Eh?

I swear that everyone here has learned all they know about Canada from How I Met Your Mother. Or hockey.

Paris: Shop, Eat, Sleep

Shop

Shopping in Paris is pretty stellar. Way cheaper than Sweden (but most places are) with really interesting pieces and classic clothing. Unfortunately, I'm still on the hunt for the perfect camel cape, but I did manage to snag an awesome leather envelope-ish bag from the flea market (huzzah, bargaining en français) and a sweet moose-adorned wool poncho. I wasn't so sure about the latter but an old, stylish French lady came into the store, saw me debating, and told me I should get it and that it looks good on me! Who am I to debate the Parisian eye for style?

 I could talk for hours about the greatness that is Shakespeare and Company, an English bookstore across from the Notre Dame. Ah-mazing. Quick history: the first iteration of the store is famous because it was where those in the literary world stationed in Paris, writers like Hemingway, Fitzgerald and James Joyce, gathered to discuss writing and life and to share ideas with each other. The current store is now on Paris' Left Bank and it's still awesome. Messy shelves adorned with lots and lots of books - such a dream. The upstairs is a library, and it has a piano and a typewriter station. Coolest part is that one can actually stay the night inside the bookstore - the place is still open for struggling writers and the like to be housed for free in exchange for helping out at the store!! Turns out some of the display cases and sofas double as beds. Trop cool, indeed. By the way, this was a stealth photo, can you tell?

Eat

 Best. meal. ever. It was some sort of baked brie salad with a delicious dressing, topped with potato slices and roasted garlic. drool. I should also note that the Dad sitting beside us was wearing a Voldemort shirt!  Also, "I saw an avocado and thought it was a nacho!" Sometimes my mouth can't keep up with my brain.

One can imagine the endless croissants, pains au chocolats, and tartelettes we devoured. I think the record was 3 patisserie visits in half an hour. It was our last day and we were getting desperate. Also, we had the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted. So rich, and creamy, and slightly bitter. 

This section is full of superlatives - rightly earned. 

Sleep

We stayed in the business district, La Défense. It isn't in the city proper, but it was pretty easy to get to the places we wanted to go with the metro. Plus, we got lucky since it was Bastille Day (stat holiday) when we arrived so we could buy the passe jeune day pass for most of the days we were there. Cheap! 

Did I mention we stayed in a 4-star hotel, paying less than we would have at a hostel? Yeah, baby. One cannot over emphasis the wonders of your own bathroom.

Paris, the big sights: here

Paris: the big sights

I love Paris. 

Yes, I really do.

Of course, like any good tourist we had to hit up the big tourist spots. Most of these didn't end up being my favourite parts of Paris, but they were still pretty sweet to see.

The Louvre

Oh, the Louvre. We were debating on going here but the line wasn't very long (if you go through the underground entrance) and we decided we might as well. When in Paris, and all that jazz. The Mona Lisa was as underwhelming as expected, and Napoleon's Apartments were indeed impressive and overly ornate. I'm not a fan of this style, nor the money involved to create it, but it sure does leave an impression. Also leaving an impression - of a different sort - was the teenaged couple shoving their tongues down each other's throats in between the oil paintings.

The Eiffel Tower

Another Parisian landmark, another line (although no comparison to the summer ones!). The tower is actually a brown/tan colour and not grey, like I had assumed. It's really pretty at night, and there are little blue lights along the structure that make it sparkle just so. One really needs to see the Eiffel Tower from a distance - it is much more impressive. We were pretty fortunate that we stayed for a few days in Paris because the first couple of days were really foggy. We lucked out on choosing the day to go up though - clear, blue skies for as far as the eye can see. The 360° views are magnificent. I should also remark that it's really interesting to people watch in Paris. Of course there are the overly amorous locals, but it seems that tourists also tend to pick up their mannerisms. Love is in the air, it seems.

