Greetings from Roland Garros

I wish!  It has always been one of my goals to make it to a tennis Grand Slam tournament, and my first choice would certainly be the French Open.  While we were not basking in the heat of summer in Paris on Court Philippe Chatrier, we did get to see quite a heated match between Sweden's Robin Soderling and the 4 time French Open champion Rafael Nadal.  It was arguably one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam tennis by the Swede, so really this is just a shout out to the Motherland. Holla!  

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

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.