the musician of the night preforming a song. And another song.. And another.. As our video shows - he wasn't amazing.. So we went up there and did our own version of the Beatles' "Help". People were far more engaged. After all this was the music of their youth. And I was wearing my weird t-shirt.

As the guy went back to singing his own songs when we were done, Maria decided she would go up and sing a real song - Unbreak My Heart. She did really good. And when she was done they called out "And Maria is the winner of the Karaoke!!" A contest? Oh..! How nice. We had no idea..

And the prize was this wonderful t-shirt. A memory for life.

Frat Crap?

First day in Bahamas and it rains.. YEY! The first part of the day was spent in bed cursing the stupid Bahamas and listening to FratBoys next door partying from the break of dawn. Yes, we were the oldest spring breakers there (assuming all the retired people weren't spring breaking..) The Frats really wanted us to join and kept hammering down our door for several hours. Kids..

Finally as the night approached and the rain stopped, we gave in, and went out to have a good time. And we did. Drinks were amazingly cheap and about 10 minutes after our arrival at the club we were good to go;)

We discovered FratBoys weren't too bad after all (have to consider them reading this blog..), and a night out turned into bathing in the hotel jacuzzi, the hotel beach (for the first time - wonderful) and taking the waterslide by the pool. The latter was not a good idea as there was no water in the waterslide. Just a slide. With a bikini, sliding doesn't work without water. So we crawled down the tunnel in total darkness, drunk and scared.

What started as a miserable spring break day at the rainy Bahamas turned out to be a ton of fun. As at least one out of the four of us always have a crazy idea (or disappears), we never go out of options.

Still, the Bahamas weren't super great (if you're not retired or 18) so we got our spring break halfway refunded and have decided to return to Miami tomorrow. Spoiled? Or just craaaaaazy spring breakers!!! Crazy PARTY! Or just 4 Norwegians running around stumbling in our own legs.. And having fun at the same time.

Cruise Life

Early morning (lucky we went to bed at an appropriate hour) we order the fancy car to pick us up and drive us to the cruise boat at Port Everglades. We arrive at 6.30 am in our summer dresses, not having considered mornings can be chilly. We stood there on the windy portside like penguins trying to keep warm. At least we were second in line and got in 30 minutes later. By then the line was loooong.

Customs, paper, passport check, signatures and about 30 queues, but we finally board the boat and are seated in a very nice restaurant with the most amazing breakfast buffet. Pancakes, omelettes, muffins, bacon and even Champagne served right at our table. The coolest part is that we have wrist bands showing our ages: orange for under 21, green for over. While we got served drinks (for free) right from the beginning, the table filled with teens next to us had to wait for the Bahamian side of the water. Yes, we felt like we'd just turned 18 in Norway again - being allowed to drink is cool!

A very disappointing part of the cruise ship was that the temperature inside was freezing. They had put the air con on 15 degrees celsuis (guessing), which meant we had to sit outside. Not a problem at first, but as the wind caught up, the high waves rained over the boat, making it very unstable and impossible to walk around on. There was a party going on at the back of the boat, but the more it swayed side to side, the less alcohol we thirsted for. We were not the only ones feeling this way, around the corridors and in the bathroom sink we were met by vomit and the smell of it didn't help much as we all looked a bit green.

It was difficult for us to understand that most drinks were free. How could stop ordering? But the way we were feeling, we decided to save it for the big night coming up. It was after all still 10 am..

As the orange wrist bands could start drinking also, the boat turned into a mess. But we felt they deserved this. Being 20 and not being able to drink in their own country must be hard. Too bad they weren't able to stand up as we arrvied at the Bahamian island.

It was beautiful, and luckily the one star hotel we were going to couldn't accept us after all, so we had to be transfered to the 4 star by the beach.. How convenient.. Let's go out for some more Bamaha Mamas (the drink of Bahamas.. Of the Bahama's Mamas).

Welcome to Miami..

I had bought new pants for the flight taking us to Florida - snuggly-pants that were aaall white. The only white item in my closet actually. Sadly, as we crossed the USA I managed to get nose bleed all over them. "Hello Florida, why don't you take the time to meet the girl with the bloody pants.." I've never felt hotter..

Leaving SF at night, we arrived quite early at our hotel at Fort Lauderdale. So early (around 6am) that they wouldn't let us in for another 6 hours.. So we watched the sunrise on the beach, managed to plead ourselves to a wonderful breakfast at the hotel nearby, and then, when we couldn't stand the waiting any longer - we booked a different hotel - freshened up - and decided to go to Miami.. Without getting any sleep.

This might have been our best idea since we arrived.. And the shuttle service of the best hotel in the area agreed to drive us there - so we arrived high class in a black cool car (no, we don't remember the brand of the car, but it was really cool).

And Miami was all you ever heard, thought and imagined it would be. Even better.. A Baywatch beach with perfect white sand, people working out everywhere, 90% of the guys looked like they came right out of the film "300", ladies wore bikinis, drinks were huuuge, drinks were cheeeeap, music was loud and people were partying all day.

