London

After we got off of the cruise ship in Copenhagen, we flew to London. We arrived in London the morning after the terrorist attack on the London Bridge. Luckily, the part of London where we stayed was very far from London Bridge. Nevertheless, it was heartbreaking and scary to sit in the hotel lobby and watch the news play footage from events that were taking place not too far from us.

I loved the hotel where we stayed- the Marriott Park Lane. It was beautiful, on the smaller side, and well situated. We spent the evening in London walking around Mayfair, and popped into a couple of shops. The purchase of the day was the Taschen book titled "The Walt Disney Film Archives". That night, we ate at Nobu. I was skeptical whether it would live up to all of the hype, but we really did have an amazing meal. The food was incredible, and the atmosphere was cool without being too stuffy.

The next day was one of my favorite days of the entire trip! We started the day by visiting King's Cross station to see Platform 9 3/4. We didn't wait in the long line to take an official picture, but we got to go inside the Harry Potter shop there. 

We then walked through the financial district, and learned some very interesting history from our lovely tour guide. Even in the overcast/rainy weather, London was beautiful. We made our way to the Tower of London, which is amazing! The Tower is sort of spooky, and has a storied past. We got to see the Crown Jewel display, although I don't have any pictures of it. 

Having just read a book about Lady Jane Grey, it was especially eerie to walk around the White Tower and the Tower Green. After walking across Tower Bridge, we ate lunch and I came up with a navigation plan to get us to Harrods while my dad had his suit fitting at Gieves & Hawkes. I am still pretty proud of myself for navigating the tube all by myself! (Ok, my phone might have helped...) 

Harrods beauty counters aka heaven

We made a friend!! 

After wearing ourselves out at Harrods and enjoying the kid's section, tea, and the food hall, we went back to the hotel. We ate dinner that night at an Italian place, where I ate delicious Chicken Alfredo . I also practiced the napkin folding skills I learned on the cruise and made about 100 Bishop's hats. 

The next day we toured Westminster Abbey for a few hours, and it was AMAZING! I loved spending a lot of time looking at every room and tomb, and learning more about the significance of certain things that I wouldn't have otherwise noticed. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed. We then went to get sundaes at Fortnum and Masons. After that, we made a detour to the Thomas Pink store, where I picked out a shirt and tie for Matt's birthday. It was so hard to keep it a secret, but I was so excited to give it to him when he came to Atlanta over the 4th of July! We finished our day by walking through the park to Buckingham Palace. By this point, the sun had finally decided to come out! That night we went and saw Kinky Boots, which was really amazing. The costumes were gorgeous, and the show was perfectly cast. 

Even though we only had 2 full days in London, I really felt like we maximized our time and saw/experienced a lot of the city. Thank you mom and dad for organizing such an amazing trip! I have one post left in this series, which will include our time in the Cotswolds. Then I might finally be able to post about things that have happened more recently! 

Helsinki + Stockholm

After visiting Russia, it was time for the truly Scandinavian part of our trip. As (one of) the lands of my ancestors, I was very excited to visit this corner of the world.

First up, Helsinki. I was freaking COLD in Helsinki. Cold and windy. We also got caught in a hail storm out on an island. Despite all of that, Helsinki was awesome. I will always remember sticking it out in the cold with my parents while Amanda and Madeline (and Bailey) retreated to the visitor's center. I didn't travel across the world to sit inside, dang it! 

This is me. On the boat going to the previously mentioned island. Hair by Amanda and necklace courtesy of Madeline ;)

Me absolutely freezing my tush off, but posing for the picture anyway. PS I really should have worn boots like my mom suggested. Moms are ALWAYS right!

After this picture was taken we saw some more of the charming village, and got an amazing view of the ocean, where we caught a glimpse of our ship!! 

I love this picture. The window is dark but the image within is bright and full of life. 

Once we were transported back to the mainland, we had just a couple of hours to explore Helsinki. Here is my favorite view of the day:

This picture has literally been my phone background for months now. I just love how blue the sky is, and the colors/shape of the Helsinki Cathedral. It was actually built as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland, Tsar Nicholas the I of Russia, so it was called St. Nicholas' Church until Finland gained independence in 1917. We had a race to see how fast we could make it up the steps--which was also a good way to warm up. 

I promise I'm not usually a selfie girl but i wanted to capture my joy in this moment (after sprinting up the steps) 

Our last stop in Helsinki was Temppeliaukio Church aka Rock Church. I wasn't 100% sure what to expect but holy guacamole it was cool. 

