Stockholm, Sweden.

So I've been in Sweden for over two months now, and up until now I hadn't been able to visit Stockholm, the capital - I've only passed through a couple of times. So I went with a couple of friends to see it.

It's a lovely, old city; somewhat reminding me of Melbourne. Of course, Stockholm is smaller (about 2 million people) and the Metro system was similar. Of course, many places for fika were to be found, and many old buildings. We did some shopping, looked around the Royal Palace and got up to miscellaneous adventures. A highlight for me was a stop on our free walking tour: Norrmalstorg Square. Hearing about a certain robbery from a tour guide (a certain story I happen to know well and been weirdly fascinated by!) was something special for me. It coined the term 'Stockholm syndrome'.

Something good for me was seeing a certain piece of scenery in real life. 

I used it for my bucket list; and here it is now.

EUROPE List: Stockholm, Sweden

Achieved 27/3/13-29/3/13

Paris, France.

So Paris. Freaking Paris.
There are no words, so I'll just give you a bunch and hope it works.

My friend and I stopped over in Frankfurt, before landing in Charles De Gaulle at around 6pm at night. We found our hostel and dropped off out luggage before walking around and exploring Montmatre. We looked at the Sacré-Cœur by night and glimpsed the Eiffel Tower before walking around some more. We experienced the Metro and saw the outside of Moulin Rouge.

Next day was crammed full of sightseeing: Tour Montparnasse, Notre Dame, The Panthéon, Place de la Concorde, Champs-Élysées and climbed up The Arc de Triomphe. We tried escargot and it was actually quite delicious!

The day after (Friday) was the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, both in the day and night. We had baguettes for lunch under the Eiffel Tower and crepes that night. The Louvre was incredible; so many pieces of art and we didn't even see them all! We saw a few important pieces (Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo), and again dinner on the Champs-Élysées.

Saturday was a great day. We went to the Cafe de Deux Moulins (The Two Windmills Cafe) where a certain fictional eccentric character works. We went back to the Notre Dame for more pictures and found the underground crypt, which had some remains from the 12th century. At this point I realised I somehow lost my iPod touch.

We found Shakespeare and Co. before trying to backtrack.

It stayed lost, so I bought a new one at the Apple Store in the Carousel de Louvre! We went to the Museum d'Orsay and saw some authentic Van Gogh, Monet and Manet (not mayonnaise!). We had one last dinner down the Champs-Élysées (tried some red wine) before exploring the Place de la Concorde by night.

We left first thing Sunday morning. Stopped over in Munich, hung out at Stockholm Arlanda airport for a while before arriving back in Orebro at about 9:30-10pm.

The trip was a flurry of awesome memories; riding the Metro how many times, getting in to so many places for free (technically I'm an EU citizen, so free admission to a bunch of places!), the food, the people, the language, the city.

 

EUROPE List: Paris, France

Achieved 20/3/13-24/3/13

Trip highlights.

Souvenirs:

Clockwise from top: 

Black and red berets 

Channel Chance perfume from Champs-Élysées

My new iPod touch + cover

A t-shirt from the official Eiffel Tower Boutique (level 2).

Clockwise from top:
Prints of Moulin Rouge and the Eiffel Tower
Shakespeare and Co. tote bag
Shakespeare and Company: A Brief History of a Parisian Bookstore 
Starry Night Over the Rhone Van Gogh print from the Museum d'Orsay,
 La Liberté guidant le peuple Eugène Delacroix print from the Louvre,
Sweden and France espresso collectible cups from Starbucks