Author Archives: Alexandra

Vatican City

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Last night we had a little bit of a freakout, we hadn’t booked any tours before coming here, so we looked into it last night. Our plan was to go to the Vatican today, Colosseum on Friday, and Pompeii on either Saturday or Sunday. We have one of those three things figured out. We booked a tour to both Vatican City and Colosseum, but today we found out the Colosseum tour was already full so we had to book it for another day. I think we knew that it would be full-booked, but we still didn’t book anything in advance. So I encourage you all planning to go to Rome, book everything in advance, at least Colosseum! We have rebooked the Colosseum tour for Saturday morning, I just hope that one is not full as well. Otherwise the only option I know of is early on Tuesday morning, on the day we are leaving. Let’s cross our fingers for Saturday!

Anyway, we booked through the official website of the Vatican Museums and picked a tour of the museums, the Sistine Chapel, and the St. Peter’s Basilica. It was interesting, the tour guide had been in the Vatican for 50 years or something, as a guard and something else. Pretty cool. He knew a lot. What was not so fun about it was that we were not alone. There were approximately 1,340,292 other people there. It was hard to see anything, you could hardly see the floor you were walking on! Too many people. I also wish we could have stayed a little bit longer in the Sistine Chapel to watch the paintings a little bit longer. So many details everywhere! St. Peter’s Basilica was really cool! Church architecture is, but I am kinda bummed that I don’t remember too much from the World Architecture class I took at Cal Poly 2.5 years ago. Probably a third of that course was about ancient Rome. I feel kinda lost here in general and don’t know much about the pretty old buildings I take lots of pictures on. And honestly, I am too tired to try and do any research on it now afterwards. It is still pretty, and as a fan of architecture, I really enjoy this city.

After the Vatican we were already tired (it was around 12:30pm). We found a cute restaurant called Polese and had pizza there. I had a proscuitto pizza and it was incredible! The crust was the thinnest I have ever seen!

We then walked along to Pantheon which was incredible. I remember the professor talking a lot about it and it felt really cool to be there and see it with my own eyes. But like I said before, I don’t really remember exactly what it was. I think something about it withstanding WWII, but still being damaged from it?

Our next stop was Fontana di Trevi. We found the people before the fountain. Crazy many people there! But the fountain was so pretty! If there weren’t that many people there, I would have loved to sit there with a gelato in the sun, just watching the water.

We walked 19,000 steps today (accumulating to 39,000 in two days) so we took many breaks, right after the fountain we sat down for a Swedish fika with ice cream, coffee, and something sweet.

The last thing we did for the day was trying to find the GAP store so I could buy a new pair of favorite jeans. I bought a pair of True Skinny jeans in San Francisco some years ago but they have been worn so much that I feel that it is time to get a new pair. 600 SEK for a pair of awesome jeans was so cheap! I also bought a pair of more fancy pants for 300 for future situations when my normal style of clothes does not fit the occasion. I wish we had GAP in Sweden.

Then we just walked around, found a square (Piazza del Popolo), saw a staircase up to a house where it looked like a great view (Piazza Napoleone I). We will go back there tomorrow when it is dark to get some real nice photographs. My soles didn’t hurt today, but my calves when we got back, and the top of my feet has been hurting since this afternoon. So much walking! We have decided to take it a bit slow tomorrow, sleep until 10am, plan our day with museums and such, Hard Rock Café in the evening and some photographing in the evening.

Here, enjoy a bunch of pictures from today (only mine, not Jesper’s, I might post some of them when we get back home).

All the roads lead to Rome

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I wouldn’t say that I am out of shape, but I am definitely out of shape when it comes to walking and standing up. It is out of season for Liseberg, so I am not used to this much walking. Today we reached 20,600 steps, crazy amount of steps!

