I have been thinking of something profound to write about Andreas’ and my weekend in San Francisco but I got nothing! Probably because we mostly walked around the city, enjoyed cafes and restaurants, took frequent reading breaks, and went on various sightseeing tours. I.e. light touristing that didn’t result in any life-changing insights. So here are a few pictures of some of the things we did instead:

I’m in San Francisco since a couple of days. It is great! Everyone her is just as nice as I remember Californians! Not sure why there is such difference between the East Coast and the West Coast, but even Andreas from Stockholm, whom I’m traveling with, has noticed it. I wouldn’t mind living here. It’s like San Francisco has all the best things that Washington has, as well as all the things that Washington lacks. Anyway, I will write more about the trip and post pictures as soon as I get back to DC.

I got back in time to see the end of my favorite TV program, Global Public Square with Fareez Zakaria. It is one of the few really good and analytical programs on American TV, and it discusses important topics from around the world. Of course it is on Sunday mornings at 10 am, so I am not sure how big of an audience it has, but I am one of Zakaria’s faithful viewers. This morning he showed this Hayek vs. Keynes Rap Anthem, which I thought I’d share with you. To me, it is sharp and funny, but perhaps that just reflects my quite boring economist personality? Well, I leave it to you to decide:

My summer is taking shape and it is really full of things to look forward to! Sine my current contract ends at the end of June and I didn’t have any vacation last year and only 2 weeks the year before, I have decided to take two months off this summer. After my assignment ends in June, I will meet Therese in NY and spend a week there before flying back to Sweden. The plan is to just drop a few things off there and then go on to France where I will spend a few days with Elisa and Julien, and then go down to Saint Jean d’Angely for a week to visit Jessica and Malte in Malte’s parents’ house. After that, I think I will go back to Sweden for a few weeks, possibly via Paris, and spend some time in Stockholm and at our summer house in the archeapelago. Since I haven’t been to Sweden for over a year and a half, I have quite a lot of work waiting for me there, both with my own apartment and with my family’s summer house. As for the rest, I am not sure, but I am thinking of Moldova, Romania, or Rome. Or perhaps somewhere else. And at some point, I should pass by London to visit a friend there. Let me know where you will be in July and August and hopefully, we can meet up!

Looking forward to many lazy days in Central Park this summer (this is from when I visited Jenny-O in July 2009).

Today when I came home after work, a package waited for me in my mailbox and it took me a while before I realized what it was. I a member of a number of organizations and one of them is WWF. In order to maximize the use of the money that I pay in, I normally decline any gift offer. However, when I paid the annual membership fee to WWF a few weeks ago, my Whole Foods shopping bag had just broken, so I picked up on WWF’s offer of two grocery bags with their logo on. And today they arrived. Quite cute – right?!

Since my family has been a member of WWF for as long as I can remember, my mom used to have a shopping bag with the panda logo on, though it was made of unbleached cotton instead of this plastic material. Not sure why they don’t make those here – they must be better for the environment!

As I have written before, I am a bit of a travelaholic. Travelling gives my new energy, it triggers my inspiration, and makes me see things in a new light. Hence, while hit by the jetlag the other night, I outlined a new design for the header of my blog. It feels more appropriate given how the content has developed since I started writing about four years ago. I hope you like it!

My mom sent me this cute shopping bag and these fantastic napkin the other day. My mom is really interested in working with textiles (especially embrodries) and she came across the textile organization Livstycket. Livstycket is located in one of Stockholm’s most immigrant populated suburbs that brings people together through the work with textiles. The idea is that especially women that may not get out that much, but also men, can come and work with a craft they know while meeting people with different backgrounds and different cultures, and speak Swedish. They then have exhibition and sell the things they make, but the most important aspect is to bring people together and to make them stronger as a group. Livstycket also operates in Turkey and Uganda.

The theme with the bag pattern is inspired by the importance of the bag that a refugee comes with to a new place. That one bag that holds all their belongings from their old life that they bring with them into their new life.

I almost stumbled over a full cup of coffee at the bus stop this morning. It is freezing in DC this week, so I decided to take the bus to work rather than walk. I guess the bus came before the person had time to enjoy his or her morning coffee, but had it been mine, I would probably have taken the next bus instead!

I am working today. I wish I didn’t have to because I should really focus on my studies now, but I have no choice due to a meeting that I have tomorrow. Anyway, I hope to make up for it another day this week. But I also spoke with my friend AP in Stockholm, and we are planning a trip to San Francisco in early June. I was there when I was 18, but that is now 19 years ago so I think it is time for me to visit the Bay Area again. AP and I were in Odessa together a few years ago when we both lived in Moldova, and he also came over to DC my first winter here, so we know that we travel well together. I really look forward to it!! Here is a little preview of what we will see:

(In addition to planning our trip, AP also complained about my poor blogging this past week, so I am trying to make up for it now!)

Elisa got me four macarons from Bouchon Bakery and I have had one every evening since I got back. Amazing! Probably one of the best sweets in the world!

I had already eaten one when I took this picture…