Wednesday 6th March, Oslo

Amazing breakfast spread, most impressive so far we think, so as usual,  we ate enough for two meals(!), we never seem to stop for lunch, so that's not too bad we think...

Quite grim looking day early, very low cloud, and still about -5C.  We ventured across the road to the brand new Opera House - stunning building, lots of blonde wood interior, and a lovely feeling, sitting right on a headland of reclaimed land, jutting into the bay, which still has a large proportion of the surface covered in ice.

We wandered off up-town again, this time getting as far as the Royal Palace, just in time to catch the very end of the changing of the guard.... The entire Palace is set in vast grounds, most of which are entirely accessible to the public, and are still covered in snow - very pretty.  We wandered around to the front (which seems to be at the back??), and this is at least fenced off more securely, with guards on gates etc.  Indeed, this is the part of town in which the poor people do NOT live....   The houses sharing the neighbourhood with the Palace are stunning, but not on large grounds, just very large houses..

We went on to the Waterfront which is a new development for Oslo, and it's gorgeous.   By this time the sun was shining, and everything was very attractive.  Most of the cafes are not yet open (after Winter), and many of the "party boats" moored there are still covered in several inches of snow, but you get the feeling that the proprietors are just bursting to get their businesses up and running again, after the Winter hiatus.  There was much hosing down of boats, steps, and concrete pathways.
It does have the advantage of facing South, so every single ray of Winter sun is taken advantage of, whereas Melbourne's Docklands faces South (in the Southern Hemisphere), and is a shocker....  Cold, miserable, and...... empty!!!!!  How did we get it SO badly wrong???

Found a brilliant little local cafe which serves great coffee and great almond croissants, they are few and far between unfortunately....  2pm, lunch.         Siesta........