Ways with a Gavroche Part 2

Following on from the previous post now I am showing how to wear 2 gavroches together - this is a good way to make your gavroches much more versatile.  I also like that these are much lighter weight to wear. I have deliberately taken 2 contrasting gavroches and worn a contrasting top so you can see the interaction of the scarves more easily.

A 2 gavroche twist....

Fold the 2 gavroches in the basic fold first. 

Secure the 2 gavroches with a scarf ring at one end.

Twist the 2 gavroches together and when you 

are happy with it place round the neck and 

secure the other 2 ends through the scarf ring to 

achieve the look.

Next you can achieve some great knotted looks - get 2 gavroches and fold in the basic fold again and tie at the back of your neck either with a small knot or a small scarf ring so that you have the scarf ready to tie just like a normal 70cm or 90cm - there really are no limits to what you can do - I think that you can wear 2 gavroches in any knot that you would do with a 70cm or a 90cm:-

2 gavroches joined up and ready to tie.

A Friendship Knot

A Half Ascot Knot

A lovely bow knot made by looping the tails 

of each gavroche through a medium scarf ring. 

This one is a mid length bow.

Another bow - same as before - 

but here I pulled the bow higher

up to the neck

Here you can see the mechanics of the

2 gavroches.

Watch for more ideas on wearing 2 gavroches!

Ways with a Gavroche Part 1

I was asked a while back (sorry for the delay) about wearing gavroches - the tiny 16 inch squares of silk that Hermes sell.  So as I had a bit of time to spare I set about playing with some of my gavroche squares. First of all wearing just a single gavroche - not too many options here:-

Cowboy - simply fold on the diagonal and tie

at the back either with a small knot or secure 

with a petit/twilly scarf ring.

Here a knot feature - simply fold scarf in basic 

fold then tie a single knot in the middle and tie 

at the back either with a small knot or secure 

with a petit/twilly scarf ring.

Watch out for Part 2 using - you guessed - 2 gavroches!

Christmas Norwegian Style

While in Tromso it was nice to see the things they have in Norway for Christmas:-

The Trolls...

...more trolls - they were everywhere!

Wreaths made from a variety of different 

foliages..take your pick.

These huge dogwood rings adorned 

the florist's windows inside and out and 

had fir cones on them..

A different style of tree!

Lovely glass and china birds and 

baubles decorated the tree.

Lovely wreaths with moss, cones, pussywillow

and fir branches with a lovely heart motif all 

tied on with a very fine sparkly wire.

A closer look.

I liked these heart motifs and the one at the 

front was hollow so you could put decorations 

into this - they were made with the scales from 

pine cones and heavily glittered with sugar like 

glitter/crystals. Gorgeous!

More decorations on a tree.

More lovely pine cone wreaths with glitter/crystals.

Here the traditional lights on the step entrance 

to the shop - I noticed a lot of homes and

shops all had 2 candles burning either side

of the entrance - it must be a Norwegian 

custom - from what I can gather it IS a yuletide
custom and helps brighten up the dark days leading 
up to Christmas.  On the subject of Christmas lights, 
apparently only white lights will do they don't do colour 
and in a way that is nice, as it keeps thing uniform not garish. 
I found it very welcoming to have the candles
on the doorsteps - as did my hotel! 

A wreath came home with me and the 

smell from it is divine!  I wish we had the 

smell-net!

And finally Troll Mother & Father Christmas also 

came home with me from Oslo Airport- ahhh!

Tromso - Northern Lights Capital

  As you know I have just been to Tromso in Norway with the aim of seeing the famous Northern Lights.

Lovely cloud formations on the way to Oslo.

The stunning harbour view at Tromso from my hotel 

window - well worth the upgrade!

Tromso is quite a small place compared to UK towns.  There had been some snow in the days before my trip and it made the place look a bit messy!  Most days the weather was grey grey grey with lots of rain as you can see in the pictures of the town.

The cathedral in Tromso - the size was that

of a normal church in the UK!

The explorer Roald Amundsen - in Tromso
main square

The Catholic Cathedral in Tromso.

The Library.

Another sculpture in the town of a boat man.

The long bridge over the water to the other 

side of Tromso.

You can walk over the bridge if you wish - I only 

went a little way because as you got out over 

the water the wind got up and it was very cold.

The Arctic Cathedral at night - stunning!

I am pleased to report I did see the lights!  Someone in my hotel told me not to expect them to be as bright as you see them in photos and they were right.  At the time I went Auroral activity was low so I saw a pale green display of lights - my camera was 100% useless although other people managed to get pictures but not one offered to email me one like I would have done - how sad.  Anyway it was better to SEE them with my own eyes than through a lens as it imprints on your brain /memory properly.  I saw one lot that looked like a long nose and smiling mouth with one eye and then a shower like formation - and another blob which become brighter then faded and moved around a little.  It was really something to be standing out in the zero temperatures in the middle of nowhere but seeing these displays - had I not been with a guide though I would have missed it.


In Tromso there were lots of small shops carrying different things but these DIY toys in a knitting shop caught my eye - you buy the bare doll (it has the hair) and then you knit the clothes like so:-

Grandad

A knitted family!

A cute little girl - adorable!

Another shop makes the traditional Norwegian
costume - here are some pics form the workshop.

Here you can see the detailed 

embroidery and the traditional 

brooch and clasps.

A close up of the embroidery on the blouse....

....and the beautiful apron with lace.

Matching shoes.

The scarf/apron (not quite Hermes!)

A doll version.

Some of the Troll Father Christmases!

A fishing trawler in the harbour.

The Hotel With where I stayed  (the white building).

On Day 2 the Norwegian Navy arrived in Tromso.

I googled the navy and found out about the boats

moored on the quay outside my window.  Here 

2 Mine Hunters!

This was "Skudd" 1 of eventually 3 Missile 

Patrol Boats that lined up right outside my window! 

I felt very safe!

I fed the ducks in the mornings with left over

bread from breakfast they were lovely! 

Here Mr Mallard.

Mrs Mallard - she has lovely markings.  There were 

about 50 ducks in total and the even fish joined 

in eating the bread as well - it gave me quite a fright 

at first when the bread disappeared in a big splash 

but you could see the fish in the clear water!!!

A local boat - it just looked nice!

Yay some weak winter sun at last - albeit very 

watery.  The sun only rose after 9am and set about 2.45pm.

Leaving behind the Arctic Twilight 

en route back to Oslo then home.

The prices in Norway were staggering.  A bottle of coke was equivalent of £3.98 compared to Tesco here at £1.08!!!!  Nearly 4 times what you would pay here in the UK truly shocking.  I found the prices totally prohibitive and so I did not manage to do more things.  I know I buy Hermes scarves but I could not justify the prices for simple things in Norway.  It was very much a window shopping holiday and thankfully my lovely hotel provided an evening meal free of charge!

If I go again I will go in Autumn as the Northern Lights guide said it is a good time to go and not so cold and the days are longer too.  I would also save up some money to fund trips as Norway does need serious money!

I hope you enjoyed seeing Tromso!