Travel Trivia on Tuesday

HAPPY NEW YEAR! ONNELLISTA UUTTA VUOTTA!

It's the new year and it's definitely time for a new post. I decided that as the past year has been a year of travel for me, that I would put up a post about my travels in the form of travel trivia, as well as questions that friends have asked me.

Let's start!

Number of countries I have visited outside of Australia: 20

Number of countries I have lived in: 4 - Australia, Finland, Greece, and Thailand

Number of countries I have spent Christmas in: 3 - Australia, Finland, and Thailand

Number of countries I have spent New Years in: 4 - Australia, Finland, Estonia, and Thailand.

Number of countries I have spent my birthday in: 3 - Australia, Finland, and Greece.

What do I always travel with: A book or some form of reading device. E-readers can come in handy.

A book on the beach at Christmas... can't get much better.

 Why did you start travelling?

For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of visiting places like Pompeii and Stonehenge, and of visiting museums like The Louvre and The British Museum. I have always wanted to see more of the world than just Australia. When I was in high school, I found out about youth exchange and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to start travelling, but I have always wanted to travel.

Why do you travel alone? What are the positives and negatives to travelling alone?

I have not always travelled alone. My first trip to Finland was really as part of a large group and most of the travel I did that year was part of a group.

Going back to Finland in 2012, I decided to travel alone, because I was going to be going to a country I already knew. Plus I was planning on going long term and none of my friends would have really wanted to come or been able to at the time. I have done much travel in the past 18 months by myself and I have had as much fun with that as when travelling with people.

Positives for travelling alone:

- You never have to worry about wanting to do something that other people you are travelling with don't want to do.
- You make friends with people you meet in places like hostels and walking tours around cities, as well as buses, trains and planes.
- You expand your comfort zone.
- You don't have any travelling companions, and so don't find yourself wanting to cause harm to anyone because you have been spending too much time with them.
- If something goes wrong and you miss a bus or something, you can be sure it was your fault, and not someone elses.

Negatives for travelling alone:

- You have noone to look after your bags when you really need to go to a public toilet and find yourself having to squeeze everything into a tiny cubicle and get the door shut as well.
- Sometimes you experience something really awesome, that you want to share, and you have nobody to share it with.
- You either find yourself taking way too many selfies as you try to take a picture with some sort of landmark, or you end up with lots of photos, but you are in none of them.

How has travelling changed your life?

I think travelling has made me more open minded and adventurous. I find myself outside of my comfort zone and not minding it. I have experienced things that some people never get a chance to experience and I have met many amazing people from all over the world. Travelling, and in particular travelling alone, has given me more self confidence to do things. I know that if I want something I can have it / do it.

What has been the strangest food you have tried on the road?

I wouldn't say that I have had any really strange foods that I have tried on the road, but I guess eating Reindeer is a pretty strange thing for most people to think about, even if it is delicious. 

I can't think of anything else that I would class as particularly strange in any way. I try to stay pretty safe with what I eat because I guess I am not particular adventurous. I don't ever see myself voluntarily eating insects for example.

Have you ever been scared while traveling?

I don't think sitting at the back of a bus on a road in the French Alps and looking straight down the mountain quite evokes the sense of scared that I think is implied by this question, so I would say no. I am definitely a little bit nervous before I move to a new country, but I wouldn't say scared.

Is there a country you always travel back to ?

Finland. Definitely Finland. But also Estonia. I love Estonia.

Do you have any packing rituals?

Not really. I pretty much just pile everything onto the bed/floor then fold it. I do tend to use space saving bags for my clothes so they take up less room but that is about it.

What is the most beautiful beach you have ever seen?

This is a hard one for me. I have not met a beach that could beat an Australian beach, and even with Australian beaches I couldn't say which one is my favourite that I have ever visited because there are so many.

In terms of other countries, I would say that one of the most beautiful beaches I have visited is Anthony Quinn Bay on the island of Rhodes, Greece. I also recently visited Promthep Cape, on the island of Phuket, here in Thailand. That was a very beautiful beach.

What was your first trip abroad?

My first trip abroad, was to Finland. I was an exchange student there in 2007 for the year.

