Mendoza Moments

The public holiday of August 15th offered us a great excuse to do a couple's mini trip to Mendoza. Most of you might remember that the last time we were visiting Mendoza was nearly two years ago.









The flight over the Andes takes less than an hour. Just enough time to admire the beautiful mountains and to play a bit with the camera!

Mendoza is a place where it's always nice to return to. Cute, outdoorsy and somehow sleepy in comparison to Santiago. Which of course gives us a welcome change. Food, shopping, weather, action - all is great in Argentina!

So the first thing we did after arriving in Argentina, was to get a good lunch with some delicious Malbec.

With full bellies we headed to Sarmiento, the main pedestrian area in the centre of Mendoza.

Me at my favourite pastime, window shopping. Okay, second favourite, after actual shopping! ;)

Some Mendoza art made by Lukas.

Next to the fantastic wines and steaks, Argentina is famous for different leather products.





In the evening it was time to chill and listen to some local live band that was playing in the Parque Independencia.







On Saturday, while the girls headed to the Mendoza Plaza Shopping Mall, the guys thought shopping doesn't give enough adrenaline kick. (Obviously, they haven't been bargain shopping ever...) Instead, they booked a little adventure trip over Mendoza.











On Sunday we went exploring the calm city's gigantic park, Parque San Martín.

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Lo que cambió ayer
tendrá que cambiar mañana
así como cambio yo
es esta tierra lejana.
Cambia, todo cambia.
Mercedes Sosa

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Jolly July

I know, naughty me - the posting pause happened by accident, I swear! But I have an excuse: July literally flew by as I spend the month country hopping between Austria and Finland.
However, the holidays were fabulous, and I'd like to prove it to you by showing you some of these images - the best moments of the vacation in Austria, s'il vous plaît!

The holidays consisted of...

Lovely trips in a great company to Feldkirch...

And to Dornbirn...

And to Lindau in Germany...

Nature's wonderous miracles...

The Birthday.

The venue in the garden.

The Maruler Festival Week in the beginning of July included my birthday, among others. My dream for the birthday was to have an Italian style garden party with an Alpine view. I invited just my closest friends, to whom I offered wine, beer and barbecued treats with a Finnish-Austrian touch.

Andi the Chef.

Later that evening, it was time to unwrap the prezzies. And boy, where they amazing! ;)

Without everybody's help I couldn't have organised such a great party. I would like to thank you all who were there to make this possible and to share this special day with me! It means the world to me.

Here some impressions from the helicopter flight, which was one of my gifts.

Thank you, my co-pilots!

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It's never too late to be who you might have been.
George Eliot

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Birch, Dandelions and Brownies

Summer is beautiful in Finland - it's light all day long which gives people energy, everyone's on a good mood and enjoying life. In summer you can smell dandelions and marvel at the colours of the nature.

My home town church tower.

Occasionally a good way to spend an evening is to bake. And since brownies are one of my favourite desserts, I thought it's about time to learn to bake them myself.

The region is filled with more events than my schedule allows me to visit. Hard work requires hard play time, too.

Cloudberry is blooming at a swamp.

Birch always reminds me of Finnish summer and gives me a cosy feeling.

Finnish knowhow and skills at its best. Who would still know how to make something like this?

Kaunislehto is nowadays a museum but represents a typical house from my region built in 1900s.

Twist In The Wrist

The hottest, the reddest, the coolest and the meanest vehicle of the summer is the scooter!

The stylish speedster is a must for every classy girl. It takes me to work and down town, just the way I like it. And even if it is a sportier version of the cool retro classic Vespa, it has the old touch to it!

For a moment I can imagine being in an old Italian town, scarf flapping in the back, the flies hitting the visor and my smile reaching upto my ears.

Until... Those teenage boys pass me and my scooter with their mopeds at the red lights! But then again, it's so much fun I don't even care about the ignorant kids.
Twist in the wrist says bye bye kids!