Swinglish at Llamas

September 13 marks day 6 of my travels (91 to go) and it will be tough to top this posting title. A slowly unfolding day finished with a 6 person dance party that lasted well into the early morning hours, but I’m getting ahead of myself.  Monday was going to be my attempt at doing something to add a little culture to my life. I met with one of my sister’s former exchange students and he gave me advice on what attractions to see during my time in Helsinki. I settled on spending my afternoon at the Ateneum to see an exhibit of Finnish masters (not named Teemu Selanne or Jari Kurri). I was actually looking forward to seeing the works, but unfortunately when I got there the doors were locked and it was closed for renovations on Mondays. Not having a plan B I started to wonder around the main square and got caught in a major league down pour. The rest of the afternoon was spent wondering in the rain and then drying out back at my hostel while I cooked myself a late lunch. Side Note: I have cooked more meals for myself in the past 4 days than I did the entire month of August back home. After catching up on my hockey pools and other sporting news back home I ventured out to meet up with the Calgarian ladies and their Finnish host, Antti¸ for his birthday dinner. My illiteracy came into play once again as I walked past the restaurant several times confused that I could not find a place called Kolme Kruunua, only a large green neon sign that read Ravintola. Ravintola was not the name of the restaurant; it was in fact the word restaurant itself. Antti ordered me a traditional Finnish meal of reindeer and mashed potatoes. I apologize if Santa is a little slow this year because Rudolph is no longer with us and it’s partly my fault. Michelle also ordered reindeer. Our dinner was relaxing and enjoyable but after a bottle of wine or two the girls were hoping to get their dance on. Antti left us to get some rest because his alarm would be going off at 6am so that he could make it to hockey practice. I considered trying to find gear and join him, but then I remembered how much 6am sucks and joined the ladies for another night on the town. We spent the majority of the time at bar called Llamas that featured rope swings instead of bar stools. Our love affair with Fisu was taken to another level as many rounds were purchased. We did learn that Fisu varies greatly from bar to bar and this version was a closer relative to the syrup family than our previous encounter with the beverage. We quickly made friends with the two swinging neighbours to the left of us, Toni and Ville. Toni broke the ice by asking us if we spoke “swinglish” and it was an instant friendship. Toni bought us a round of what he described as “his only weakness” which was called Salitos. A Salitos is similar to a Desperado and is a bottle of beer flavored with tequila and served with a lime. The lights came on at Llamas and we parted ways with Toni and Ville, but it was not the curtain call on our evening. Michelle and Natasha had not yet had their shot at a dance floor. Three locals pointed us in the direction of a bar called Lost and Found that was open until 4am and had the dance floor we were looking for. The locals and us Canadians were the only ones in the bar and we definitely made the best of it. Another successful night was once again capped off at Big Momma’s pizza. Tonight is my final evening in Helsinki before I move on to Estonia. What will tonight hold? I hope its not more Fisu!!