I'm Here!

I'm in New York! Big shiny city. Seriously, it's massive, and when I got in to the Port Authority bus station, I thought I was in Vegas or something. I have an extremely crappy photo of the lights in the street. Wow.

The flight was surprisingly good. The shy guy next to me moved over to a row of free seats, so we both had heaps of space. I watched Mission Impossible 3 (dodgy, really) and some of a few other movies. I resisted the urge to get alcohol, because I didnt want to feel more yucky than I already did following a distinctly foul pre-flight Quarterpounder.

The airport was horrible, of course. Ash and I both bawled our eyes out. Wah. Once I got on the plane (and had a breakdown in the toilets after going through security) I was fine. It still sucks, though. Siiiiigh. Can't wait until she's in Melbourne.

My dorm was OK. A quartet of Irish backpackers came in (quietly, even) at some hour of the night, and the other beds were taken up by a NZ brother and sister. They were quite nice. Had Australian accents, though. It was music to my ears.

I have no idea what I'll do now before meeting everyone. I think I'll just have a wander around, maybe find a bookstore or something. Mwaha.

Oh yes, and my mobile is actually working. Fucking Vodafone. Is it surprising that the idiot who screwed up transferring my account to prepaid was the same idiot who told me it wouldn't work? Bah. So, you can reach me on my Swedish mobile number.

Right. Back up the stairs to sit in my room. Yay!

And thwipp!

The USA

Tomorrow I head over to New York.

*insert mass of hysteria, confusion and excitement here*

Argh. Argh. Argh!

And yay.

Oddity

Yesterday I saw a black poodle that looked exactly like Alice Cooper.

Counting Down to New York

This time next week, I'll be on a plane to New York.

I've sat here and looked at the screen for a few minutes wondering what to type next. Next week, New York. It's pretty big for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I'm quite amazed that I'm actually able to go there. It was the same before Paris. I kept saying to myself, 'Wow, I'm going to Paris. I'm going to visit France.' I still can't quite believe that I've been there, done that. It's Paris! I know people who would claw out my eyes to get to go there! And I'm sure the same is true when it comes to New York. Wow, I'm going to have visited New York city.

This might be less of a big deal to anyone reading this who doesn't live in Australia. Even though heaps of people get out and travel and see the world, even more people don't get the chance. And really, Australia is a long way from a whole lot of things.

So yes, apart from the 'I get to go to a very cool city and play' factor, there's also the fact that I'm leaving Stockholm, which has become so familiar and fantastic. If it weren't for the fact that I can't see any of my friends and family while I'm over here, I think I'd be pretty happy in Sweden. It's a very cool place. But yes, I miss everyone like mad. I want to go home!

I'm really not looking forward to the goodbye at the airport. I hate that part. When the moment comes when I have to walk away and get on the plane, it's like a cold wind blows through me. I feel like something in my chest is being pulled until it snaps. Even though I'm going to try to be brave, I'm sure that I'll cry.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited about New York and all the fun that we're going to have. I'm honestly looking forward to it and having a little bounce. But at the same time, I'm going to be leaving Ash to sit around in the apartment all by herself.

It's all a big jumble of excitement and adventure and sorrow and... everything else.

So here's to next week.

Smiling Hurts, But I'm Doing It Anyway

Did I mention that I have Muse tickets? I have Muse tickets! Well, I have one, anyway. I'm seriously going to take Shane to Max Brenner and stuff him full of chocolate for grabbing one for me.

My tooth is sore, but I have Muse tickets. The airline didn't have any record of my flight to New York (was sorted eventually) but I have Muse tickets. I'm leaving the love of my life to a gloomy Swedish winter and a thesis, but I have Muse tickets. My iPod is having serious battery issues, but I have Muse tickets.

So, I shall be seeing this fine gentleman wailing his heart out in January.



Hooray!

Eat Your Swedes, The End

The final episode of Eat Your Swedes is up and ready to play.

(It might not show up in the drop-down player, but you should be able to download it from the little menu on the right hand side...)

It's been a pleasure!

One and a Half

I meant to blog about this yesterday, but I was too busy being sick and watching Battlestar Galactica (the movie that preludes the newer series, yes, I'll watch the series as soon as I can).

Monday was the 4th, of course, which is our year and a half anniversary. Yeah, it is sort of lame celebrating it in half years, but we missed the first year seeing as I was out of the country, and I'm actually here for this one...

