Svedarn yarr; blondes, booze and banquets.

We arrived into Sweden at half 9 local time to be collected by the lovely Johan. Erica and I met Johan at the start of last year as he was in Australia for business, so on coming to Sweden we took him up on his offer to stay with him in the country about 2hours south of Stockholm. The airport of skavska is about an hour and a half out of Stockholm and about an hour from Johan's so it was incredible generous and convenient that he picked us up. Driving through the Swedish country side was beautiful, full of lush green fields, small windy roads and many old brick villages. We arrived at about 11am to his country house which looked more like a small estate inclusive of about 10 rooms, two stories and a pool!!! We met stanly; his gorgeous golden retriever, and Eric; his business partner, before heading into the small village to check out the local supermarket; Willy's, stocking up on some delicious food and copious amounts of alcohol. Back at the house Erica, Carly and I slept the afternoon away to be woken by cocktail hour at half 5, before setting the table outside to fed a delicious smoked salmon followed by an amazingly tasty rubarb pie which Eric had made. The night escaped us over cocktails, wine and catching up and we were ready for bed again.

The next morning/midday i woke to the sun trying desperately to shine through the hazy clouds, impressed by its efforts I started the day with a swim...by that I mean I jumped in, and jumped straight back out. We then met Annie, Johan's beautiful wife who had just flown in from Copenhagen where she studies. Due to a late start to the day, just one strange Swedish vampire movie later dinner was on our minds... We cooked up an incredible feed of BBQ meat and a blue cheese, honey walnut and rocket salad. Again Eric impressed us with a mouth watering desert...a dense chocolate cake which tasted more like a thick brownie. Too much wine and too many hours of team trivial pursuit later we called it a night.

We decided to make the most of our last day in the country with a little excursion. Leaving the house at 11, first stop was the supermarket to pick up some more food and booze for tonight's celebrations (The return of Johan and Erica parents who had been in germany collecting alcohol...as its cheaper over the border). Packing the goods into a cooler box in the boot we made out way towards the large lake; Vattern. We walked around the old town; the cobble streets and little lanes reminded me a lot of the small villages in germany near dusseldorf, we then made our way though the old moated castle; Vadstena, then stopped for some icecream before heading to some ruins of a church from the 15th century. We also visited the rok; 9th-century memorial block bearing the longest runic inscription known, and had some late lunch of fish before making our way back home to meet the parents.

The country side reminded me a lot of what I saw in Germany around dusseldorf area that I visited a few years back, full of lush green field, old brick pubs and garage sale signs in all directions. We arrived home late afternoon to do the meet and greets, all so lovely and spoke perfect English! We started with some delicious cheese and wine time, soon enough heading to the grand wooden dining table for a banquet of herring fish smoked in all different and tasty supplements. From a creamy mushroom mayonnaise sauce, to a simply salty assortment...it was incredible! This came with a side of tradition drinking games and songs, we sipped/shoted our schnapps whilst the elders sang feel good songs and clapped! "skol" (cheers)!!! Once dinner was devoured then came desert... another incredible tasty treat from Eric; we all tucked into more than one serving of the lemon meringue biscuit tart! Another intense game of trivial pursuit tucked us into bed in the early house of our last day in the country.

Another late rise/food coma, we woke to find a good Part of the day over, Simply to pack up our compact bags to be dropped at the closest train station. Saying our goodbyes to Johan we journey 2 hours north towards Stockholm arriving just after 6! Having no luck booking a hostel Eric and his girlfriend caroline kindly offered Eric's flat to us whist they stay at Caroline's! (*a little bit of McIntyre luck I do believe...) The apartment was so nice, full of funky shanghai style art, and an incredible collection of glass wear (by a particular designer that Eric follows). We immediately felt at home as they served us a delicious real (REALLL) espresso and a delicious dinner of salad and kebabs. Sinking into the sofa a movie staring a young and pre permanently straightened hair; nicole kidnman entertained us and kept us in for the night.