What are the top 5 on your bucket list ?

I'm horrible! My bucket list basically is visit -insert historical site here- in -insert country here-.

That said let's see if I can do a top 5 of things for a bucket list.

1. See the Aurora Borealis in person.
2. Visit Pompeii, Italy
3. Visit Gallipoli, Turkey
4. Visit Stonehenge, England
5. Participate in an archaeological dig in some way.

If I hadn't already been to the Tower of London it would be on my bucket list.

Is there any place in the world you are not interested in traveling to?

I think there are countries in most parts of the world that I wouldn't be particularly interested in visiting, but I don't think it's right to rule out anything 100% because you never know what opportunities may arise. If someone told me a year ago that I would be living in Thailand, I would have called them insane because I had no particular desire to even visit here.

What is the one thing you miss at home when on the road?

My books. Definitely my books.

Do you think you will ever settle down and if so, where would you see yourself doing so? Australia? Europe?

I have no idea. I really love Europe, but of course I grew up in Australia, and that is where most of my family lives. I think it would really just depend on circumstances at any given time. If I find a job that I love and that suits me or some other good reason to settle down in a particular place, then I will settle.


What is your favorite airline and airport?

I can't say I have travelled through any airport frequently enough to really have a favourite, but Helsinki airport is pretty good, and I haven't experienced any crazy crowds there either... YAY FOR AIRPORTS IN SMALLER CITIES!

My favourite airline would have to be Thai Airways. I have flown one long haul international flight from Bangkok to Sydney and then one shorter domestic flight from Bangkok to Phuket and both times I really enjoyed it. The service was excellent and the planes were comfortable even in economy. 

How many time zones have you been through in one week?  

I'm going to take this as a how many time zones have I spent time in, in one week as opposed to time zones I crossed over in a plane.

I have spent time in 4 different time zones whilst travelling from Finland back to Australia as well as when travelling from Australia to Finland. 

In terms of actually spending more than 2-3 hours in an airport, in a time zone, then I guess the answer would be 3 time zones. Greece, Thailand and Singapore in a week at the beginning of November. 

What is your favourite place you've been to and why?

My favourite place that I have been to is, I think, Tallinn, Estonia. It doesn't matter what time of year it is, there is something incredibly enchanting about the Old Town of Tallinn. 

I don't think I could ever get bored visiting Tallinn. It seems every time I visit I get introduced to a new cafe, where there is amazing food. The people are friendly and the sights are beautiful. One of the other good things is that even though there are tourists, there aren't the huge numbers you find in some European cities like Prague or Paris which means that even in summer, at the height of the tourist season you can enjoy it. 

Tallinn by night is definitely something magical.

Thanks to my friends who asked me some great questions. This was defintely a fun post.

~~ Random Logic ~~

Visiting the Emerald Isle

So I could make excuses for this taking too long- I moved countries(twice), didn't have internet connection(and still sometimes it cuts out now that I do have it), and I have been busy working.... but the simple truth is I forgot!

In August I went to Ireland for a week. Ireland is a country I have wanted to visit for a long time. As luck would have it- my friend was getting married there and I was invited.

I spent the first 2 nights in Dublin as well as the last two nights and the 2 nights in between were spent in County Clare near Dromoland Castle.

Ireland I discovered, is a friendly country. It is also very green... and as my luck would have it- very wet.

I arrived in the evening and so didn't see much the first day. I found my hostel with some help from the locals, and I have to say it was probably the best hostel I have stayed in. It's called Jacobs Inn. The staff were great, the rooms have their own ensuite bathrooms(so no need to worry about running around the halls with just a towel around you and being locked out of your room because you forgot your key), and I was lucky enough to get a room that almost shared a wall with the reception area so I didn't need to go to the lobby to get internet.

But enough about the hotel.

