I think the wonderful hostel I stayed in at Tampere is into segregation. The place occupies 5 floors with about 7 rooms each. I suspect more than half of the rooms are dorms with 4 bed. There are many hostels that separate male/female dormers. But this one....I think they like to group races together. I'm not kidding; I was in a mostly "Asian Room" for 2 nights. But no complaints because I had a great time here. I just had to point it out since I thought it was rather interesting.
So, as you can probably guess, I got grouped with a couple of Japanese girls. One girl quit her job and is studying English in Bath right now. The other girl is a Tsukuba student, in Finland for the summer studying Finnish. (FYI - Finnish is apparently one of the most difficult languages to learn) Funny story to this: She began studying Finnish while in high school because she was a huge fan of Moomin and wanted to be able to read the stories in the original language. When she went to Finland a few years ago (high school study abroad program), she learned that Moomin stories were written in Swedish. But, she's sticking with the Finnish! And seems pretty good at it too (not that I could tell, but she was having conversations with the locals).
It was great to be able to speak some Japanese :) I don't think I used it for over 3 months. Felt very self conscious about my Japanese pronunciation and stuff though...
And the best part....the girl made me onigiri and tamago yaki!!!!! Since she was going to be in Finland for the whole summer, she actually brought rice from Japan (is that legal?!). SOOOO NICE! But now that I've had it once, I crave for rice every single day... The conclusion - I'm definitely Japanese, no doubt about it.
My main reason for coming to Tampere was to check out the Moomin museum 
(no photos allowed inside so I only have this really crappy entrance). Not as big as I expected, but the illustrations and figures were so cute, I loved it : ) I can't stop wondering why these characters are popular only in Finland and in Japan...
I need to reread the books. They sold them at the museum for a whopping $16!!! I couldn't believe it! Especially since the back cover said $8... What a rip off.
There was a Lenin Museum in the city that I thought I'd check out as well, but in the end I decided against it - it looked a bit dodgy when I quickly peeked in. Oh, and the cathedral right in front of my hostel was surprisingly nice.
BTW, I learned from the other Japanese girl in my dorm that there's a Moomin amusement park in Finland as well! How the heck did I miss that?! (Probably because I am using an English guidebook; I should've looked into the Japanese one as well) I SOOOOO wanted to go, but I'd already booked my ferry to Estonia for the following day so I couldn't fit it in. Damn it.
Well, not exactly.
I took the overnight train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi in northern Finland. The sleeper train was so comfy, I think I had my first deep sleep in a while. Each compartment on these trains came with one of those plastic key cards with holes - college memories! I shared the compartment with a Finnish woman who spoke not a single word of English, so all was very quiet....but when we got off at Rovaniemi, she gave me a hug! How nice : )
It was about 2km to the city center, but I walked anyways. There weren't any cabs or buses waiting.
I was planning to stay at a hostel that's about 0.5km from a hotel in the city center where you're supposed to check in. But it was already around noon by the time I arrived at the hotel, and I wasn't in the mood to do more walking...so I ended up paying double the price of the hostel to stay at the hotel. Oh well. Breakfast was included, internet was free, it was right in front of the bus stop and stores, and the summer rates were at a discount (northern Finland is more of a winter destination).
I came to Rovaniemi to see Santa Claus. A few years ago, they set up an
official Santa Claus village a little bit north of the city on the Arctic Circle. It's where all the "Dear Santa" mails go! I took the bus there (6.50E roundtrip). But I never saw Santa...walking around the village itself is free, but seeing Santa and taking a photo with him costs 25.00E! I wasn't ready to fork over that much money for a little face time with him. Plus, I can't say that I've been a good girl, so he probably would've shunned me anyways. I did go into his workshop, though, and couldn't stop wondering why there were no elves around. Going to the village wasn't a complete waste...I had a really good time at the Santa post office, where you can see some of the "Dear Santa" letters from all over the world, and send stuff with special Santa posts. (Were they???)
Another place to check out is the Artikum Museum, with a hefty 12.00E admission fee 
(Damn. I should've invested in a fake student card for Europe!). It's like a combination of a natural history, art, and science museums, depicting the arctic life. Oh, and there were some live fishes on display as well, so I guess you can call it an aquarium too. And a planetarium that reenacts the aurora (I want to see the real thing!). The arctic temperature room was cold...as soon as I opened the door, I felt the chill and promptly backed away. Hence, I can't tell you what's in there.
