Happy Independence Day Finland!

 

Today it's the 6th of December and Finland is 95 years old. As much as I love living in Paris, on days like today I wish I was in Finland. Because in Paris today is of course just an ordinary day. Although my Uni is actually closed today for some reason (not because of Finland's Independence Day) which is cool. So it has been a day off for me too like in Finland and I know I should study but I feel so festive that I can't' (always so easy to come up with excuses for not studying...). But soon it's six o'clock and I can light my candles and start waiting for my Parisian Finnish friends J, A and E to come and celebrate with me. A tradition on Independence Day eve is to watch the "Castle Ball" on TV. It's a presidential Independence Day reception held at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki. It is interesting to see who has been invited, if the commentators know them and what kind of fashion creations women are wearing this year. Our new president and his wife are hosting for the first time this year, good luck!

Traditional two long candles in blue and white Iittala candleholders

Some more Finnish design from Iittala

Trying to find "Finnish" food from Paris... Well luckily I had some Finnish bread left and this salmon is Norvegian but whatever. :)



Less than three weeks until Christmas: time to start the "glögi" and "pipari -season

Being from Finland means a lot to me and I'm always proud to say that I'm Finnish. Even if I lived abroad for the rest of my life and learned to speak perfect French, I would never forget my Finnish roots, values or mentality. Paris is my home now and I don't think I will ever move back to Finland but I'm happy and grateful that I grew up there. 95 years ago Finland fought for it's independency and since then it has grown to be a real welfare state, a good and safe place to live in. My foreign friends and other people I've met in Paris generally don't know a lot about Finland but those who know, really seem to appreciate my country. They don't see it as a worthless, freeking cold place somewhere in the North but as a country that has a lot to give for the rest of the Europe. And I've heard that Finnish people are international, intelligent and open-minded which is a great thing. Also, living and studying in Paris for almost three years now has made me appreciate the Finnish school system and the fact that everything is so well organized there, things that I used to take for granted. Compared to Paris, the everyday life in Finland is ridiculously easy.

I don't really miss Finland but I often miss my friends and family. Luckily, as I already told you, my mum was here last week. I don't see her that often, that's why I really enjoy and value the time we spend together. It's always great whe she comes to Paris, I feel like I'm on holidays too. What ever problems or diffculties I've been having, as soon as I'm with my mum I forget about everything (but oddly enough, the relaxed feeling soon disappears after she has left...).



first things first, mum brought me Finnish sweets...



... and a Finnish Cosmo!

Besides all the effective Christmas admiring, we still had time to eat a lot, drink a lot and shop till we dropped. To do something cultural too, we went to Musée d'Orsay to see an exhibition called "L'impressionnisme et la mode". It was interesting and especially the shoes people wore in the 19th century were hilarious.

Musée d'Orsay is built to an old railway station and the building itself is even more impressive than the art collections.



One of my favorite places in Paris: the shoe department at Printemps

These boots that I bought are not from Jimmy Choo but from Eram but still quite beautiful

And my mum bought this lovely bag from Minelli

She also bought a Chanel - jacket from a small boutique in le Marais called Biscote. Now we're like sisters!



 After a long shopping day you just need a glass of rosé, right?




Or some French tapas before going out for dinner



My mum found this restaurant near me called "Le Bistrot des Compères" so we decided to test it and it was great. Delicious food and cosy atmosphere, we recommend it to everyone!


 

And we found some time to relax as well. On Saturday and Sunday I woke up without an alarm, I can't remember the last time I've done that! And we watched two episodes of this Finnish series called "Kotikatu" that my mum has been following forever even though it's actually quite stupid. It's so much fun to watch it together and laugh and comment on how bad it is (and wonder why we still watch it).

I also got confirmed that for the first time in my life, we are going to spend Christmas at home in Helsinki, just our family. Normally we have always been at my grandma's place in the countryside so it's going to be different but I'm really looking forward to it. Two weeks of school ( equals 6 tests and 3 written assignments / presentations) left and then I'll be off to Finland!

xoxo: Emi