Saturday 28 March 2009

Stockholm

Last weekend we set off for the first time to Scandinavia - Stockholm in Sweden to be precise. Stockholm is scattered across 14 islands and its Old Town (Gamla Stan) is very pretty with cobbled streets and alleys and brightly coloured medieval architecture.



Outside our gorgeous 17th century hotel, it was set on parkland complete with a lake out the back!

A slightly larger than usual "bike" in the racks?
We took a boat trip out round the islands on the Baltic Sea.








There wasn't a lot to do in Stockholm so we spent most of the two days just wandering and admiring the beautiful buildings. Unfortunately it was still very cold with a few snow showers but this meant we were pleasantly surprised by the mild London weather on our return! Spring has definitely sprung with all the daffodils out and a lot more sun around.
Our next mini-holiday is to Nice on the French Riviera for Easter in a few weeks time.
In other news, John is having a tough time finding work which is disappointing and we are trying to decide how long we can stay in the UK while he's unemployed. We are coming home in June for Chris and Erin's wedding so may have to make it a permanent move if nothing comes up before then (although John still has high hopes of becoming a professional online poker player...). But we are keeping our fingers crossed - MC is definitely not keen on missing out on summer!!

Skiing in Switzerland

Here are some photos of our recent week-long trip to the Torgon ski area in Switzerland. We went with six friends (Krystal, Dan, Julia, Kath, Kelly and Jarod) and for the most part had a fantastic time skiing, although MC had a slight wipeout on the first day and had to sit out the next two days with a very sore and swollen knee. Luckily she had a few good books and the pool, sauna and steam room to keep her occupied!





Krystal ready to go


We also had a day in Geneva on the way home so did a bit of sightseeing there. The photos below are the views of the city from the top of the cathedral.


This flower clock apparently has the biggest second hand in the world...
Lake Geneva

Our base in Torgon.
Krystal and the yummy Swiss cheese fondue with lots of potatoes!
All of us at dinner.

MC, John, Kelly and Kath

And finally some John-style attention-seeking: