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Chinese food
China has a very diverse culture around food, and consists roughly of 4 major cuisines. One of them is the Sichuan kitchen, which is also often known as one of the best. It’s the one I know best and have learnt to love.
Whenever I go to China, I look forward to the divers, colorful, and very tasty food.
Tea tasting
Tea is very important in China. And in what I have seen of China, people rarely walk around without a cup of tea. They mostly drink tea from a thermos or glass thermos, where they pure hot water (everywhere available) on tea leaves. And they drink that all day long.
But there is also the art of tea drinking. In many places there are tea shops, tea rooms, and tea markets, or monasteries where tea can be tasted and consumed.
When I am in Chengdu, I like to go to the Northside Tea Marked, Wukuaishi Tea Market. The market is huge, one shop next to the other, and you can find everything from the cup, the tea pot to the water boilers. Nobody speaks english, so it is good to bring a local guide/friend/translator.
Tea tasting can take hours and it is good to have enough time. The teas are presented, you smell and taste. They pure the tea once, twice, three times and many more if you like. And the tea tastes a little bit different every time. So, it is good to taste it for a couple of rounds to see how the taste develops and if you still like it.
Desert bloom
On Tuesday we went to the Silverbell Mountains (Arizona) to botanize. And at the moment all the annuals are flowering. Fantastic!
Northern Arizona
I’m in Arizona to collaborate with colleagues from Tucson. Last time I was here I realized that the Grand Canyon is actually not that far away, but it was still too far for a day trip. So, this time around I decided to spend a few days in Northern Arizona at the Canyon.
I spent two days walking along the southern Rim. The Rim could be done quicker of course, and walking down into the Canyon would have been nice to get a better impression of the size of the Canyon. And much less people are going down as it is a pretty intensive hike. With the snow and icy paths it was also bit sketchy and gravity seems to work extremely well at the Grand Canyon.
Yesterday, I spent a day in the rain around Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon looking at red rocks and lots of interesting plants. I was not expecting to see Norwegian standard waterfalls in the desert.
Senja in winter
I’ve heard many times that Senja is a wonderful place; mountains, fjords, colored houses. So, when I traveled to a conference to Tromsø, I took the chance to stay a couple of days on Senja. It was cold, wet and windy, but the few moments in between were magic!
In the wine country
The landscape on Lanzarote is very special with the volcanic rock and ancient lava flows. Apparently, the soil and climate is perfect for wine, with one exception. It rains very little. Therefore, the farmers have to build walls and plant the wine in deep holes where the water collects.
Canary Island hopping
It has become a tradition to start the year somewhere warm and sunny (life if full of traditions!). Well, we are back on Fuerteventura and Lanzarote for two weeks. Besides answering a few help calls from Norway and reading a paper or two, we are driving around the islands, drinking coffee, visiting lovely towns, eating cake and we had a surf lesson yesterday! This was the first time I was surfing and I really love it. The water was so warm, we could surf for several hours. I managed to stand on the board a couple of times and we are going back to the beach tomorrow!
November campers
For some people the camping season starts in November. This autumn has been so wet that camping was not an option. However, November seems to be drier than ever, and perfect for winter camping. Good to be out and getting frost bite.
Camping in the fog
It was supposed to be sunny. So, we set out to camp on the mountain to have a view over the city. Even before we started of dense fog crept up the mountain. And we never saw the sun. We found ourselves a pretty spot by a lake, set up the tents and lit a fire in the mystical fog.
Takk for turen!
