Lots of stuff to do in Stockholm, I absolutely loved it when I worked out there.
Old town (Gamla Stan) is cool.
Vasa museum is worth a visit.
Lots of fantastic restaurants (Just look in guide books) and general sightseeing stuff
You can take a boat trip out to the archipelago and visit some islands.
Waterfront down by the grand hotel is nice and across the water from the Royal Palace.
Booze is fantastically expensive and hard stuff only available from the govt. booze shops (Systembolaget) - supermarkets only sell light to medium strength beer.
Staying near Noto in a lovely hotel (£50 a night). Its out of season but it’s 20C and nice and quiet. Prices are reasonable. Good local food & wine. Lots to see and do.
The time of year made it cheaper. Cooler and a bit cloudy today.
I also thought that as Sicily is perhaps the poorest region it would be cheaper. A half decent pizza in a cafe is 5 euros. Half litre of house white was 5 euro last night in a nice restaurant in Noto. It was perfectly drinkable. It’s nice not to get ripped off.
A hire car is perhaps necessary. But, that was very reasonable in cost. The driving is ok, they sort of know what they’re doing.
Last time I went to Helsinki it was mid-June and it was absolutely feckin’ freezing. Also it never really got dark so I was forced to stay up all night drinking. I never slept in the 3 days I was there. The hangover and jetlag when I got back to Oz was ferocious. I’ve been too scared to go back there again.
