S(LOVE)nia.

Ljubjana - typical Eastern European city

Park in Ljubjana

Lake Bled - one of my fav places in the world

Lake Bled

Lake Bled

Swede...dude...swede.....dude...

Stockholm, Sweden

As promised. This is Sean:

Let me tell you a story about him, highly related to our trip to Stockholm. So our dates for this trip: Dec 1-2. No big deal. So we all buy our Ryanair tickets, Sean books the hotel (he wouldn't tell us it was the NordicLights hotel attached to the Ice Bar because he wanted us to be surprised how amazing it was!), and we wait for Dec 1st to come. So the week before we left, Dana emails Sean asking for the place we're staying so she can look up how close we are to places. Cool. Sean emails us back "Ummmm. I booked the hotel for Dec 7-8 instead." So we totally thought he was joking and told all my coworkers and we were cracking up. Until we found out he wasn't joking. We had no hotel. For a city we were visiting in 5 days. That happened to hosting an event that the entire world wanted to go to.

COOOL! So we book the only thing we could find. The confirmation was an email via a gmail acct that says "Excited for you be here."

We love Sean. We loved him even MORE when he showed us the hotel we were suppose to stay at:



Instead, we stayed in the second half a swedish massage parlor slash nail place, with a handwritten sign on the door and a light up sign above that.. didn't light up. This below was the lobby, also her living room, office and dining room where she had Tanzanian dinner party with about 20 guests the next night. So this is where we stayed our night in Sweden, after we decided that sleeping in the airport the night before would be a good idea.

So we get to the airport at about 8am, and have to take an hour long bus to the city center. So we finally exit the bus station and get our first glimpse of Stockholm. And let me tell you, it's absolutely gorgeous, super cute & chic modern trendy with the old town building feel! And the city exists on 14 closely spaced islands, making the exploration that much more interesting!


So we walked around and admired the yellow pink and beige buildings (reminded me of emeryville, urban chic?). There's tons of modern stores and beautiful people and baby astronauts (haha, that's what me and Dana called the kids that were bundled up in 1 piece ski suits). And it was near Christmas so there was the cutest outdoor ice skating rink and Christmas markets and wreaths hanging in small cobblestone alleys with family owned souvenir shops!

So it becomes 4pm, and the sun has set around 3, so Sean Josh Kathleen and Tim decide it'd be a good idea to start drinking... FISH BOWLS of alcohol. Me & Dana decide to go shopping... so that we do! I bought an olive oil dispenser. It's cool huh?!

So it starts raining, HORIZONTALLY, into me and Dana's face. So we decide that we're over it and it's totally time to go back to the hostel and get ready to go out. So, we totally forgot which of the 14 islands we were staying on ( I know, ridiculous. Shush).. so we're wandering in the rain and about 100mph winds wind walking with our head down and hunched over so we dont get rain directly into our face.... soo miz. So we finally ask a hotel where the closet metro station is, stare at the chart and decide that we can take any GREEN line.. which mean any line that started with Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. Hag Fart Skrag. We chanted that nonstop to the rest of the crew later and they had no idea what we wre talking about.

Anyways, so we finally get to the station near our hostel, decide that we need to get some alcohol before going out that night, so we pop into a 7-11. We look around for beer, then ask the cashier if they have any vodka. He proceeds to tell us that it's illegal to sell hard alcohol after about 4pm in Stockholm, but, if we really wanted some, he could "call his friend and we could meet him in some dark Swedish alley for the goods if we bring cash." Uh, I think we'll stick w/ the Heinekin, but thanks!!

This is Dana. Yaaaah. She's drinking Heiniken. Yaaaah. In our Hostel. Yaaah.

So we go back to the hostel.. where we interrupt a Tanzanian dinner party .. get ready and start drinking. So the above is what our hostel looked like.. Purple curtain separating the living room and our bunk beds!

So this guy at a bar tells me to move out of his way because his friend needs to do pushups...so meet a group of Australians. in Sweden. Who were living in London. then take a cab with them. to an Irish bar. I love random people. I also don't think I've ever sang this loud in my life.... or was so happy to meet up w/ invisible people. HAHAHA, so we didn't realize that this 2nd pub had a cover and "we had no cash." So when the group whole group of us headed in, Dana grabs my hand and runs in and goes "OMG ITS SO NICE TO SEE YOU!!!!!!!!!" .. to no one. And so we didn't have to pay cover.

This guy & his friends names were Basil, Emmanuel and Nigel. aka Matt, Ben and something else normal. Yaaaah.

So the next morning, out of delirum, Dana goes "OMG Cheese!! Is it like Swiss cheese?? because we're in... wait.. we're in Sweden."

So we do a boat tour.. and this is one of my favorites! It made me actually legit want to move to Stockholm and live there! We even saw where Abba and Roxette lived! And there's such cute trails on the side of the water where people were walking their doors, and a little more "inland," people were grooming their horses! Your farm house could be waterfront, and so close to the city center... what more could you ask for?! Obsessed. Cities on 14 islands are the new thing.

