Soirée @ Bonson

It's been a long time since we've seen our dear friends Valerie & Gilles from far-away California! So we were quite happy to join them for dinner in not-quite-as-far-away Bonson, where they still have their house. Marie and Jason joined us as well - we picked them up at Train de Pignes trian station in the Var valley on the way to Bonson (Bonson is a lovely place, but a bit difficult to reach without a car - being a mountain village tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the Cote d'Azur).

Great to catch up with Valerie and Gilles again (without their kids this time). They've had a rather busy summer, with a bit of trouble with their house as well as Visa problems (the server for booking an appointment at the American embassy was down - so no way to get an appointment!), but were as smiling, happy and welcoming as always. And as always, we had a brilliant time - there is always plenty to eat and drink at their place ;)

We already tentatively set up a new date for the weekend - seems that they could do with a hand with that house of theirs!

Snorkling @ Cap d'Antibes

Diving's a hobby I was quite into a looong time ago when I lived in the UK - and my passion was briefly rekindled a couple of years back before I changed jobs, when I had some spare time on my hands to do a bit of diving. But it's been a while since my last dive... So I jumped on my colleague Gilbert's suggestion to try a bit of snorkling with him. He goes regularly to Cap d'Antibes after work -  so I figured "why not" ?

I decided to borrow my company's work council's (not sure whether that's the correct term??) GoPro submersible camera to capture some of these underwater moments.

The snorkling was great fun. I felt like a bit of an amateur, with a rather "heavy breath" so to speak, compared to Gilbert (whose time under water at each dive seemed to be measured in minutes, rather seconds, as for me ;) ). I was a bit disappointed by the lack of underwater fauna - I saw plenty more fish during the dives. I guess it comes to the French passion for harpoon fishing, and the fact that the site is accessible from the beach. A pity - but anyway, I had a brilliant time.

Did take me a while to sort through the 1400 or so pictures the GoPro managed to capture (I had it set to a mode where it took 2 images per second) - much to my surprise there were even a few semi-decent shots in spite of the less-than-perfect visibility we had.

Sushi DIY time!

So a couple of weeks ago, we attended a sushi workshop. Today, it was time to put the theory into practice, since we'd procured the necessary ingredients for making makis at an Asian supermarket at Antibes.

Trying desperately to remember the instructions from our workshop, we put the rice to the boil - cutting a couple of corners, it must be admitted (it would be good to get a proper Japanese rice cooker, I reckon...). To keep things simple, we decided to go for full-sized makis, and much to our surprise, the end result wasn't all that bad. Esthetically our makis may not have stood up to much scrutiny, the but the taste was there (including the rice). And we washed it all down nicely with some Sapporo beer.

So, quite a successful foray into Japanese cooking, then! Oishii!

The best pizza in Nice (?)

We've been wanting to try out a pizzeria called Les Amoureux for quite a while now. Many say it's where the best pizza in Nice is to be had - including my Italian teacher, who's from Naples. So she should know - especially since this pizzeria makes their pizza in the finest Napoletan tradition, using ingredients from Campagna...

So expectations were high, as we sat down at the place, located just a stone's throw away from the old port, together with Sarah. We all ordered pizza, naturally. After some hesitation, I decided to go for a pizza with prosciutto, rather than the classic Pizza Napoletana. As a nice touch (or tacky, depends on whom you ask, I suppose...?) Sarah and Mathilde got heart-shaped pizzas.

So what's the verdict then ? Well, the pizzas were certainly delicious, possibly even the best pizzas we've had in Nice. But somehow, I was still just a tad disappointed - after all, expectations were very high. The thing about it is that you can get better pizzas in Naples for a price 4 times lower...

But on the whole, the verdict is a definite thumbs up!

A couple of days later, we were invited over to Mikko's and Marianne's place, where we got to benchmark Mikko's (who's a bit of an expert in the matter, both when it comes to preparing, and consuming pizzas!) pizza against the best Nice's restaurants could offer. Nathalie also joined the degustation.