I had a serious craving for some Asian food, and found a Thai restaurant in the shopping center that night. Never have Thai food in Finland. The green curry had more CABBAGES than anything!
Since Rovaniemi is very close to the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets 100% in the summer. This is midnight:
I expected Helsinki airport to be relatively efficient. Man, was I wrong!!! We had to wait at least 50 minutes before the first bags from our flight started coming out. But at least they weren't lost.... I headed into town, following the directions given to me by my hostel - take the subway from the airport bus stop, and get off at the 1st stop. Well, I did exactly as written, and ended up wasting 2 euros. There was absolutely no need to take the subway, since the subway station was right in front of the bus stop. Argh.But the hostel itself was quite nice. It's actually a dorm used by the School of Economics students, open for travelers just during the summer. I even had my own kitchen!!! (Although the lack of pots and pans limited by cooking...)
The first thing I did after I settled in was to head to the train station; I wanted to buy my sleeper tickets for the north. On the way, I passed through a big shopping center and decided to stop for some coffee. I'm usually an espresso/latte/cappuccino person, but at around 3.00E, found them to be unaffordable. I settled for a medium drip coffee (think Japanese sizes) for 1.70E. The coffee at MacDonald's and at the gas station was 10 cents cheaper. It's strange that coffee is so expensive in Finland, given that people drink a lot of it.
In Finland, you can buy a railpass while there (ie. doesn't have to be before arriving in the country). Very convenient!!! I bought a 3 day pass to take me on my brief journey through the country.
After getting my sleeper and seat reservations completed, I commenced my Helsinki sightseeing. Well, sort of.... I had 2 whole days in the city, which was more than enough for the main sights. So, on that first day, I didn't get very far... The supermarket was the highlight. For a good reason, though; Finnish supermarkets are awesome. They sell the prettiest fruits and vegetables (I'd say Whole Foods quality). And I loved how a lot of the leafy veggies (like lettuce and arugula) were sold in pots!
There are a lot of churches and museums in Helsinki. I couldn't be bothered with many of them, but I did like the Design Museum. My favorite exhibit was the injured Winnie the Pooh - extra large stuffed animal of Pooh (I used to have exactly the same one!) with bandages around the head. Adorable. But why is it "art"?!
Window shopping was also a fun activity, since there are so many design-related stores. Of course, I couldn't buy anything...
The only thing I did buy was food. At the supermarket and outdoor market. Summer is berry season in Finland. I LOVE the strawberries. They're tiny and don't look like anything special. But they are extremely sweet : ) I think I ate over 2 cups during my stay (yes, they're sold in cups).
Other than that, I read a lot. I was very determined to finish my 800 page book before getting on the night train. I can't stand having to carry it around with me everywhere!
Sad, but this is what I remember most about Porto - camera issues.
While taking photos of the picturesque town, I noticed that I had dark dots on them! They were particularly noticeable in the clear blue sky. Damn. Wiping the lens didn't help, so I figured that I either scratched my lens or something went wrong with the sensor. Damn. I don't want dots on all my photos!!! Helplessly wandering, I ran into a tiny camera store. The old man didn't speak much English. We tried Spanish. And gestures. Somehow, we kind of understood each other, and he decided to keep my camera overnight to clean the whole apparatus. I had no choice but to trust the man...
Next morning, I went back to the store, and my camera was PERFECT. Yeeeeey : ) He even sold me a filter to protect my lens, I think, at a pretty good price (according to Amazon).Disaster struck later that day when I tried to upload some photos onto the computer. I must've pushed the SD card a bit too hard, I heard a snap...Nothing seemed to have broken on the outside, but the card became unreadable. Which means I lost all 600 or so photos that were on that card : ( I took it to several computer shops to see if they could get it to read, but no luck. Arghhhhhhhhhh. I ended up having to buy a new memory card that's slower and has less capacity than my old one. Damn.Anyways, about Porto. 
I couldn't change my flight to Finland, so I had no choice but to return to Portugal from Italy. I didn't want to spend the entire time in Lisbon. Porto for a couple of nights seemed like a good idea.
It's a pretty little town (yes, old, orange, and hilly like Lisbon), separated into 2 districts by a Portuguese river. The view from the high bridges connecting them is amazing - one side is the main city itself, while the other is dominated by port companies.
