Stockholm!

A few weeks ago we ventured off to Scandinavia!  Our first stop was Stockholm.  The city had such a different vibe than London - which was really refreshing.  For one, it felt like summer!  It was hot and sunny the entire time we were there.  And two, it had the 'feel' of a city on the water... something I love.  And three, it was a whole heck of a lot more laid back than London!  

Some memories we'll take from Stockholm:

1. Chocolate Balls (this may be more of a me vs. we):  Our first day in Stockholm we were grabbing a glass of wine from an outdoor cafe on the water when I noticed a huge mound of chocolate balls.  I wasn't sure what they were so I asked the waitress what the chocolate balls were... only to be met from laughter from some Swedish man across the way.  He said he lived in San Fran for a while and missed Chocolate Balls like crazy... so much so that he even considered opening a San Fran Chocolate Balls shop - for some reason we all seemed to agree that the name wouldn't quite work in the states.  

Anyway, after a couple laughs the man bought us our first (of many) chocolate balls!

2. Girls + Converse -->  Swedish women looooooooove Converse.  I have never seen so many pairs of Converse in my life!  And they will pair them with anything, no matter how dressy!  I can't tell you how many times I tried to sneak a picture of a girl all decked out with a pair of Converse on, but each time I got caught.  Kathy Schneider, you need to teach me your people snooping tricks :)

3. Visiting with mi amiga de Barcelona, Caro -->  One of my good friends from Barcelona is from Stockholm.  We met up with her one night for dinner and a few too many drinks!  But it was so fun catching up and seeing Stockholm from a local's point of view!  

4. Bright colors everywhere -->  The brightly painted houses made me love Stockholm even more!  I'm a sucker for color!  It didn't matter what you were looking at, the color made it pretty. 

Even worn down buildings had a certain colorful charm to them!

5.  Fika -->  A Swedish word that is not translatable into English, but basically means to go for dessert in the afternoon!  Two questions:  Why the heck don't we have that word in English?  And why the heck aren't the Swedes all fat?  Because it certainly seemed like 'the thing to do' in Stockholm!

6.  Being shameful Americans -->  I contemplated long and hard about if I would include this in the blog, but it was so enjoyable that it has to be listed.  We ate dinner at Fridays (*shame*).   Yes, the same Fridays that is in every American strip mall and airport lounge.  I normally look down on those who travel abroad only to run into the very first McDonalds they see.  But all I can say is it looked so good!  And now that we're living in London we think it is somewhat less shameful... I mean everyone craves a fried, chili, quesadilla, cheeseball from time to time, right??!!??  

Bye Stockholm!

Click HERE to see all the photos from Stockholm.