Heavenly Courtyards

I went to a really cool party this week. It was a Finnish-Italian party and we had dinner in the courtyard of an apartment building on Tehtaankatu. It's in downtown Helsinki. I know the area quite well, since my parents live very close to there (and I too used to live there years ago). But I'd never known that they have such amazing courtyards there hidden away!!

It's not the courtyard pictured here, by the way! This one is from the island of Mykonos in Greece - isn't it just perfect!?! Annoyingly, I hadn't brought my camera to the party. The courtyard at my friend's place is not quite as perfect, but still really gorgeous - we felt like we were in Italy or Greece! Of course having Italian people there helped too: they had cooked two different kinds of pasta for us. Really, really simple, but all the more delicious. One was spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and fresh basil, the other was fusilli with a tomato-based sauce. And we Finns served them some typical Finnish things such as Karelian pastries buttered with a mixture of butter and hard-boiled egg (much more delicious than it sounds!), fresh berries of all kinds and also "bread-cheese" (don't make me explain that one! - but you can see the photo behind the link). A good time was had by all.

We sang a lot since there were several professional musicians present. Our hostess was actually quite a famous Finnish musician - a real sweetheart, everyone simply adores her. The most warm-hearted person you'll ever meet. And what a voice on the girl!! She sang "Let's Twist Again" and "A Hard Day's Night" and I swear it was better than the originals!!

OK, now Pink Lady really must go beddy-bye - a busy weekend ahead!! :-)

TTFN!

Pink & Sleepy