I spoke with Judy today and she's still having an awesome time in Norway! As mentioned earlier, Thursday was mostly a travel day, though Judy and her sister had a chance to explore Lillesand when they arrived. According to Judy, "due to the hour everything was closed, but we still had time to look around and figure out where we wanted to go the next day when everything would be open."
After their exploration, they checked into the beautiful Lillesand Hotel Norge for some rest and relaxation. The hotel is smaller, maybe 25 rooms, and Judy and her guest had a nice room on the second floor, with windows that looked out onto the hotel's courtyard.Then, on Friday, Judy spent the morning exploring some more and shopping at the places she'd scouted out the night before. Then around mid-day it was time to get ready for a coastal cruise, which would take Judy and her guest from Lillesand to Kristiansand and then back again. As a part of this cruise, the boat navigated the Blindleia waterway, a notoriously difficult passage, contrary to what Wikipedia might say, due to it's narrowness--sometimes shriking down to less than 10 meters wide. It sounds like a lot of space, but imagine trying to fit a 100 person cruiser that's about 8 or 9 meters wide through that passage. According to Judy, "there were times when the captain had less than a few inches on either side of the boat and he had to keep watching the depth-finders while getting us through the narrows." Sounds exciting!
As if the day hadn't been full enough already, when Judy and her sister got back on dry land in Lillesand, they found themselves in the middle of a full-scale art/craft fair. Never one to turn away from a fun experience, Judy took it all in in the afternoon/evening. Apparently the streets were full of people and there was definitely a festival atmosphere to the whole thing. I can't wait to see photos from this part of Judy's trip!
Ok, so that's all for now. There'll be more on Monday, covering Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Check back in the late afternoon for more!