The first full day we actually had some sun in the morning, and I did a free walking tour of Dublin with a lovely guide whose name(if I remember correctly) was Ashley. I can't for the life of me remember the name of the company that runs the walking tours, but it was a good tour. The guide straight up told us that she liked history, and if people were looking for a tour guide who would talk about architecture, then it wasn't her. It was great to get to learn a bit about the history of Dublin and Ireland in general including conflict with England. The tour started at the hostel and we got to visit the Temple Bar district, the Town Hall, Dublin Castle and gardens, St Andrew's Cathedral and Trinity College. I realised that I knew more than I thought and less than I would like about Ireland. Unfortunately it did start raining on us about halfway through the tour but we persevered and made it to the end... albeit a bit soggier than when we started.

That evening I did a pub crawl run by the same company. We visited 5 pubs and one club I think it was. I was unfortunate enough to encounter the one unfriendly person I can recall from my trip, in the form of a taxi driver who when it started raining wouldn't take me to the pub where it started. Luckily I also met one of the nicest people in the form of a elderly gentleman who offered to show me what direction I needed to go and then walked with me through the rain to the pub itself. Wherever you are, sir, I can only hope that good fortune comes your way!

The second day was a bit more boring. I didn't do much except catch a train cross-country to Limerick to get to where I was staying the next two nights.

The hotel I stayed at is located on the Dromoland Estate in County Clare, which is also home to Dromoland Castle. I did a bit of walking around both the estate and the castle where my friend's wedding reception was also held. It is exactly what I imagined castles to be when I was a child. It was grey stone with crenellations and towers and corridors inside that were more than a little confusing without someone to guide you. It is GORGEOUS! The grounds were amazing too. They have a very nice walled garden as well as some fabulous views if you are willing to go for a little bit of a walk. It is somewhere I would love to visit again, and hopefully next time I visit I can stay in the castle instead of the inn.

Back in Dublin for the last two days and nights I had an amazing time. After making friends with some other hostel guests, I did my own exploration of Dublin that involved touring St Andrew's Cathedral and the crypts beneath.

I also visited the Dublinia museum which covers Viking and Medieval Dublin. Here I was in my element. I am fascinated by certain parts of history- Vikings and medieval history is something I cannot get enough of. The museum starts off with a section covering the founding of Dublin as a settlement by the vikings as well as a bit of general viking history. We had a very friendly guide for a free tour of that section, but the whole museum is amazing.

 The exhibits are excellent. Often when you visit a museum, everything is behind glass and very boring. Dublinia uses bright colours realistic and/or lifesize reconstructions- want to see a privy(toilet) or a viking burial? They have it. You can walk inside a room made to look like the inside of a viking round house or even down a street of medieval Dublin and past a busy dock scene. The best thing of all is that it is really interactive. There are little games and tests set up through the exhibits so you can test yourself after you read the information- or before if you are like me. There are flaps to flip to explain exhibits. What's this shoe about? Flip it to the side and you can read about it underneath.

There is also a section right at the top of the museum called the History Hunters Exhibition which is about archaeology and how it, history and science are working together to uncover Dublin's past. As I had just finished an online archaeology course it was very interesting for me. I understood a lot of the information included and could guess what things were in exhibits without needing an explanation- like why archaeologists use toothbrushes.

Overall I would highly recommend Dublinia museum to people who love history and are travelling with kids- I think it is hard to be bored when you can get a bit hands on with things.

In the afternoon we also managed to get over to Trinity College and have a bit of a look around when it wasn't raining. Unfortunately we were unable to see the Book of Kells as the library was closed already, but in our wandering around, we encountered a fox. That's right. A fox! In broad daylight in Dublin it was just casually wandering around areas where people were sitting and enjoying the view. It was my first encounter with a live fox and it was pretty awesome.

My final day in Dublin involved what could possibly be the most history laden and awe-inspiring moment I have had ever. Maybe I overstate it, but it really was amazing. I did the Mary Gibbons tour of Newgrange and Hill of Tara. With the aforementioned Mary Gibbons as our tour guide I learned a lot about both sites and the history of the area.

Hill of Tara is the ancient Royal seat of the Irish high kings. 142 kings were crowned here. It is said that on a clear day you can see half of the Irish counties from atop the hill. walking on the hill, you can easily see evidence of structures that would have stood on the hill in the mounds, ditches and other earthworks that cover the area.

