New people, tar alcohol and a muddy dog!

So the last few days have been packed with parties and gatherings and what not.  Aliisa's friend Siina had her 30th B-Day on Saturday the 17th.  We were at her place by 2 in the afternoon and the night ended 12 hours later :)  We started at Siina's house with some friends and family and then later in the evening we went to a fusion buffet restaurant.  I had the sushi but to be honest it didn't taste as good as the sushi in Vancouver.  I'm going to OD on sushi when I get back.  Anyways ... dinner was followed by a few drinks at the local Irish Bar (every city has at least one) Molly Malones.  I met a lot of people that night and they seemed genuinely interested in me, Canada and Vancouver.  This has been my experience all along. 

The previous night we went to Miia and Lauri's place.  I had met them in Vancouver so it was good to see them again.  They actually had a friend from Vancouver staying with them so it was a bit strange to hear someone who sounds like me.  While there I tried some of the Finnish "Tar" alcohol.  Yep ... that's what it's called.  It smells like smokey BBQ sauce to me and it tastes better than it smells.  Apparently it's made by burning pine cones and ..... well ..... from there I can't see any way of making alcohol, but they did. 

One thing you'll notice soon after visiting Finland is the drinking culture.  The Finnish know how to drink.  Drinking in public is totally acceptable and you see it every day.  This is totally different to Vancouver of course so it is a bit strange to see so many people doing it.  Just go out on a Friday or Saturday night and the streets and squares of the city are full of people drinking and having a good time.

So here is a funny video.  While at Siina's house we took her dog Milo for a walk.  I don't think Siina will let me take Milo ever again.