Things kicked off with a nice aperitif, at Mikko's and Marianne's nice terrace overlooking Nice. Mikko then brought on the star attraction - the pizzas. Three of them, and rather big ones at that. But never fear, I'm always up for a challenge! (which admittedly isn't always such a good thing). And I must humbly admit I was defeated by the mighty pizzas - I just couldn't finish the last one... (I didn't want to replay a certain scene from Monty Python's "A meaning of Life").

Anyway, seriously speaking, the pizzas were delicious, and we had a real blast. As for the judgement about which pizza came out on top - thanks to the "total experience" I give the top prize to Mikko and Marianne!

Just a bit more Finnish summer!

Back to Parainen, then, for a couple of days, before heading back to Helsinki for our flight back to France.

The weather was still pretty much perfect, so we didn't do anything overly ambitious. Thursday was spent just relaxing, enjoying the swimming pool, a bit of walking around the neighbourhood and of course some sauna. My cousin Mikaela came over with her family, which was great, haven't seem them for a while! Interesting to discuss their upcoming trip to Japan as well - we had plenty of tips for them ;-)

On Friday we decided to head over to Turku. We started off by checking out the international market - pretty nice little event with stands selling mostly food from various countries. We then visited the "Ett hem" museum ("Ett hem" is Swedish for "a home") -  pretty interesting place showing how the Turku bourgeois lived during the 19th century... The were even some less famous Gallen-Kallela paintings on display.

For lunch, we decided to try out Tintå - a safe choice we figured, given their number 1 ranking on Tripadvisor. We did have a pretty nice lunch here, and the location by the Aura river is certainly pretty much perfect, but I must say I enjoyed Mami (where we lunched a couple of years ago) more...

Then for the cycling bit... We tried to rent some bikes at the tourist office - no problem with that, except for the fact that Mathilde's bike was too big for her! So no luck with that then - thankfully we were directed to a bike rental shop where we managed to get correctly sized bikes (for a much more reasonable price as well!).

We then headed towards Ruissalo, biking down by the Aura river, taking in some of Turku's most famous sights (the Sigyn and Suomen Joutsen sail ships and the medieval castle). After biking through the port (quite uninteresting from a touristy point of view), we finally arrived at Ruissalo. Ruissalo is a rather nice, mostly undeveloped island located just next to Turku, the perfect place for a bit of cycling. Ruissalo is famous for hosting one of Finland's biggest music festivals, Ruisrock - this time around there was actually a smaller-scale music festival taking place (which explained the numerous youngsters cycling around with beer cans in their hands!).

We cycled all the way to the end of the island, had a well-deserved coffee and ice cream, and cursed the fact that we hadn't brought swimming gear with us (there was a very nice beach by the cafe). Oh well - time to head back anyway... After returning our bikes, we jumped on the bus back to Parainen, very happy with our sporty day in Turku!

Seeing as this was our last night with my family, we decided to have a BBQ - ah what joy... (the Finnish sausages are an absolutely mandatory part of the Finnish summer - even if I must grudgingly admit the French sausages are better - at least as far as the meat content is concerned!). It was really a great way to finish of our stay in Parainen - just hanging out & chatting with family. And drinking the odd beer, of course ;-)

The next day, then, it was time to head back to Helsinki. We got off to quite an early start, and arrived in Helsinki around lunch-time, which left us with all day to explore Helsinki, which is also a great place during the summer (when the weather is the way it was during this trip!) - even if it is somewhat deserted (most Finns spend the month of July at their summer cottages). We started off with the city museum near Senaatin tori, there was an interesting photograpic exhibition.

