14th July - We spent about an hour looking for free parking in Stavanger and then went to the Canning Museum which tells you about the old fishing industry of Norway from catching sardines through to canning them. Norway is all about the sea. Next was the Oil Museum which is a huge modern building on the harbour that explains all about Norway's great good fortune to stumble upon the world's 2nd largest oil field in its territory (albeit offshore) and has tons of exhibits that are much more interesting than you would imagine. After this, we had another team meeting about Norway and the expense and went to the library to look on the internet. We have had no access since arriving in Norway, so we've not been able to check the bank account, emails or search for cheap accommodation. The DFDS website showed that there was a ferry back to Newcastle in two hours - so we booked it, had a £22 Mcdonald's lunch (can you see why we decided to call it quits!!) and set sail for Blighty. We do not see this as defeat or a missed adventure. Kirsty saw lots of places of interest in Norway and Sweden but as it is so expensive and not a great deal of fun, we thought our hard-earned money is better spent going places we will really enjoy. The current thinking is a month in Manhattan, New York City followed by the northern states of the US that we weren't able to do on our last US excursion.

15th - The crossing to England was not a calm as the crossing to Norway and Kirsty was kept awake by the sloshing of the ship, the unnerving creaking noises onboard, people singing at 5 in the morning(?!) and my snoring. I, of course, slept like a baby.We arrived in Newcastle at 10.30 a.m. and drove to Barnsley, via the Wetherby Whaler chipshop, for Kirsty to catch up on some sleep and for me to research New York City apartments and flights. It was fun to just turn up on both our parents' doorsteps without telling them that we were back - though Kirsty's sister Kaycia (never fazed by anything) just said 'Alright?' and carried on with what she was doing!

16-20th - Still recovering from the hammering the bank account took in Norway but happier that we've made the right decision.

21st - Found a really nice apartment to rent near Times Square for a month, with a doorman, balcony and views of the Manhattan skyline. As the other apartment owners/brokers were so slow in getting back to us (or inept when they did), we went ahead and booked the former one. This means we fly out to NYC on Friday 25th July at a godawful early time and arrive in New York about 1pm (their time). We stay in a hotel for two nights and move into the apartment on Sunday 27th until Saturday 23rd August. We are all smiles again.No photos this week as we've just been staring at a computer screen trying to book accommodation. The blog will resume again properly on Sunday.