7 things to do in Bergen, Norway

When we were planning our visit to Norway, Bergen was high on our list of places to visit. The second largest city in Norway is a beautiful place and filled with history, culture, and exciting places to visit. If you're planning to visit, here are seven things to do in Bergen, Norway.

1. Take the Fløibanen funicular up to the top of Mount Fløyen and revel in the views of the city and its environs from the most awesome of viewpoints. The mountain is full of attractions too, with cafes, parks for children, shops, nature walks, mountain bikes for hire and more.

2. Explore the Bryggen, with its old wharf and wooden buildings - a UNESCO World Heritage site and full of history.

3. Take a wander around the buildings and grounds of Bergenhus Fortress, located at the entrance to the harbour.

4. Sample fresh fish and seafood at the dockside markets, and enjoy people-watching (and yacht-watching) as you devour your dinner. Also take a walk and get some amazing views across the harbour.

5. Visit the Rosenkrantz Tower for more history and great vantage points.

6. Take a stroll around Nøstet and some of the other areas a short walk away from the city centre and the harbour. Stop for a coffee in a charming café as you wander among the beautiful, old Norwegian style houses.

7. If it's summer and you're feeling brave, seek out one of the swimming spots along the shoreline where you can swim in the fjord!

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Just Go

All pictures taken from Zeal and Heart's gorgeous archive.

There are words which conjure up a feeling.

Words which inspire.

Words which are a call to action.

For me, right now, in this season, the words 'Just Go' have a resonance and a depth I wasn't expecting. They are words that speak to adventure, to change, to new beginnings, to fresh starts. My mid-thirties, far to the calm and slightly dull era I was expecting, have turned out to be a time full of potential, of 'what ifs', of dreams, of exploring.

That these words are the ones that Bangarang chose for our collaboration with Zeal and Heart feels especially special (wow, that phrase is a pyramid of awesome, non?).

The Bangarang girls are some of the awesome women I love to navigate the joys of the blogosphere alongside, and we were delighted when Rebecca approached us for a motto to make into a necklace.

Many were suggested.

Many were rejected.

And 'Just Go' was crowned the winner.

It's a phrase that our wanderers' hearts felt was perfect for a pendant, and crafted in beautiful sterling silver it's an ideal gift to share, or treasure to cherish.

Do you love the thrill of the unknown? Does your heart sing for new horizons? Then the 'Just Go' pendant from Zeal & Heart is perfect for you. From £25, with all proceeds going to Headway, it's a beautiful way to remember the journeys you've had....and the journeys yet to come.

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Travel: Las Vegas Daydreaming

I don't have any holidays on the horizon at the moment, for the first time in a longtime. With various other areas of life demanding attention, it's not the time to be booking a holiday. Friends and family are off to Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, China, Mexico, Japan over the next few months, but I'll be living vicariously (thank heavens for social media!). I've been utterly spoiled with travel over the past twelve months, but it feels super odd not to be jetting off on the next few calendar pages!

Which is probably why my holiday daydreams are in hyperdrive. The most recent ones have all involved Las Vegas, one of my very favourite places. What I'd give to be going there again soon.

Landing after a fun flight, refreshed and ready for fun, getting picked up by a limo driver...

Checking into a suite and taking in the views, maybe hitting the pool....

Cocktails and some delicious dinner - Julian Serrano for tapas, perhaps?

And a show - Cirque, Le Reve, Mariah...

Before nightcaps, a flutter on the roulette wheel or the blackjack table, and then to bed.

Gosh I miss that town.

I'll get back before long, I'm sure, but for now there are displays to put up, books to label, and stationery to organise - my classroom isn't going to organise itself!

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Travel: Exploring Venice

On our Italian trip this spring, our final destination was Venice.

While I'd been excited to see Rome and was mad for Florence, I didn't really know what to expect of Venice. Perhaps I'd seen too many pictures, read too many posts...but I was a little worried that it might fall a little flat after so much hype.

I needn't have worried. Venice is a dream.

After catching the train from Florence to Venice and getting from the station to our hotel (which was a whole thing, involving trolleys and bridges and me almost getting lost when I got distracted by something shiny), we checked in and were soon out of the door to explore. These are just a few shots I took from the Vaporetto or while we traversed the back alleys and bridges on foot before supper, and these first glimpses had me falling in love with Venice, hard.

From well-known sights like the Rialto to simply taking in the views as we sailed along the canal, the whole city had an other-worldly feel. Even though it was busy (just look at the crush of tourists on the bridge!), the layout of the city and the water everywhere lent the whole place a feeling of peace and calm.

Outside every home and building there were moorings, with gondolas, rowboats, speedboats and water taxis tied up awaiting their next journey. The Vaporetto boats were so easy to use and as our hotel was right on the Grand Canal we were able to pop down to the stop speedily and get on our way whenever we needed to!

