The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist -

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Stockholm Day #2: Vasa Museum, Train Station Art Gallery, Ferry Ride

After a delicious breakfast (the hotel’s spread was the best I’ve ever seen—the Best Western Royal Star), we headed off to explore Stockholm. I’d purchased timed tickets for the Vasa Museum at 11 am, so even after a fairly leisurely start to the morning, we still had time to fill. (I blogged about our first…

Overnight Ferry to Sweden + Day #1 in Stockholm (Gamla Stan + Ghost Tour)

For the first time in my life, I spent the night at sea!

The cheapest way to get from Helsinki to Stockholm ended up being an overnight ferry. I had mixed feelings going into it…

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On My Shelf: Books Read May 2026

I didn’t like the layout/graphics I’d been using for book posts this year, so I’m pivoting! Hopefully the result is a bit cleaner and easier to read.

In case you’re interested in other months: January,…

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Jun, 15, 2026
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An Adventure in Wales: Visiting Big Pit National Coal Museum with Rachel

We had a fairly tight turnaround after getting to Cardiff: we arrived Wednesday evening and headed off early Sunday morning for our last travel-heavy adventures (John and Belle to Paris/Amsterdam; Indy and me to…

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Best Things to See in Helsinki (Or, What We Did with Visiting Guests Over a Long Weekend)

This will be my final post about Helsinki!

It feels like a fitting way to wrap things up because I’m going to give you a photo-heavy (hopefully text-light?) rundown of what we did when my…

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Edinburgh Day #2: National Museum of Scotland, Dean Village, Circus Lane

After a busy first full day in Scotland, we were happy to see the sun shining when we woke up at the start of our second and, sadly, final day in Edinburgh.

We’d originally…

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Getting to Edinburgh + Our First Day (Harry Potter Walking Tour, Royal Mile, Calton Hill)

Let’s ignore the fact that I have almost a month of previous adventures waiting to be written about while I jump ahead to what’s happened most recently.

A mother/son trip to Scotland!

The first job was…

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