Throwback Thursday: the beauty of Helsinki.

During the last December, I went to Tallinn and Helsinki with my boyfriend. 

We spent three days in Tallinn and six days in Helsinki. It was an amazing trip and I fell in love (even more than before) with the Northern European countries! 

We arrived in Helsinki by ship and then we went to the apartment we had rented (I have to admit that we had some problems to get there..!). I immediately thought that it was my place! The atmosphere that reigned there inebriated me, it is inexplicable by words. 

We visited lots of places, and there are some in particular which captured my heart. 

Senate Square and its surroundings, where you could breathe the classic "nordic air", the place where during the Christmas period the typical market takes place, with a wonderful, great fir in the middle of the square, at the foot of the stairway leading to the Cathedral. Unfortunately, in that period the Christmas market wasn't set up yet.

Another beautiful site to visit is the sea fortress on Suomenlinna Island, which can be reached by ferry from Helsinki Market Square. The fortress was founded in 1748 and in 1991 it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to be preserved for future generations as an example of the European military architecture of its time. Six museums are located there, but we visited only the Suomenlinna Museum and then we had a walk around the island. The view was wonderful and there were also very nice households on the island. 

Korkeasaari is the Zoo, placed on one of the islands connected to the city. It was established in 1889 and so it is one of the oldest zoos in the world! It is very well made and all the animals have a lot of space for them. There I saw one of my favorite animals, the Snow Leopard, but also the Amur Leopard, the lynx, the lions and lots of other beautiful and interesting species. Sadly, both the Brown Bear and the tiger were not there in that period. Anyway, it was a fantastic experience and I would like to visit it again, maybe in summer (the air was frosty!). 

Of course, as I love fashion and shopping, it was impossible for me not to lose my mind in Alexanterinkatu, the incredible shopping street of Helsinki! In fact, I bought a couple of things...

Oh, I forgot to say that in Senate Square there is also the Martiini Knives shop, where typical Finnish knives are sold (I bought one for my dad, but honestly if I could I would have taken away the whole store!) and it is an obligatory stop if you like knives (as I do). 

Other places that we visited are the National Museum, Uspenski Cathedral, Hesperian Puisto, Hietalahti Market, the Military Museum, the Helsinki City Museum and the Market Square. 

If you are going to Helsinki, I strongly recommend you to buy the Helsinki Card. We did it and it is very useful, as it allows you to use the public transport free, it gives you discounts or free access to many museums and it enables you to get reduced prices if you buy in certain shops and in some restaurants. 

Be Nordic event. A day in Milan.

Today I went to Milan with my boyfriend to see the Be Nordic event. It took place in the bautiful Giureconsulti Palace. It was organized by the major travel agencies of the Scandinavian countries, to give advice about travelling in the "great North" and to show some aspects of the nordic culture, from the food to the languages. Well, I have to admit that my expectations were higher. It was a kind of "stand" with some hostesses who were available to provide information about the 4 Scandinavian countries. There were some desks with small samples of nordic drinks and biscuits and a "children corner" on the outside while, on the inside, there was Santa Claus who was willing to take photos, and some videos of the Aurora Borealis and other nordic landscapes were projected on the wall. 

I took a lot of brochures about Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, and they are very well made.

Here are some photos of the event. 

After having been to Be Nordic, Lorenzo and I went for a walk in the center of Milan. It's a nice city, but it's too chaotic for me! I couldn't ever live there! 

I had already been there, but today I realized that I had never seen the Sforza Castle. That's huge! Beautiful, and Sempione Park, next to the castle, is very nice. 

And this, as you may know, is the famous "Duomo" of Milan...

...and these are me and Lorenzo, with the "Duomo" behind us. 

It was a nice day, and obviously I bought something :) A pair of beautiful high-heeled shoes, that you're seeing in a couple of weeks in the photos of my sister's confirmation.