So it wasn’t a bump free ride to go to Rome. Six hours before our flight took off last night, Jesper realized that his passport had expired a month earlier. He paid a huge amount of money to get a provisional passport (it is extremely pink!). The flight was more than half empty, I don’t think I have ever flown with that few people on board. It only took 2.5 hours, I finished Harry Potter and the Deahtly Hallows (amazing ending to the story, the review was not that well-written, I apolgize, I might change it someday when I am not as tired as I am now), slept a little bit and watched a thunderstorm over the Alps somewhere, really cool to see lightning from above the clouds.

Our second bump arose at the airport in Rome at 11pm when our pre-booked taxi driver didn’t show up. There was a miscommunication we learned this morning, they needed a reconfirmation from us that the price would change since our apartment was outside the city limits, but at the end of our confirmation email it also said that they were happy to have confirmed this with us. So we got to the apartment a little bit later than we planned, but it worked out very well anyway. There was a shuttle service at the airport with fixed prices 20 euro per person. Very friendly and helpful people.

The apartment is a little bit outside the city limits and very nice. There are two big balconies. One much bigger than the other one and the “small” one is bigger than most standard balconies in Sweden. Pretty great. Unfortunately, there are only singles bed, and I was afraid of falling down between them during the night.

Today we slept until 10am, went out to the grocery store (crazy store where the aisles wouldn’t fit more than one person, and there were also a ton of easter eggs, we couldn’t resist and bought one, it was basically just a big Kinder Egg, delicious and with a super big Star Wars toy inside) to buy breakfast, then had breakfast in the sun on the balcony. The whole day has been around 20C and a little bit cloudy. Perfect for walking around a big city. We left the apartment at 1pm approx, bought a week pass for the metro and buses and went to the city where our promenade started. We didn’t have any plans for today, just walk around, look at things, and plan for tomorrow, tonight instead. So we walked, and walked, and walked, and took lots of pictures. I actually only took 65. Jesper borrowed his dad’s professional camera and has taken most of the pictures.

I am honestly not sure what we photographed today, there are so many old and special buildings. I might write descriptions other days.

So here comes a bunch of pictures from today.

Ramses crawled inside one of our bags before leaving yesterday.

Review of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by J. K. Rowling

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harry-potter-07-the-deathly-hallows-j-k-rowling-2Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Author: J. K. Rowling
Series: Harry Potter #7
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 784
Published: 2007, Bloomsbury Publishing
My Grade: 5 out of 5 horcruxes

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

It’s no longer safe for Harry at Hogwarts, so he and his best friends, Ron and Hermione, are on the run. Professor Dumbledore has given them clues about what they need to do to defeat the dark wizard, Lord Voldemort, once and for all, but it’s up to them to figure out what these hints and suggestions really mean.

Their cross-country odyssey has them searching desperately for the answers, while evading capture or death at every turn. At the same time, their friendship, fortitude, and sense of right and wrong are tested in ways they never could have imagined.

The ultimate battle between good and evil that closes out this final chapter of the epic series takes place where Harry’s Wizarding life began: at Hogwarts. The satisfying conclusion offers shocking last-minute twists, incredible acts of courage, powerful new forms of magic, and the resolution of many mysteries.

Above all, this intense, cathartic book serves as a clear statement of the message at the heart of the Harry Potter series: that choice matters much more than destiny, and that love will always triumph over death.

MY REVIEW

These past months have come to an end, all the Harry Potter books are read and I feel a little bit empty. Will the next book I take on be as good? Rereading these books was a really good choice and now I kind of feel like rereading other books I truly enjoyed when I was younger, like His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.

I have written before that there were so many things I forgot from the books and was constantly surprised. In the first four books there were small things here and there, but as the story progressed, I remembered fewer and fewer things and when it came to The Deathly Hallows, I remembered probably no more than 5 things. I couldn’t remember why one of the chapters were called The Malfoy Manor for example. I also had no idea what the last three horcruxes where until it was written out in the book. It was like reading it for the first time, being on the edge of the chair or wherever I was sitting, all the time.

