Because That's What Forever Means.

Wow, it's been a few intense couple of days! Sorry I haven't updated you...

I knew London was magical and I was proved right on Sunday evening, walking through Kensington Gardens on our way to dinner! Anders led me in on a more secluded path and then he dropped down on  one knee and presented a beautiful ring with a magical question! When I regained normal breathing I think I got "I do" out and after some serious re-makeup we got a very good picture to remember it by! But I'm not worried that this memory ever will fade even the slightest, it was the most wonderful moment in my life!

I love you! 

Para Siempre

It's In Our Nature...

For breakfast today, we headed towards Marble Arch and Prêt à Manger, which a colleague of mine had recommended, and we bought: tea, orangejuice, sandwiches, a bowl of fruit and croissants--YUMMY! We then ate it in Hyde Park and I don't know why, but to me food always tastes better outdoors...

Yum!

After that we took a nice walk (and another cup of tea) through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens to get to our goal: Museum of Natural History! The funny thing is that right now they have a special exhibition called "Animals Inside Out", which is the "sequel" to "Body World" that Anders went to in Berlin last summer. It's about plastination, which is an advanced method of draining a body of all fluids and filling it up with a sort of silicone to show veins, arteries, muscles and everything else inside our body. It was a little freaky, but also extremely interesting! Though I really feel that the human exhibition had not been for me... Unfortunately,  photographing was prohibited, but we bought the book, so you'll get to see some of it...

The Book about the exhibition...

This is what the horse's head looks like when you fill up all it's veins with red silicone...

The elephant took 3 years to plastinate!!!

I'll tell you more about the man behind this, Gunther von Hagens, another day. Until then, you can read more about plastination at their website Body World of Animals.

We also saw lots of other animals and dinosaurs and I think it's a truly amazing place, luckily for me--Anders felt the same way! He even took longer in some of the stands than I did, a new experience... =)

Me, outside the museum of museums!

Anders! <3

Us outside Royal Albert Hall... <3

Mr. T...

After that, we went back to the hotel for an hours rest, then headed in to Oxford Street and ate Indian at  The Curry Leaf, which you can read more about in tomorrow's P & P's Gastroguide (too tired to write about the food right now).

We ended our evening with tea and a long walk through Hyde Park, a place I'm madly in love with!

Now some sleep, before another amazing breakfast in Hyde Park and a day at... London Zoo!!!

Cheers!

Where Do I Find...

...a really good teddy-bear? See, I collect them and last time I was here, I found the most gorgeous thing at Harrod's and now I need to find a new one. I found a shop online called www.buildyourownbear.co.uk and they seem to have some shops, but does anyone know of any other places to look?

Morning Jog/Walk in Kensington!

Gooooood morning! I just got in from the most wonderful morning jog/walk in Kensington Gardens and the pale spring-sun! I'm in love with this place and I know it's silly, but here even the birds are fun to watch and I'm NOT big on winged creatures at home... =D I could stay here forever and after checking FB and the pictures my friends have uploaded--I sure don't wanna go home right now! Don't get me wrong--I love snow, but not in April!

Now I've woken the sleepyhead up, just a quick shower and then off for breakfast at Prêt à Manger and then: British Museum of Natural History!!! Woop woop!!!

My First Musical...

I'm in love! Well, you've probably suspected that before since I write quite a lot about Anders... But I'm also in love with: musicals! I've suspected it for long, but after tonight I know it for sure.

Though I must say, I think, that it's probably even better if you haven't seen the movie first... I have--and I LOVE it and especially the cast. Meryl Streep is such an amazingly versatile actress and I think that this is one of her best roles ever.Also I love Stellan and Bill Andersson has been changes to Bill Something from Croydon, which bothered me a bit. My overall impression of the male-characters is that they pale in comparison to Stellan, Colin Firth & Pierce Brosnan, though they are actors and maybe not as skilled singers...
And I didn't much care for the scene with Sophie's nightmare, but other than that--amazing!
Sky's friends were hilarious, as was Tanya. The women who played as Donna & Sophie were extraordinary singers!
We didn't have good seats at all, but that didn't bother at all, we missed out on nothing.
Pretty cool that ABBA's music has hit so big and that the show still sells out full houses! For me it's a memory for life and next time I hope to visit Broadway.
I have more things to discuss concerning the beauty/weight issue, but it'll have to wait...
Now we'll catch a few hours of sleep before tomorrow's breakfast hunt and a day spent at museums. First out: British Museum of National History and since that might take a few hours, I'll get back to you on the next point in out itinerary...
Went to Starbuck's at West End and got the wrong order, I did think that it was the most disgusting cafe mocha I've ever had... =D

Anders is already snoring, so I better hit the pillow as well!