Our first day in stockholm was spent with a map, walking into the city from Eric's over the bridges as the sun was Shining! The city is built up of islands so everything is separated by water, it has a very unique charm and authentic feel. We Walked down the small cobble streets in search of some vintage shops I had google, successful with finding a few we passed the hours trying on beautiful velvet treasures before heading further into the old town for a strong cinnamon coffee. Losing our way down the little European lanes we retired on some stairs to soak up the sun and stair down the sexy swedes. Waiting until 6pm to meet my friend Alex (who I knew from London and was currently living in Stockholm), we headed straight to subway for a cheap but tasty sub! Thirsty for a beer we kicked onto debaser; a sweet outside beer garden with lounges and overpriced cider complemented by a suave and chilled atmosphere. We met up with Alex's Swedish friend boris then all made way for the train to get to strand? To watch the football; Sweden vs ukraine. The pub was two bars long and completely packed, waiting until half time to squeeze ourselves into vision of the large projected screens whilst the cool kids smoked. Sweden lost and the crowd dispersed extremely quickly to shame themselves privately whilst we trooped on to another dirty cheap bar around the corner to continue conversation and take part In a sick off; ( telling ridiculously inappropriate and graphic what if stories to disgust one and other). A little traumertised and in fits of laughter we broke off and caught a cab home.

Our last morning in Stockholm we trained it back to check out the vintage shops that weren't open the day before, unsuccessful, we headed into central station to purchase airport bus tickets for the next day. We then wandered further into the shopping streets to be tempted by overpriced but attractive items! Dumplings drove us through the late afternoon as we checked out Caroline's beautiful jewelry workshop, and before too long our lazy last day in Stockholm was done. We went home to the local supermarket to purchase some packet creamy mushroom soup and stayed in for the night.

The next morning my couch sleep was woken by my 6am alarm, I quietly gathered my things together and headed into the city for my 8am bus to the airport. Briskly walking for my train I pleasantly pondered over my incredible little stay in Sweden, shocking me with their unlocked and attractive hipster bikes, to the overpriced and under poured beers, from the lush green country side to the splendid cobel city streets of Stockholm. Spending time with old and new friends and over indulging in an abundance of delicious local cuisine, I fell in love with Sweden. (the beautiful blonde men are not a myth either.)

The bus ride to the airport took a good hour and a half, and I was several hours early for my flight to faro, Portugal. Finally boarding at 11am, I was luckily dismissed by an over sized carry on as I distracted the lady with conversation. I spent the four hour flight chatting to a young man from sweden talking about plans for the summer, which got me excited for the next stop. Coming out of faro airport I seemed to have avoided customs somehow and stepped straight onto the streets searching for a bus into town. Unfortunately not due to leave for another hour, I befriended an Indian business man and shared a cab into the main bus station to find chloe (craines is coming back!) Riddled with excitement for a month in the sun by the beach at Lagos, but scatter with nerves as to wether or not we will be able to land a volunteer position at a hostel to save our pennies...was quite the seesaw feeling, things can either turn out for the best or worse but either way it swings I will be with a very dear friend and we will make the most of what ever experience is thrown our way.

Fanny xx

London; like no time had passed.

Wow. I'm struggling to start a sentence...to know where to even begin as over two weeks have passed! The purpose of my blog being that of tales from travels, an insight/reflection...predominantly for my own/Eric and chloe also, journal like purposes. I could not care less who reads our posts, or if liked or looked upon as an online diary of word vomit and pretty pictures; take it as you will...because I like it.

6 weeks had passed through china, Mongolia and Russia, and as I close the whirlwind chapters of the tran Siberian co written with chloe and Eric, we all split in our separate directions. Touching down in London in the late afternoon Eric headed off to Leeds and chloe and I caught the tube into the city. Purchasing a special edition oyster card (in celebration of the upcoming jubilee weekend For the Queens 60yrs in rein), I passed over my pounds and thanked the man with "speceeba" (thank you in Russian) exchanging a strange glance and my change, I actually had to take a moment to think, the process being; "what country...right, the uk, and how do I thank them...oh, of course, yep...THANKYOU?" wow...back in an English seeking country...no more body language, pointing and bizarre charades? It's surprising how hard it is to shake the above after making it an everyday practice in order to communicate!

Having lived in London for over two years in 2008, It's hard to write about a place which had in fact become such a part of me, where I had established life long friends, worked several jobs and lived in many different areas from brick lane to the tower of london! I knew the secrets to the city, became a local and above all really lived the fast paced London life. Therefore I found it difficult at first to look at it with a new vision, through the eyes of a traveller...and no longer as I once viewed it, as a place I called my home.

