Eurovision Memories

So it's the middle of May, that can only mean two things, firstly my birthday a matter of days away, and secondly Eurovision is nearly upon us.  I have a friend called George and she likes Eurovision even more than I do (and that is a lot).  Every year she hosts a party at her abode in honour of this great event. Very soon (ie after it has actually happened) I will regale you with tales about Eurovision 2012 but to get you in the mood I decided I wanted to write about the trip George and I took to Oslo, Norway in 2010 to watch Eurovision live, in all it's bewitching and astounding glory.  I wish to 'Share the Moment' with you...

When we arrived in Oslo I was pretty impressed, it is a lovely, clean, relaxed city.  I mean it didn't blow me out of the water, I've been to prettier, more impressive cities but I've been to some dirty, unpleasant cities that I couldn't wait to leave, Oslo was somewhere in the middle.  As cities go it was nice.  I don't like the word nice because I don't think it is descriptive enough but I'm afraid that is what it was; nice, pleasant, fine and dandy, if somewhat expensive  Seeing as we were in Oslo for a week, and we had days before the Eurovosion final George and I took some time walking round the city and going on boat tours.  Here are some of my favourite photos;

This was taken down at the harbour where you could buy your fish fresh from the sea!

Cute little houses we saw during our Fjord tour

All this walking and sightseeing is thirsty work!

Now as I have mentioned Oslo was expensive.  I believe when we went it was ranked as the most expensive city in the world.  Seeing as I have lived in London for the last 10 years I didn't think the prices for things would shock me, but they did.  Everyday we lived off super noodles for our evening meal and crisps and cheese spread brought from the supermarket for lunch.  The cost of living also meant that for once (ahem!) George and I had to forgo the luxury we are used to and stay in a hostel.  It was a lovely hostel with a beautiful outdoor space - and most importantly a giant chess set, what more could you ask for?  Well there is one more thing you could ask for, room mates that didn't snore.  Two years have passed and even now thinking about the snoring makes my blood pressure rocket.  You'll be glad to hear that the snoring did not come from George but a random lady who was sharing our room.  This meant on our second day we had to make an emergency stop for earplugs.  We were so glad to find them that they deserve a photo of their own!  Unfortunately there is not a happy ending to this story because even with earplugs and my headphones playing music at full blast I could still hear the snoring!  However the snorer was also visiting Oslo for Eurovision but they only had rehearsal tickets and we had finals so as evil as that makes me sound I felt slightly better (what can I say, lack of sleep turns me into a bitch!)

The second day was my favourite as we visited Vigelandsparken.  This park is just teaming with statues of naked people.  I had so much fun that if you return to this blog later I will dedicate a whole entry to Vigelandsparken.  For now here is one photo to tide you over.

Now each evening by the harbour the lovely Eurovision organisers put on some entertainment to get everyone in the mood for the up coming Grand Final.  It was here we were able to get some one off performances from the Eurovision competitors.

Josh representing the UK. 'That sounds good to me!' 

 Vukasin Brajic for Bosnia and Herzegovina - George's crush for the week.

My absolute favourite act, which has yet to be topped - The Sun Stroke project representing Moldova!

We had a few more days sightseeing before the competition here are some more photos, carry on reading, we will get to the final soon!

The Botanic Gardens, we took a bit of a detour to get here, but it was worth it in the end!

The Royal Palace

So it seems there was a contest happening where people had to walk through the city in one of these amazing contraptions, we found ourselves near the finish line so got to see lots of people falling over as they rushed up the stairs!

A fountain near the National Theatre.

Parliament Building.

Now you will see below that George is wearing her favourite Union Jack napkin as a hat, which means we are ready to head to the final - Hurrah!

'Oh, I wonder if the UK will win this year?'

An important part of Eurovision is making sure people know who you are supporting.  You think the Jubilee and Olympics made it cool to be patriotic?  Please! George and I were wearing Union Jack face tattoos long before you could find them in poundland!

After a drink or two of Baileys, (Terry Wogan's drink of choice) we left the hostel in our finest flags and glow sticks to get the transport to the arena.  We met lots of lovely people who were just as well dressed as we were and then we went in to find our seats!

Me in the arena as it starts to fill up!

The lights came down, and the music came up and Eurovision 2010 had started.  You don't need to look it up to know that the UK did terribly but I had a fantastic time.  It was a cheesetastic camp cheese fest!  I honestly liked everything about it, looking back even the laborious scoring was interesting.  I love Eurovision and hope to watch it live again sometime, or at least perform in it, but until then I will keep looking forward to George's annual party!

George getting in the swing of things!