Then we went to see Vasa, a ship that sank in 1628 and then lifted and fully rebuilt 333 years later. Because the water in this area was so polluted until the 20th century, the microorganisms that usually deteriorate through wood couldn't survive - thus the better than expected condition of the boat when it was salvaged in the 1950's.

Vasa

Skansen: an open air museum and zoo, also referred to as "mini Sweden." This was the day that I found out reindeer were real animals.. I always thought they were just parts of Christmas stories! So they shipped in the parts of original buildings from around the country and rebuild them in this area so it looked almost exactly like "old school traditional Sweden" would, including the small town feel and the local shoesmith, tanner, carpenter, you name it. So there were bears, wolves, bores (they were a reall big.. "bore". Ha. ha. ha!) all sorts of animals in this place.. so Sean goes ".. the janitor at my school had a pet wolf. His name was Bojangles." O.M.F.G.

Traditional Swedish people wearing traditional Swedish outfits in a traditional house playing traditional music on traditional instruments. I think it was a bit traditional.

And here is Sean enjoying traditional Swedish cuisine: a French hotdog!! A close ended bagette, a dog, and some mayo and garlic sauce. Yum!

Stockholm at night. Bye city! I'll be back to live here and marry a good looking (traditional) Swedish man. Yaaaah.

LODGE-istics:

J'adore paris

Paris, France

Weekend in Paris to visit Peter B - took Eurostar after work to Gare du Nord. Omg, I didn't get to peter's hotel till freaking 3:30 am ( but i didn't know it was that late, cuz.....i don't know. i thought it was 2:30). Also the area around the Eurostar station isn't the best place to be alone ... in the middle of the night. However, everyone I did end up talking to were super nice and I even went into a diner type restaurant to ask for change and they asked me to stay for a drink!

Anyways, so the next day (Saturday), we get up get ready and go to walking around.. so we get out of the metro at Notre Dame and I'm fixing my camera to get ready to take pictures.. and i hear someone go "STEF!" ... and I turn around and freaking my friend Rachel whitehead is standing there w/ her friend. HOW. FREAKING. RANDOM. is that?! I studied abroad with her and then i just BUMPED INTO her in front of notre dame?! The last time I saw her was a year ago when we visited her in Santa Barbara!!!!! I LOVE TRAVELING!

Rachel et moi

So we walked around after Notre Dame, to Galleries Lafayette, the Louvre (didn't go in this time cuz I've been the last time I was there.. although next time I go I'll definitely want to go in), all along Champs Elysee to gorge on chocolate AND shop for Peters stuff at Salvatore Ferragamo and Louis Vuitton.

Along the Seine River

Pink chairs outside of PINK Fauchon

Outside Galleries Lafayette ... during the Holiday season.. chaotic!

Champs Elysee! I LOVE THIS STREET

Went to Eiffel tower at night and it was GORGEOUS!!!!!!!! and i got suckered into buying one of those light up eiffel towers from those mofos who try to tackle you and stuff. grrrrrrrrr and i ended up paying more! cuz I don't know how to bargain. boo hoo oh well it was like 1 Euro more.

Had dinner in the Latin Quarters (Mexican food!) - I love the area.. there's so many little souvenir shops selling random knick knacks, and so many small restaurants that are family owned. The streets are so small and have so much character - and people live right above these shops and restaurants. The place is just screams family and has a real close knit feeling - kind of like a bazaar but without people pressuring you so much into helping you spend your money. It's my kind of place!

So on Sunday, we were going into central Paris again to eat and go to Moulin Rouge before I took the eurostar back (and after we called mary for like 20 minutes and she told mer to call her.. nevertime. hahahaha). So we're at the airport trying to buy tickets for hte train, and this guy behind us goes "hey....is this the only way into paris?" and then i told him I think so and Peter starts talking to him.. and we find out he's from California... and then we find out he's from Alameda.. and then we find out he use to be a bouncer in san jose at Studio 8.. and peter was like "yeah dude.. i recognize you!" CRAZY. so we spent the day with him... and got mushroom/cheese crepe + sugar crepe + a drink for 6 euros!!!!!!! i LOVE CREPESSS!

The crepe man was super nice

Strolling around trying to find our new friends hostel

So then we accompany John (I think that was his name...) to Notre Dame cuz we were going in that direction anyways... we end up going into Notre Dame cuz we didn't the day before.. for some reason we thought it cost money. Anyways, it was actually REALLY AMAZING to go in and see one of the first Gothic Cathedrals.

We saw these street performers the day before in the Latin Quarters!

And then back to Gare du Nord for the Eurostar back to King's Cross. Cheap, quick, and super convenient. I love the Eurostar. : )

A Typical Sunday....

in London, England!
(and nearby surrounding areas...)

