Singapore airport

On my way back to Sweden. Short stop in Singapore and then Frankfurt. We will spend most of the day in Frankfurt before our last flight at 7 pm Monday evening. No idea how we're going to spend 14 hours on that airport.
Had a great time with Martine and Jossan in Surfers! Went for a couple of day trips to nearby Coolongatta and Springbrook National Park, took some massage, walked along the beach and did some shopping. And had plenty of good food and time to catch up! Very good to see the girls again!
So, back in Sweden Monday night, but Tuesday off, so back at work on Wednesday.

Brisbane airport

Qualia resort was lovely! Very secluded and impressive design! The price is though 1 600 AUS$ (about 9 000 Sek) so I guess I won't be spending a night there in the near future.
After Qualia both Karin and I had a massage. Felt very good afterwards, but hurt as hell when she was doing the massage.
Dinner with Glenn and Linda was very nice! Had 6 oysters that were so fresh and good! After the dinner the rest went back to the house to go to bed, but I stayed out and had a glas of wine at the Mantaray caf'e. Such a nice place next to the water!
Today we haven't done much apart from packing and having a cof'e on the main street. I also finished my second book... Janet Evanovich latest one (number 15), so now on my last book the last one released from Marian Keyes. Should last the rest of the vacation though...
So, waiting for Martine and Jossan at Brisbane airport for a lift to Surfers. Gonna be good to see them and catch up with them!

Back on the beach

Back safe and sound from the walk to the little secluded beach. Ended up spending about four hours there. It was beautiful! No other people except for a couple that spent some hour there. Finished my book, had something to eat and listened to some music. Great relaxation!
Yesterday we went on a day tour to the Great Barrier Reef. I did some scuba diving. It was more than seven years ago and it was great to be back in the water again! Talked more or less the whole trip with an English man that was all into scuba diving. We had a very good time! Also good diving with a lot of fish. Saw reef sharks, a huge parrot fish, a huge puffer fish and many different kinds of clown fish, among all other fish. Hopefully it will not take seven years til next dive!
Had a good dinner in the evening at the Italian restaurant.
This morning I was supposed to do yoga by the beach, but the instructor was ill so it was canceled. Instead a one hour morning walk. The rest of the day has been spent on the beach in the shadow reading. Very nice and relaxing!
Later on today we're going to the six star restort Qualia to check it out and then take Glenn and Linda for dinner.
Tomorrow I leave for Surfers Paradise to see Martine and Jossan. It's going to be great to see them again!

Hamilton Island

So, after rain comes sun shine!
We've had some amazing days after the first three rainy ones. We've laid on the beach, been sailing in the small Hobie Cats and sailing with Keith again on the big catamaran. Yesterday Glenn and Linda took us out to the Whiteheaven beach. It's beautiful! As white as ever! I was here 11 years ago with a big sailingboat Matador, when Jenny and I backpacked along the Australian coast and it looks exactly the same! We had a bit of snorkeling on the other side. Not too spectacular, but very nice!
As it gets dark quite early around 6.30 PM and we have early mornings we go to bed around nine to wake up around 6 in the mornings. It's very nice to have a morning walk, read some and have breakfast and still start the day around 9.
I'm currently reading a great book, so I'm kind of all into that one! Beutiful story! Unfortunately soon finished...
http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/eatpraylove.htm
So, I'm off for a little hike to the other side of the island to a little secluded beach where not a lot of people take the time to go.

Australia!

On the road again! This time Australia to see old quarters and friends!
Karin and I stayed in a B&B in the Rocks in Sydney. It was great to be in the middle of the city and close to everything! We've been walking in the Botanical Gardens. Took the walk between Bronte beach and Bondi beach on Sunday. They had a exhibition going on, Sculptures by the sea. Very nice, despite some showers! We've had a coffee in Darling harbour and I then went to the Fishmarket and had some oysters. They were great! We also took a walk across the Sydney harbour bridge, walked along the water in Lavender bay and went to look at my old house and had a coffe in McMahons Point. Nice to see the old quarters! We had a glass of wine in the Opera Bar. What a nice place! And dinner in the Rocks. It was one of the best pizzas I've ever had! Something to come back for! I also had a strole at the market in the Rocks and picked up a very nice silver ring. So we've managed to do a lot in only two days!
So Monday we headed for Hamilton Island. It is a great island in the middle of Whitsunday Islands! We're staying with Glenn Bourke in his villa. It is enormous with a deck and pool! Unfortunately it's been raining ever since we came, but hopefully it clears up in the next couple of days. I've bought three new books, Marian Keyes latest, Janet Evanovich latest and another one. So at least I have something to do!
We have rented a buggy for a couple of days. It's the way to get around the island! They are everywhere! We have gone on a little tour around the island so we have seen what's around.
We also took a sailing trip, Adrenaline Rush. A 36 foot catamaran where you hang in a trapets, four at a time. Unfortunately there was very little wind... So hopefully we will go again later in the week, when the wind is better!

