The Stockholm Observatory

Located near the Stockholm Public Library is the Stockholm Observatory, located at the peak of the hill at Observatorieparken.

A couple of weeks ago, my friends Lisa, Linh and their younger siblings had a picnic on one side of the observatory. I have been to the Observatory countless amount of times, and I have never been disappointed with my climb.

We had a picnic near this statue, just overlooking the public library itself.

Before reaching the observatory itself, you would need to climb a lot of steps, but once there, you will see the magnificent views of Stockholm that it offers. Below is a sneak peek of the awesomeness that we saw once on top of the hill:

We then chose to go down the hill to Observatorieparken, where everyone had a joyous time playing around the spacious playground.

Since this park is very close to our house, it didn't bother me to walk there. It's really fun to just sit down, relax and savour the views that you are given. It's better to explore the area around you with your friends, too!

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- The Stockholm City Hall 

- Skansen - Stockholm's Open Air Museum

- The Vasa Museum

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EATS: Hippopotamus Bar & Grill

Our first official meal in Paris was at the Hippopotamus Bar & Grill near Forum Les Halles. We were strolling around the area when we thought of having dinner, and we found this place! It seemed to have an inviting atmosphere from the outside. We were hoping to find good food here, to satisfy our first impressions of Parisian offerings.

Before going in though, we were very intrigued if they served real hippo meat. You might be on board with our thinking, believing that they do serve hippo meat, or you might be hysterically laughing now, thinking on how idiotic it would be to serve hippopotamus meat in a restaurant.

I decided to get some steak with fries and Béarnaise sauce. With mine medium rare, the steak was perfect (either that or it has been a while since I ate steak)! The fries were as crispy as can be and the sauce... I should tell everyone that I'm a sucker for Béarnaise sauce.... It's so awesome!

My mom got the same thing I had, except with a medium well steak, a baked potato and a sauce of sour cream and chives.

On the other hand, my sister settled for some chicken nuggets and fries... mmm? (Granted, it's from the kid's menu)

Onto dessert! I promised myself that our trip to Paris would be incomplete if we didn't savour crème brûlée! 

The burnt cream was served in a clay pot and was delightful. It was a shame that they didn't blow-torch the top... that would've made the dessert much more exciting to eat!

My sister had some chocolate mousse. She let me try a teaspoon-full and it tasted very bitter. I'm not a fan of dark chocolate (milk chocolate all the way!). I feel the same way on white chocolate. White chocolate just tastes... weird.

The Hippopotamus Bar & Grill gave me a positive first meal in France. The ambiance was very welcoming to children and adults alike. There wasn't that much people when we ate there, giving us a more comfortable experience. I would definitely recommend it. Très Bien!

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PARIS Part 1 - The Louvre & The Eiffel Tower

Where Are The Vikings?

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Örebro Day 3 -Last Discoveries

by Patricia

PART 1  /  PART 2

The last day begun in Örebro. Waking up earlier than the usual, we started packing up as we had to check out by twelve o'clock. 

Although packing everything in our car did not mean leaving yet. After filling up the suitcases and stuffing them in our car, we parked out if the stugas' area to a free community parking lot and left the car there. 

The map of Gustavsvik, Örebro

We visited lots of places in the previous days, like Klossbutiken and Nora, but we didn't really get time to walk around our actual area IN Örebro; Gustavsvik! 

As a beginning, we walked down by the lake, which was completely frozen. I was totally surprised, because back in Stockholm, there was barely ice on the lakes, but here, it was completely hard and safe. Too bad I didn't bring my ice skates. :( 

Then we walked past an easy-looking obstacle route made of wood and a few ropes. Of course the family gave it a try, we'd never have missed it. :D As I said, it seemed pretty easy, but it was actually really hard! You had to swing, jump, balance… It was just a non-official playground like route though, probably built by the people around. It turned out good!

