Noruega en Argentina

On vacation

Posted on August 26, 2013 by noruegaenargentina

A glass of bubbly. On a Monday. In the sun. In OSLO. On August 26. It doesn’t get any better!

Posted in La noruega en Noruega | 2 Comments

Friday by the water

Posted on August 23, 2013 by noruegaenargentina

Easy access to the sea is always what I miss the most from Norway. Today I took advantage of the nice weather and headed to some of the little islands right outside the center. The ferries are a good and cheap way to see Oslo from the water (if I move back to Oslo I would write a Oslo on the cheap-guide, which would include these ferries!)

Posted in La noruega en Noruega | 4 Comments

Reading

Posted on August 22, 2013 by noruegaenargentina

I love having time for reading, and I am currently enjoying these three:

100 Tips for Hoteliers: What Every Successful Hotel Professional Needs to Know and Do by Peter Venison

This book has a lot of concrete tips and it is an easy, enjoyable read. There is some really good stuff there! For instance, he writes about the importance of empowering your staff. In hotels, some of the lower ranked staff members, like reception clerks, have the most client contacts, and these need to be empowered to make decisions and act independently. It is much better if a situation is handled right away instead of having to call in a manager to decide what to do. This saves time and makes the guest feel important. Venison stresses that we have to allow for mistakes, because we all make mistakes, and if staff are afraid to be reprimanded they will never take the chance of making empowered decisions.

Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer

I am loving this one – so much of what he says resonates with me and his approach to hospitality is inline with my own. Service has to be genuine and heartfelt, not based on rote memorization. He also makes interesting distinctions between service and hospitality. Danny Meyer is my new idol!

Polo by Jilly Cooper

This is what reviewers would call “a fun romp”, even though I never really knew what that means. In any case, it is a super fun read and I don’t want to finish it!! It is far from the world of polo that I know, but still cool.

Posted in Argentina i Norge, Hotel, La noruega en Noruega | 2 Comments

Vacation and not much to tell

Posted on August 21, 2013 by noruegaenargentina

Today it dawned on me that in two weeks I will be working again… I do not feel ready! But maybe it will good because pesos sure don’t go far in Europe! I went to England and had a great time hanging out with friends I made in Argentina. I have never been a huge fan of London like most Norwegians, but I did really like it this time. I got to watch some polo, drink a lot of wine, go to a party at Guards Polo Club, do some shopping (of course at the cheapest places!) and just enjoy time with friends. I feel like I am still tired so I also slept a lot.

Now I am back in Norway and taking it easy – working out (my sister’s boot camp!), cooking, sleeping, and catching up with friends, both here and abroad – I finally have time for long Skype calls and chats and all that nice stuff.

Posted in La noruega en Noruega | 1 Comment

More mate in Norway

Posted on August 14, 2013 by noruegaenargentina

Today I was walking down the street and there was a van advertising mate! The ads talked about the antioxidant properties of yerba mate and showed the name of the company, www.YerbaMate.no I went to the website and they sell all sorts of stuff from Argentina and the neighboring countries. They have many different mates and mate cups. Who knew??

Posted in Argentina en Noruega, Argentina i Norge, La noruega en Noruega | 1 Comment

Argentino en Noruega

Posted on August 12, 2013 by noruegaenargentina

What did I find at Mathallen? Some Argentine specialties! First some yerba mate and some mate cups, and then some cold mate drinks! Funny!

Posted in Argentina en Noruega, Argentina i Norge, La noruega en Noruega | Leave a comment

Mathallen – Oslo Food Market

Posted on August 11, 2013 by noruegaenargentina

Mathallen is a big food market in Oslo that opened earlier this year. It has a variety of shops and restaurants, casual but very nice. The food is a mixture of traditional local foods and different international cuisines.

Posted in Hotel, La noruega en Noruega | 3 Comments

Pretty buildings in Oslo

Posted on August 9, 2013 by noruegaenargentina

I love beautiful city buildings and there are quite a few in Oslo. Here is one where my sister used to live (St. Hanshaugen, Oslo’s Palermo maybe?) and one with a pretty backyard:

Posted in La noruega en Noruega | Leave a comment

La noruega en Noruega

Posted on August 8, 2013 by noruegaenargentina

La noruega, coming to you from Norway! Everything seems clean and quiet and green… I was allowed one day of nice weather before it started raining this morning, and it hasn’t stopped yet. Charming! But luckily tomorrow is supposed to be better.

So what is the first thing I did, after saying hi to friends and family? Go to IKEA, of course! I know it is Swedish but it really is like the mother ship to me. Letting all Scandinavians have identical furniture even when outside of Scandinavia! Argentina really, really needs IKEA but with the import restrictions there is no way it will happen. Buuuh! I even took a photo at IKEA! Gotta bring back some inspiration to Argentina. (Along with a bag stuffed with products. I will even bring a lamp, since it is so neatly packed.) I will do other things as well, though, especially trying to get back into shape after the food fest that has been Argentina. Little sister got me in boot camp! Will try to avoid red meat for this month, after having eaten more red meat in nine months than in the previous nine years.

Posted in Argentina en Noruega, Argentina i Norge, La noruega en Noruega, Norsk i Argentina, Norway in Argentina | 6 Comments

Calle Noruega!

Posted on August 5, 2013 by noruegaenargentina

Check this out, there is a Noruega street in Buenos Aires! I came over this today, it is a one-block street in the neighborhood of Monte Castro. Nice!