Arrived in Our Paradise!

So, we're finally here and enjoying ourselves crazily! All day we've both come to the conclusion that we really want to live here, I've always felt more at home in England and Anders loves it here too--so maybe we'll go L'Angleterra for real one day...
Well, after having lunch under a tree and a nice hot cup of tea in Kensington Gardens, we've chilled in our room--but now it's time to get stylish and go to West End for my first musical: Msma Mia!

See ya!

Terminal 5...

And... We're here! Arlanda International Airport, terminal 5! Time for breakfast, though Starbuck's will have to wait... =( Well prepared after Taxfree, don't you think?!? =D

The Soundtrack of Packing...

In the middle of all the packing and for those of you who know me--you can see the chaos... =) But ms. Doolittle makes it a lot more fun!

Pack Up!

Ohhh, it's getting closer! The flight leaves in "just" 22 hours, I'm so psyched! This trip may only be 4 days and "only" to London, but it's our first trip together and it's LONDON--the most magical place I know of...

So, first things first and I'm making a list of things I'm packing--I have a slight tendency to bring too much... =D

•Pillow - I don't travel anywhere without my own pillow!
•Toilet bag - I'm a woman and that says it all, right? =D
•Black high-boots
•Bioride walking-shoes - for comfortable hours around town
•The Little Black One - thought I'd really dress up for dinner...
•Fancy black tights to go with the dress -must buy ASAP!
•Black jeans
•Dark blue jeans
•Lots of nice tops
•Books - Harry Potter book 1 & 2 (since we're not having out book-buying-binge until Monday...)
•Guidebook
•Sunglasses
•Jacket
•Umbrellas
•Camera - might need to check battery and memory-card...
•Phonecharger & adapter
•The Mac?... - really can't decide!
•Training clothes
•Runningshoes
•Sports-bras and Fancy
•Socks & undies

Have I missed anything essential?!?

Good Cop, Bad Cop...

Ran into some trouble when I was getting my passport. I don't really know where the old one is, haven't really seen it since I moved and I know that's bad. I get it, you're supposed to keep it locked up in something similar to vault 713 at Gringott's Wizarding Bank in Harry Potter, but let's face it: things go missing and it can't be the end of the world. As Anders said: "So if your passport gets lost, you're never again allowed to travel?".
So, I gave my story to the guy behind the counter and he was very understanding and said that things like that happen, no biggie. He said I'd just have to file a rapport, by phone (11414), that I've lost it and then they'd block the old one from usage and that I had to do that before I collected my new one. Simple enough!
So I called as soon as I got out to my car and had no idea what I was about to get myself in to. The officer that answered was extremely unfriendly and would not at all help me with my problem and when I said hat his colleague had said, he just told me that was not the way they worked. He was down right unpleasant  to talk to! I hung up, because it was like talking to a wall and my eyes were starting to water up--since I cry for absolutely nothing! I sat as in chock for a few minutes, before I got out of the car and walked back in to the police-station, took a new ticket and waited. I got to talk to a very nice and helpful man next to the guy that made my passport and since tears were streaming down my cheeks, he got very upset at his colleague that I had spoken to on the phone. He filed a rapport and said that in a few days I was welcome to collect my new passport and the old one would be history!
I can't believe that people with "the phone-guy"'s attitude get to work in a police-station. I mean, my situation wasn't so severe, but imagine having been through something really tough and have to fight an idiot like that!
That's why I'd like to become a cop, to do good, to make a difference, not to exercise power over other people.

ASPCA Houston

These are my absolute favorite policemen! They work at the ASCPA in Houston and they do a fantastic job helping all kinds of animals in all kinds of situations. Jim Boller (down, left corner) is a huge idol of mine and my dream is to work in such a unit one day. 

Wayne Unser, chief of Police in Charming (Sons of Anarchy)

This here is another favorite! But he might be working a bit much on the wrong side of the law, with the best intentions, but still... His love for Gemma is endearing and when he gets Dpt. Hale to really uphold the law when he favors the Sons, he's kind of cute anyways!