Afterwards, we walked all the way back to the reception near where we parked our car, to see a golf court. It was no ordinary court, this one was well-known all across Örebro. Why? Let me just explain.

This golf court was basically the maquette of Örebro. It showed every important place or tourist attraction from the city! The perfect copies of places were fully detailed and symbolised Örebro well, reflecting the importance of every each thing. For example, Örebros' well-known castle, the slott was built, just as good looking as its real building, but smaller of course. It looked great, even the water around was present! Great job, Gustavsvik!

Closer look at the slott

I really liked how the slott was made. As a person who likes art and drawing, I studied the windows for a while, how the designers made them look like they were in deeper, when the building was actually plain. The shadowing is done perfectly, well done to the artists!!!

There were also models of the water tower that is famous here, the Tekniska Museet av Örebro, a possible picture gallery I didn't know about, and many more! They looked amazing, all accurate and real!

The water tower and the Tekniska Museet with the water powered wheel

When we admired all built maquettes, we said goodbye to the reception staff and to Örebro itself. It was time to leave. Of course we visited an IKEA before approaching home though… and a Toys R Us…. and inside the car, I even wrote my English homework! I mean, better later than never!

This had been an amazing and eventful trip in my life. All these new memories… I hope we'll go on a similar trip like this soon! Maybe this spring in the Easter break! Travelling is endless.

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EATS: Bansko's Chateau Antique

Our final night in Bansko and unfortunately, my dad was not feeling very well. He decided to stay home with my mom, and let my sister and I to have dinner with our friends. Here's what he missed out:

The exterior of the restaurant was a type of a castle, which interested me immediately. Once entering, it was a rather fancy looking restaurant with a bar and ornate decorations and paintings on the walls. We ate in the fanciest setting I could have imagined; a part of the restaurant which was perfect for a huge round table, set up flawlessly. The only thing missing was the president to step in and join in on our dinner.

Since we had a snack earlier (Tip: Do not buy any street vendor pizza in Bansko. You can pay 2 Lev for bread at the supermarket that has the same taste.), my sister and I chose the lightest appetizer, a small pizza (again?!). It looks like a pizza, but it was garlic bread. 

The garlic bread was not up to par with my expectations. My first slice of the home-baked bread was bitter... and all was revealed when I flipped the bread over: it was burnt. 

I opted for a pasta dish for my main. Above is a ricotta and spinach stuffed ravioli with mushroom and walnut sauce. The pasta didn't have the spinach and ricotta taste, but the sauce made up for it by giving it the body that it needs. I am also a big fan of mushrooms, where it and the cream made a satisfying duo. The walnuts gave it an unusual texture, but did not do much besides that.

The final dinner before we go back to Stockholm concluded with tiramisu. The tiramisu gave this "okay" meal a delightful finish. The ladies fingers were covered with that lovable coffee taste, and the cream tastes very good... I wish there was more lady fingers though. 

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More Satisfying EATS from Bulgaria: 

Euphoria Bar and Grill

Bansko's MEXANA Restaurant

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UPDATE: Going To Bulgaria!

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Hello everyone! Time for another update!

(So sorry if there's so much updates...)

So January is finished and here comes our first official international trip for 2014! We're going to Bulgaria from Sunday (the 9th) to next Saturday (the 15th)! We'll be going on a skiing / sledding adventure in a town called Bansko in southwestern Bulgaria. 

We're not sure yet if there will be Wifi there, so don't be alarmed if I don't post anything during the times. Update: There will be Wifi in the apartment where we will be staying, but there will be two scheduled posts before the posts in Bulgaria start, to give me a buffer time. Rest assured that I will be blogging about this, so just stay tuned! Hopefully, I'll make up the time by posting some facts about travelling in European countries, but I have no plan yet.

So, just stay tuned to my blog, and wish us a great trip to Bulgaria. Peace!

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Read Two of The Best Posts:

Transportation Comparison - Sweden and the Philippines

Munkedal - A Town Off Gothenburg

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