plane to Finland

Fly to Finland to visit Greg Smiley and his family (Soile, son Raemus, daughter Meeri, dog Zaida and cat Tazza) that live in Masku near Turku which is about 2-3 hour bus ride from Helsinki then plan to also visit Helsinki and take ferry to Tallinn Estonia if the ice has melted in the channel for the boats to get through!\r

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31 MARCH - 7 APRIL\r

YOUR BOOKING REFERENCE IS 2ACMA8.\r

OUTBOUND: 31 MARCH\r

Paris - Helsinki 31.03.05\r

AY872 N 10:50-14:50\r

INBOUND: 7 APRIL\r

Helsinki - Paris 07.04.05\r

AY875 N 12:15-14:20\r

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31 March \r

Arrived at the CDG airport early so enjoyed a cup of machine coffee which was fifty cents at the toilets downstairs and one euro at the top of the stairs...machine coffee in France is actually very good. When I checked in for my flight I asked for a seat in the front (you cannot get a seat in advance) and she said the closest was row 15. When I boarded the plane, all the back rows were full and the front rows were empty....so I moved to 6A and had the whole front end to myself.\r

We arrived on time and found the bus to Greg's just fine. The Express Bus departed at 1520 but made many stops then I had to change busses at the Espoo Ikea and arrived in Turku at 1805 where Greg picked me up. Enjoyed dinner with Soile and Raemus and Meeri and the dog Zaida and cat Tazza.\r

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1 April Fools Day\r

Greg had to teach an English class at the papermill in Rauma so we took the kids to school then took the long road along the coast to Rauma and he dropped me in the old town and picked me up two and a half hours later. Had a great exploration! Licorice is a specialty here.\r

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2 April \r

We had coffee with Craig Turner who teaches English with Greg at the AAC Global (www.aacglobal.com) and is from Australia. We then met Jyri back at Greg's farm and headed to their summer home near Kustavi where Greg had to clear a deadfall tree and haul it back. We stayed the evening and it is a wonderful place. Just like Greg's, you clean your bod in the sauna and pee in the outhouse so tis cold in the middle of the night!\r

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3 April\r

After brekkie, we drove the long way back to Greg's. Another beautiful sunny day where it is warm in the sun but cool in the shade. Most of the farm houses are painted red (just like mine) because they make homemade paint from red ochre. Hope that the weather lasts for the remainder of my stay in Finland.\r

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4 April \r

Greg drove me to Salo because he had to teach a class there and then I took the train to Helsinki (just over one hour at 24.40 euro). Found a room near the train station at the Hotel Arthur and then went hotel shopping and even the cheap hostels/guest houses are expensive...some are even fully booked! I also booked a trip to Tallin in Estonia for tomorrow (20 euro return). Only two big boats are running because there is still heaps of ice on the water. There is no Starbucks in Finland but did find the equivalent called Roberts. Also free internet at the libraries...3.50 euro per 30 minutes at the hotel.\r

In between my stops at hotels, I did manage to see quite a few sites of the city such as the Esplanade Park with stops at various shops such as the Moomin shop in Kamp Gallerie (http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=27031), Senate Square with its large St Nicholas Church/Cathedral and other architecturally attractive buildings, and Katajanokka Island with the Uspensky Cathedral.\r

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5 April\r

Cruise ship to Tallinn Estonia for the day where one euro is 15.24 Estonian kroon.\r