Newgrange is a neolithic passage tomb. It is older than both the Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza in England. It is particularly well known for the winter solstice, during which time as the sun rises it shines down the passage of the tomb to illuminate the chamber inside for about 17 minutes. I was lucky enough to go inside the tomb which only limited numbers are permitted to do each day, and although it wasn't the winter solstice, it was still awe-inspiring. To think that people 5000 years ago somehow managed to move these stones and build this structure that still exists to day is mind blowing. It may not have the spectacular look of the pyramids or Stonehenge, but in it's own right, it deserves to be experienced

All in all, I can say Ireland is a country that I truly did not have enough time in. I will definitely be visiting again to see all the things I missed.

Sláinte!

~~Random Logic~~

Books, Travel, Study and Planning a Move.

So I have been planning to update recently with some book reviews but I keep getting distracted by starting to read other good books- I highly recommend the Divergent books by Veronia Roth and the Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant- so those posts will come when I hit a wall in the book reading. I have also been very busy on another note.

I started looking for jobs for when I finished being an au pair, and I was looking all over Europe, not just in Finland to find as many opportunities as possible. I ended up applying for a job in Rhodes, Greece, and I got it! So I will be moving to Greece as of the 29th of August... that gives me just under 3 weeks until I move.

I also travel to Ireland next week for a friends wedding! YAY! Weddings! YAY! Travel! I am there for a week and then when I come back, I think I will have two days here in Vaasa before I travel south and visit friends in Turku for a few days and then a day or so in Helsinki. I am tempted to try get in a day trip to Tallinn just for the hell of it before I leave as well. I love Tallinn and I don't know when I will get a chance to visit again. This also means that I have to do most of my packing for the move before I even go to Ireland, so that I just have to really worry about packing what I take to Ireland with me when I get back to Finland.

On top of all that planning, I have been doing the Archaeology MOOC that I talked about a few posts ago. The final exercise was due last week and the results were given this morning. I got full marks for everything! YAY! I'm happy with that because, apart from my language classes which have often been fairly informal in terms of any kind of homework, it is the first study I have really done on anything since high school. It was really fun and interesting too. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in history. It is run through the Coursera website and is called Archaeology's Dirty Little Secrets. I will probably also post some more of the stuff I wrote for exercises here at some point. One of the other students had the idea to start a blog for the students to post to with different archaeological themed things and I am going to be a contributor to that as well.

So basically to sum up my life I have been busy. Things are going to get fun and exciting over the next few weeks. I am excited to go to Greece and sad to be leaving Finland. Also I have never been to Greece so I can't wait to see some of the historical sites. At least the history geek inside of me will have fun!

Well that's all for now folks! I will try to post something up between Ireland and Greece at the very least.


~~Random Logic~~

Yksi Vuosi Sitten....

One year ago....

One year ago, I left Australia.

One year ago, I was sitting on a plane.

One year ago. I moved to the other side of the world.

One year ago....

That's right folks! If you haven't guessed it already- today is one year since I left Australia for Finland... and what a year it has been.

I didn't really know what to expect when I decided to come back to Finland, especially coming back here and becoming an au pair. It has turned out to be an amazing experience.

When I left Sydney airport, my mum, dad and younger brother were there to see me off. There were lots of hugs. I got on the plane and flew to Finland via Abu Dhabi and Dusseldorf.

The first people I saw when I got into arrivals at Helsinki-Vantaa airport were my friends Veera and Nupur. One greeted me with a sign, the other with chocolate, both with hugs! I almost ran them over with my baggage cart. Nupur drove us into the city centre where we had lunch and chatted for ages and then drove me as far as Salo where she lives.

When I got off the bus from Salo to Turku, I was met by two more friends, once more with a poster as well as chocolate and other Finnish goodies. It was a good day.

I stayed with one of my friends for most of a month before I started working as an au pair, and we caught up often on weekends after I started working. The best thing about some friendships is that it doesn't matter how long it has been since you have seen that person... you still get along and it doesn't really feel that long. And that is definitely the case with Sanni!

This last year has been a pretty amazing experience. I worked for one family until mid-February and then started with a new family in a city called Vaasa at Easter. Both have been interesting, and as with any jobs there are ups and downs.