Everything is explained so well, and everything makes sense, and as before, Rowling is excellent at making everything coherent. The red thread is present. And The Deathly Hallows is the perfect ending to the story about Harry Potter. I can’t wait for the next time I will reread them. (Do I really have to write out the grade?)

Chip

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In August 2007 we ended up with a friend to Stuff, the extremely charming Chip. Like a chocolate chip because he was so dark brown. I do remember calling him a squirrel/terrorist/vampire/something else which I can’t remember now (maybe teddybear?). His tail was the bushiest I had ever seen, his teeth were big and showing and kind of scary looking sometimes, and he was an energetic kitten and always up to no good. He would always try to scratch my feet under the cover while in bed and I woke up so many times with long scratch marks under my feet. He calmed down though and became this huge, fluffy, tolerant and hugable pillow. He got big, 8kg, but still he was always my small Chip (lilla Chip). I remember we playing fetch when he was young. I remember him sleeping in my bed almost every single night. I remember not being able to play beach volleyball for a week because he gave me scratch marks on my foot sole the size of my entire foot one night. I remember him climbing up on my shoulders from the ground so many mornings because he wanted the ham I put on my sandwhiches. I remember him pulling down my sweatpants every morning for several months after that when he got too big to climb up on me. I remember him being super scared of birds and even insects. I remember mom telling me that he spent every day in my room after I left for San Diego, but after a couple of weeks of me being away, barely set his foot in there. I remember him being my tolerant subject of hugging during a rough breakup. And now I will also remember the candles the veterinarians put in the room where we got to say goodbye to him.

Even though Stuff will always be my first cat, Chip was the unusual cat who was always there. Stuff is a typical cat: “sure, pet me, but only under my conditions!” and she kind of always was her own persona; a cool cat. Chip was the opposite, enjoyed attention and always wanted to be close (not on you, but as close you could get, I guess it got too warm for him with all that fluff), and always stayed if you needed comfort from him. He was so charming, and so clumsy, he talked a lot, and followed you around everywhere. He was the perfect, fluffy, and caring cat!

I can’t believe that I will never lift him up again and compare him to weight-lifting equipment. I can’t believe he will never again come and greet me whenever I visit mom. I can’t believe he is gone…

I try to find comfort in that he was just diagnosed with diabetes and would have to live the rest of his life getting injections twice every day and also regular blood tests. At least he doesn’t have to go through that. And hopefully, wherever he is now, he is cured of all the things that troubled him. I am sure he will charm the pants off of everyone! He literally did that with me on several occasions. I am going to miss him so much!

Min lilla, älskade och underbara Chip! ❤

 

 

Review of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” by J. K. Rowling

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harry-potter-06-the-half-blood-prince-j-k-rowling-2Title: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Author: J. K. Rowling
Series: Harry Potter #6
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 607
Published: 2005, Bloomsbury Publishing
My Grade: 5 out of 5 potions

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

It is the middle of the summer, but there is an unseasonal mist pressing against the windowpanes. Harry Potter is waiting nervously in his bedroom at the Dursleys’ house in Privet Drive for a visit from Professor Dumbledore himself. One of the last times he saw the Headmaster was in a fierce one-to-one duel with Lord Voldemort, and Harry can’t quite believe that Professor Dumbledore will actually appear at the Dursleys’ of all places. Why is the Professor coming to visit him now? What is it that cannot wait until Harry returns to Hogwarts in a few weeks’ time? Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts has already got off to an unusual start, as the worlds of Muggle and magic start to intertwine…

MY REVIEW

The Harry Potter story is getting darker and darker and I definitely felt sad during the last two or three chapters. I knew what was coming, but still, I felt so unprepared for it when it happened and the events following. I am surprised at how little I remember from this book as well, I kept being surprised everywhere, only knowing what would happen in the end. The first four books have very clear separate stories, while the fifth, sixth, and seventh is all one long story and is only in different books because it would be a too big book to hold and read in one go. I think that is why I find it so difficult to tell them apart, mixing the stories together and remember even less than from the first four. It has been like reading the story for the first time, kind of. For example, R. A. B., I can’t remember who it is! I have a vague memory, but it doesn’t match with the initials. So exciting! I almost went to Google to look it up, but I decided that it would be a more fun surprise to read it.