After a quick buffet brekkie at the hotel of which I took most of it with me in a take away bag, I caught the 0655 #15A bus from the railway station to the West Terminal to board the 0800 departure of the Eckero Lines Nordlandia ship across 80 kilometres of the Gulf of Finland to Estonia for 3 1/2 hours. The maximum capacity of the ship is about 2000 and they stated that they had over 1000 on board, mostly folks speaking the local language! I think that most of these folks cross over for the duty free shopping and the cheaper prices in Estonia as on the return, everyone was carrying many cases of local beer and bottles of booze! The price of the trip was 20 euro for a day cruise or 15 euro each way so I decided to just do the return trip for the day. I really enjoyed the Tallinn old town which is about all I had time to visit in the six hours that I was there....very colourful! Visited many churches (St Olaf, Dome, St Nicholas, Alexandre Nevski) and the town square and the original pharmacy and the Kalev chocolate factory (home of marzipan-www.kalev.ee) and the Occupation Museum (www.okupatsioon.ee) and walked the old wall. It was quite an experience to be in the Russian Cathedrals during their services as these are the only places in Tallinn where there is no Estonian spoken or written...only Russian. The icons, the mosaics, and the fifteen ton bell were all imported from St Petersburg. I returned to the ship and we departed at 1800 for our arrival in Helsinki at 2140 (ten minutes late) but just enough time to run for the 15A bus for my return to the railway station and my bed for the evening. \r

I had also considered a trip to St Petersburg since it is so close but that would require at least a two night stayover to make it worthwhile so will save that for another journey.\r

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6 April\r

A more relaxed morning to enjoy my buffet brekkie which included eggs, sausages, local (dark) breads, smoked herring, cereal, yogurt, fruit, and even chocolate mousse. I then explored Helsinki on foot following some of the recommended walking tours provided in a book that I picked up at the visitors centre. This city is full of statues! Visited the Temppelianukio (built into a rock) Church, Sibelius Monument, the Olympic Stadium (Helsinki hosted the Olympics in 1952 and we found a ticket in Greg's summer house), the Opera House, Finlandia Hall, Observatory Park with a great statue done in 1867 by Robert Stigell called Shipwrecked on a knoll overlooking the harbour, the Old Market Hall. I spent an hour on the tram #3T for a great tour of the city; the tram does a figure eight throughout the city centre and for only 1.80 euro. I now have done most of the transport options in Finland except taxi: plane, train, boat, bus, tram, private car! I then enjoyed a mocca at Wayne's Coffee (a competitor of Robert's). I was able to confirm my flight and get a seat assignment with Finnair which has a office near the rail station. I also accessed internet which is free at all the public libraries. \r

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7 April\r

After the hotel breakfast buffet which starts at 0630, I walked to the SMarket to get the traditional Easter dessert Mammi to take back to my sister's. Rode the Airport bus from the rail station area to the airport for my return flight to Paris. Helsinki Airport at Vantaa is rated amongst the top three in Europe with Copenhagen and Athens and it is pretty nice with heaps of windows and clean (and free) toilets and restaurants and Roberts Coffee and Stockmans (the major shopping store in Finland) and of course, the duty free shops. It was time to depart Finland as it looks like the rain or snow was due to arrive although it now looks like rain here in Paris. Morris' sister Crystal arrived yesterday and will stay for two weeks. \r

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8 April\r

A cold and rainy day in Paris so a good day to repack and watch the Pope's funeral on television. I also packed a box of stuff to send home. We walked to the market and picked up fresh chicken for our dinner. We all had fun colouring my hair!\r

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9 April\r

Last day in Paris with my sister! Hopefully will return though and that their stay is for three years as originally planned although IBM can change things in a day!\r

Walked the rue du Faubourg St Honore to Shakespeare and Co Bookshop in the Latin Quarter which I thoroughly enjoyed. Stopped at La Madeleine and Eglise Notre-Dame-de-Assomption (Polish church with bust of John Paul and heaps of flowers) along the way. Also visited Eglise St Julien le Pauvre, Eglise St Nicholas du Chardonnet, and the Institut du Monde Arabe. Returned to Neuilly on the #82 bus with a stop at Monoprix to stock up for tomorrow. Pam and Morris and Katie are off to dinner with friends and Crystal and I will enjoy leftovers!\r

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10 April\r

Big day for the Paris Marathon while I am trying to catch a bus or metro to the train to St Malo!\r

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from the walls of Shakespeare and Company:\r

'Be Not Inhospitable to Strangers....\r

Lest They be Angels in Disguise'