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Last year I worked like a donkey in order to make money and go to Europe in the summer. After I proved to myself my amazing saving skills (except for the money I spent eating sushi), my dream came true and off I was to Europe to visit some very special friends. I visited France, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands and Italy. Here is a bit of what I experienced. 
This beautiful scenario overwhelms your breath at 11:30 pm sometime at the end of May, in front of the Saimaa lake about three hours north-east of Helsinki, Finland. |
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Everything started on May 20th after a very good flight on British Airways. I arrived in Paris and spent the weekend with Peter, Mathieu (our host), Christophe, Corine and Harold (who came down from The Netherlands just for the weekend). Then I went to Marseille by train and spent a week and half there with Peter, who had been doing an exchange for the previous semester in a business school in that city. During that week, we met with Jonna and Timo who lived in Aix-en-Provence and took us for a tour around beautiful provence! Fromage chevre, good wine, gorgeous landscape and incredible weather! Oh la belle France! 
Corine, Harold and me in Meudon, France. 
Friends in Paris 
Aix-en-Provence market in the south of France 
Marseille, France 
Mervi (Petes's mom), Me and Peter somewhere in the arctic sea! 
Fancy dinner a la maison Platan! Better to eat something before getting totally wasted! 
BBQ for dinner in front of the magnificent Saima lake! 
Eating lunch with Peter's Grandparents! 
Copenhagen and me! 
Malisa in Lund, Sweden! |
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Paris and me! 
Our lovely host "parisien" Mathieu and his house! 
Quiet little town in Provence, France. 
Then came Finland. WOW! That is the simple word that comes to mind. It was defintely the highlight of my trip. I loved the contrast of language, behavior and landscape; it was just extremely different from anywhere I had ever been! Nature at its best! "Honest and strong, balanced between east and west, Finland embodies the clarity of its waters, the vastness of its skies and the silence of its forests" There you go, I could have not said it better! 
Finnish flags! 
Helsinki and I! 
Afternoon on a boat in Saimaa lake! 
Sweden followed Finland in my itinerary! |
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"Calanques" beach near Cassis about 20 minutes from Marseille (Provence, France). 
Peter, Harold, Corine, Mathieu, Christophe and I in a postcard we sent to our dear Mohammed! 
Pic-nic somewhere in Provence with Jonna, Timo and Peter 
Tulyps in a quiet Helsinki downtown square! 
Learning new words in finnish. 
Kesamokki! The beautiful summer cottage in front of the gorgeous Saimaa lake! 
Mervi and Jorma, Pete's parents! 
Laura, Peter's sis and me! 
Saimaa Lake This part of the trip concluded with me taking a cruise to Sweden where I visited Lund, Malmo and Vaxjo. I have to say that I found a bit weird the fact that on the cruise they played the Titanic song by Celine Dion quite often, oh well! In Sweden I also visited my friend Mao who lives close to Vaxjo now days. |
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