To and from Skansen

Still Saturday 30th April!

Saturday April 30th

Back in Stockholm we celebrated Carl XVI Gustaf's birthday with some delicious Italian food in a restaurant next to the King's Garden,

not far from the palace

with the daffodils in flower.

The sun was shining, but the wind was cold.

So cold that we didn't stay for the lighting of the traditional bonfire at Skansen, but when the choir had finished "singing in the Spring", we made our way back to the station for the night train home.

The Day of the Wedding, Friday April 29th

All dressed up for his Majesty's not so secret service?

Miss T towers over her little sister, but then she is in her mum's little sister's stilettos.

Strawberry and Miss T posing with Camilla for a portrait, she and Charles followed behind in the car on to the ...

... garden party, causing quite a stir and several hoots as they both waved regally through the back windows.

Party games, putting the ring on the right finger

and lots of royal grub, including a chocolate fountain

proved to be a complete knockout.

Thank you little sister and everyone else there, we had a blast.

Strawberry's choice

Miss T chose the Tower and for our second day in London Strawberry chose the British Museum

and the mummies, which I didn't take phorographs of, but Strawberry did, so they might appear on her blog one day. My favourite was Cleopatra's daddy's mummy.

After the museum we walked through London. It was the day before the royal wedding, so there was a party atmosphere on the streets, silly hats and flags everywhere.

The Tower of London

As we only had three days in London, thank you little sis for putting us up yet again, the girls got to choose one thing each they'd like to do. Miss T. chose the Tower and all its treasures which the kind grandparents treated us to, along with a personal guided tour from one of the country's top experts on arms and armour. While the guide refuelled on tea, the girls and I took a butchers at the crown jewels. As there were very few people there, we went round twice, before a guard took pity on us and let the girls try on the last item on show, the crown of India. It suited them both perfectly, but we were travelling with handluggage only and it looked rather heavy.

Another kind guard allowed us and our guides to escape from the White Tower by way of a secret passage, a lift and a heavily studded door.

Our visit to the Tower was a great pleasure that the girls and I will remember for a long time to come, thank you Granny and Pa!

Bottled Up.

Passing a shop-window in the Old Town in Stockholm I noticed the largest "ship in a bottle" I had ever seen, except it was a weaving loom on 3 different levels with china-headed dolls on each level.

Two days later in Trafalgar Square my record was broken by several yards.

Only two months behind!

Two months ago during the Easter break, we took the night train to Stockholm. Strawbs took the top bunk while Miss T tried hard not to stick her head out of the window.

(See below: Stockholm townhall across the water and primeminister's official residence behind Strawbs. on our arrival at 7am)

We had a picnic breakfast next to the palace and watched the changing of the guards in the early morning sun,

before heading for London...

Happy Easter

This Easter weekend has been hot, almost 20 C in the shade. The bears are up and about, so I made lots of noise walking the dog through the forest this afternoon.

Yesterday in town the Great Lake was still frozen and there's still lots of snow in the mountains, and yet it's so warm.

We put the trampoline up today keeping the girls busy.

Nipa nibbled the old dry grass, holding it daintily between her front paws.

We got our bikes out this week. Strawberry thinks she's big enough to ride mine. I think she should wait another summer.

The ski slope, see behind Strawbs, is still covered in snow, but Spring is definitely here.

Passing on.

Sorry, I have not been a very active blogger recently.

I have given precedence to other dear ones for some time now, but I haven't forgotten any of you.

My in-laws have been close neighbours ever since I married and moved to Sweden 23 years ago and I have always felt welcomed and loved by them. Saturday March 19th, after several months of illness, my father-in-law passed on. The funeral was held last Friday.

My mother-in-law says that he was the best husband she could have had. I know he was the best father-in-law I could have had.