After a tasty coffee at Fazer's cafe (a real Helsinki institution dating back all the way to 1891 - even if the current establishment is more resent), we decided to just have a walk around Helsinki. We started off in Katajanokka, then headed back towards my dad's flat at Fredrikinkatu, passing by Kruunuhaka and the area around the train station (which has recently been given a bit of a facelift). By now our legs were rather sore, and it was time to head out for dinner as well.

For our last meal, I wanted to try something a bit special, so tried to get a table at Olo (a fancy Michelin-starred restaurant that's been voted best restaurant in Finland several times), but getting a table last-minute just wasn't going to happen, so we ended up in Kuu instead (a place pretty well-ranked on Tripadvisor - I'd also tried & enjoyed their sister establishment KuuKuu earlier this year). Definitely a quality place serving quality food, but I did feel a little bit disappointed with our meal. It's not that there was anything to complain about as such - their food just lacked imagination to me...

Getting to the airport turned out to be a bit of an adventure, actually! We had an early flight at 6:00, which meant we had to take a night bust at about 4 in the morning. I guess I'd forgotten what Finnish nightlife is like - navigating around all the happy party animals and finding the right bus turned out to be a bit of a challenge! Happily, we made it and managed to catch our flight.

All in all, it's been a very emotional two weeks. In the end, rather than being a sad time, I'll remember all the time spent together with friends and family. Just sad that my mum couldn't be with us to share these moments anymore...

Back towards the West via Helsinki

After a few very relaxing days spent in Savonia, it was time to head back west, towards Helsinki. We stopped at Lappeenranta for lunch. Dad had been craving for some "muikkus" (vendance) - a Savonian speciality. Well, he ended up having some at a Greek restaurant in Carelia instead ;-). The Greek restaurant was unfortunately the only nice-seeming place that was open in Lappeenranta, as we arrived a bit late. Decent enough food, but not quite up to the high standards we'd had recently in Tampere and Savonlinna.

Our appetites sated, we carried on towards Helsinki. We stopped at Langinoski, near Kotka, as this was one of the first places mum and dad went together to after they met. So the place has emotional resonance for my dad, so to speak. The Langinkoski rapids are an excellent place for fishing salmon, an opinion also held by Tzar Alexander III in the 19th century, so he decided to build an imperial fishing lodge here, which we visited. Quite an impressive little "cabin" I must say - without being over the top either! Quite a nice little place to stop by after a long drive (if you can find it - the signposting is rather poor!)

We arrived in Helsinki quite late, but dinner was called for, as our stomachs were grumbling (well, mine was, anyway!). After some investigations, we decided to continue with our exploration of modern Finnish cuisine by booking a table at Juuri. Juuri specializes in what they call "Sapas" - essentially Finnish tapas. I like the concept, and the food was good - even though Mathilde complained there weren't enough veggie options (maybe more a problem for her than me). Yet another reason for me to re-evaluate my opinion about the Finnish culinary scene - there is definitely something stirring up there in the northern kitchens!

We had one day to spend in Helsinki, so me and Mathilde headed out early-ish in the morning to explore town, walking around as we always do. We started off at Kauppatori, the market square by the harbour, and then headed across Kaivopuisto towards where we were having lunch with my dad - a cafeteria called Carusel, by the seaside (where I had a pretty decent burger). We then made our way towards Atheneum, where we were planning to check out an exhibition. We walked through Kaivopuisto again, checking out the nice embassy buildings located around there (which I'd actually never seen before!)

The exhibition, dedicated to the life of Tove Jansson (the creator of the moomins!), was pretty interested. Seems that she was a pretty versatile artist who tried her hand at a lot of different styles of painting. Still, I reckon the illustrations for her moomin books are her most evocative work...

In the evening, we went to one of my favourite haunts, Kaisla, to grab a few beers with Jonas and Jocke. We had a very nice evening indeed - playing board games!? (they have a pretty nice collection - we tried Ticket to Ride and Carcassone). Good to catch up with Jonas and Jocke as well!