We planned to go into Stockholm to buy presents for each other (read: go to Science Fiction Bokhandeln and buy each other books) and then come back and have dinner in Södertälje (in the restaurant where Ash came out to her mother, no less) but we were handed a little menu from someone in the street advertising a restaurant and decided to go there instead.

But first! We got to wander Gamla Stan, my favouritest place in all of Stockholm, including this jolly little place:


I very nearly broke my ankle on the street swerving to go in, but it was worth it. I didn't end up buying anything, though, for fear that it would be destroyed in the transit all the way home. Maybe in America I shall go mad with the buying of comics. Old Town is pretty, though. Very pretty.


And my favourite red house again:


Which happens to be in the same square as the Nobel Museum (here shown with construction tape and all, I think they were fixing the fountain):



So, we'd spent about an hour in Science Fiction Bokhandeln, where I purchased the BSG movie (because I missed half of it when they showed it on TV) and a book for Ash, 'The Lies of Locke Lamora' by Scott Lynch. And she got 'Kushiel's Scion' for me. Yay! (And it was really good, too.) We wrote dedications in the books over big frothy bowls of hot chocolate. Mmm.


Yes, they were massive. And delicious. I have found the Max Brenner of Sweden, complete with pretty gay waiters. Ah, it was almost like being back at Auto. (Apart from the fact that I had to pay for my hot chocolate, rather than sweet-talking someone to make me one for free...)

After that, we went to the Kulturehuset and sat around reading. I'd dressed in shorts and t-shirt, so by the time we were hungry enough to find the restaurant/they kicked us out, I was freezing. Possibly not the best state to be in when you have a cold. I froze for a while until I ducked into a thankfully open tourist shop and purchased a warm jumper (with SWE in yellow letters across the chest) to snuggle into. It was a bargain, too, actually. Doesn't look bad, either.

The restaurant was easy to find, and in a dungeon. A very nice, renovated one, to be sure. It was all polished glasses and lovely wood and tiny flickering candles. I had a glass of red, Ash had a beer, and we discovered that we were sitting next to a rather loud American couple. They were actually slightly amusing, if only because the guy kept calling his female date 'dude.' Hee.

The food was really fantastic. I had lamb (covered with herbs and garlic butter, mmmm) and Ash had tender tender fish, which melted in her mouth. Lovely romantic dinner, actually. After our meal, we staggered home all full and happy.

Gröna Lund!

I'm so excited! I just came home from Gröna Lund, which is one of the theme parks in Sweden, right on the harbour. I had so much fun! The place was completely packed with kids and their parents and teenagers thinking they were cool for smoking and wearing black and adults trying to pretend they weren't pissing themselves with fear at the thought of going on the Drop Thingy...

Believe it or not, I'd never been on a roller coaster before... I've always been way too scared. So, I gathered my courage and decided to have a bash at the main coaster at the park, which, to be truthful, wasn't that big... But still, scary! I screamed my head off, but had a brilliant time!

We (Ash, myself, and her best friend Alina) also went on a Disco ride that spun you around in a circle at top speed and played Lordi and Tatu. Hah. We went on the Flying Carpet (Ash screamed) and the Viking Ship (Ash screamed and made horrible faces, and almost vomited on my lap) and the Octopus (I couldn't tell if she was screaming, but possibly...) I chickened out when it came to the Free Fall thing, though. It was so high! Ash said that it was completely terrifying (she screamed alllll the way down, all 200m, or two seconds...) After that, rode the Ghost Train (lame) and the Tunnel of Love (scary puppets, and Ash kept yelling at me for tipping the boat back and forth... heh... romantic...) and the Disco again.

The whole time I maintained that I was not going to go on the Wild Mouse. (I remember the story of decapitation from Luna Park.) It looked much worse than the normal coaster (that we went on again before closing) and I resisted until the last second... And then I went on it. Because I was feeling bold. So! It was heaps of fun! Much better than the other one!

Ash was screaming so hard and girlishly that I roared with laughter the entire time. And when we went around the corners really quickly way up high, she'd say 'No no no no no' in a plaintive little voice... hilarious. Mwahaha. I made Ash and Alina go on it again before closing.

If you ever go to Sweden, go to Gröna Lund. I had so much fun!