First stop; I made my way out to zone 6 to a small little residential are called pinner in the north west to stay with my beautiful and inspirational friend Amrita (A). I had met A when I lived on brick lane, as her and a friend were in the flat above me. Before too long we became the closest friends and within only a month of knowing each other had booked a three month trip to India together. She is an incredibly passionate activist that will change the world for the good one step at a time! It was amazing to see her again as she was such a big part of my old London life! We spent our time catching up, lunching in parks, drinking on brick lane and watching Bollywood films!

Come the weekend; The weather was out to impress, as the sun was blazing so the streets of London were swimming with cheerful people in their trendy summer dresses...making the most of what is such a rarity...(good weather). I took myself east into my old stomping ground on that special sunny Saturday to fall back in love with London. Checking out a huge vintage kilo sale (only 15pounds per kg) I picked myself a bag full before heading to my favorite coffee; Verdes. The not so happy waitress Served me a deliciously froffy cappuccino as i sat outside on the bench seat to watch the world walk by. It is honestly ridiculous how much the weather can predict..London in the summer; there's honestly nothing else like it...the parks are full of playful groups, drinking cider and bbqing delicious treats whilst the markets are booming with colourful crowds as street buskers belt out boppy tunes, it's almost as if the city dances. Come cold, when the rain falls and the wind violently shakes you with shivers...frowns are worn on the faces of lifeless passive people...perhaps a vivid exaggeration, but it's definitely a contrast.

That afternoon I met my beautiful friend holly for a drink at our favorite local; The commercial tavern! Hols lived with A above me on brick lane so we became close then, but just last year she moved out to aus and we lived together in bondi and became inseparable! Scoring our selves a pretty window seat upstairs and a delicious jug of fruity pims life was like no time had passed as found ourselves dreamy of our next summer by the beach together! That night we caught the train to billericay, Essex to stay with hol's parents for the weekend. Feeling the need to check out the Essex nightlife which has a reputation for tacky ladies, dressed in almost nothing but fake tan and far too high heels slagging off each other...we couldn't resist. About an hour of standing in a corner sipping on drinks and laughing at the various characters we called it a night! The next day we went out for a delicious family lunch and caught an afternoon film, We also took her smart car for a leisurely drive in the country side. The lush green hills rolled into one another only to be separated by the occasional pub and the deceptively small and windy road.

Making my way back to London town the next day to be consumed by the thick city smoke and hectic underground I went all the way west and a little south to west Kensington to meet one of my incredible drama girls. I had met chloe at a drama course at Central school in 2009, so when I put on the vagina monologues in London she was one of my actresses. Chloe has this amazing intense presents, her vibrant and infectious energy is greatly missed in my life so it was amazing spending a few days at her house! She lives in a beautiful old terrace house with her sister whilst studying at lamda. During the day when she was at school I went over east again to meet one of my other vagina monologue actresses and very talented writer Juliet. I met the beautiful jules also at central school, Such a dear friend, i feel like i have known her a lifetime. After getting lost in the lush victoria park for half and hour i finally arrived to be served a delicious crab meat salad as we spent the afternoon on her sunny terrace in her 70s deck chairs catching up! Her house was the upper floor of a lovely old brick terrace and in a really nice location. Before too long the afternoon had crept by and I was on my way to meet chloe (craines) for a well earned drink on bricklane, stumbling upon cafe1001, (the prime place for people watching) one turned into two...and soon enough we were a little drunk and darkness had fallen. The next morning craines and i met for delicious breakfast at a cafe in the west to book our flights to Portugal and work out other european plans. In the afternoon I took her for a little tour through the lush parts of the west; hyde park, harrods (where i used to work) and Sloanne square before making my way back to Amritas house in Pinner.

The next morning I caught the tube back in the city with my 20kg backpack and side luggage that I seem to have accumulated, to visit the lovely Mickayla. Micky is a wonderfully kind and good hearted friend who I worked with at harrods in 2009. She lives in the tower of London as her dad is a beefeater, and I was lucky enough to have stayed there for 5 weeks before leaving London last time! It was really nice catching up with her family over lunch in the tower before heading off to Victoria coach station to meet Carly (my old house mate who now lives in Leeds) to catch the 4 and half hour megabus north with her.