The next day, it was time to head back towards Pargas. We stopped by at Maija's and Aki's place in Sundsberg to meet the latest arrival in the family, Eetu. Robert - Aki's friend from California, whom I met a couple of times, was also there. Great to meet everybody, especially little Eetu!

The next stop was Hanko, which turned out to be a bit of a detour (on the map it seemed to be more or less on the way...), but oh well. We started off with lunch (what else!?) at På kroken (= on the hook), a rather famous fish restaurant. The food was pretty good, but I wouldn't say I was overwhelmed (perhaps the expectations were too high). No complaints about the food - the fish was excellent - but we were a bit put off by the fact that the catch of the day came from Norway!? Maybe I'm becoming too picky at old age...

We then went over to explore Hanko town centre - really nice! Definitely a place to visit again - during the summer of course! I really liked the area by the seaside, with the old villas and the casino. And the nature around there looks very nice, and quite different from the archipelago around Pargas. Our visit was way too quick, unfortunately, but time was pressing...

Eastwards towards Savonia

Janne and Katja had tickets to see Amorphis at the Savonlinna Opera Festival (a Death Metal band performing at an opera festival - only in Finland eh?), and since my dad yearned for the landscapes of his youth, we decided to all head down to Punkaharju for a few days.

Janne and Katja left on Friday evening, whereas as we headed off with dad on Saturday morning. We decided to drive by Tampere, as it's quite a scenic route. We decided to have lunch at Tampere - after quickly consulting Tripadvisor we decided upon Ravintola Näsinneula. I was a bit dubious - Näsinneula is an observation tower in the Särkänniemi amusement park. I needen't have worried. The views from up there are, as can be expected, stunning - offering a panoramic view overlooking Näsijärvi lake. But I was very positively surprised by the culinary experience as well - excellent quality Finnish dishes with a modern twist. With a French-speaking waitress! And the view changes as well, since the restaurant rotates. So to summarize, a wonderful experience (if a bit pricy, but then again eating out in Finland is costly...).

The road to Punkaharju from Tampere was quite long, but very scenic, taking classical Finnish lake scenery - and the sun was out as well! We arrived quite late, but had time to join Janne and Katja for dinner at the famous Valtionhotelli. This hotel is actually the oldest one in Finland, dating back to 1879. It's quite a beautiful wooden building - and the dining hall is pretty classy too. The food was not quite as good as what we had for lunch, but the location and atmosphere of the place made up for that!

Our appetites sated, we headed off to sleep at the idyllic cottage Janne and Katja had booked, located (of course) in the middle of the forest, by a beautiful lake. 

The next day, me, Mathilde and dad headed off for a bit of hiking. We picked an easy hike that started from Kruunupuisto, and went around Valkialampi, a nice little "pond" just next to Punkaharju (Punkaharju is a 7 kilometre long ridge, which was formed during the ice age). It was a very enjoyably walk indeed - I do miss the Finnish forests from time to time... Great therapy for my dad too, I think. 

We then headed off to Savonlinna, for lunch. We put our faith in Tripadvisor again and opted for a brewery restaurant called Huvila, located at the outskirts of Savonlinna, with nice views over the Saimaa lake system. The food was excellent - again modern cuisine with a modern twist. I had horse (not an entire one!) for a main course and a very tasty licorice-themed desert to Finnish off.  I wasn't expecting to eat that well in a brewery, in spite of the good reviews. 

After the meal it was time for the classic Savonlinna experience - a Saimaa cruise. Lake Saimaa is the largest lake in Finland (4th largest in Europe), measuring no less than 4400 square kilometres. One of the great natural attractions of Finland, peppered with islands and holiday cabins. We're not normally big fans of these kinds of cruises, but it really is the best way to see the lake. And they did serve beer ;)

Of course no visit of Savonlinna is complete without checking out the castle - it's a rather impressive piece of medieval architecture (by Finnish standards, at least). The location is stunning, by the lake, and it really looks like a proper medieval castle. What better place to hold an opera festival ? (or a death metal concert!). We left Janne and Katja to their concert and went back to the cottage to chill out and watch a bit of football.

