My sentiments exactly.

I've been listening to lots (and lots!) of physics talk lately, as we have a houseguest from Jeff's old lab at U of T. Naturally we took him punting, and en route to the pub I gleefully spotted this graffiti. (To be honest, it's really nice to have a familiar face about - we like getting visitors.)

I plan to post some photos from Sweden, but as always I took approximately thirty million of them. This means I may never look at them again because I can't face the enormity of the task ahead - deciding which of the ten identical photos of the same scene is the best, over and over again. I don't know why I do this. No one else in my family does this. My brother took about ten photos during his entire round-Europe expedition. One day I will take one photo too many and Jeff's head will explode - at least the veins popping out in his forehead when I get too camera-crazy predict this.

But I really liked Sweden. Here are some of the reasons why:
* The taxis are all Volvos.
* There is lots of granite, trees and lakes everywhere, which reminded me of Canada.
* Hardwood floors. Even in hotel rooms!
* Double beds in hotels always come with two duvets - which is great when you are sharing with a DUVET HOG. Ahem.
* Nearly every restaurant or cafe with a patio put out blankets on the chairs so that people could curl up in them while sitting outside. This is an idea I think Canada should embrace.
* Efficient metro and commuter trains.
* Sodermalm, a neighbourhood with lots of low-key cafes and bars the likes of which we sorely miss in Oxford.
* Every cafe or restaurant had lots of open flame - candelabras in windows, on tables, even giant floor-standing ones, all lit. It is a miracle that Jeff emerged unscathed.
* They have yummy alcoholic pear cider.
* People kayak, canoe, sail and swim almost in the center of the city. (And presumably use the roughly five minutes of daylight in winter to ski and skate.)
* Ikea isn't completely uncool there.
* The people are friendly and all speak English, which always makes me feel like a meathead for not being multilingual myself.
* Jeff liked the free refills on coffee - a rarity in Britain.
* I had the best sandwich of my entire life - sundried tomato, brie, lettuce and pesto on some sort of dark malt bread that was like a slice of heaven.
* Every (or nearly every) public restroom has self-contained rooms with toilet and sink - no nasty public stalls. This saved me some humiliation when I was visited by severe food poisoning (unrelated to the above sandwich).

Yes, everything was going swimmingly. We had great weather, we got to see all the major things on our list and still had time to just walk about and window shop, and most of the restaurants we visited ended up being really nice (and suitable for a gluten-free eater and a pseudo-vegetarian). But on the last day I felt progressively weirder until, as we reached the airport to check in for our flight, I was extremely ill and would not have gotten home if it weren't for Jeff. Food poisoning is very humbling. If you've ever had it badly, I probably don't need to go into more detail. It was everything I'd ever dreamed it would be. And I think it'll be a few more weeks before I've fully recovered. (Before you say 'ate a dodgy meatball, eh? yuk yuk', I'll have you know that a vegetarian buffet restaurant remains the most likely culprit. But the views were fantastic.)

On the positive, what could be better than returning from a holiday to find that the September Vogue magazine (with all the fall fashions - the best issue of the whole year) was too big to fit through the generous mailslot at our flat? I will end up with carpal tunnel syndrome from holding it open to read it, but the pages and pages - and pages and pages! - of unwearable shoes, unaffordable handbags and inexplicable couture will all be worth it. It might not make sense, but I just adore that stuff.

Well, it's off to self-medicate and then sleep, as I've been struck down with a bad cold lovingly shared with me by Jeff. Normally his germs are no match for my superhuman immune system, but what with weeks of no sleep followed by weeks of no food, my defenses are a little low right now. I figure I'll get the whole year's illnesses - physical and psychological - out of the way in one go.