{"id":2111,"date":"2011-06-10T15:14:21","date_gmt":"2011-06-10T22:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rayivey.com\/wordpress\/?p=2111"},"modified":"2011-06-10T15:14:21","modified_gmt":"2011-06-10T22:14:21","slug":"spring-forward-day-82","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rayivey.com\/wordpress\/spring-forward-day-82\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"rss\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>

Tallinn \/ Helsinki
\nJune 2, 2011\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Distance Traveled Today: 50 miles<\/h3>\n

Distance Traveled So Far: 12, 656<\/h3>\n
\"Foggy<\/a>
Foggy Tallinn morning<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s so considerate when relatives bring fabulous people into the family.\u00a0 I\u2019ll always be indebted to my cousin John for giving us Milana.\u00a0 She and I just hit it off the first time we met, and we\u2019ve been great pals ever since.<\/p>\n

\"Last<\/a>
Last glance at Tallinn before heading across the Baltic for Finland.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We had a wonderful day here in Tallinn.<\/p>\n

\"Very<\/a>
Very puzzling ad copy in a poster for the ferry line. I think their translator needs to work just a little harder before I have positive emotions about this ad.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First we climbed back up to the Upper Old Town to see a couple of beautiful churches and a couple of spectacular views.\u00a0 The Catholic church is interesting because it\u2019s almost exclusively decorated with dozens of huge, ornate and beautiful coats of arms from , we assumed, rich noble families.\u00a0 We then winded our way through parks down to McDonalds where we fortified ourselves with fountain caffeinated sodas.<\/p>\n

\"Helsinki<\/a>
Helsinki from the water<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Near the edge of the Old Town was my favorite church, a soaring but spare and simple structure from the late 19th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

After that we spent the afternoon on the top deck of tour buses traipsing all around Greater Tallinn, learning all about the city throughout its long (and rather titanic) history.\u00a0 Sitting on a tour bus listening to a canned audio tour probably sounds like hell on earth to some, but it\u2019s the type of square, traditional touristy activity that I actually love.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>
In both Estonia and Finland, live theater is a very big deal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After that we went to a mall where I got in trouble for taking photos (why?) and then we had some Estonian Mexican food (Milana is a very good sport about indulging my Mexican food fetish).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then it was movie time.\u00a0 Unfortunately, we saw The Hangover 2<\/em>, <\/strong>a cynical and unfunny money-grab.\u00a0 I should have known better.\u00a0 But the first one was legitimately funny. This one was a bore.\u00a0 Ken Jeong did what he could to add some humor, and I must say that Ang Lee\u2019s son seems to have some real screen presence.\u00a0 But the movie is awful.\u00a0 It also confirms my lack of interest in ever visiting Bankok.<\/p>\n

Milana and I are on a streak of seeing indifferent or bad movies together.\u00a0 In May we saw Water For Elephants<\/em><\/strong> in Vilnius (yawn) and last September we saw Wall Street:\u00a0 Money Never Sleeps<\/em><\/strong> in New York (yawn yawn).<\/p>\n

I walked Milana back to her hotel and we had to say our goodbyes, as we both had to pack and be up early for our departures the next morning.<\/p>\n

Reasons I Think Bradley Cooper is a Good Actor<\/h4>\n