Visit to Stockholm

So, after a hectic Summer I've been working three weeks. It is a whole different pace at work and it feels good to be back! I was supposed to leave Volvo today, but luck had it that Ulrika, who I took over from when she went on maternity leave, is once again pregnant. I was not able to stay full time for the Autumn, so I will work half time until New Year and then go back to full time again when Ulrika goes back on maternity leave. It feels really good to have some time for fixing with my house, get back into shape and go on a few evening courses. As much as I loved travelling I must admit that it is quite nice to be back in the house and work on it. I have fixed a lot inside and will take care of the garden the coming month. I'm also once again involved in sailing competitions in Långedrag for GKSS, which will keep me busy for some weekends during September and October.
This weekend I'm planning to come to Stockholm and hope to see most of my friends! It was awhile since I was up there so it's going to be good to meet everyone!
Take care til next time!

Volvo Ocean Race HQ

Cowes week is over and the Fastnet has started. Have had a great week in Cowes. We had lovely weather during the weekend and I've spent a lot of time on the water on Saturday. Jessica came over with a friend on Sunday for the start of Fastnet and we had a very nice day watching the starts (They start every 20 minutes between 12-14.20) and having lunch at the pub in Gurnard. (Had the Mushroom stroganoff again as I had when I was there with Rudi a year and half ago! Very good!) I went back to Southampton with Jessica in the evening and we had a lovely meal with Lou in the garden where Jessica lives. I went in to the Volvo Ocean Race office this morning with Jessica and it's very good to meet everyone again! After lunch I will make my way to Heathrow and the flight back tonight to start work tomorrow morning for my last three weeks with Volvo.

From Lysekil Womens Match to Cowes Week

After a week with a lot of work, a lot of good matchracing and a great seeing all in Lysekil again, I went straight to Cowes for a week of vacation. I'm staying with Annika and Rick from the race and have been out on the water with Rick for a couple of hours a day. A very nice change from the hectic week in Lysekil! Today there were pretty much no wind, so not a lot of action. On Monday I go back to Sweden and work with Volvo for another three weeks.

In Lysekil

Time again for Lysekil Womens Match in Lysekil! It's good to be back and meet all the people in Lysekil. It has been a couple of very hectic days with handling 11 courtesy cars with a lot of transfers from the airport, handling the phones and phone lists, creating name badges and all other questions coming up. I've been more or less stuck in my corner the past two days with a constant flow of people coming up to me with questions and requests. A lot of fun!

In my house

After a week in Strömstad with Anna and Monica I'm back in my house for a few days. I had a great week in Strömstad! We went bicycling to the closest islands, went on boat trips in the archipelago and went into Strömstad to eat at the Cod and Laholmen. We did a lot of BBQ's in the evenings by our house and I got to spend a lot of time resting and reading.
So, now a few days in my house. I have a lot that I would like to do, but only have four days before going to Lysekil, so most of it has to wait until I'm back in August. I hope you are enjoying the summer!

And it's all over....

Stockholm was fantastic! It was great to see so many of you in the Race Village and be able to show you what I've been doing the past year! Before the boats left I left for St Petersburg. I had a couple of very hectic days before the boats arrived on Saturday the 27th. It was a spectacular finish even if the rain was poring down! We ended the race on Sunday with a public prize giving midday and a dinner in the evening. With bottles of Vodka on the table anyone can imagine how that party ended... I stayed away from the Vodka and had a great evening! Everyone in our team left Monday afternoon and it's hard to realize that a lot of people that you spent the last months with you never going to see again!
So, home to do laundry and repack. Tomorrow I'm going up to Marstrand for Match Cup Sweden. As we are a boat sponsor I'm more or less going to be there to take anything that comes our way. With the great weather and a lots of friends working up there, I'm really looking forward to it.
So the rest of the summers like this:
This week Match Cup Sweden.
Work one week.
Strömstad one week with Anna and Monica.
4 days in my house.
10 days in Lysekil for WM in Match Racing for Women.
One week in Cowes for Cowes sailing week and the start of Fast Net race.
Back to work for three weeks to finish up.
September.... No idea! Hopefully I can take a month off and spend in my house.
Hopefully I also get to see you during the summer! I will most likely not come to Stockholm until earliest September, but you're more than welcome to visit me when I'm in Göteborg.
Have a great summer!