1. Wake up hungover.

2. Grab McDonalds hungover breakfast.

3. Take the tube/train to a random English Castle.

4. Take the self guided tour.

5. Drink a coke at a cute restaurant nearby.

6. Go back to Ability. Kyle comes over to Flat 69 and we all upload pictures to facebook.

• Buckingham Palace: Official residence of the Queen

So we did the audio tour - there was also an exhibit that year (the palace is only for visitors every summer) to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's 60th wedding anniversary. Some of the stuff on display was incredible... like her £9,000 wedding cake and loads of gifts from famous people around the world to congratulate them.

I'd have to say my favorite was the music room.

The music room (picture compliments of googleimagesearch)
It doesn't do it justice though.

So this is a picture of the queen's back yard.. no big deal you know. The semi circle dome area in the middle (with the green dome top) is where the music room is. The grand piano looks out onto the backyard!!

The front of the palace.

Walking through Hyde Park to the Palace

Queen Lizzy's car.. no big deal.

Kids corner!

Then we went to Hard Rock Cafe (the first one EVER!) Pigged out on some amazing Mac & Cheese.

So we all ordered Coke (typical), and 2 seconds after they came the boys had already inhaled them. What. the. freak.

• Windsor Castle

So we went to Windsor Castle via Waterloo Station.. so when we were there and waiting around I saw a brochure for "Rugby" and was like SWEET!! we can learn about rugby finally and understand what the eff is going on. So I grab the brochure and then went to grab some food (or a Coke)... I come back and Darrell goes.. "You know that brochure is about Rugby the place... not the sport right?" hahahahahha.

Group Shot in front of the castle, before the tour started :)

The audio tour actually started outside the castle (the audio tour looked like an old school phone that you hold up to your ear, unlike the ones at Buckingham which had headphones, and more unlike the ones at SFMOMA which are iPODS) which really threw me off.. no worries though. Then we went inside - O.M.G. the dollhouse that was made for Queen Mary (a replica of some rooms in Windsor) was EL MEGA CREEPY! I mean it was really cool cuz it was done TO SCALE and looked so real.... but everything in the dollhouse actually functioned.

Note the audio equipment... I feel like Zack Morris.

With the guard


Hanging out in the gardens... look how relaxed everyone is

Afternoon frolick.. see below ridiculous video

Loooonnng road we ventured on

The thing I love about these weekends is just how we just wander around... taking ridiculous Herbal Essence commercial pictures, AND making the boys skip. We walked on the ridiculously long road behind windsor.. trying to make it to the horse statue...but after an hour we realised we weren't even close. Hahahaha.

Wandering around Windsor looking for Coke

So then we wandered around the town of Windsor, and found the cutest little restaurant at the base of the castle. Unfortunately it was already 5pm in England autumn so it was getting quite chilly - the California kids were not coping so well:

So on the way there, we got stuck in the QUIET car because we boarded late... so on the way BACK to the city, we were insane. So the train was going ridiculously fast through Slough.. and someone said "Woooow, you would think it would at least slow down."

"Yeah, you would think it would at least SLOUGH down..."

• Hampton Court Palace

So we ventured out to Hampton Court Palace included all of EIGHT people! We took the train there, ate a cute sandwich shop (Cokes included), and then headed to take the tour. So we first went to the King's apartments and me and Darrell asked how they rebuilt the ceiling after the fire of 1986. So they said they would take all the pieces and compare it to blueprints and whatever leftover material they had stored from when they built the building the first time.

So then we head over to the King Henry VIII (who had 6 wives)'s exhibition. Me and Sean were sitting in the main room just taking in all the art and stained glass windows... and I go "Dude.. that stain glass window looks like there's Marge Simpson on it.."

"Yes.. because when King Henry VIII was in power, the Simpsons was all the rage."

And theeenn we were making ridiculous comments and we thought we were inhaling fumes... and I go "Dude.. seriously it smells like smoke. I think its from the fire that burnt down the ceiling!"

Then we went into the next room and we swore it smelled like dead animals.. and we look up and there are tons of animal skulls displayed on the walls.

Holyyyyyy. Wow we're amazing.

So we took a stroll outside in the gardens & did the maze (which we didn't get lost in once.. quite disappointing).

in the maze.. or "jungle"

So then we decided to go get a Sunday roast..because it was Sunday...but of course... all the pubs we went to had no more roast.. OR RAN OUT OF FOOD! what. the. Apparently that's typical for the British because the Somerfield I frequent on the way home from work for groceries likes to run out of spinach, mushrooms, lemons, meat.....

So we ended up eating at Zizi's.. and this is what Sam's calzone looked like.



AND, I have NO idea what was in the water at Zizi's, but we were OUT OF CONTROL on the train ride back. It seriously started becoming chaotic... the guys across from us started cracking up at something hilarious, then Imoved a water bottle and someone starts cracking up.. then everyone starts laughing and I don't even know what in the world we were talking about. So everyone on the train is about to kill us ... then the announcment over the PA says "Occasionally there are begggars on the train. Please do not encourage IT by giving them money." Then we also found out that Darrell pets Christian's hair in his sleep.

So the train gets to Waterloo - and no joke, everyone else in our car STAMPEDES to the door and is PUSHING their way out... as. fast. as. physically. possible.

Wooooow. I love us.