The book is brilliant even though it is very dark, Harry has matured and is not whiny like he was in the fifth book, thank someone for that! There is surprisingly much love in this book, it feels a little misplaced but I guess that is the beauty of love, it happens when least expected. One thing that I thought about while reading (I think this question has popped up during previous books, but I just didn’t remember it) was the spells the Half-Blood Prince came up with. How do you invent a spell? And how can another person use the same set of words, without knowing what they do, but still come up with the same result? Are all spells registered somewhere? And how would Sectumsempra ever be allowed? I would very much like the answer to these questions if anyone knows them.

Even with the minor tears and horribleness at the end, I still enjoy this book very much! Highest grade!

Review of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” by J. K. Rowling

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harry-potter-05-the-order-of-the-phoenix-j-k-rowling-2Title: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Author: J. K. Rowling
Series: Harry Potter #5
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 766
Published: 2003, Bloomsbury Publishing
My Grade: 5 out of 5 prophecies

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

Harry Potter is due to start his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His best friends Ron and Hermione have been very secretive all summer and he is desperate to get back to school and find out what has been going on. However, what Harry discovers is far more devastating than he could ever have expected…

 

MY REVIEW

I have to say, that this is probably the book that I remembered least from. I was surprised everywhere. Maybe because the book is so thick and contains a lot of stories? I also might have put more focus on the other books since this one has a very sad ending. I knew what was going to happen, obviously, but I didn’t feel too sad when reading it, not like when I read the latest Throne of Glass book where I openly cried twice. The ending was written kind of emotionless honestly.

It is a great book which feels like the start to explanations. If I remember correctly, the 6th book is where Dumbledore uses the Pensieve to show Harry a lot of old stuff? Or is it the 7th? Anyway, pieces are starting to fall into place in the Order of the Phoenix.

One thing that actually bothered me was Harry in the beginning of the book, and some in the end. I have heard some friends saying they hate the Harry Potter series so much because Harry is such a crybaby. I couldn’t understand at all what they meant by saying that and up until this book I feel that Harry is very easy to sympathize with, it is easy to understand why he is acting the way he is because the situation he is in is very relatable. But then there is the Order of the Phoenix… In the first part of the book, up until he has spent a little time at Hogwarts, he is a crybaby! It bothered me so much. Why, all of a sudden did he have so much emotions to being mistreated and left out? That’s been pretty much his whole life so far, why now? Is it because he is now 15 and a teenager with a lot of emotions? It put a different edge to the story than the previous ones, but I didn’t like it. He could have continued to be the modest hero he was before and it wouldn’t have been boring, in my opinion.

This crybaby thing (I hope he is not continuing this in the last two books!) is still not big enough to drag the grade down from a 5. Rowling has an incredible imagination and is amazing at writing  and connects all things so well. Even if this book is super thick and full of so much information, everything is connected. It is a delight to read these books!

Review of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” by J. K. Rowling

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harry-potter-04-the-goblet-of-fire-j-k-rowling-2Title: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Author: J. K. Rowling
Series: Harry Potter #4
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 636
Published: 2000, Bloomsbury Publishing
My Grade: 5 out of 5 dragons

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

Harry Potter is midway through both his training as a wizard and his coming of age. Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the International Quidditch Cup with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys. He wants to dream about Cho Chang, his crush (and maybe do more than dream). He wants to find out about the mysterious event that supposed to take place at Hogwarts this year, an event involving two other rival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn’t happened for hundreds of years. He wants to be a normal, fourteen-year-old wizard. But unfortunately for Harry Potter, he’s not normal – even by wizarding standards.
And in his case, different can be deadly.

