Moi!
It suddenly hit me that I never posted my travel diary from my visit to Finland & Paris last year with my family, it must seem like we never went! I took what feels like a million photos, and sorting through them all seemed so daunting and time consuming. Now as I have a few spare moments it is the perfect time to get on top of posts like this. It has brought a wave of nostalgia for the freezing but unforgettable trip I was able to share with my family.
We visited Finland because it sounded like a place that only existed in the minds of little children and of course home to Santa Claus. Good Ole' legendary Saint Nicholas. The trip then ended in Paris (my favourite city in the whole wide world), also known as the city of lights. Not only is this city filled with numerous iconic landmarks among its many attractions, along with world-famous institutions and popular parks, but the people genuinely go out of their way to make sure you enjoy every moment.
Sights and experiences -
Rovaniemi was without a doubt my favourite part of Finland. My family completely lagged behind the rest of the group to take photos, which quickly became a trend throughout the rest of the tour. Here we went to a reindeer farm to take a ride on a reindeer sleigh amongst woodlands and then afterwards try some amazing reindeer meat with lingonberry tea for the drink. We also got the chance to go on a husky dog sleigh through the mountainside while we were there. One night, our tour guide took us to ride snow mobiles across a completely frozen lake and into the heart of the forest to catch a glimpse of the northern lights. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the infamous northern lights, but the experience is something I will never forget.
Before heading back to Helsinki, we visited the Santa Claus Village where we slid down a slide made out of snow inside an igloo and experience a show of traditional Finland musical performance and story telling. At the Santa Clause Village we crossed the equator line and to conclude our trip we took a family portrait with Santa himself.
Helsinki is the vibrant heart of Finland full of shopping boutiques (which were all closed over Christmas and New Years), cafes, restaurants, and bars by night. We only spent a few days here as there weren't many sights or activities in the area. Shooting photos and stories is one way to communicate to our readers, but there is no way to truly share experiences unless first hand. Video is potentially the closest thing to that. This video diary was shot by me, my sister or weirded out strangers on my SLR or iPhone (Click here to watch!).
Photos by myself and Kezia Dhikayana
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