The next day, me and Mathilde left dad at Lusto (the new forest museum built in Punkaharju), and headed off for another hike. This time we hiked around Laukansaari, a nice little walk through pine forest. A bit too many trees and few views over the surround lakes for my taste, but still, we spent a very nice couple of hours in the dense forests of Finland... We did get some nice views from Karjalankallio.

And then, alas, 'twas time to head back towards Helsinki, after a couple of very nice days spent in one of the most beautiful parts of Finland.

An emotional week in Pargas

This time around, I went to Finland with a heavy heart, since my dear mother passed away a couple of weeks ago. So the occasion wasn't exactly great... But anyway, as you've probably noticed if you read this blog regularly, I've deliberately kept a pretty light tone, so I'll try to stick to that now as well - so I shall let's say limit the emotional aspects associated with my trip...

Anyway, what's most important is to be together with my family, so even if I was sad to separate from Mathilde (if only for a few days!), I was happy to rejoin my family back home! It also made it a lot easier to process these difficult times...



So anyway, my stay started with a few very nice days spent at that wonderful place, Rågård. On Saturday, we all met up for some proper quality time together, enjoying the Finnish summer at its best (strawberries, the long days of sunlight, the swimming and the peace and quiet of it all). 

Jani came along with his family as well, with lovely little Unda. Great to catch up with him as well.

 My dad had some projects going, as always, which I was happy to help with (it's nice to do some "real work" from time to time, when your daily work consists mostly of hacking away at a keyboard). The project was to put the finishing to Janne's and Katja's little cabin. Perfect therapy - and my handiwork even got dad's stamp of approval!

The rest of the time we spent well, chilling away, watching football, enjoying the sauna and so forth. We were also invited to Essi's birthday party in Wepo (where I met up with Johan and Maria and their kids for the first time since god knows when...). Berit also invited us over to lunch at her place, which was nice. (maybe all these people thought we'd starve to death if left to our own devices...?)

On Wednesday I headed to Helsinki, since Mathilde was arriving in the evening. Before picking up Mathilde at the airport, I headed off to Janne's and Katja's place for a bit of boardgamin'. We had a go at a real classic - Through the Ages - a real marathon of a game (3 hours for the simple version of the game). I came through as the winner! After that, 'twas time to head off to the airport to pick up Mathilde.

We didn't have time to much enjoy Helsinki, as we were driving back to Parainen the next day with Janne and Katja. We joined the rest of the Turtiainen clan for dinner at Kamu, a new restaurant in central Parainen. Hmm, nothing much to write home about I must say, the food was decidedly average. But nice to catch up with everybody and enjoy the evening sunshine on the terrace!

The next day was when we laid my mum to rest at the Pargas church. It was a hard and long day, but at least the event brought some manner of closure to everybody, hopefully. And at least I very much appreciated the number of people present, who were genuinely saddened by our mum's passing away...

Sushi time @ Monaco

Japan is a passion for both me and Mathilde, so I thought I'd treat Mathilde to a Japanese experience. I ended up booking us both on a sushi workshop at a Japanese shop in Monaco.

Making sushi seems quite simple, but in fact it's everything but. There are plenty of subtleties at every stage - from cooking the rice (you really need the Japanese rice cooker, and you need to wait for the rice to settle at the right temperature before making the sushis), to how the rolling of the sushis is done, to seasoning and down to the cutting (there is, of course, a special knife for this job).

We tried our hand at all sorts of different sushis, from the classic makis, to california rolls to nigiri. I had a go at some nigiris - esthetically they were rather doubtful, but the taste was thankfully there! All in all, not only was it a fantastic learning experience, but a very tasty meal as well.

The next step is to have go at it ourselves, I suppose!