My two years in London have finally drawn to a close. My visa expired yesterday so I flew back to Halifax last week. I'm glad to be home for the summer to spend time with family and friends. There is a lot of knitting to be done and new designs to be created over the next few weeks so I think this summer will fly by. I'm still reminiscing about my time traveling through Europe only a few weeks ago. I'm hoping to head back to England or Europe eventually so those adventures are definitely not over yet. In the meantime, I'm already planning a few adventures to have right here in the Maritimes.
These shots are from two afternoons exploring Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. We spent a weekend between Muhu and Saaremaa. Both are islands just off Estonia in the Baltic Sea. I promise to post more about these islands soon. We took our time when we arrived in Tallinn to explore the Old Town. I fell in love with the medieval-esque doors and windows in the area. Many of them are brightly painted with intricate designs and against faded, cracked and peeling pastel walls.
I couldn't pass through Old Town without picking up a few souvenirs for myself. I settled on these mittens which have been hand embroidered. I also picked out a few colours of yarn and wool embroidery threads. The Estonian Folk Art and Craft Union was the perfect place to find amazing examples of traditional craft. I would love to find the time to embroider more. After this trip I definitely feel inspired to do so since I saw many amazing examples. I'm hoping to combine it with my knitting more frequently. I also loved the small boutiques which featured modern craft by local Estonian artisans. I bought a few gifts from Oma Asi for friends. Of course I was so excited to give them away I forgot to photograph them.
On our way back through Tallinn we had the afternoon again before catching the ferry to Helsinki. We stopped for lunch at Vegan Restoran V in the heart of Old Town. I had the beetroot ravioli with cashew cheese and for a main, the spicy peanut butter tofu with vegetable quinoa and tomato coconut sauce. Both dishes tasted like vegan heaven. I was thrilled with the variety of beetroot dishes I saw on various menus during our stay in Estonia since it is one of my favourite root vegetables.