MY REVIEW

18 hours of reading doesn’t sound like too much. But this was a thick book. It feels like ages ago I read about when the Weasley’s picked up Harry through the fireplace at Privet Drive to bring him to the world cup in Quidditch (a very funny scene in the beginning of the book, which was something I didn’t remember at all from the first time I read it 14 years ago). More than 700 pages means a lot of content, lot of detailed descriptions which were not present in the previous books, at least not in the first two. The Goblet of Fire feels more alive than the previous ones. Although, I can’t really say that lack of descriptions in the Philosopher’s Stone didn’t make me picture everything which happened, it is a livid story and I have also seen the movies many many times, long time ago though. I guess this is a world which just stuck in my head like no other world would.

I am now 25 years old, I was 12 when I read it the first time. I don’t know if I go back to the age of 12 when reading it, or if the story is just so well-written that I still can relate to it. I understand it better as well, Rowling is very good at foreshadowing and small hints instantly makes sense, like for example in the end when Dumbledore asks Snape to do something for him. I got teary-eyed. It does not have to be mentioned, but she is an amazing writer who not only make the story alive, but the characters. She brings out so many emotions while reading, sympathy for Harry because you understand how hard certain situations can be if you had something similar in your own background. But also hate towards Rita Skeeter and Cornelius Fudge for example. I dislike Rita Skeeter as much as the writers for The Daily Punctilio newspaper of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. And that brings forth some feelings towards the media today in our society. I won’t go into it, but Rowling and Snicket’s representations of journalists are very much spot on today!

Some questions arose in my head though while reading. How did Hagrid’s dad manage to get a giant pregnant? How come Harry did not see the horses dragging the Hogwarts carriages at the end of the book when they went to the train to leave school? Or why didn’t he see them before since he faced death as an infant?

There is a reason why the Harry Potter series is a classic after only two decades. Or maybe it is not “only”? Maybe I am just getting old. This story is not old however, it will keep staying alive forever and ever! I can’t wait to read these books to my children in the future, or at least the first ones so that when they are old enough to read by themselves, they will continue to read the books. I love Harry Potter! One of the absolute best book series of all times. Do I even have to write the grade out? (Okey, FIVE, without a doubt!)

Valentine’s Day 2017

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img_20170214_215039Valentine’s Day came and went this year again. My thesis partner was nice and told me to stay home and enjoy it with my boyfriend, so that’s what I did. We had breakfast in town, we bought a bag of red candies and he spent some time with his dad so I could do a little bit of work at home. When he came home he brought me roses. He is so sweet, I love roses, they smell soo good and they are pretty. The cats liked them too so they can’t be on the table unfortunately, but they are pretty high up on the shelf above the TV.

 

The big plan for the evening was dinner at Fiskekrogen, a seafood restaurant in downtown. I am not an expert on restaurants in Gothenburg (more like the opposite since I rarely eat out), but I have got the idea that it is one of the finer restaurants in Gothenburg. The atmosphere was so romantic, the food was delicious and the service amazing. The price accordingly as well. But it was worth it, we had a night of luxury and shellfish buffet. I felt spoiled. We ordered a bottle of sparkling wine which was delicious, Billabong Wines, an australian non-alcoholic. I know what I want the next time I am celebrating something.

When we got home, we ate red candies and watched Deadpool. We saw it in the movies last year. Maybe this is a new tradition? It is a very funny movie, but at the same time very sad.

