Spring break destination

West coast, golden state. Yes, I visited California.

I read that "If you are lucky enough to be at the beach... you are lucky enough". During spring break, I experienced it first hand. My destination was Corona del Mar, Newport Beach. I stayed at a small, beautiful house near the beach. The people I spent the week with were lovely and gave me a warm welcome. And the dogs... Oh, those beautiful furry babies! I was completely smitten by them.

I enjoy doing simple things with my loved ones. Sometimes I say to myself: "Let's take it all in, engrave it in your memory, let's not even take a picture and concentrate fully on this moment". 

But occasionally I do take pictures because looking at them allows me to reminisce the happy moments. Now, allow me to share just one of my favorite with you.

Sunset on Newport Beach

A different kind of trip

Just by chance I went on a trip...

As I was checking one of many drives that I've got (seriously, iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive... even Microsoft's One Drive) I found some old, forgotten folders. They contained pictures of my high school years. So yes, I took a trip down the memory lane!

I saw pictures of many people whom I used to talk to a lot and of good friends that are still very dear to me. The past had both happy and sad moments, some were difficult, some were embarrassing and some were downright funny.

But while we're remembering the "old days" let me tell you something I've learned: life gets even better as we move forward.

This is what I found on top of my school desk on the morning of my 16th birthday.

The Capital District

It's been so long!

Evening at Capitol Hill

I have been considering if I should write again, and finally made my mind: I'm back!

This post is just going to be a collection of a few favorite places and moments from my Washington D.C. visit in early January. I had a limited amount of time because I went there for the TRB annual meeting, and one of the things I liked the most about this huge meeting was being able to see some Norwegian colleagues.

For those wondering what TRB stands for, it is the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The TRB meeting was pretty much "transportation nerd-dom", and I could not be any happier of attending.

Ok, let's leave nerdiness aside (or maybe not) and check some pictures!

 

CityCenter, Downtown D.C. 

Visiting the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

Amelia Earhart's plane, Lockheed Vega 5B

 

Had to see the T-Rex at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Just behind me is "The Petersen House", located right in front of Ford's Theatre. After President Lincoln was shot (the night of April 14th, 1865) he was moved to this house and taken care of, until he passed away on the next morning.

 Lincoln's Memorial. Stunning place, particularly beautiful at night.

White memories

I had never experienced fresh snow. Lots of it. Coming from a tropical country, I would dream of playing with snow just like the kids on tv. Yesterday there was a lot of snow falling over Trondheim. And I loved every moment of it. 

I was at the city center when it started!

This morning on my way to work

When I came back home I noticed something that I have only imagined before. A bare tree, covered in snow, with bright red fruits on it's branches. Such a sight reminded me of a Christmas card I made four years ago. Such memories!

Sweet winter

I decided, while in Panama that I will not eat macaron until I try the real deal: macaron made in France. I wanted to wait, since I had an upcoming trip to Norway, which included a stop in Paris before heading home. But we never know how things will end up, and I did not go back home as planned: I am having my Norwegian winter experience.

 "If you can't go to the mountain, then the mountain will come to you." 

So, I had my first macaron come to me, from Auzou. This was possible thanks to a lovely person coming to Trondheim from France, who bought this sweet box for me. 

Such a gesture brightened up my cold and dark winter. (Here in Trondheim we are quite north, so sunrise is at 09.50 and sunset at 14.30 these days!)

Mini "Noisette" flavored macaron

 These are "Macaron Auzou mini". If you are curious about the flavours, look them up here.

"Nutella"

My favorite flavour was  "Caramel beurre salé", which was sweet, and a little salty at the same time. Nicely balanced and yummy.

"Caramel beurre salé"

Good things happen to those who wait, right?

Maria Elena :)

Remembering fall

It was autumm when I wrote this post, and I was experiencing it for the first time. Probably Norway is a place a little extreme for a Panamanian girl... Temperatures were not higher than 10 degrees Celsius, with one morning being -1!

But, it was indeed beautiful and inspiring, specially while we had some sun. 

Right now we have sun only from 09:50 to 14:30 so we can sum it up as darkness and ice! 

First post

It has been a while since I started following blogs, reading them and finding inspiration and solace in them. Today I decided that I could write a little too. So... Let's share great memories and have fun.

- Just a clever notebook I found in a local shop -