Helsinki...not HelSTINKY

Hi Again!
Since we can't load pictures and the words aren't as good without the photos we thought we would skip ahead and tell you guys about our favorite port of our trip so far- Helsinki, Finland.   Our very special guest blogger today is none other than da da da dah...Mr. Chris Nealon!   We should start out by saying that our expectations going into Helsinki weren't that high given its reputation for being freezing cold (it is sunny aproximately 9 days out of the year) and being primarily known for it's vast timber forests and wildlife.  Considering I am scared of the dark and animals this wasn't what I thought was going to be the higlight of the trip.  But it was!!  We emerged from the ship bright and early (Chris would like me to emphasize EARLY) to a bright blue sky and warm breezes.  We were able to walk along the sea to the Market Square (they call it kauppatori)- (Finnish people drink the most coffee of anyone in the world- approximately 8-9 cups per day!), so we had to catch up (with alas not a starbucks in sight).  We had a latte and a cinnamon bun, quick stop at the tourist info booth where they fell all over themselves to help us and we were off.  We visited Senate Square,  Helsinki Cathedral, and the Uspeski Cathedral.  The best part by far was that we got to take a ferry across to the "fortress island of Finland" called Suomenlinna.  It was beautiful with plenty of scenic views of the harbor, cool canons scattered throughout, and awesome walking paths across the entire island.  And walk we did.  Chris loves interesting facts (much like Aunt Barbara) and our interesting fact for the day is that Finland is not in fact part of Scandanavia because unlike Denmark, Sweden, and Norway it is in no way connected to the Scandanavian peninsula.  Try telling a Finn that they live in Scandanavia and watch out for a punch in the nose:)  We will upload pics as soon as we can and are very jealous that we will be missing Erin, Noah, and I heard potentially Zach's week long trip to Long Island!  We will miss you guys and I will see you in Palm Beach!  We are off to Stockholm tomorrow and then on to Copenhagen and the fjords of Norway- stay tuned and LOVE times a million!