stockholm

Giving the world Stefan Edberg and Ikea furniture is possibly enough for any one country. But Stockholm showed that Sweden has a much more on offer.

This was our first trip to a Scandinavian destination and we were not disappointed.

The stereotype of blonde and tanned people, attractive from healthy living and enjoying the outdoors, rang true. Low population density, wide streets, plenty of green space and the calming affect of being surrounded by water added to the city’s charm.

Stockholm is comprised of series of islands and, like good module furniture, each seemed to be organised to house a particular theme:

* Gamla Stan is the old town
* Södermalm is good for cool bars, clubs and restaurants
* Skeppsholmen is full of museums
* Östermalm is the downtown area with cutting edge design shops and top brand designer stores

* Djurgården is lovely greenery

Although not a city where you feel you must escape the hustle and bustle (because there is neither hustle nor bustle), one day we took a ferry out to the island of Vaxholm, known as the gateway to the Stockholm archipelago. People live here year round but on the sunny day we visited it had a real summer holiday feel - wooden houses, boats coming into harbour, a main general store and a constant stream of people consuming ice cream.

Enjoying this island so much, we would be interested to see what the others in the archipelago are like… one down about 23,999 left to check out.

simpsonize me

if you are as yet to make yourself into a simpsons character do so immediately.

must be a slow news day

...because thelondonpaper published another one of my columns. if you didn't get your hardcopy, like these happy commuters, you can read it online.

'hey, we're going to ibiza' (...for a yoga retreat not necessarily to party)

I've gotten many benefits from doing yoga, but surely one of the best must be treating myself to a week-long yoga retreat on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza.*

I heard about the retreat from a book (‘Liz Jones's Diary: How One Single Girl Got Married’, a true-life memoir of a late-30-something woman who hooks up with a 20-something man who is generally no good yet who she supports for years while he ‘writes his novel’ and who she pampers with many holidays and mini-breaks, including one at Ibiza Yoga and the unputdownable quality of this book is best explained in the fact that B. had no problem reading it in public despite its hot pink girly cover) and although I had been looking forward to it for seemingly ages, it really did live up to my expectations.

Each day involved perfect sunshine, a three-hour yoga session, fresh vegetarian food and time on the beach where the most pressing concern was deciding whether to read, sleep, sunbake or swim. This was combined with occasional nature walks and dinner out with the other the participants - mainly young, female, Londoners and all very nice. I slept in a pagoda. I showered outdoors. I saw nothing of the high rise resorts and club scene. It might not be everyone's idea of a good time, but it was just my cup of (herbal) tea.

* unfortunately I can not even think the word ‘Ibiza’ without my mind singing back the annoying late-90s Vengaboys dance track: ‘hey, we’re going to Ibiza, hey, we’re going to the island, hey, we’re going...’ Get out! Get out! Get out!!