Shopping by night

Every year the shops in Bergen have "shopping by night" one night in June.
That means that the shops are open till after midnight, and they always offer good discounts.

The weather yesterday was fantastic, clear blue sky, sunshine and 22 degrees celcius. A perfect summer day. To top off everything, Bergenfest started with live concerts at Bergenhus Festning.
The whole city was packed with happy people. They were shopping, enjoying good music, and relaxing with a good meal and beer at the restaurants.
What an experiance this must have been for the tourists!!

We went on a stroll to town at 21:30, just to take in the buzz.
Meeting lots of friends on the way - and enjoying summer in beautiful Bergen.

On our way home we walked along Bryggen, and spottet a huge yacht.
Of course we had to take a closer look at "Lady Kathryn V", and she was huge!!
The website informs that she's 62 meter long, and avaliable for rent for no less than €450.000 pr. week!!!

Here are some photos:

Huge!

Private!!

Of course you need a little speed boat as well :)

City of concerts

Lenny Kravitz on stage in Bergen

Bergen is really the city of concerts during the summer months. It starts in May with Festspillene and Nattjazz, and then it goes on with Bergenfest in June - and of course the bigger concerts outdoor at Koengen.

Last Saturday it was lenny Kravitz on stage at Plenen at Bergenhus Festning.
And what a concert that was. A real hit parade!
All the funky songs from the 90's mad the crowd sing.
The rain was pouring down during the whole concert.
Lenny Kravitz put it well: "let's enjoy this liquid sunshine"

...and we did :)

Full rain gear needed, enjoying the liquid sunshine

Today it's Sting on stage!!!
The reports from his concert at Norwegian Wood in Oslo is fab, so I'm really looking forward to hearing him tonight.
...and the weather is good too. Well, better than Saturday anyway, it's not raining and the sun is shining for a few minutes here and there :)

Sting, going on stage in Bergen

To top off a good week of concerts, we are going to see Jarle Bernhoft on Friday.
This fantastic Norwegian singer has a voice filled with soul.
His funky tunes is accompanied by a musicality that few people have.
He deserves a bigger audience, that's for sure.
And hopefully he'll get it soon

Jarle Bernhoft

Absolutely freezing

After the fabulous heat and sun we had the last week of May, it's now back to normal.
Normal in this case means 8-9 degrees, strong wind from the north - basically freezing.
For me, who plays golf at Herdla (north of Bergen), this means that I have to dress in several layers to keep warm.

To give you an example:
Yesterday I was training at Herdla, it was windy, cold and raining.
This is what I had to wear not to freeze to death:
Wool underwear (long pants and long sleeve)
Sweather
Wind stopper west
Down jacket
Shell jacket - waterproof
Beanie - to cover my ears
Gloves

This is what I normally wear when I go skiing in the winter...
...and we are talking 4th of June!!!!!

I don't want to sound like a cry-baby here, but a blit less wind and a few degrees warmer would be good.

Tee off hole 7 at Herdla Golfklubb

Statsraad Lehnkuhl

Every year in May, I am one of the lucky ones who gets an invite to a happening on board the beautiful ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl. The ship is run by a foundation, and to secure the economy, they offer mini cruises to businesses every year. It's a 4-5 hour cruise with entertainment and food (schrimps and herring).

The ship is built in 1914, and is still in a fantastic shape. Hands out to the foundation for taking care of surch a treasure. You can get more information on the ship here

This year, the weather was fantastic. 26 celcius, and sun from a clear blue sky. I've been to these mini cruises for 14 years now, and I think this is the best weather we've had - EVER!!

On this particular cruise the boat is filled with happy and exciting people, so there's always room for a bit of networking. Wich also is a big part of these arrangements.

Fantastic weather

Askøy Bridge

The beautiful harbour of Bergen

Harbour of Bergen

Statsraad Lehmkuhl in the sunset

Magic, at Bryggen

Nattjazz in Skostredet

Louis Vuitton

For a long time, I have wanted to buy a Lois Vuitton bag, and because they are quite pricy, I chose one of the not so pricy models.

Neverfull is perfect for my kind of use, I need a bag for work where I can have a notebook and an A4-folder.

So, when I was in London I went to Selfridges, where the ground floor is purse heaven. All the luxury brands are represented: Gucci, Prada, Mulberry, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, etc. ....and of course Louis Vuitton :)

I went in to Louis Vuitton, and of course tried the shoulder bag :)
...and yes, of course you have to try the bag - just to see if it fits, kind of :)

The feeling of being able to buy the bag is happiness to the extreme!!
Walkin out of Selfridges with the beautifully wrapped bag in the magic Louis Vuitton paper bag is just heaven. Strutting down Oxford Street, feeling the weight of the bag, noticing the long envious looks of other female shoppers - priceless!

So now, I'm strutting the streets of Bergen with my Louis Vuitton on my shoulder :)

Toms Shoes

When I was in London, I walked to Covent Garden. A very cosy area in the city.
Lots of shops and boutiques side by side in the streets, and luckily not as busy as Oxford Street.

When in London, I always end up buying several pairs of shoes.
I must admit, I find the shoe shops in London a bit more exciting then the shops in Norway.

Anyways; this time I ended up buying the fabulous Toms black glitter shoes.

I have wanted to buy a pair of Toms for a while, simply because for every pair bought, the company actually gives away a free pair of shoes to a child in need somewhere in the world!
That is a brilliant incentive - and I wanted to give my share.

Of course it helps that the shoes looks fab, and they are extremely comfortable to wear as well.
So, what's not to like?

Top Shop Oxford Circus

If you're ever going to London, and if you're just a tiny bit interested in fashion, Top Shop is a must.
I visited Top Shop at Oxford Circus, and it is so busy, filled with people, that I like to go there early in the morning, before it gets too crazy.

This time, I got a tip about the personal shopper service.
What a brilliant service!!!

I sent them an e-mail, got the answer the same day, saying of course they had time avaliable!
All I had to do was to fill out a form with personal data, hight, top size, jeans size, leg lenght, shoe size, colour of hair, eyes and skintone. Easy-peasy!

The personal shopper departement is located at -1 floor.
Beautiful, light and trendy area - reserved for personal shopping only



While waiting for my personal shopper, I was offered coffee, tea or water.
I chose water, and of course TopShop has their own lable :)

I had my own suite, quite large actually

This is all the outfits Falouka (my PS) had picked out for me, all hanging nicely in the suite when I arrived. Fabulous clothes in this seasons colours and prints.

All outfits also had matching accessories

This is one of the lounge areas outside the suites.

If your husband, boyfriend, mum, sister or friend is joining you, this is where they can relax

While we waited to pay, we were offered these fantastic sweet and yummie mini muffins.

Totally ok to get the blood sugar level back on track

When you have decided what to buy, you can pay in the PS-area.

No waiting in lane.

Just you and your PS.
She wraps everyything beautifully, and of course they have a special Personal Shopping bag as well

All in all a fantastic experience!!

You get to try outfits you never would have picked out yourself.
Perfect if you want a complete wardrobe change, change of style, or if you just need a fab dress to a special occasion.

And best of all - it's free!
...and no obligation to buy anything

So if you are going to London, my advice is: just do it! :)

Here is a link to the Personal Shopping at TopShop