I have learnt a lot more Finnish than I knew 12 months or even just 6 months ago- especially since I came to Vaasa because I speak only Finnish to the children here. I learn new things every day!

I have renewed my love affair with libraries. In Australia over the 5 years before I had not borrowed very often from libraries as I would just buy the books that I wanted. If there is one thing I do miss from Turku now that I am in Vaasa... it's the library. Vaasa does have one... it's just not as big.

I got to visit Spain last September(yes I know I never did end up writing a blog post on that!), Stockholm in December, London in March, and Estonia last July, over new years and then again in March. I have seen parts of Finland I had never visited before, and seen new things in some places I had visited. In August, I am going to visit Ireland and attend a friend's wedding. I just booked my tickets today!

I have made some amazing new friends in the past year. Au pairs and otherwise. I've made friends from all sorts of countries, who speak all sorts of languages. I've travelled with those friends and introduced them to places I love. I've discovered new places to love and rediscovered old ones.

 

I've been to my first music festival, sunbaked in parks like the locals, eaten new foods, relearned to ride a bike, experienced the aftermath of a snowstorm and the chaos it can bring on a large city(thank you Stockholm!).

All in all I have experienced! I have put myself out into the world and experienced. How long I will be in Finland for, I don't know. What I do know is that I will not regret having been in Finland. I think that if I do leave Finland this year I would like to try and stay in Europe. Maybe I will see if I can find a job in another country and move there. Maybe try and learn another language and experience more but that's for another time! So, sorry to all you people in Australia.... I don't think I'm coming home anytime soon!

~~Random Logic~~

Beautiful Tallinn

I really meant to write this a few weeks ago! Better late than never!

Last month I went to London as mentioned in my previous post, but I also got the chance to head back over to Tallinn, Estonia for a trip the following weekend. It was the fifth time I had been there and definitely a different experience to previous trips there.

First off I went over with a friend and fellow au pair who was leaving the country the following week. Her original planned stay in Finland had been cut short and she had definitely been planning to visit Tallinn before that happened. As a result she decided to spend her last full weekend in Finland in Tallinn. As I love the ciy I volunteered to go along and show her around and stuff like that.

Now I have played tour guide to people in other cities including Turku, Finland and Sydney, Australia where I have spent significant amounts of time and lived but I have never lived in Tallinn so for me it was just as great to go and show her the things I love there as to visit places I hadn't been. It's also the first time I've been any kind of guide in a place where there is so much history.

We stayed with my cousins in Tallinn. They live about 10-15 minutes walk from Vana Linna or in English the Old Town. It is a medieval town centre and not much has changed in the buildings since that time.

By the time we got to Tallinn on the Friday, we had actually already been travelling for over 6 hours by bus and boat. We ended up spending most of the first day in the Old Town wandering around, looking at churches and trying not to get too confused in the sometimes maze-like streets.The best thing about getting lost though, is that you get to see the amazing architecture that has survived to this day and the many buildings that have been restored. There are also some amazing doors!

There are many churches in this part of Tallinn, including two Orthodox churches, and at least one Catholic church not to mention several Lutheran churches. One of the Lutheran churches (St Olav's/Oleviste Kirik) was actually the tallest building in the world for a time when it was constructed with a spire that stood at 159 metres. It burned several times however, after being struck by lightning, and the current spire stands at just 124 metres.

For lunch on this day we decided to stop in at the Reval Cafe in the old town centre. I have been to at least three different Reval Cafe's in the time I have spent in Tallinn and I have to say that every time the food has been fantastic, as well as the service. I also think that it is extremely reasonably priced.

We also spent some time in Tallinn City Museum (Tallinna Linnamuuseum). It is definitely a museum worth visiting. Whilst not so large as many museums it tells the story of the history of Tallinn quite well and in an easy to understand fashion. I definitely learned things I hadn't known about the Hanseatic period(Tallinn was a major city and trading port for the Hanseatic League and was known as Reval during this time).

Saturday we got up fairly early and decided we would walk into the Old Town. It is a nice walk and the way we went took us up and over part of the walls that still stand to the top of Toompea Hill which is the upper part of the old town. You end up with some fantastic views of the old town from there and it's great for taking photos.

