The Gypsy in Me !

There are certain perks to being in Europe for most of the summer. Because France is seven hours ahead of Texas, I am unlikely to be very late with my Monday posts! Lol.  As for my trip – when it turned out that the best way to get from Dallas to Paris was via Helsinki, even though none of the Nordic countries are on my bucket list, the gypsy in me was like… wait… let me spend the night and look around. So I did! 

I learned a few things about Finland. First off, I take my warm weather too much for granted. The warm summer weather arrived in Finland a few days before me. As a result, the residents were delighted to be outside. Apparently picnicking is a favorite thing. Everywhere I looked, the green space (and there’s a lot of it in Helsinki) was covered with friends and family enjoying picnics in the sun… and heat. Yeah, this a/c spoiled Texan was much happier wherever there was a/c– which was sort of few and far between. I mean, it makes sense. When it’s freezing ten months of the year, why would you need a/c?
 
The next thing I learned is that I love blueberry juice. I have no idea if it even exists in the USA. I can not remember ever noticing it. Perhaps occasionally mixed with lemonade or cranberries, but not straight blueberry. I am going to look. It’s well worth the search.
 
I also sadly discovered that Finns love their reindeer, and not the Santa kind. Reindeer hot dogs, reindeer jerky, reindeer skin blankets and pads, and much more I don’t remember! Though, considering how much they enjoy being outside, a reindeer skin pad to sit on the grass made perfect sense somehow.

​I had a lot of fun riding around the city—due to my lingering sprained ankle from a couple of months ago a three hour walking tour was out of the question—and learning the history. Of course the only thing I remember is that a good number of the buildings were designed by an architect named Engel, lol. 
 
I had no idea Finland once belonged to Russia and Sweden (obviously not at the same time!). The people were very friendly and all seemed rather pleased despite their quiet dispositions with my outgoing nature.  One airline crew even commented how nice she thought it was when I complimented a stranger’s dress. 

​I also learned that the Finns really like their hamburgers - who knew? LOL.

​For my second day in Finland we drove to a small town along a river not too far away that is very popular with tourists. It reminded me of many older small towns dusted with small craft shops and street musicians. Though the street musicians here were very very young and very very good regardless of that young age.
 
Then of course on the ride back to Helsinki my techno challenged self was showcased to the world when I accidentally took a selfie. No idea what I was trying to do but I was clearly concentrating! LOL. 

​From Helsinki I made my way to my next destination, Paris. I really do love just hanging out in Paris, but more on that next week!
 
For now- for the first time that I can remember, I am working on three projects at one time: A Hart Land flirt, Honeymoon for Six, and book five of the Barons – Just One Taste. The idea of being in France is to work, work, work… and eat of course LOL.  As I adapt a little more every day to the time change, it’s already amazing how better I feel with no interruptions. At home there’s always something. A friend with car trouble, a question from my hubby, something breaking in the house, someone knocking on the door selling fruit or tree services or heaven knows what, etc etc etc. Here, it’s just me and my computer! We’ll see how much I actually get done!
 
Ta ta till next week!