Talk about a spur of the moment trip… Lauren and I booked this trip ON THURSDAY TO LEAVE ON FRIDAY!! But surprisingly it was cheap for being so last minute and it was a beautiful city, a city in which I feel like it is more typical to relax and hang out with no plans.
We left for the airport right after my work and landed around eleven {Swedish time}; however, we did not realize the airport was going to be an hour and a half away from the center. When we got off of the plane, we instantly went to the tourist train desk and requested for a ticket for a bus that would get us as close to our hotel as possible. When we were told that the price of the ticket was going to be one hundred and fifty we were SPEECHLESS!! Little did we know, the price was in the Swedish currency which apparently equated about twenty American dollars; HOWEVER, she didn't tell us that until we had paid for our tickets. To clarify, the ONLY reason we paid was because it was late at night, we talked about getting a taxi and the lady said it would be OVER one thousand so she recommended the bus. That being said, we were freaking out and then she finally told us about the conversion.
When we finally arrived at our hotel, which was one of the best we've stayed at {Rival Hotel, for those of you who want a recommendation}, we showered and konked out within minutes of resting our heads on our pillows. In the morning, we helped ourselves to the yummy breakfast buffet and then decided to begin our explorations of Stockholm. I had planned out our day in which we would walk down one of the main shopping streets, wind up at a nail salon {because we both needed dire help when it came to our polish and cuticles}, and then we were going to wind up walking through the old quarter to see the palace and then to a main park which was known for its blossom trees. It started out pretty good UNTIL it started down pouring, so we kind of just hung out in one store until it cleared up.
Around one in the afternoon, we made it to a nail salon that I had found on Yelp {that was ranked five stars} and got our manicures and pedicures, and where the owner proceeded to tell us that we needed to purchase some diet pills that he was selling… Talk about RUDEEEE!! But, our nails did turn out fantastic, so that’s all that really matters.Once we had finished up with our nails, we finished up the path that I had planned out for us and went to the palace {where it was hilarious listening to the guard who was supposed to be silent, yelling at people to stop touching the gate}. We were at first deceived because the direction we walked lead us to the back to the palace which was all netted up; however, once we made it to the front, it was way more appealing to the eye!!
We continued our way and then wound up at the infamous blossom park; HOWEVER we did not keep in mind that it wasn't Spring. That being said, there were no trees covered in pretty pink blossoms because it wasn't the right season, but we did just walk around the park, eat ice cream, and hang out near the main fountain. We were there for about an hour and then decided to start our journey back to the hotel because we were hungry and ready for some real food.
When we got back to our place, we got changed into clothes that would keep us warm for when we went to the ice bar later that night, and as we were taking turns getting ready, I was on the search for a good dinner place for us to go to. Prior to leaving for food, we grabbed some champagne at the bar, grabbed an uber, and then we were on our way. Once we arrived at the authentic Italian restaurant, the manager made us feel right at home {and even gave us some free cocktails}. The food was impeccable {name of restaurant: Da Peppe Due}, the service was incredible, and before we left for the ice bar, the manager took our picture to post on the restaurant Instagram and invited us to go out for drinks after the bar {lol}.
Prior to actually arriving at the ice bar, we read some reviews saying that it was a waste of time and not that fun {and also that anybody who goes only spends about twenty minutes there}; however, we thought that was a lie and WE were going to have a BLAST. Upon arrival, we slipped into the big blue parkas and stepped inside where we were immediately given a drink that was WAYYY too strong to drink, so we practically just used them for the photos. The Yelp reviews were in fact correct though… We didn’t last long inside the ice bar. The region in which the bar consumed was so quaint that not many people could fit and you could walk around the entirety of the room in about thirty steps. Although I wouldn't recommend it for a “pregame atmosphere” or somewhere you expect to be for a while, I think it is a fun experience to have with a friend {or friends} and you are always able to make the best of a location with a photo op.
After the ice bar we decided to make one last stop at another bar that we had passed on our way, before deciding to go home. We hung out at the place for about an hour, in which the bartender made us some of the best cocktails we have ever had… They legit tasted like orange creamsicles!! After our long night of drinking, and having a little feeling of alcohol in our systems, we decided it would be best not to go out with the manager of the restaurant because we were so exhausted and we wanted to have as full of a day as possible on Sunday, considering we booked early flights in order to go to the W Hotel party one last time. We gave ourselves about twenty more minutes, I ordered us some UberEats Thai food in order to take back to our hotel, and once it arrived at the bar, we went home, watched a movie, and got into bed.
The next day, because we were supposed to get on a bus and head to the airport in the afternoon, we didn't have much time for anything. We decided to make the most of our morning and after the breakfast buffet, we packed up our entire room and checked out of the hotel. Leaving our luggage at the front desk, the clerk enabled some city cards, and we were able to rent a couple of the city bikes just in front of our hotel. For about two hours we rode around Stockholm, exploring random paths and winding up in places we hadn’t seen before. We worked our booties off, going up huge hills and catching a sweat. Giving ourself enough time, we headed to the bus station, got our tickets and then before we knew it, it was time to leave Sweden and head back to Barcelona for the party.
The party was wild, to say the very least… Even ask Lauren {hehe}. Long story short, it was a super long night, full of LOTS of festivity and craziness… BUT I will just leave it at that. As my journey is comes to an end, I hope you all have been able to keep up on my adventures and look forward to the things I write. I can’t believe how fast this experience, and chapter in my life, has flown by and I PROMISE to continue this blog as I travel throughout the United States or even to certain places within the states that I live. I will also be picking up my personal blog very shortly, as I know I haven't posted on that one for almost a year {since about the week before I embarked on my adventure to Europe}.
Well… Next stop is Paris… So STAY TUNED!!
xoxo V