Stockholm - here we come!

Finally in Stockholm! Arrived earlier today and the Race Village looks great, even if my brother Stefan and his fiancee Lisa missed the Volvo pavilion.... Fabienne and I took the train in the afternoon. A great way to travel, especially with Internet connection! We worked the whole way, very efficient! Arrived and had a short look at the Race Village and went for dinner at Sallys in Gamla stan. Very nice! Ingrid, Magnus and I had another glas of wine and my brother and Lisa joined us. We then went for a quick walk to the Race Village. The boats have just arrived to Sanhamn. There were many of us that hoped for Mange to win, but he ended up second, just a hundred meter after the winner Puma. Poor Mange, but second is not too bad! Looking forward to the boats arriving to Stockholm on Wednesday and to see you all in the Race Village!
Time for bed!

Stockholm waiting!

So, we have left Marstrand behind. We had a great, but very intense stopover! Boats coming in early, early morning on Thursday, which meant more or less no sleep that night... We then had a couple of days with rain and strong wind, but for the weekend the sun came out and we had two great days! Yesterday we saw the boats off to Stockholm. I was on the Ostindiefararen Gotheborg and helped out with the start gun. It was a great start with a lot of people out in smaller motorboats and lots of people on the rocks watching from the shore. The boats left and all looked good until we heard reports of Telefonica Blue had hit a rock. They sat on the rock for two hours before they got help to get off the rock and back to shore. They will not sail this leg and the fight for the second place is probably over... It's really a shame as we had hoped for Telefonica Blue and Puma to put up a good show now at the end of the race as there is only one point between them on the score board! Poor Bowe Bekking, the skipper. His boat Moviestar sank last race in the Atlantic and now it looks like the fight is over again before the race is over. They are currently asessing the damages to the boat and hopefully they will get to Stockholm, but they were not too optimistic about it yesterday.
For me, I'm in the apartment and did three machines of laundry yesterday when I got home and are now going to try to repack to get the train to Stockholm this afternoon and arrive around 18. I'm usually in the Volvo Pavilion all days, or around Race Village, so come and visit! I'm leaving for St Petersburg next Thursday morning, so I have more than a week in Stockholm which feels good! Hope to see you soon!

Another day in the office...

Finally we moved out to Marstrand! The days after I came back from Galway has been hectic, but it feels very good to be on site. We spent most of the day yesterday working in the backyard of where Linda and Ebba stays and it worked very good! We got a lot done! I just had breakfast on the balcony of where I'm staying overlooking Grand Hotel and the harbour. Not too bad of an view in morning sun. So, time for a walk around the island and then work for the rest of the day.
The boats are on their way and are estimated to arrive on Thursday afternoon as the winds are to be light when they are getting nearer Sweden. It's gonna be amazing to see the fleet docked at Marstrand!

15 minutes of fame....

So, been to Galway a week and back in Göteborg again! Great stopover with a lot of public and great sailing in Saturday's Inport race. It rained, was cold and windy the first days, but in time for the big weekend the sun came out and we had very good weather and wind. Had a good day together with our Volvo guests on Saturday. Helped our Ericsson commentator Jimmy to make sure he had what he needed. He's the IT guy from Ericsson handling all the computers on board the boats and on shore. Turned out he is from Järfälla and currently live in Bolinderstrand in Kallhäll. The world is small sometimes, but I'm staying far away from IT guys these days.. :-) On Sunday I got the treat to go out with Mark Covell, used to be Media Crew Member on Team Russia, on the media boat that is going to follow the race boats the rest of the race from Galway to St Petersburg. It is purpously built for a film crew to be able to film regardless high waves etc and the boat is strong enough to be able to follow the speed of the race boats. We had a great day in the sun on the water and Mark is a great speaker and told us all the little details about the boats and the teams. Finished the day with a great Leg Prize Giving Dinner where it got way too late and too much white wine... Mark was a gentleman and kept filling up my glas at dinner... It didn't do much good either the two beer Edward and I had before even getting to the dinner... (Strange I didn't learn from Leg Prize Giving Dinner in Boston, but at least this time there were no shots...)
And I finally got caught on the TV4 camera and had my 15 minutes of fame at TV4! (or maybe one minute to be exact...)
http://tv4play.se/sport/volvo_ocean_race?videoId=1.1027677&renderingdepartment=2.34731
About 7 minutes into the film when they're interviewing Bowe Bekking, skipper of Telefonica Blue, when coming back to shore and we're standing in the background talking about the day. (One for the "Jag mötte Lassie", I was the one telling Marcus from TV4 that Bowe Bekking was on his way, so they could do the interview...)
So, no rest! Came back yesterday night and spent a full day at work to start to sort out the mess in Marstrand to finally give up at 21 this evening. The stopovers from here are so tight so there is really no time between them and it's full on from now on.
I hope to be able to visit my little house this weekend as the neighbours wanted to cut the hedges, even if I move out to Marstrand already Friday evening, and hopefully also visit Anneli Utter on my way out to Marstrand. If I get a few minutes over I will try to upload some images from Galway, but I don't dear to promise anything...
So soon we will be in Stockholm and I hope to meet most of you then!

