Friday, March 8, 2013

HoppingAvettCentralbadetMamdou kind of Weekend

Last Friday night was First Friday Hopping in Stockholm! Started here in November, First Friday Hopping is an open night for art galleries and craft shops to showcase their goods. BONUS: free wine at all stops + snacks + sales = happy Friday. Our tipsy hopping was followed by dinner at a local Italian restaurant - I Cinque Sensi - where the food was slightly disappointing, but the company more than made up for it.

portraits in the window at Ebbas Värld gallery - Ebba was the cutest, most eccentric artist we met, and wanted to draw everyone's face, but our stomachs were growling; photo by Grace Ann

On Saturday night, after gorging on Czech beef and potatoes, MP & I managed our way to the front of the Avett Brothers concert at Debaser in Medborgarplatsen. Those Carolina brothers know their stuff - a truly great show.



On Sunday, NS & I celebrated 7 years together! How 7 years has passed since that fateful day in Perth when we first met, I have no idea, but we celebrated the day at Centralbadet and the night at Mamdou's. 


Despite appearances, Centralbadet (although probably not this sign) dates back to 1904 as a spa in the middle of central Stockholm. Nestled on a courtyard of apartments off the main shopping steet, Drottningatan, the spa is a haven of relaxation. Hot pools, cold pools, big pools, small pools, pools for feet, pools for laps, pools for lounging - we made sure to try each one. Then there were the saunas - mixed saunas, dry saunas, steam saunas and a "cold air shower" to cool off (aka a hole in the wall with air blowing out). Around the main lap pool were candelabras and cozy nooks for contemplation. Have you ever swam by candlelight?


We finished off our day at cozy Mamadou, a new Asian restaurant about a 15-minute walk from our apartment. Despite the fact that we were served the wrong wine (twice, we thought, but through later research, we came to discover that shiraz and syrah are actually the same thing - who knew?) and despite our appetizers and mains being served together, we had a wonderful meal and were perfectly, if not overly, full when we left.

Thank you, älskling, for 7 amazing years - and here's to many, many more!