London, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Stateside and Back.

Ciao a tutti!

This past December I got an astounding 4 weeks off from work (mandatory repatriation contract break), which lucky for me landed right at the holidays!!  Before heading back to California, I decided to do a bit a Christmas time sightseeing and so heading to London for a few days.  It was my first time there, and i absolutely loved it.  I had some insider tips, so I was able to hit the highlights in a few days.  I was so impressed by London and the incredibly nice and polite people (objectively or compared to Rome...not sure) -- I was even given an IOU for a bus ticket that I didn't have change to pay, but in London, no worries get on board nonetheless. So nice!  I drank some lovely afternoon tea at the posh Woosley and wandered the streets that reminded be quite a bit of Boston (Newbury Street!!).  Which may have been slightly influenced by the number of streets with the same names as streets in Boston -- Berkeley, Arlington.... It was great fun, and I can not wait to return!

I then headed on for the weekend in Stockholm.  And as everyone knows already, I am quite fond of Sweden, but Stockholm really made me love it.  It was, of course, freezing and dark. Dark all the time. But such an amazingly beautiful city which has this feel-right-at-home feeling to it.  We went to Christmas markets, learned some Swedish history, ate Reindeer (sorry Santa) and danced the night away at the only club I have ever been to where I was the shortest person in the place...  I also, much to the amusement of the Swedes I was with, went to Sodermalm to check out some Millennium Series sights and Salandar's apt!!!

We then went back to Gothenburg where we went to another Christmas market and ate home made meatballs.  Ah Sweden...

It was 3.00pm!!!!!!!!!

Old Stockholm

Liseburg in Gotheburg

I then came back to Rome for 12 hours, packed up and headed off to San Diego via San Francisco.  It was my first time back in the US since I moved to Rome in January.  First stop- burritos in the Mission.

While my life in Rome could not be different than my life in San Francisco, or better yet, life growing up in San Diego, I fell right back into the comforts of home, from playing card games with my family, hanging out with our pack of dogs,  driving everywhere and yes, eating amazing Sombrero’s burritos.

As I sat crammed in my window seat on the 14 hour flight back to California from Rome, I had thought about what I had missed while abroad, what I could not wait to see and do. The first obvious thing—my family, but I also thought about Target and CVS (I know, I know…), Mexican food, being on the same time zone as friends and of course, the convenience of being able to speaking English everywhere.

Over the three weeks I was in the US, I did soak up all the things I had missed, although, admittedly I think over the past year I had glorified the convenience of Target a bit- slight let down but great nonetheless.  I realized that California will always feel like home – which is actually very comforting. I miss it already!!

Seaport Village- San Diego

Bros

And now, I am back in Rome.  This past week has been a whirlwind--I flew in on Sunday and was back at work on Monday!  Such an amazing Christmas and New Year!  It was so nice to be able to just hang out with my family and soak up the sunny so cal weather (it was actually kind of hot...). When is my next four week vacation??!! ;-)