Its a funny thing when one plans a trip, and inadvertently ends up full of expectations of both things that WILL be done, and things that won’t. I honestly tried not to have any, but in the end I did. And of course, my trip was nothing like I imagined in my head. I think it was better! To me, the mark of a good vacation is one that is filled with new experiences, and this one really was. I saw Paris for the first time in my life, I stayed on a house boat, I rode a motorcycle, I witnessed some very Swedish things. Of course, there were some sad things too. In Paris time slipped away, and we didn’t make a couple of destinations that were in the plan. The jet lag for both of us was pretty brutal, another reason for time going so quickly. And so much traveling between countries makes for some stress in what would otherwise be a relaxing trip. We only scratched the surface of a couple of cities, but I’m confident we’ll be back.

I found Paris to be both magical and very precious at the same time. Seeing stereotypes that are true makes me laugh, but its a wonderful thing. The culinary experiences, the cafe culture, the time and love put into simple things, all these made my trip spectacular.
The Ispahan from Pierre Hermé.

The durangos and tablettes from Jean-Charles Rochoux.

The tea and macaron from Laduree.

And also, the many places and things we saw.

The Luxembourg gardens.

Family history at Notre Dame.

The Pompidou.

And the Louvre.

House boating in Copenhagen was fun, its easy to be relaxed on the water, and the rocking makes for a nice lullaby.

We even took a water taxi by the Queen’s ship.

Sweden was very much about family, we saw our nieces Liv and My (who we had never met before). They are so lovely, crazy little girls, but amazing to see.

And the main reason for our trip, Johan’s sister Frida graduated from “gymnasium”.

Johan and I managed to get a few days in Malmö as well, and finally got to meet Amy, a sort of pen pal and friend, and her husband Erik.

Now it’s strange to be home, New York is sweltering but my fantastic mother (who visited while we were away) got us air conditioners, a real savior. And now all I really feel like doing is having this,

a night at home.

Oops! Forgot to say a special thank you to Molly, and Cheri, for very helpful suggestions in Paris!

Music: Cat Power- “New York” (Jukebox, 2008)