A perfect day!

Yesterday Marc and I had a great time watching an English F1 Grand Prix - in bed on a BIG TV! Then it was rush rush rush as Marc had to fly back to Finland. They asked him to remain till the 25th June, sniff sniff... I'm sure that time will fly though.

To take my mind off things, Louise arrived and convinced me to go shopping with her. This was a good thing as my hairdryer had disappeared. So we spent the afternoon shopping in Richmond, once we had worked up an appetite, we headed to GBK (Gourmet Burger Kitchen) and ordered our usual: 1 Chicken Satay burger with a GBK side salad - to share. Their portions are so huge!

Then to top off a great day, we watched Sex and The City 2. mmmmmm I won't give away the plot, but let's just say I wont be in a hurry to see the next one.

Woke up this morning to a wonderful phone call from my husband - he really in the best! What a great way to wake up.

Put on a few loads of washing...

And began the tedious task of ironing - bleh!

Decided I didn't want to be inside all day, so I grabbed some golf clubs and headed to Dukes Meadow driving range. WOW... how long have we been gone?!?! They had built indoor and outdoor tennis courts, a squash court and a gym.

After 2.5 years of not playing golf it felt good to hit a few balls around. Finally got my swing back... was hitting on average 135 with a seven iron, dead straight, consistently towards the end, so VERY happy with that. Can't feel my forearms though and although tomorrow I will be stiff - it sure was worth it!

Oh saw this car in the parking lot - made me smile!

All moved in

We managed to pack everything into 4 bags (huge achievement), everything was booked and we were all set. Whilst checking in the clerk starts speaking really loudly to another check-in girl about 6 check points away. He kept on looking at us and saying "kaksie, kaksie" over and over. Kaksie means 2, so I thought maybe he was saying there are 2 of us and we each have 2 bags etc. something like that... I couldn’t quite see the problem

Turns out he had made an error whilst checking us in and never charged us £250 for excess luggage. Anyhow we were really grateful that he had made the mistake and let us go through without charging us.

FRIDAY
Arrived about 1am at Andrew and Mel's house (old flat mates). After catching up, finally made it to bed around 3am - Felt sooooooo good sleeping in a proper bed, it was so comfortable I didn't want to fall asleep. We have been sleeping on a sofa bed for the last year and a half, so it was a slice of paradise.

After a great lie in, turned my laptop on and everything was in English, wonderful! Usually when I try log onto sites everything is in Finnish and I just click around until eventually the right button is hit. It’s the little things that count!

Headed off to our flat to meet the movers, what a gorgeous day in London such a pity we were unpacking inside. Once the movers finished, Marc left for an interview and I was tasked with the unpacking...

After 5 solid hours the flat finally became half liveable. Unfortunately as all our clothes, duvets & pillows had been in storage for 2.5 years they all smelt - so I’m in for some major washing ahead.

Met up with Ryan (Marc's cousin) for dinner and drinks at The Railway Tavern. 'Was a late and fun night, Ryan ended up staying over.

SATURDAY
Spent the morning tidying up the flat, went shopping in the afternoon. Was great to be back in Richmond again - it never loses its beauty. After a yummy and much missed Nandos, Marc went over to Mearsy’s for some rugby and I headed back to start on the washing.

We bought an internet dongle to tide us over until broadband is installed. It took about 10min to install but, as usual, a few hours and many phone calls later to actually get it working.

Met up with Andrew and Mel for dinner at The Tree House in White Hart Lane. What a great evening - so good to meet up with old friends again!

Last Day in Finland

I can’t believe it’s here already... my last day in Finland! I did not think I would miss it... but now that the time has come nostalgia has set in.

I’m going to miss the clean fresh unpolluted air and water. The lack of crowds. The awesome cinemas with the most delicious popcorn. The beauty of it all.

I’m also looking forward to moving back to the UK where everyone speaks English and you can buy food where you don’t have to guess what it is. I’m so looking forward to cooking in an oven again (only had a 2 hob here). Ahhhh and a dishwasher!

Living in Finland has taught me so much - mainly revealed how much excess I used to deem as necessary... so looking forward to some "spring cleaning". Watch out Oxfam, all your Christmas’s are about to come at once!

This is also the first time we have used movers to collect our things from storage and bring them back to our flat - it’s going to be great not having to do all the heavy lifting and grafting ourselves.

I’m also super excited to be blogging again - it’s good to be back!

Flying out in a few hours time so I had better get a move on, no pun intended!

Happy Birthday Lynne - I miss you!

Estonia

Ready for Estonia

with my book and Roberts Coffee - not quite Wayne's Coffee (Best coffee in Europe!)

The "Catamaran"

The Baltic Flags as I left the harbour in Helsinki

Docking in Estonia - I generally don't like graffiti, but this was pretty colourful

What a stunning harbour - amazing view of modern Estonia

Everywhere you went there were stunning sculptures and the paths were lined in green grass and blooming flowers

Simply breathtaking - created such a great atmosphere

Headed for the old city, enveloped in old castles walls

There were 27 gates, but this was the main entrance

Quaint streets lined with cafe's and shops

And of course restaurants



And no city is complete without a Molly Malone's!

They do have some great sayings

Old Estonia was simply gorgeous

with different markets tucked away in nooks and crannies. It was like a little treasure hunt

Hopped on a tour bus to see the outskirts of Tallinn

This is the University of Tallinn... mmmmm makes me REALLY want to study!

This random, odd, church... quite unique

Statue built for a ship that sank

So pretty - couldn't tell you what the meaning is or even what it is as it was all in Estonian

I just thought it was beautiful



Ahhh the country side is gorgeous!

The TV Tower





This was built for the Olympics

This statue represents parachutes - who knows why?! Pretty though

After a long day, nothing like a nice cold beer

Saku Beer

Then headed back to the port - so pretty

That's the "Catamaran"

Estonia is simply gorgeous and I'm so glad I made the effort of going.