design is a verb

Finished with Finland

Of course I chart my course to Helsinki the same night that Finland beats Sweden for the World Hockey Championship. This stuff always happens to me…. I should have planned for the unexpected. The weather was crap for most of the day.. But everyone I met was kind and jubilant, most likely because the national team was coming home today to celebrate on a grand scale. I found myself right in the middle of it. Traffic and mass transit snarled, businesses were closing… And I found myself without a way back to the ferry terminal where I stored my luggage. I like a good party, but the streets were starting to get too chaotic, and couldn’t understand anything anyway. Drunk 15 yr olds prowling the streets, dragging cases of beer and waving blue and white flags. I talked to A few cops… And they told me that the city was about to come to stay still, as an expected 100,000 people decend on the exact area i waas in. So… I decided to leave town, and catch a ferry to Tallinn, Estonia. I only planned to spend the day in Helsinki anyway, and take the last ferry out..Im leaving a few hours sooner. Getting to the ferry was a challenge, and I almost got locked out of the terminal, where my luggage was stored. (Tearing up when someone tells me “no” always seems to unlock doors)

I’m watching the celebration on TV in the ferry lounge… And It looks very similar to the footage of the blackhawks parade… Except all the players look like much hotter versions of David Beckham…mmm… Finns are Hot. But I’m still very very glad I got out of there.

Helsinki is a great. I love the vibe and the people are very cool. The city as whole is very beautiful… Like I remember St. Petersburg Russia. If it wasnt so cold, I could be myself living there.

The Russians are staring at me.

I’m on the Baltics, I’m on a boat. The Tallink Silja ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki. It’s not so much a ferry as a mini-cruiseship. This “cruise” us a hoot n’ a half. The guidebooks all recommend that you order the €30 buffet, and say the unlimited wine beer and the food is a good value. Well they were not lying! It’s a full on smorgasbord!!! I don’t think I’ve EVER had food this good at any restaurant in the states. Yes, for my taste palate … It’s even better than girl and the goat.

Dont get me wrong…I ain’t no foodie…. I derive very little pleasure from bragging about the restaurants i visit. But there are Jumbo marinated green lipped mussels from NZ so big I almost need to cut them in half. Red, white, and black caviar with creme fraishe . I could eat my weight in this caviar. THE best smoked salmon I’ve ever tasted. Mushroom and leek salad. All kinds of savory combinations with root vegetables. I’ve really disappointed that I could never possibly try everything on the buffet….especially the Swedish delicacies. And the constant refills of white wine are filling any voids I have left. Is it sad that I’m contemplating filling a ziploc bag in my purse with caviar and crackers for breakfast. Yes, I know… Thought retracted.

The funny part is that I’m sitting in a large dining room at a long table that seats 8…BY MYSELF! And i’m not the only one. There are at least 3 other people sitting at large tables alone. When you make a table reservation, I guess that they go out of their make sure the solo travelers feel even more solo. I’m okay with it… But people are staring at me… Speaking in Russian…. And with my limited comprehension I’m straining to catch at least one word. My dinner companion for the evening is my iPad and I’m reading Tina Fey’s “Bossypants”… Between the food, and the awesome book and the staring… I’m on sensory pleasure/comedic overload… And I feel like crying because everything is feeling so damn satiated, absurd and awesome all at the same time.

Time to go check out the “club”. Wanna bet it’s either soccer or bad karaoke dominating the atmosphere? My money is on “football”.

The Russians are staring at me!

I’m on the Baltics, I’m on a boat. The Tallink Silja ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki. It’s not so much a ferry as a mini-cruiseship. This “cruise” us a hoot n’ a half. The guidebooks all recommend that you order the €30 buffet, and say the unlimited wine beer and the food is a good value. Well they were not lying! It’s a full on smorgasbord!!! I don’t think I’ve EVER had food this good at any restaurant in the states. Yes, for my taste palate … It’s even better than girl and the goat.

Dont get me wrong…I ain’t no foodie…. I derive very little pleasure from bragging about the restaurants i visit. But there are Jumbo marinated green lipped mussels from NZ so big I almost need to cut them in half. Red, white, and black caviar with creme fraishe . I could eat my weight in this caviar. THE best smoked salmon I’ve ever tasted. Mushroom and leek salad. All kinds of savory combinations with root vegetables. I’ve really disappointed that I could never possibly try everything on the buffet….especially the Swedish delicacies. And the constant refills of white wine are filling any voids I have left. Is it sad that I’m contemplating filling a ziploc bag in my purse with caviar and crackers for breakfast. Yes, I know… Thought retracted.

The funny part is that I’m sitting in a large dining room at a long table that seats 8…BY MYSELF! And i’m not the only one. There are at least 3 other people sitting at large tables alone. When you make a table reservation, I guess that they go out of their make sure the solo travelers feel even more solo. I’m okay with it… But people are staring at me… Speaking in Russian…. And with my limited comprehension I’m straining to catch at least one word. My dinner companion for the evening is my iPad and I’m reading Tina Fey’s “Bossypants”… Between the food, and the awesome book and the staring… I’m on sensory pleasure/comedic overload… And I feel like crying because everything is feeling so damn satiated, absurd and awesome all at the same time.

Time to go check out the “club”. Wanna bet it’s either soccer or bad karaoke dominating the atmosphere? My money is on “football”.

The Russians are staring at me!

