Interrupting the broadcasting to say--

A note from today--(Monday Sept 20)
 I wouldn't have such a time keeping up here if I didn't take so many pictures and have to go thru all zillion of them to try & decide what to post!  Oh well, I know you  really don't just want to read about it without the pictures!

I am happily wearing my sweatshirt--I didn't really pack very well I discovered.  It's cooler than what I expected, I could have brought my long sleeves, sweaters, favorite scarf (and even gloves) and felt quite comfy.  As it was, my first purchase was 2 pair of tights--a black & brown.  I will tell you that we have not seen one pair of bare legs! From adults down to babies.  Now granted, we have seen the very shortest skirts, shortest shorts and holey jeans but they are ALL over the top of (mostly) black tights, hose of all kinds or leggings.  Although on the streets we see plenty of denim on men, we see it alot less on the women/girls.
We have not seen one pair of baggy jeans--in fact most are quite fitted, and I'd have to say close to the majority of the woman & girls wearing pants are wearing skinny skinny pants or jeans and we see mostly skinny leggings with long (or not) shirts or the short skirts.  Quite a bit of black leather--some quite "hmmm"!

Shoes--well all sorts, boots, canvas of every kind & color.  Red, black, white, green, blue, purple & pink and plenty of athletic ones.  A few sandals, but not out and about on our walking tour.  And yes girls, black hose with the white "tennies" too.
Now most of the above is what we've seen on the masses on the streets--We've checked out quite a few stores so far, I'm sure shopping is part of getting a good feel for the cultural difference!  Some time later I plan to post a "fashion" post for you.  :*)

The Market this morning was just a great experience! Both Ruth and I could have just bought & bought, which of course wasn't possible, but we will both have a new appreciation for the nurseries next spring!  I'm anxious to show you some of what we saw there too.

This noon we left for the Aland Islands. (Pronounced Oland--The Finish O is an A with two little dots on top of it) I had ever been on a cruise/ferry boat and this was different than any Ruth had been on either.  We were booked for the noon buffet, and were delighted to have a table by the window.  After a leisurely lunch we went out on the decks for a while to take pictures & see the sights as we were coming close to the islands.
This was a fairly short ride, only a bit over 2 hours.  Later we will have a longer one.
Back to the journal posts now--Thanks for "coming along"!

P.S.  Please excuse any spelling errors--I cannot get Mozilla to work for me, and that is where my spell check comes up in.  I'm having to work in IE and it doesn't seem to work.