NOLAinPHL

We stayed there for 3 or 4 nights for 2017 New Years. It’s been a bit, but we stayed at the Scandic downtown and liked both the hotel and location. The breakfast buffet was probably the best food we ate, other than reindeer stew on a lights tour.

There’s not a ton to do, and it’s cold and dark, but we went out on a boat to see whales in the Fjords (and saw both orcas and humpbacks) and on a trip to see reindeer. Both were fun and icy!

I’d stay downtown and use a lights tour. We used two, and I highly recommend Chasing Lights. You could stay out of the city and hope for the best, but there can be a lot of cloud cover. Chasing Lights will take you as far as Sweden or Finland to find a clearing if necessary.

We had 2 nights of underwhelming lights and on our last night, got an unbelievable display—super bright, dancing, multiple colors, etc. And we were probably only 30 minutes out of the city. They set up a fire and give you reindeer hides to sit on and great stew and hot chocolate. Even without the lights, the night sky there is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It was filled with stars, including shooting stars.

Random tidbit—if a Hurtigruten is in port (right next to the Scandic), you can walk on and drink at the bar with the cruisers.

There are a few other good bars, but the food is largely underwhelming. If you’re in the mood for a Whopper though, you can go to the world’s most northernmost Burger King.

I’ve travelled throughout the world, and Tromso was one of my favorite trips. It was so starkly different than anything else I’ve seen and the feeling of remoteness is really unique.

We stayed at The Lark last winter. It’s not super-fancy and seems to be an old motel that’s been well-renovated, but the rooms were very nice and it was within walking distance (even in heavy snow) of everything downtown.

LINK

Try this for a private chef. He’s the Javi of Javi’s Cantina. Great musician, chef and person.

You’ll have stars tomorrow. I got the meteor shower island yesterday and had them this morning.

Does anyone know of a contractor that could gut part of a house in Norco? My 90 yr old grandma’s house sustained lots of water damage. I’m out of state, and my parents aren’t in the shape to demo it themselves. Not surprisingly, finding a contractor has proven to be difficult. Thanks!

They’re also easy to get on Etsy.

Great. Let me know when you’re on and I’ll post a Dodo Code.

It’s the cherry blossom one.

So I think you have to visit my island before I can mail things. I’ve got my gate open to all friends now. If you come tonight, I can give you the fridge now and mail the mixer after you’ve come. Or I can order the mixer from Nook Shopping tonight and just give you both if you come at some point tomorrow.

I have a pink refrigerator and stand mixer catalogued if you still need them.