Sunday, September 12, 2010

Some things are the same, some are not

This weekend was all about driving, shopping (see previous post, we "Said Yes to Boston!"), and unpacking.  Yesterday was my first turn at the wheel since we got the Murano just over a week ago.  Mike has been driving to work each day, but I hadn't yet ventured out.  Yesterday was the day.  We had to start with getting a fill up of gas.  Luckily, we live across the street from a gas station.  We rolled in and filled it up (the gas light was on, so we knew we'd need a FULL tank).  To fill up the Murano (about 18 gallons) we spent 97.49 Euros, which is $123.58 cents.  Are you kidding me???  I could fill up almost 3 times in Stamford for that amount of money!  Mike suggested today that maybe we go for a drive next weekend.  No way, we can't afford it!

Our outing took us to Espoo, a Helsinki suburb and Ikea.  Ikea is pronounced differently than in the US.  The Finns say it like this:  Ick-yuh.  Other than that, exactly the same as home.  Forced path through the store, almost the same food in the cafeteria, and you still can't pronounce the product names!  It's comforting going somewhere that is just the same.  Sticking to that theme, because the line was so long in the cafeteria, we decided to have lunch at the McDonald's across the street.  Mike likes to try McDonald's in different countries just to see how much the same/different they are.  The menu here was pretty much the same, but the number of flies was far greater.  This was not the cleanest McDonald's I have ever been to, to say the least, and I won't be returning.  Ronald would not have been proud.  We then went to the local electronics store called Giganti.  It's like a Best Buy on a much smaller scale.  This was our second trip in a week and we picked up a few necessities.  Like when we are at home, we can always find something to buy in an electronics store.

 Ikea in Espoo, Finland.  It was a very rainy day.

We finished up Saturday evening watching the History channel and some of the documentaries about 9/11.  I bet this is similar to the way some of you also spent time on Saturday.  Hard to believe it has been 9 years.

Today, we got most of our unpacking complete.  Our living room and dining room look very similar to how they did in Stamford.  We have our many of our favorite things and it really feels like home in those rooms.  In addition, we have 3 very small bedrooms with very small closets and they aren't completely unpacked, yet. 

A little info about our apartment set-up (pictures to come soon).  One bedroom will be used as a sitting room and Mike will have full use of that closet.  We have an American TV and DVD player in there (more about that in a future post) and the couch folds out into a bed (visitors welcome!).  The second bedroom, though the smallest, is our master bedroom.  We have a queen size bed with two nightstands.  I purchased this bed set for my Stamford condo and we used it in our guest room at home.  The room is so small, the matching dresser does not fit and is being used as a TV stand in the sitting room.  We are not talking large furniture here, people.  I have full use of this closet (please note, it is smaller than Mike's!).  The third bedroom is going to be an office/baby room.  Right now, we have a desk, chair, and cabinet.  We're going to need to add the baby gear and not sure how we're going to do it.  We have some time to figure it out . . .  I see some Marimekko fabric in here and am really looking forward to decorating it! 

Unpacking the office and all of our clothes is an overwhelming task, at this point.  We both brought too many clothes.  We even donated lots to Goodwill before leaving, but we still have too much stuff.  Luckily, we have a storage area in the basement of the building and can put lots of things in there.  In a bit of irony, we don't have anywhere near the closet space we need for clothes, but I have empty kitchen cabinets with everything in there already unpacked.  Don't be surprised if you come for a visit, go looking for a plate or glass, and find a sweater!

We finished the day with our shopping trip at Stockmann taking advantage of all the "Say Yes to Boston" goodies.  It was fun to stock up, and I know we'll definitely be glad to have some of those treats during winter.  We'll have to work on a ration plan!     

2 comments:

  1. I too enjoy going to McD's in different countries. In Japan, they had all of these terriyaki choices and here in England there are a lot more healthy choices. Although still no salads:(

    Glad that the driving went well! I was scared to death to drive here but have settled in enough that it doesn't bother me.

    And woohoo with the packing! That'll help curb the homesickness. Can't wait for pictures!

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  2. Brave souls you are with MickeyD's! The flies totally squicked me out! I can barely eat anywhere outside of LA County....love the letter grades!

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