Editor's Note....

The animals are officially on vacation. Will return shortly.....

Jag dricker kaffe i Majorna

Today we went for a walk through Majorna, a borough just west of the city center. It turned out to be a beautiful day after some morning rain, complete with a stop for a latte at Zenit cafe.

Masthugget Church

Brother Joe ready for his latte

Zenit Cafe

P and Johan enjoying their latte.

T. also enjoying her latte.

Then a walk through the Swedish forest, also known as Slottskogen

P and T happy to make it to the car after they were caught in a downpour at the end of the day!

Liseberg

With the beautiful weather, we decided to take a trip to Liseberg. It is the largest amusement park in Scandinavia. The past couple of times we have been here, it has either been winter (where they have the Christmas market), or pouring rain, so we have been unable to enjoy the rides. Well, the wait is over! We can finally say we have been on the largest wooden roller coaster in the world, know as Balder, we survived the Tornado right after a latte, and we even won some treats! Good times!

A list of all of the different types of tickets you can get.

A hot dog with mashed potatoes on top, known as a halv special. I don't quite understand this, but Peter was pretty excited about it.

Buying the tickets.

Virvelvinden!! The Tilt-A-Whirl, Swedish style!

These suckers really spin you! (even more than the Carnie version in Sonoma) And no, we didn't learn anything from the last time and still ate our hot dogs right before the ride.

P and T on board the Balder.

Sweden's version of Whack-A-Mole

The bathrooms were pristine. I couldn't resist this photo.

Waiting in line for another roller coaster.

Johan, P, and T on board the Tornado. (not recommended just after coffee!)

P and T proudly displaying their winnings.
There is a game where you can win bags and bags of the best chips ever!
(You would love this game Mom!)

Hem ljuva hem

(Home sweet home) In the Motherland once again! The weather was perfect today at 20 deg. C, or about 70 deg. for us Americans. First things first, we picked up Peter's brother Johan, for some coffee outside on the patio at Cafe Cava. In Sweden, having a cup of coffee, is not just having a cup of coffee. It is taken very seriously (as it should be), in fact they have a word that means enjoying coffee, conversation, and snacks: Fika. In fact, Johan has made it part of his mission to discover the best latte in Göteborg, and you can follow along here (also a great opportunity to brush up on your Swedish). It was good coffee, and great weather, and a great way to start off our trip. Meanwhile, the search for räksmörgås continues.....

P and Johan enjoying the sun.

Cafe Cava (received 5 out of 6 cups per Johan at Lattelakejen)

P and T also enjoying the weather.

Going for a walk in the city.

P and T on Linnestaden

In Frankfurt...

We made it to Frankfurt, Germany and now we are connecting to Gothenburg. This airport is such a zoo, it reminds me of a German LAX. We didn't sleep at all on the plane, so we are feeling a little rugged, but pretty relaxed. Almost there.....

P. making his way to the terminal.

Terminal maps

Var ar mina strumpor??

Skål!

Well after being home for about 24 hours, unpacking, and then re-packing, we are finally off to the Motherland! We are so excited to see everyone, to drink some coffee in the kitchen (jag dricker kaffe i kötet), have some deelish shrimp sandwiches (räksmörgås), some herring (sill), and most of all to have some time off! Trevlig resa!

Poor quality self portrait with camera phone.

Air traffic control at SFO.

South San Francisco

Aerial view of Angel Island.

P. enjoying his champagne and caviar.

Fresh berries and hazelnut ice cream.

After dessert...more dessert.

Home Again

Thanks Mayor Gavin. It's good to be home.

I have been in Dallas for the past couple of days, where it was over 100 degrees. I have returned home to our San Francisco summer filled with cool breezes and heavy fog. It's good to be home, but it's time to do some laundry and repack the bag for the next adventure which starts tomorrow!!

Some thick fog looming over SFO.

Remembering Jerry....

I happened to come across this picture at a Grateful Dead show in Las Vegas in 1991. With today being the 13th anniversary of Jerry Garcia's death, I just couldn't resist this kodak moment with a real, live dancing bear. And can we talk about the Maverick-style thumbs up and the Ray Ban Wayfarers? Apparently I was still hanging on to the late '80s!

Sonoma County Fair

Last weekend we went (okay, so we dragged Peter) to the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa. It turned out to be a pretty good time complete with corn dogs, funnel cakes, Wack-A-Mole, and a nausea inducing ride on the Tilt-A-Whirl, a personal childhood favorite. I didn't win any stuffed animals, and the Destruction Derby was a little weak (sorry Brett, but it was) but good times were had by all.

A glimpse of the Destruction Derby.  

You are probably asking yourself, what exactly am I looking at?  Believe me, EP and I were asking the same question.  

Brett and P. taking in all the action at the Derby.

Who doesn't love a corn dog with some curly fries?

We paid 50 cents to have a peek at this ginormous pig.  It was worth it.  

I think he looks a little bit like John Madden. 

A glimpse of the Tilt-A-Whirl in action. I know it doesn't look like much, but throw in a corn dog and a funnel cake with some centrifugal force, and that is just a good time! Brett happens to have his hands on some footage that I am afraid I am going to have to pay good money to get him to delete it.

'Hertz' so good....

I have become quite a regular on the Hertz bus these days, and I am usually running late (imagine that) waiting to check out, grabbing my bag, usually leaving something behind in the car, and then running to catch the bus (sometimes in very unfortunate, yet stylish shoes). Today as I was trying to catch my breath in hopes to catch an earlier flight, over the speakers I heard a familiar tune. It would seem this particular driver was a big fan of late 70s easy listening. I swear I saw him singing along. Go on....you know you want to hear it.

I 'heart' Encinitas

VW bus sighting along the Coast Highway. I love this town!

As I was making my way out of the hotel this morning, I ran into a guy fresh from the ocean carrying his surfboard. Man, was I wearing the wrong suit! A beautiful day in Encinitas....a little heavy on the marine layer, but beautiful nonetheless. (They have the tendency to call it a 'marine layer' down in SoCal, up North, we call it fog!) Have some more meetings today, and since I am so excited to get home, so I am afraid the surf will have to wait until next time.....