This “cruise” us a hoot n’ a half. The guidebooks all recommend that you order the €30 buffet, and say the unlimited wine beer and the food is a good value. Well they were not lying! It’s a full on smorgasbord!!! I don’t think I’ve EVER had food this good at any restaurant in the states. Yes, for my taste palate … It’s even better than girl and the goat.

Dont get me wrong…I ain’t no foodie…. I derive very little pleasure from bragging about the restaurants i visit. But there are Jumbo marinated green lipped mussels from NZ so big I almost need to cut them in half. Red, white, and black caviar with creme fraishe . I could eat my weight in this caviar. THE best smoked salmon I’ve ever tasted. Mushroom and leek salad. All kinds of savory combinations with root vegetables. I’ve really disappointed that I could never possibly try everything on the buffet….especially the Swedish delicacies. And the constant refills of white wine are filling any voids I have left. Is it sad that I’m contemplating filling a ziploc bag in my purse with caviar and crackers for breakfast. Yes, I know… Thought retracted.

The funny part is that I’m sitting in a large dining room at a long table that seats 8…BY MYSELF! And i’m not the only one. There are at least 3 other people sitting at large tables alone. When you make a table reservation, I guess that they go out of their make sure the solo travelers feel even more solo. I’m okay with it… But people are staring at me… Speaking in Russian…. And with my limited comprehension I’m straining to catch at least one word. My dinner companion for the evening is my iPad and I’m reading Tina Fey’s “Bossypants”… Between the food, and the awesome book and the staring… I’m on sensory pleasure/comedic overload… And I feel like crying because everything is feeling so damn satiated, absurd and awesome all at the same time.

Time to go check out the “club”. Wanna bet it’s either soccer or bad karaoke dominating the atmosphere? My money is on “football”.

U

Going medieval

Mostar is a special little town. Not unlike the other medieval walled cities I’ve visited this trip, there are little cobble stone streets, terraces, and cute cafes nestled within candlelit alleyways. Except, this time with minarets, mosques, and call to prayer! I’m not religious, but something about a song in Arabic, broadcast over rooftops city wide, asking people to stop what they are doing and be grateful, moves me.

Cap it off with a midday temperature of 41 degrees Celsius (do the math…that’s hot!) and you have the best of europe with more than a hint of middle east, on the cheap.

Mostar was a frontline during the war with the serbs, and the region’s most heavily damaged city. Sarajevo being second. The evidence is everywhere! Buildings hundreds of years old still stand bombed beyond repair, and the more modern facades resemble swiss cheese. Bullets/shrapnel from constant bombardment are still being found. And not all landmines have been cleared in the back country. The hundreds, if not thousands, of headstones in the muslim cemeteries all declare 1993 as year of death, further punctuating the crime of mass genocide. But Mostar is slowly being rebuilt and revitalized. The food is good, the landscape is beautiful, the clubs are trendy, and tourists keep arriving by the busloads!

Tonight I thought I would join the culinary adventurers club and order completely out of my comfort zone at dinner. BLACK RISOTTO!

let me explain. It’s a regional dish that is made with squid, mussels, clams, sometimes prawns, and risotto cooked with squid ink. It looks disgusting! Like mice turds, tentacles, and vomit blended with a bottle of calligrapher’s black India ink. Once you get past putting, what looks like, poison in your mouth…it’s pretty tasty. (Almost as weird of experience as durian.) Except they gave me a portion large enough to feed a country like Portugal. Add a huge salad and a bottle of house white wine, and stunning view of their famous bridge and riverscape…and my bill is about $12. Bosnia-Herzgovinia rox!

Sarajevo via train tomorrow with stunning mountain vistas! Yea!

Mostar is a special little town. Not unlike the other medieval walled cities I’ve visited this trip, there are little cobble stone streets, terraces, and cute cafes nestled within candlelit alleyways. Except, this time with minarets, mosques, and call to prayer! I’m not religious, but something about a song in Arabic, broadcast over rooftops city wide, asking people to stop what they are doing and be grateful, moves me.

Cap it off with a midday temperature of 41 degrees Celsius (do the math.. It’s friggin hot!) and you have the best of europe with a hint of middle east.

Tonight I thought I would join the culinary adventurers club and order completely out of my comfort zone at dinner. BLACK RISOTTO!

let me explain. It’s a regional dish that is made with squid, mussels, clams, sometimes prawns, and risotto cooked with squid ink. It looks disgusting! Like mice turds, and vomit blended with a bottle of calligrapher’s black India ink. Once you get past putting, what looks like, poison in your mouth…it’s pretty tasty. Except they gave me a portion large enough to feed a country like Portugal. Add a huge salad and a bottle of house white wine, and stunning view of their famous bridge and riverscape…and my bill is about $12. Bosnia-Herzgovinia rox!

Sarajevo via train tomorrow! Yea!

Converting to Italian …. Step #4:

“kissing with tongue is the same as a handshake”

A quote from the over-eager and very forward 33y/o italian man that approached me in the main piazza last night. Within 30 secs of meeting me, he told me he “liked” me and wanted to kiss me, and take me up to a secluded spot on the hill (read: attack me) and show me the view of the Amalfi Coast at night because it is romantic. WTF!!??

He was adorably cute, eyelashes for miles, and sweet, and somewhat interesting to talk to..and what girl doesn’t like to called beautiful? Especially when the boy complimenting is blushing…but trying to steal kisses as we chat is creepy. And “no, mister, You will not die if I don’t kiss you!” Not sure whether it was the “Danger! Danger! Will robinson!” alarm going off in my head OR the fact I can be a bit prudish. … But there was NO handshaking or kissing total stranger last night. And that sucks! ;)