It was a nice Valentine’s and I am glad I had Jesper to spend it with! ❤

 

Nintendo Switch press release

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Yesterday was a pretty cool day. Jesper’s mom’s husband had called in to a radio program and won two tickets to the press release of the new Nintendo Switch press release. He couldn’t go (I guess?), so we got the tickets and got to see and play on the new console one day before the public. The real pre launch party is today and tomorrow and I have heard that the lines are sick to get in! Perks of being there yesterday, it wasn’t overly packed, everyone got a goodie bag and we all have a chance of winning one Switch. And Jesper and I have a bigger chance to win than most since we are 2 of 20 (the people from the radio contest) who can win, while the other “normal VIP’s” have a much smaller chance to win. Let’s all cross our fingers that we win.

The new console is a very cool little thing. You can pick it apart and play it in several different ways. Either as its own console, without the TV, or you can connect it to the TV and play on the small hand controls which are normally placed on the side of the screen. Or you can buy external controls, bigger ones and connect it to the TV and play. Or build your own bigger handcontrol with the two smaller one. Many possibilities.

There were not too many games to try yesterday, but the new Zelda was there and set up, Super Mario Kart 8 deluxe, Arms, Splatoon 2, 1-2 Switch, Super Bomberman R, Snipperclips, and another one which I don’t remember. The point of Super Bomberman R was to place bombs and kill the other players on a field. I won once at that one. That game was played on the small hand controls and it was hard, even for me who has small hands. You also used those small ones, but in another angle when playing arms, which was a pretty cool boxing game where the arms could be extended very very much. I had a very hard time clicking on the two buttons on top when you went into frenzy (fury?) mode, and even though you didn’t use the buttons in front of you, I still felt like they were in the way. Otherwise, it was a fun game.

In this version of Splatoon it was possible to play many people together, which you can’t in Splatoon 1 (I don’t think at least, we have tried on our Wii U, but couldn’t get it to work with multiplayer). It was hard with the gyroscope, but still fun.

The weirdest games I have ever seen was one which was in 1-2 Switch (many small party games, kinda like Wii Party). The only thing you did was milking a cow. Very weird and random.

Food was served at the event and we also saw a celebrity, Lasse Kronér, if I am not completely mistaken, haha! It was a fun event, and after seeing the crazy lines which were today, I feel VIP who missed that.

img_20170203_144801 pano_20170203_145619 img_20170203_142147img_20170203_144311

Review of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” by J. K. Rowling

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harry-potter-03-the-prisoner-of-azkaban-j-k-rowling-2Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Author: J. K. Rowling
Series: Harry Potter #3
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 317
Published: 1999, Bloomsbury Publishing
My Grade: 5 out of 5 cats

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

Harry Potter is lucky to reach the age of thirteen, since he has already survived the murderous attacks of the feared Dark Lord on more than one occasion. But his hopes for a quiet term concentrating on Quidditch are dashed when a maniacal mass-murderer escapes from Azkaban, pursued by the soul-sucking Dementors who guard the prison. It’s assumed that Hogwarts is the safest place for Harry to be. But is it a coincidence that he can feel eyes watching him in the dark, and should he be taking Professor Trelawney’s ghoulish predictions seriously?

MY REVIEW

The books are getting longer, that is noticeable now. It is also noticeable that J. K. Rowling is putting more focus on the descriptions on the environments. Still, lots of stuff are happening right after each other, but the descriptions of them are fuller and it is really nice! The longer environment descriptions also followed along with my own reading skills. I was 10 when I read the first one and it was a very easy read, I was 11 when I read the third and had developed my reading skills and could easily read the thicker book. And as the rest of the series was released I also got better at reading. And from what I remember, Rowling’s style of writing followed her maturing readers.

Something that does not change in the books is the connection of all the events. It is so clear that she put a lot of thought into the whole story, and now when I know (pretty much at least) what will happen, it is easy to spot the minor things that Rowling put in the story that connects one thing with another. I love reading something well-written and well-worked through.

I am glad I decided to do this project of re-reading all the books. Not disappointed at all! Like with the first two, there are things that I have forgotten about and was surprised while reading. I am not going to change my grade from 2002, it is still a solid 5!