the beautiful Québec city

a road trip from Montreal to Québec city with my cousins was just what my summer needed!  the beautiful buildings, the crepes, the wall, everything was wonderful and, of course, absolutely beautiful.

Shetlands in Södermanland

i scream for ice cream

awfully cliché sayings

but hey, ice cream sandwiches?

 

 

chocolate chunk cookies, because the grocery store in rural Sweden unfortunately does not carry choco chips :)

 

 

xoxo

uppsala, the oldest university city in scandinavia

this beautiful city- just north of Stockholm- hosts the oldest university in Northern Europe, founded by Linneaus (the founder of the study of plants, or botany) in the fifteenth century. the entire city is green and pompous, and although summer swings a kind of silence through the student-less streets, it is very much alive. like all Scandinavian cities, Uppsala is very much in tune with the forests and lakes that engulf it, and although a throbbing European metropolis, is seamlessly embedded into the greenery. my dad showed us his old dorm rooms and classrooms, and the university seemed to spread throughout the city. every block confirmed it: this is a university town. something hard to guess from the extensive architecture and posh boutiques... yet somehow so true with the pulsing vibe of the city. my dad told me about the different greek-life-like systems and traditions the school upholds. for example, due to the large Swedish attendance, each student belongs to the name of the municipality (technically not, but due to lack of English vocabulary, that'll have to do) they grew up in. each municipality has their own large building, scattered through the city, many lining the most popular street bordering the river.

more Scandinavian adventures coming soooooooon

 

xoxo

lex

the other side of the world

so, i have just come back from a two week long trip to china!  i am exhausted.  we started off in beijing, then to shanghai, suzhou, hangzhou, and finally shanghai again.  the experience was amazing, and the highlights of the trip were walking through the little markets ad the hutongs, which are disappearing as big cities develop.  i am glad to have had the chance to see the original china.  another highlight was walking through the tea fields in hangzhou and breathing in the fresh air as the sprinkle of rain came down on us.  all and all, the temples and the great wall and forbidden city were nice, but the little things were best.      -mazz

breakfast for the 4th

so the blue didn't quite make the cut because somehow the blueberries disapparated from the shopping list & therefore out of our minds...

it's my first Fourth in the US, I've been abroad each and every single one before this!

so, yes, Happy US from the Swede

<3

parlez vous français?

greetings from new Orleans...

although I travelled here for volleyball JO's (5th place!) it's been a wonderfully cultural week

filled with:

beignets

frozen coffee

jazz

Mississippi river cruises

walks around the French quarter

the creole cuisine

seafood

humid weather

macarons

street performers

voodoo

museums

the French market

cafés

&

un millier d'autres choses

 

xoxo, alex

 

big sur

Mazz and I just spent 5 days in the most beautiful place on earth: Big Sur. It was so so amazing and beautiful and perfect.

We drove up here with my family lugging a huge amount of stuff, and camped in an amazing campground overlooking the ocean. We watched the sun set every night and went hiking and exploring every day. 

Such a magical trip and place. 

love,

Grace