L'Arc de Triomphe

Actually, not much to say. It's pretty, as is the walk along the Champs Élysées to get here.

The Notre Dame

The Notre Dame is really beautiful inside. I've seen a lot of churches since I've been in Europe, and most of them tend to blend together, but the Notre Dame does leave a mark. Although, I will say that I'm not a fan of the commercialism found in many tourist-friendly churches. I understand the cost of upkeep, and the belief in offering, but I do not appreciate the souvenir selling inside the church. I especially hate those pressing coin machines that feature an image of the church (or other landmark). If you are going to go that route to raise money, do it outside the walls!

The Sacre Coeur and Montmartre

What more could words express that these pictures couldn't? This is one of my favourite memories of Paris: the atmosphere, the picnics, the colours, the view - a sunset over the City of Light. 

Sometimes, it just hits you that life is pretty grand.

Paris, part 2: here

Swedish lunches

I can't say the school lunches I've had were ever this pretty, or healthy. This was from a class trip to the Ecocentrum in Malmö.

Autumn flowers

source

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” 

- Albert Camus

The Road Not Taken

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference”

— The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Rome at night

Rome is a city that needs to be seen at night. Everything feels so much more grandiose and magnificent. I'm not Rome's biggest fan but I feel really lucky to meander its streets at dusk.

What's really nice about travelling in November is that it's low season for tourists. In other words, you have time to take a decent picture and you can enjoy the sights without being jostled around.

Another plus to the low-season is getting the chance to walk around the Colosseum. With no one around. Just you and almost 2000 years of history. I've never felt quite this awed - how young and insignificant are we compared to buildings that have stood the test of time?

Rome, part 1: here

Rome, part 2: here

When in Rome..

 ...you stand at the top of the Spanish steps so you can be in a million Facebook photos the next day
...you make friends with locals who can bake you treats

 ...you always expect a nun

...you assume every building is, or was, a church

...you write Russian words on an Italian postcard addressed to Sweden for an Irish friend 

 ...you find the right way by taking the shady back alley

Rome, part 1: here

Rome, part 3: here

Mystery Trip 2011 - Rome

What happens when you think up crazy travel plans...and then your friend piggybacks it? Mystery Trip 2011.We wanted to stretch our travel muscles and improve our orienteering brains, without the stuffy knowledge of where we were going. 

Lost?

Long story short, we asked two of our friends to book us a random, cheap flight and hostel this weekend. And so, Friday night we received a text that said to arrive at Copenhagen airport at 6pm, undisclosed destination. No clues as to the weather. No clues on what to pack. Nothing out of those two! 

There wasn't much lead up, and no time to really worry, especially since I was late getting to the station, and I basically ran through the streets of Lund, luggage in tow, to make the train. We had about 40 minutes on the train to get used to the idea that we'd be going to a different country (an even different-er country than Denmark), then when we arrived we ripped open the envelope and...

Lots of great stories to tell. Oh, yeah.

• Staying in the shadiest part of town, arriving at pitch black midnight, two lost gals venture to find their hostel
• Walking around Rome, relying heavily on the wonders of the iPhone GPS because maps are wholly inaccurate and missing information, and Italians - bless them - are the worst possible direction givers ever. I found this the case in Milan during the summer and it was doubly reinforced in Rome.
• Great coffee. Amazing coffee.
• Stereotypical Italian males. Stereotypes for a reason.
• Running into my latte dealer/future husband, everyday, twice a day
• Butchering Finnish while, unknowingly by me, a Finnish couple looks and hears on.
• Creepy waiters who try to kiss you. Gross
• Even creepier, overly excited male bus passengers. No. words.
• Police at the Colosseum
• Waking up at the crack of dawn (okay, 6:30am) to catch the sun rise from the steps of...the Spanish steps. (Also, a lesson in reading sunrise times)
• We thought it would be hilarious to see modern art whilst in Rome. The elusive modern art museum. HOAX.
• Finding cheap but amazing food at random restaurants
• Chilling out in Testaccio, trying to find the Market (not Macro!!) and stumbling upon their local bakery. Where everyone spoke rapid Italian, had no idea why tourists were in their store and helped a couple of exchange students buy cookies. Amazing!