So many places had terraces and balconies overlooking the water, and as the sun went down these filled with people watching the boats go by. We had a balcony of our own and it was delightful to sit with a bottle of wine in the later evening and watch the people sailing past (and waving as required, of course).

So many of the homes and buildings had little flourishes and touches which made them stand out.

After our little journey on the Vaporetto we reached St Mark's Square, and I took this quick snap before we headed off for a walk around some of the backstreets and smaller canals (we had St Mark's and the Doge's Palace on our list for later in the trip).

Away from the crowds around St Mark's the city relaxed once more and as we made our way back across town for pizza and crisp Italian beer, I loved spotting glimpses of the city.

The gondoliers taking people to dinner, the tall buildings with their shutters, the higgledy-piggiledy back alleys... Our first few hours in Venice were a dream.

Have you visited Venice before? Have you taken a Vaporetto water-bus?

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Summer's End...

...And what a summer it has been. It feels like a heartbeat away that we were toasting the end of the summer term with fizz and fun at school, and now September is knocking on the door and beckoning in my favourite months of the year. I'm ready for back to school, for cooler temperatures, for the cosiness of autumn, and the pre-Christmas rush, but am so grateful for our busy, fun summer.

It feels like my summer has had two distinct themes - travel, and home improvements.

Travel has been amazing, whether it's been exploring the fjords and mountains of Norway, getting to know new cities like Copenhagen and Stockholm, revisiting Germany, a country I'll always have a soft spot for, or spending time with friends and family in my homeland, Scotland.

Home has been busy - we have cleared out room after room after room (and the clearout goes on). We've switched several rooms around too (cue much moving of furniture and yelling 'Pivot! Pivot!' at one another). Our team of stoneworkers and brickies and render-destroyers have chipped away at the cracked off-white facade of our house to reveal the loveliest sandy bricks below - one more week of scaffolding and dust and noise and that will be completed. Shona has completed on her new home and started moving her stuff across town. And Smudge cat is all settled in and very much part of the family.

It's been a productive, busy, challenging and fun summer, and I cannot wait to see what fun autumn may hold.  There are many projects afoot, lots to plan, and some potential changes ahead - but hey, life is never dull, right?

I'm off to enjoy the Bank Holiday Monday with brunch, sunshine, cocktails and cats; I hope you have a similarly lovely day planned. I'll leave you with a few of my favourite shots from summer break.

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Travel: Harvard & Cambridge Walking Tour

I'm loving having the chance to write up so many of our travels over this summer break. I've been so lucky with the sheer amount of places I've been able to visit in the past months and it's such fun to share about it all here!

On our US/Canada trip last fall we were mainly aiming to visit New York, Toronto and Las Vegas, but when the chance came for a couple of days in Boston too, we leapt at the chance. This city is such a big part of US history and we were excited to add it to the schedule.

After our Amtrak adventure we finally made it into the city and after checking in at our lovely hotel (more on which soon) we hightailed it to meet our group for a tour of Harvard and Cambridge. Being in Boston we couldn't skip the opportunity to visit one of the pillars of the Ivy League (and where Elle Woods went to law school ;)).

We arrived at the rendezvous point just in time for our train across the Charles River with our guide, where we also discovered that we were the group - no-one else had signed up for the evening tour so we had our guide all to ourselves!

First stop was the Longfellow House in Cambridge. So named as it was the home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow for several decades, it also served as the headquarters for George Washington between 1775 and 1776. The home was built in 1759 for John Vassall, who fled the Cambridge area at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War because of his loyalty to the king of England. Throughout Cambridge reminders of the War of Independence were everywhere and it was fascinating to learn more about this era of American history.

After touring Cambridge in the evening sunshine, as twilight drew in we toured some key parts of Harvard's campus. Having had a few friends attend the university it was so fun to get a glimpse of where they would have studied and spent their time.

Harvard is such an impressive school. According to Wikipedia (always good for a quick fact-check, right?), its alumni includes eight U.S. presidents, several foreign heads of state, 62 living billionaires, 359 Rhodes Scholars, and 242 Marshall Scholars. In addition to this, some 130 Nobel laureates, 18 Fields Medalists, and 13 Turing Award winners have been affiliated as students, faculty, or staff.

The buildings and campus were really lovely, and I was kicking myself that I had my proper camera back at the hotel charging (hence the iPhone pics in this post!). The red bricks, the columns on so many of the buildings, the greenery all added to the gravitas of the place.

I'll definitely be hoping to head back to Harvard for another visit and some further exploring. The Harvard Library (the world's largest academic and private library system) is somewhere I definitely need to get to, if only to marvel in wonder.

Have you visited Harvard? Do you like visiting universities or colleges? If you do, be sure to check out the University of Aberdeen at Old Aberdeen, where I spent my undergraduate years - such a pretty campus!

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