First thing on the agenda for the day was to head up onto the city walls. One of the fantastic things about the Old Town and the fact that it has been so well preserved is that it actually means you can get up onto the town walls where they still stand at some points. It is interesting to see the town from this perspective and makes me glad that I'm not a guard for walls and living in the middle ages. The walkway is not actually very wide and there is never anything pleasant about looking straight down to the cobblestones below when all that stops you if you slip is a wooden railing.

After the wall we took the opportunity to do a sightseeing bus tour of a bit of the rest of Tallinn. My cousin had been amazing and bought us some 24 hour bus tickets for a sightseeing bus that goes around Tallinn on three different routes. We took the green line tour which took us to the Pirita beach district where there are the ruins of Pirita Monastery(dedicated to St Brigitta) and past the area which was built for the 1980 olympics when Tallinn hosted the yachting events for the olympics.

In the afternoon we decided we would try to see some more museums. First we headed off to Kiek in de Kök, which is situated in one of the towers along the wall. We also wanted to visit the Bastion Passages but hadn't realised that we had to pre-book so we ended up missing out on that part. It was the second time for me to visit the museum however and I loved it just as much as the first time. It has changed a fair amount in terms of the displays and I think the quality is even higher. It covers a lot of the history of Tallinn and in particular focuses on the military history and the fortifications of the city.

We also ended up visiting the Estonian National Maritime Museum (Eesti Meremuuseum) in another tower known as Fat Margaret (Paks Margareeta).

For dinner that night we went to a restaurant know as Olde Hansa. It is a medieval themed restaurant and it definitely has some great atmosphere. It isn't somewhere I would recommend anyone go to if you are a picky eater, nor if you are trying to save money. The most expensive single dish on the menu is Bear and it costs 55€. We both went for something a bit cheaper and split the dessert which was a sort of apple pie with almond milk. It was amazing. So was the Warm-Up drink which we had. It was some sort of spiced apple cider type drink. Om nom nom!

Sunday was our last day in Tallinn and we did our best to enjoy it. We took one more of the sightseeing bus tours, this time around some of the older suburbs of Tallinn. Afterwards there was some more wandering around the city for some last minute photos, souvenirs and postcards which resulted in me finding a Star Wars babushka doll, as well as a stop for lunch once more at the Reval and a hot chocolate at the Chocolaterie de Pierre Cafe in the Old Town. My cousin first introduced me to the Chocolaterie in 2007 when I visited. It is a cosy cafe that makes you want to do nothing more than sit down and relax with a nice warm drink and maybe a bit of dessert too.

All in all it was a fantastic, jam-packed weekend in Tallinn and it definitely made me realise how much I haven't seen and want to see when I next visit.

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral with Tallinna Toomkirik in the background.
Taken from Kiek in de Kök tower.

View of the lower part of the Old Town from the viewing platform on Toompea Hill.

 

Where would you like to visit?

Entrance to the Old Town.

 

The old Town Hall.

Photo credits go to my friend Christina who took some great photos whilst we were there.

~~Random Logic~~

Babbling About Books

So I've just been sitting here this evening thinking about books.

About 6 months ago on Facebook I started following a page called Books Are Magic. I came across it via a friend sharing one of their pictures and just kept following. Almost everytime I see one of the pictures/memes they post I have to agree with them. Sometimes I read whatever it is and just want to yell and scream out "THAT'S MEEEEEEEEE!". I also through these pictures come across a Tumblr page called Confessions of a Compulsive Reader. There goes the rest of my evening!

Anyway I think I will share here a few of the things that Books Are Magic have shared on their page with you. My favourites as you will. And then maybe if I can motivate myself I will do this more again.

Here we go in no particular order:

1.

This one is one that is very, very true for me. My friends in high school would literally drag me out of bookstores or even just grab my arm before I could walk in. If I forced myself to walk past without going in they congratulated me.

2.

This one is so true that I did actually laugh when I read it. I have quite often said that when I get my own house I will have a room in that house that would be a dedicated library. A room where I can have my books and sit and read and just relax and escape from the world all around. It will have an epic cushioned window seat and bookshelves that line the walls to the ceiling. It will have at least one beanbag and it will be mine.