As the name suggests, the city is famous for their sweet, port wines. I took 2 port wine tours (free! including red & white tasting), and enjoyed wandering though the alleys between the warehouses. I decided to splurge a bit, and had a nice, relaxing lunch at one of the wineries : ) On the city side, I'd highly recommend going into the cathedral; it has some really beautiful tiles. This guy kept using the self timer on his camera to pose in front of the tiles, which I found quite amusing to watch. Now that I think about it, I should've offered to take a picture for him....oh well.
Well, not exactly, but that's what they look like (Especially with me standing in front). Trulli!!! This one is mine.
From Lisbon, I flew to Italy to meet up with my friends and head to the heel of Italy's boot for a week. The flight turned out to be quite eventful - a woman was complaining of chest pains (had a heart attack before). She couldn't breathe without the oxygen tank, and just looked horrible. So, after flying for about an hour we had to head back to Lisbon, where she refused to get off the plane!!! Of course, the pilot wouldn't take off with her still on board...took about 15 minutes of coaxing by the doctors to get her on the ambulance. In the meantime, there was this guy who was taking photos/videos of the whole incident! Can you believe it?! HOW RUDE!!!
Anyways, I had a few hours to kill in Milan before meeting up with my travel mates. I've been to Italy several times, but never to Milan. Decided it was about time I saw the Duomo. I didn't have a guide book or map, but luckily I found the right metro which dropped me off right in front. Yey! (Maybe I even looked like a local, since a few tourists came up to me and asked if they were headed in the right direction.) Can I just say that the Duomo is amazing!!! There really is no way to accurately describe it in words. I suggest that you go yourself and take a look :) Unfortunately, they were building a concert stage right in front of the building, so I couldn't get a good exterior view. And this was followed by fig and yogurt gelato. Yuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmy.
To be honest, I had no responsibilities during this leg of my trip. Basically, I go where my friends go. It was nice to have a break from all the planning, but the downside is that I don't exactly remember where I went....(especially since I'm about a month behind on my updates. Sorry!)
I do recall the trulli in Abertobello, though. I've always wanted to see these cute little houses. It turns out that the majority of the trulli are concentrated in Abertobello (think trulli park), but you can see some in the surrounding areas too. Some are converted into hotels, but most are still being used as residential homes. Wish I had the chance to go into one of them... There's even a church with trulli roofing in the area.
There's also the town of Matera, known for their "sassi" or cave dwellings. 
Once you walk into the town, you get a sense of its ancientness. I don't know what it is...maybe the overall color and structure. I loved the old churches and monasteries with their wall paintings. Aside from the sights, one of the highlights here was the food. I got a whole plate of boiled chicory!!! It may not sound too appetizing, but it was great - you get the slight bitterness of chicory, plus the olive oil flavoring. My friend, on the other hand, had probably the most disgusting food you can get in Italy - soggy bread salad. Given that Matera was a poor community, stale bread was their staple diet. I think they used it as something like pasta. Personally, I'd rather just eat stale bread in its hard form, rather than soaking it.
Where else....oh yeah. Southern Italy is full of tiny white-washed towns. The whole entire place has a lazy feel during the day. Seriously, everything closes from noon until 6pm. Too hot. You don't see people out until the evening, when they go out for dinner and drinks. I want that kind of lifestyle!
Pasta (those ear-shaped ones are chewy and delicious), coffee (double espresso), gelato (yogurt flavor. I've tried many others, but I've decided that I only like yogurt), and figs (dried figs, some with almond inside! but I think the figs from Morocco are better) became my daily ritual : )
Oh, and another important event - I tried my hands at driving manual. The inn we were staying at had a huge parking lot so it was a perfect opportunity! It was so hard to get the car moving. I must've stalled at least 20 consecutive times... Let me just say that I don't think I will ever own a manual car. I can't even really understand why they need to exist in the first place. Automatic gets the job done, no?!
You can't go too wrong with the food in Lisbon.
On my first day, I discovered the BEST cafe - a double espresso for 80 cents and a ham & cheese sandwich for E1.50. I had breakfast there for the next 3 days : )Right below the hill from my hostel, there was this tiny, local place that served the most delicious seafood. Grilled sardines one night (E5.00) and grilled squid (E6.00) the next. The rice that came along, however, could be improved...Egg custards are sold everywhere, but the best one is supposed to be at Belem (continue reading!).
Anyways, about Lisbon. I think "hilly" and "orange" are the 2 best words to describe the place.
- There are tons of hills in the city, many of them rather a steep incline. Unfortunately, my hostel was located on TOP of one of the hills. Dragging my suitcase up was not fun. (Oh, and followed by 4 flights of stairs!)