Now, we hadn't slept for over 24 hours when we got here, so we started to party pretty early (around 2pm) and headed home at the reasonable 9pm. We were exhausted. And slept very well that night to be ready for our cruise leaving for the Bahamas the very next day..


And also, I bought the best t-shirt ever.. And I wore it.. And I've never looked better..

Hot in the City Tonight

It is now so hot in our apartment that we cannot stand to be here any longer. Today, all of us have been in our own room, not able to move, like roadkill on the floor tryig to resist the heat. Windows everywhere, there is no escape, except..

Leaving. On a (jet) Plane. Tonight. To somewhere even warmer.. Florida.. Then we're going on a cruise to the Bahamas to cool down. Then we're gonna party. On the Bahama Mama Booze Cruise. And then cool down again at the beach. Then party some more.. Then cool down. And have a blast. For about a week.

And to all a good night.

St. Patty's!

Already as we left our apartment, people noticed us. Pointed, smiled, raised eyebrows or even said "they must be a part of the parade!" It kind of looked like we were. Maria and I had even sprayed our hair black for the occation. (not a brilliant idea as everything is black right now, the bathroom, our skin, the floor, our towels, the bedsheets..). But it was cool. While it lasted.

First up was one of the most famous irish bars in SF - Buena Vista. They're known for their irish coffee, and I can now see why. We had like a billion each. What started out as a pub-crawl ended up going back to this bar - no other bar was nearly as lively as this one even though they didn't even have music.

As mentioned, one irish coffee led to 40 irish coffees in a short amount of time, but that was only a small part of what made this night unforgettable (for every guest in the place). We decided that we would have dares! And we got addicted to it.. "I dare you to try on a stranger's jacket" "Make a guy do down-ward facing dog (yoga)" "try on that guy's glasses" "get a st. Patty's prop from someone". And after a while, we were not the only ones playing this game..

"Is this the dare-table?! Can I join?!" "Oooh, give me a dare as well!" Everyone in there knew what we were doing and they cheered us on as we did one crazy thing after the other.. They wanted pictures with us and someone even gave me the name "Kelly O'Brian, the St. Patty's fairy".. I might have to do with my green balloon wings (part of a dare) that were attached to my back and hitting everyone in the face everytime I past by. I didn't notice! But they sure did..

Even the manager of the bar came out to thank us for bringing such a good mood to his bar - and for having the best costumes. As the hours went on we got more and more st. Patty's stash (they were handing out a bunch of stuff) and we left the place looking like St. Patrick himself had vomited on us - you can not get more green.

What a day.. It lasted for over 10 hours.. The lecture 8am the next morning was tough. The rest of the day might belong to my dear bed. Good night, folks.

Cookie Duuude!

Today as we walked around campus in the lovely sunny afternoon, we came across a stand selling cookies for the Girl Scouts! This reminded me of that Friends episode where Ross have to sell all those cookies for that little girl, and Monica can't stop eating them. I've always had the craving for them after that - are they really that good?!

Walking up to the stand I realize this is not a normal girl scout, this is actually a grown man standing there selling. How sweet..

But there are so many flavours to pick from! We ended up with Dulce de Leche - which I can't pronounce so I just pointed at it: "this one, how much?" How touristic of me..

Well, they tasted ok. I took one. Then we went to YogurtLand. That tasted much better <3 Mmmm.. YogurtLand..

Sweeten My Day

Yes, it's true, we do eat a lot of sweets and cookies and donuts and cupcakes and waffles and bars and chocolate and fast food, but there is just so much and so many different sorts everywhere that we can't stop it!

As I said, cupcake is on the list, but they haven't really been that special. Until now..

Teacake Bake Shop has the best cupcakes in the world. They're sooo delicious, the creamy frosting melts in you mouth, the cake itself so soft.. It doesn't matter how full you are, there is no way you can stop eating it..

Forget about the Golden Gate Bridge - if you're going to San Francisco - go to Teacake Bake Shop. I'll probably be there to welcome you!

Starlight room..

It's saturday night and we have booked a table at Starlight Room! You find it at Harry Denton's hotel in the middle of San Fran. It's on the 21st floor and the view over SF is fantastic. Live band, DJ, good drinks and the best of friends - what more do you need?

The place is not big, but it manages to include every age group. And apparently the age groups like to mix and match. Could the man old enough to be my grandfather buy me a drink? I'd rather pay for it myself.

But the place is fancy the mood is set by the nice red velvet couch and the chandeliers - this is not a place to wear sneakers.
Finally an excuse to wear my new dress! (Yes, I've been waiting for the right occasion! It's so pretty and red and pretty with a flower and everything!!)

We had so much fun we can't even remember it. There was dancing. And drinks. And an afterparty. Somewhere.

We paid about 40 dollars for the 30 min taxidrive back home. If only it was this cheap to live chique in Norway..