Pictures don't quite do it justice but it is literally a church made out of rocks. It is mostly underground, which is why they added the amazing skylights. There is also a second level of pews, which look down on this majesty. I daydreamed about a candlelit Christmas Eve service here with snow falling softly outside the windows... All in all, Helsinki is cool. I think more Americans should adopt the very Finish tradition of spending large amounts of times in spas. Although the part where they hit themselves with birch branches (?) I could probably do without. 

Perhaps my favorite city I've ever visited was the one we had the pleasure of touring the very next day. STOCKHOLM. SWEDEN. We were #blessed and had incredible weather, which, after two days of slightly uncomfortable weather conditions was very much welcomed. Thank you Sweden! 

This unfiltered photo was the first thing I saw when getting off of our (really swanky double decker) bus. WHOA

Really casual photo of me. Not posed at all. This photo also isn't edited at all, the light was feeling funky fresh and my sisters are real MVPs and were taking pics like i was a Hadid sister. 

Stockholm is comprised of 14 islands, so naturally it has a lot of water running through it. The water is so clean that when it freezes over in the winter you can see straight to the bottom. We started the day by visiting another Church of St. Nicholas, which is unofficially called the Coronation church. It is situated right next to the Royal Palace, so it seems fitting that royal coronations and weddings would take place here. 

The colors! The windows! The roofs!

After the church, we visited a really cool museum that has a lot of outfits, carriages, and other artifacts used by the Swedish royal family. Tbh if I had to choose what royal family to be a member of it would be a tough choice between the British Royal Family and the Swedish. They seem super chill and fun.

Lunch in Stockholm was one of the best meals of my life. I know my hyperbolic statements are getting out of hand, but I can't stop.

The potatoes were spectacular, the Swedish meatballs were divine, and the lingonberry sauce was the perfect touch. My stomach is literally grumbling right now at the thought of this meal. SO GOOD.

After lunch, we had a bit of time to wander around and shop a little. Somehow, this turned into my dad buying a large painting that is now hanging in our house. Typical dad stuff, you know.

St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg was arguably the stop I was most excited about on our Baltic cruise. It is such an exotic place for Americans, and has an incredible history. This was definitely the longest day during our cruise. We were up and on the bus early in the morning, and didn't return to our boat until almost 11 PM. I am so glad we got the full day. Disney did an amazing job of showing us as much of the city as possible. The weather wasn't great, but I think it's almost kind of fitting to have depressing weather in Russia. We started our day at Peterhof Palace, which was already swarming. We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside, and we had to wear protective booties on our feet. The inside rooms were incredible, and I wish I had pictures, but not taking any allowed me to really soak in the beauty of everything! 

Peterhof Palace fountains showing off. 

I am glad I wore a sweater, down jacket, rain jacket, AND scarf. It was chilly and wet!

Next, we set off to see the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. This is the iconic St. Petersburg image that comes to mind for a lot of people. I was so excited to see it! Here is one example why Disney is the best company to travel with- the church was technically closed that day, and no one was allowed inside of it. HOWEVER, Disney made some sort of deal with the church, and our small group was allowed inside. We had the whole thing to ourself! It was one of the most beautiful, overwhelming things I've ever experienced. To be in the cavernous place alone, taking in the mosaics that cover every surface of the walls and ceiling, was incredible. I wanted to soak in every moment!! Can you believe those mosaics? 

Some background information about the church: it was built on the site where Emperor Alexander II was fatally wounded by political nihilists in March of 1881. The church was built between 1883 and 1907, and funded by the imperial family. It has more than 7500 square meters of mosaics--more than any other church in the world. 

I mean.?!?!

Selfie game too strong.

After some tea/snacks and a very scenic boat ride through the center of the city with traditional Russian folk music, it was time for our last stop of the day. The Hermitage Museum!!
This place is INSANE. First of all, it has the largest collection of paintings in the world. NBD. The main building is the Winter Palace, which used to be a residence of the imperial family in, you guessed it, the winter! Peterhof was their summer home, duh. So the Hermitage was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great. What a woman. Nowadays, the Hermitage has everything from ancient Egyptian art to DaVincis and everything in between. One of the coolest things about the museum is the fact that every room is more ornate and grand than the one before. In addition to appreciating the art, the museum itself is a work of art!! Also, if you are planning a trip to St. Petersburg, I would recommend going to the Hermitage a few hours before closing on a weekday. We pretty much had the whole thing to ourselves which was so nice. We were free to wander and linger and in a museum of this scale, it makes a difference!! I took way too many pictures here, which I will insert now. 

Our tour guides said they've never seen it so empty!