3.

This one was only posted today but I would definitely agree with it. Sometimes something happens in a book and I just have to shut the book, squeeze my eyes shut and breathe. Either that or I yell at the character something along the line of "Nooo! You stupid! Don't do that! Grrrr!"

4.

Oh books, how I wish I could dedicate my time to you. And my entire paycheck. Alas! 'Tis not to be!

I used to work right near a bookstore in Sydney called Basement Books. It was heaven and hell all in one. I spent most lunchtimes in there and I am pretty sure I bought at least one book a week there... at least. I love that shop. If I was going to the city of a weekend too, then I would also visit. A year or so after that I was working somewhere else and found a St Vincent De Paul shop with a fantastic and extremely cheap selection of second hand books. I got most of the Kathy Reichs and Patrica Cornwell books I own from there. I miss working near that shop.

5.

This is probably the most accurate description I have ever seen and read for a bookworm and the need to finish a book or read before bed. It is entirely true for me and I am sure many other people. I frequently fool myself into thinking I am going to go to bed early or that I can survive of 5 hours sleep. It never works out as planned.

6.

My friends have often joked about the size of my handbags or the amount of stuff I take with me. The truth? I refuse to buy a handbag unless it is big enough for my wallet, glasses case, keys, drink bottle and... a book. Bonus points to a bag that is big enough to hold a hardcover novel. Triple bonus points if it is big enough for that second book to take with me for when I finish the first one. In fact if I go somewhere without a book... I kind of feel naked.

7.

This one ties in with the previous one. I always want to take more books with me than there is room for. Recently I went to Estonia for just over a week. I had several books I wanted to finish but couldn't take them all. In the end I compromised and took a couple of books and my Kobo ereader. It is for reasons like this I bought the Kobo in the first place. It will never replace the need for real books though. I went to Spain in September and took one book with me only. I read it one and a half times on that trip between all the touristy stuff.

8.

This is pretty much accurate. I read books in bed every day. I would rather be lying on my bed and reading most of the time than sitting on the couch in the loungeroom. I think this all comes from the fact that reading in my room as a kid was a lot quieter than reading in the loungeroom. Also that's where my books are all kept.

9.

This one just made me laugh when I saw it. Pretty much describes my feelings when I really get into a book. I imagine exactly how the characters are and then nothing can really change that even if the book gets made into a movie.

10.

This is a true problem for me at times. I get really into my books and don't notice what is happening around me sometimes. And it's not just something that has started happening now I am a bit older. When I was in primary school we had something called Silent Reading Time for about 15 minutes after recess. One day I got so sucked into the book I was reading that it wasn't until about 15 minutes after everyone had got up to go sit on the floor and listen to the teacher that I noticed I was the only person still sitting at the desks. I was about 8 at the time too. Woops!


~~ Random Logic ~~

Pack, Pack, Packing....

So... first blog from Finland. I have been here two weeks now and have been having a pretty awesome time. Also this particular post will most likely be somewhat random and rambling.

It's currently heading towards 3am and I still haven't finished packing for my trip to Estonia. I have to be on a bus at 6am to Helsinki, and then catch the boat from there at 10am.... really should go pack. After this blog I will.

So two weeks in Finland and I was met at the airport by two of my friends. Between them they had one sign and multiple chocolate bars- to get me started. I love Fazer chocolate. We had lunch and then I continued my journey onwards.

When I finally got off the bus in Turku I was greeted by two more friends. One is the friend I am currently staying with and the other is a German friend who I met when she was doing exchange at the same time as me. They also greeted me with chocolate and a sign. I love my friends!

I attended Ruisrock music festival which was three days of amazing fun and I got to catch up with a few more friends at that and see plenty of awesome bands. Still not sure how Snoop Dog fits into a rock festival though.

Since Ruisrock I have caught up with more friends, eaten plenty of chocolate, done a bit of shopping, and generally been relaxing and having fun.

Now onto more packing and Estonia! I figure I don't need sleep tonight... I have plenty of time to sleep on the bus, boat and in the car today...

~~ Random Logic ~~