There's so much more that I can't write it all down. I'm sure this only makes sense to Julia and I, but isn't that one of the best parts of travelling? Little secrets, shared memories.

Here's a sneak peek. 

When in Rome...

...you get a marriage proposal with your coffee

...you see things that don't quite belong

...you order the best coffee drink ever and then forget its name. every. time.

Rome, part 2: here

Rome, part 3: here

Mölle and Kullaberg

Sometimes spontaneous day plans are amazing. The Swedish ones have all been aces. Take this jaunt to Mölle with Sarah, for example.

We've been on a bit of a hiking kick, so we decided to explore this small seaside town and nature area. It's not that far away, but required 2 different transfers. We couldn't find the right bay for our first transfer, and ended up seeing the tail-end of the bus as it left the station. Not a big deal - wait, the bus only comes every hour? Oh.

Of course, when one misses their first transfer, they also miss their second. I don't remember what city we were stranded in, but I think it had one street. We ventured into some sort of cultural center (?) because it was pretty cold and we waited it out while being baffled at the art they had displayed. Think tin foil animals with 10 legs, no head and polka dots.

At last, the bus came and dropped us off at our final destination! Except that the signs we were promised weren't there and we couldn't find the nature reserve until this nice, old man pointed it out. He also took one look at us and shot us the there's-no-way-these-girls-can-hike-but-I'll-humour-them smile. We'll show you, nice old man! (Except that he's Swedish so he could probably kick our butts and then run a marathon).We did eventually find the start of the trail (at the other end of town). It was awesome - as hiking tends to be - with the pretty fall leaves on the ground. The views were beautiful - thought it was very un-Skåne as we traipsed the cliffs along the sea. Unfortunately, dusk settled in pretty soon after, and we couldn't make it to the end view point due to our doubly delayed transportation woes.

Returning home ended up being an altogether different story. It got dark really fast and all the people just disappeared. Adorable seaside towns turns eerie. We thought it might be fun to just stay the night at a B&B, of which we saw many, and finish off the hike the next morning. We knocked on every B&B/hotel/hostel we could find and everything was closed. empty. dark. Needless to say, left alone with our over active imagination, and Sarah's obsession fascination with Buffy, it was creepy!

Thus began our few hours in Vampire Town. 

We survived to tell the tale, but we never did get the chance to go back. Alas, some regrets stay in Sweden.

Halloween at Tivoli

Since Copenhagen is just a hop, skip and swipe of a JoJo card away, we visited Tivoli after class. I love fairs, especially when they are fancied up to look festive. It makes me reconsider going to the PNE (I think it's overrated but maybe I should give it another shot? I used to love it as a kid!). The best, of course, is seeing cute blonde children running around the pumpkins!

Second best is glögg. Or gluhwein (Sprechen sie deutsch?). Or mulled wine. A warm cup in hand is all you need to wander Tivoli in the dark.

Lastly, we watched the light show. Apparently, one of it's kind in Scandinavia...bit of a let down, but at least the picture came out nicely! I can't wait to come back for Christmas!

Eggs benny

On Jeanette's birthday we woke up early (extra early) to whip up some eggs benedict. Smoked salmon, hollandaise sauce, mushrooms, sausage...the whole works. Deliciousness.

Poaching eggs still intimidate me. I watched from afar.

Soderåson National Park

Good company made for a lovely time in a National Park. Fog and rain made for a very muddy time.

It was a couple weeks too late for the leaves to still be on the trees but I quite liked the blanket of reds and oranges littering the forest floor. 

Mushrooms grow everywhere and anywhere!

And, of course, the only way to take a break in a Swedish forest is with kannelbular. 'Twas a great day.