Hopefully all goes well and I should have my new passport in no more than a week!

Pass It Around!

Oh, just realized it's that horrible time of life... Time to get a new passport! =( Sad really, I am so pleased with the one I've got, the picture is actually good. But since I've added a surname since it was issued and since we ran in to some serious trouble on our way to Mexico back in December 2010, maybe it's better to get it fixed?...
I have to tell you about that incident, because it still bugs me! We were going to Playa del Carmen in Mexico and were to fly from Arlanda early morning--hence we were there earlier morning and all in good time. When we were supposed to check-in they told us it had to be done in certain machines, so we walked up to one of those, only to realize that I had spelled daddy's surname as I spell it: Bååth, but in his passport it said: Båth. This meant that the machine went bonkers and wouldn't except his ticket, so we had to do it manually at the check-in desk anyways... Daddy's ticket and passport was a no-brainer for the guy behind the counter, but when he examined MY passport he found a small tear on the first page's seam and refused to let it through. All of a sudden we were short of time, we had to go to the police-office on the other side of Arlanda, took a taxi, stood in line, got a new temporary passport (pink at that!!!) and payed almost 1000 SEK (£95/$148) and hurried back to the plane. The rest of them had already boarded and we RAN on to the plane with like 5 minutes to spare! I've got some news for you: that's NOT a good way to start a vacation!!!
The thing that irritates me is that the guy at the check-in said: "They will NEVER let you in to Mexico with a passport like this, it's too torn," and then when we arrived at customs in Cancún--they didn't even want to look at my NEW, shiny, pink passport! They wanted the old, TORN one!!! Gaaah!

So, this time I'll do it properly: the right names and no tears in the seam. But getting ready for that picture is gonna take some time, I'll have to live with it for 10 years... So I've just applied a facial-mask and I'm gonna fix my eyebrows, I'm seriously considering using the hair colour I bought how last week and dye my hair myself... Need to get the make-up right, we all know the light in those places should be classified as a means of torture...
Well, I'll share the result with you when the passport arrives! Until then:

Will it pass, do you think?... =)

Walking In London!

Since booking our trip, we've realized that we need to update our wardrobe before we go! Most of our clothes are made for the Swedish winter and not British spring and today we got started with footwear... Anders seems to favor Adidas when it comes to shoes and fell for a white/marine Beckenbauer-model:

I, on the other hand, fell for a quite discreet pair of Puma toningshoes, Bioride:

I hope they'll take us around London as on air, sore feet can really ruin any holiday! 

What's your best way of making hours of shopping and sightseeing when abroad?

Countdown to the Weekend!

It's Thursday and only 8,5 hours left at work! Hooray! I don't think I've looked forward to a weekend this much in months!!! Just me & Anders, no fixed plans, just days together to enjoy. The loose plans are: long breakfasts over DN, long walks with the dogs, a visit to the SciFi Book Shop in Gamla Stan, movies & games, love & laughter...
We kickstart it tomorrow 2 pm with swimming 1 K. Need to start taking pictures again, much too few since we got together in October... We'll also nail down our plans for London (less than a month left, yey!!!)and book the necessary tickets. Ahh, can you feel my happiness now? Are things finally falling into place?...

Tell me about your plans for the weekend!

London, Baby, London!

It's getting closer now! In about a month, we're going on our first trip together ever and of course we'll be going to our favorite city in the world: London! I'm so looking forward to it, it'll be wonderful and now we're starting to plan it. That is almost my favorite part: the anticipations, the plans, making itineraries and looking at sites and pictures.

I've made a list of what I wish to do/see and since Anders isn't as... shall we say energetic? I guess I'm the one making the plans and he gets to tag along on my awesome London adventure! ; )
So here's my first draft:

British Museum of Natural History, most beautiful building I've ever seen!

Dino greets you inside the doors, lovely!

Big Ben--I love you!

Never Been, hope it's better than Mexico's...

Froggy!

Love it!

My first musical--lovely!!!

The Great Fire of London...

The problem is that I think it'll be too much, so I'll have to narrow it down a little bit. Someday we'll have to spend at least two weeks there, so as to see everything. The dream is to move back to England and to live in the countryside, I do love it there!!! 

If you have any good ideas, please share!