- The majority of the roofs are covered by orange tiles.
Day 1: Walked around Lisbon. My hostel warned me that the walks are tiring with all the hills and recommended that I take public transport. But I insisted on walking. Which was perfectly fine; not bad at all! The most popular attraction in Lisbon is probably the castle, which offers a wonderful view of the city.
When I asked one of the tourists (I think German) if a certain road led up to the castle, he totally snapped back, "How am I supposed to know?" BASTARD. After giving him the evil eye, headed up that road which proved to be the correct path : ) Afterwards, I probably walked around the entire city center, entering various churches (the Se was nice). FYI - Churches are a great place to get your guide book out and decide where to go next; It's nice and cool inside and there's seating. I also wandered into the "thieves market". As the name suggests, they sell everything; it makes me wonder who'd buy some of the stuff...
Day 2: Took the tram out to Belem, most famous for its monument to exploration 
(I completely forgot what it's called!). Also, the tomb of Vasco da Gama is housed in its main church. Free museums are available too; I went to the Le Corbusier exhibit. Cool things to check out, but the highlight has to be their egg custard tarts!!! Cafe de Belem, I believe. Unlike many of the cafes I've been to in Lisbon, the one here is served warm! And the pie crust is パリパリ(flaky, yet crunchy). YUM, YUM, YUM. They sprinkle a bit of cinnamon sugar as well, which I could've totally done without.
Day 3: Took train out to Sintra, site of the colorful Pena Palace. At E11.00, the entrance fee was pretty hefty, but quite worth it. Although I thought the exterior was ugly (who paints a palace all pastel?!), the inside rooms were amazing! All those intricately carved walls and furniture.... (no photos allowed)
I'm sure none of you would believe me, but I met a Polish girl in my hostel who was as small as me (although skinnier and longer legs being European)! When we saw each other, we were like "OMG!!!". And we could not stop chatting about clothes and shoes sizes! She recommended this store in Krakow that sells XXS stuff - I'm there!!!
I didn't feel like moving around and continuing my travels. I delayed my ticket to Portugal, and became a bum on Kensington High Street (or High Street Kensington (or High Kensington Street)). Even though the weather was quite good during the week for London standards...
Here are some of my memories during the week:
- Food. My friends cooked for me : ) Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!! I really missed home cooked meals. Super chefs made chicken tajine, rocket salad, chicken rice, and barley juice, amongst others. I will be back there in late September...HINT, HINT : ) Oh, and i finally went to a Japanese restaurant and had delicious natto and sushi. やっぱり和食はいいね〜。
- Kung Fu Panda. I can't get that song out of my head. And now I have my own moves, too. Some of which I later revealed to the public.
- Tagging Along. I recall heading to a concert (something like G-love was the band) and a whiskey tasting.
- Scheduling. Since my mom decided to join me at the end of August, I needed to figure out where to go with her. She had absolutely no opinion, and wanted me to arrange her tickets and everything....how helpful. A lot of hours were therefore spent trying to decide my route through eastern Europe and a good meeting point. Conclusion: Athens. I still don't know my path down there from Finland though.
- Sightseeing. Yes, I did manage to get out there for 1-2 days. I've been to London so many times before, but never really saw things. (Only shopping and food!) This week turned out to be an opportunity for me to see:
(1) British Museum - Massive, and didn't have the patience to see everything (not that I wanted to...). Plus, I was very hungry. It was kinda cool to be able to see stuff from countries I've been to during this trip, and those that I'd be seeing over the next several months. Like the Easter Island Moai statues.(2) National Gallery - Recollections of Art Hum (college class requirement).
(3) Tate - Took forever to get to. I should've gone to the Tate Modern instead. But was museum-ed out by this point.
(4) Westminster Abbey - Can you believe that they charge 12GBP for admission?! I could NOT justify the amount, so only saw from the outside. It can't be that special from the inside....(I hope)
(5) Big Ben - I think that's what I saw. It's across the street from the Abbey.
- Quest for Guinness. I'm not a huge beer drinker, but for some reason had a craving for a Guinness. Finally got to drink one on the day of the Wimbledon final. (What a great match!!!) But I hear that Guinness in Ireland tastes much better and fresher. I'm definitely going there before I leave Europe. So, the quest for Guinness continues......
What a fruitful week, huh?!
(no photos allowed inside so I only have this really crappy entrance). Not as big as I expected, but the illustrations and figures were so cute, I loved it : ) I can't stop wondering why these characters are popular only in Finland and in Japan...