We arrived into leeds just after 7 to be picked up by Nat (another of our old housies) and Eric who drove us back to Nats where I was to be staying for the weekend. I met Nat in Australia as she came over to visit Carly and Eric for a few months and ended up living with us. She is a very excitable and dear friend who i have missed in my sydney life, however not the most confident of drivers...Heading into three lanes of one way traffic in the wrong direction we almost didn't make it home! Nat served us up a delicious curry and we devoured a good part of my vodka while I met a lot of her beautiful university friends. Near to midnight we headed out to a club called wire and entertained ourselves with a few more shots and a game of 3,2,1... The next day waking a little late we went to see Eric and Carl's for breaky then went for a Rollerskate around hyde park. In the eve a group of about 12 of us (nats uni girls that all live in the same street) all went out to dinner for Amy's ( one of Nats housies) birthday drinks. After a delicious meal we made our way to a bar with an incredible view of the city lights for another drink then escaped home. The Saturday celebrations had finally arrived and we all made our way to a street party a few blocks down, paying an entrance fee of just 2pounds it was really set up, inclusive of food stalls, portaloos, and several stages with sound systems, although yet to attract the crowds. Eric, Carl's and I ran home to put on another layer and to down a few ciders before heading back to it in full force. We then dashed home to put on our summer ball attire of cocktail dresses and went for a drink to celebrate Nats brothers birthday. A few bottles of champagne and pimms back at the girls house and we were finally on our way! With so much pre drinking the ball all blends a little into a few short hours! Being impossible to keep the group all together in huge halls area with different stages set up we all broke off. There were rides, rain and copious amounts of students dressed up to the nines, It was a really fun night but I'm not sure if it was worth the amount of money we paid for the tickets. Running home in the wet at 4:30am I called it a night as I fell asleep to Lou Theroux. The next day was a bit of a ride off...spending the majority of watching the british weather drizzle down and keep me under covers before baking a few treats for the jubilee weekend. Eric, Nat and I went our for an incredible feed of curry sided with the biggest nan breads I have ever seen! Monday came around pretty quick as I said my goodbyes to all of the lovely girls I had spent the weekend with and caught a taxi to get the bus back to London.

Arriving in at about half 7 I caught the tube south to Brixton to stay with another friend I had met at harrods Bridie. Such a lovely soul, I feel so special to have her in my life! We both are very much on the same page with life and it's antics and although we have barely spoken in the past few years it feels as if no time has passed! Dumping my heavy bags we headed straight out for dinner to the ritzy cinema for a bottle of wine and some pizza, moving on from there we walked around the block to a cute little bar that prides itself on their 3pound flavorsome cocktails. Bridie had work off the next day so we headed into the Oxford st for some cheap, cheerful but not needed items from primark then headed down not covert garden area to check out an incredible women's shop originally set up by The daughter of the body shop! Coffee and cake helped us through the afternoon but soon enough the English weather drove us home to change into warmer clothes. Strolling around the lanes of Brixton most of the town was shut from the long weekend but we luckily found ourselves a cute little Japanese restaurant that were incredibly generous with their servings, we both ordered miso soup served in large ceramic plates that we couldn't finish, so quickly retired back to watch "contempt", a lovely French film with Bridget Bardot in her prime. The next morning Bridie set off for work whilst i re packed one months worth of clothes into a small 10kg backpack abiding to the weight limits for Ryan air. Stuffing the rest of my belongings under her bed I set off with my very small but liberating bag to meet some friends in covert garden! In two short hours I had frozen yogurt with Nat, craines, Dave and Fabio, then a lunch of delicious italian with Micky and Wei-yee before making my way back east towards jules house.

Arriving just after 5 we quickly set off again to meet her boyfriend James at he cinema to see a new 3d sci-fi film which I was pleasantly surprised by. Returning home just after 9 we had a lovely dinner of sausages and mash, accompanied by a few glasses of red and a white Russian. With only two hours sleep I woke at 2am to catch a cab into Liverpool street station, a half hour wait in the cold and finally the bus to stansted airport arrived. Getting in just after four I hurried to find Erica and Carly who had come straight from Leeds, and we headed towards our 6am flight to Sweden. Back on the road, with a down sized bag containing only the necessaries to last me a month I'm excited for what is to come.

Fanny xx