A weekend goes by fast!

Summary of the weekend in the little house:
3 trips to Bauhaus
1 trip to Hornbach
2 trips to Emmaus
2 trips to the dump
Removed 3 bushes and planted grass instead
Removed 2 rose bushes
Moved the lawn twice
Countless trips with the wheelbarrow to the waste collection
Countless hours of removing weed from the flower beds
New paving stone at the entrance
Cleaned the house thoroughly
Moved all strawberry and small strawberry plants to one flowerbed
Cleaned out the garden shed
Must say we did a pretty good job in three days! Will add pictures when I get them out of the cell...
Ended the day with a nice dinner with Anna and doing the laundry... And now a presentation for tomorrow meeting and then off to bed!

Kristihimmelsfärd in my house

Back in Sweden since Monday. The restart was good, but a bit confusing... But the boats were finally sent off to Galway. After three full on days in the office, I'm taking the weekend in my house. After cutting the lawn yesterday it looks pretty good, but there is a lot to do. Pär was out here yesterday having dinner and it was good to catch up on the local news! Soon my parents steps into the door to stay for the weekend. Going to be good with some help in the garden... :-) Hopefully the weather improves and we'll take a tour to Marstrand or Hönö tomorrow.
Tuesday I'm off to Galway, but only for a week, so it hardly counts...
I hope you all have a good weekend!

Full on weekend!

Monday morning and I can look back at a busy weekend and overall everything went very well! We had about 300 hundred guests for our Warm up evening on Friday, which went very well! It was a success which feels good after all the different formats we tried, but this worked in the US. Saturday morning we had a breakfast for 200 persons, which also went very well with the Swedish sailor Roger Nilson. Most of the guests though didn't show up until later in the morning, but by the end we were full house.
Then we had the Inport race. As I'm responsible for this port I had to stay onshore. We got all the boats out there with our guests and commentators and they had a very good day, even if there was not a lot of wind and quite foggy. Christina and I took the chance when it was calmer to go for lunch at the Barking Crab. Very nice! The only emergencies during the day was when we had to get the Saudi Prince off the Swedish Kings VIP boat. Considering that the race track was about 40 minutes boat ride out, I believe we did a great job in getting him in! When they called about an hour later and wanted a sea sick lady to come ashore I didn't think we would solve it, but we did and she got to shore too thanks to our TV Team. Felt like a good job done to get them in!
Saturday night we were invited by Marge to a Clam Bake. They had steamed lobster, mussels and steemers and it was great! Very good food and a lot of fun!
Sunday we had the Pro Am race in the harbour with a lot of guests. It was a great day with sun, but a lot of wind, so they had to change the format of the racing to match racing instead of fleet racing. They were timing the laps and then adding up the totals. I believe both guests, crews and public really enjoyed the day! And in the evening the weekend ended with the Leg Price Giving dinner. Edward and Johan lurd me into a couple of beers and Raspberry Vodka before we even got there, so we were quite late, but it was a great dinner, which continued at a bar until late. I've taken a sleep in this morning, but now it's time to get into the shower and down to Race Village.
Tomorrow I'm off work and will try to go to Newport with Ingrid and Annika. Really looking forward to that!

After Sail in the Volvo pavilion

We had the last After Sail in our pavilion yesterday. It was a huge success! Very good with a lot of people showing up! Edward and I bought matching t-shirts at the Puma store. Mine saying "Lookin for a drunken sailah" and his saying "I´m a drunken sailah"...

Mikes pastrys

We ended the evening at Mikes pastrys. What a great place! The cakes are huge! I finally had a cannoli and it was great! It's in the North End of Boston, also known as the Italian quarters.

Union Oyster House

Monday night Ingrid, Marge and I went to the Union Oyster House. A great place, Americas oldest restaurant that has great boiled lobster!

A car in Lego!

Yesterday it arrived, the car built in Lego! It took them about four months and over 200 000 pieces of Lego.

The frogs and lizzards are great!

Boston Bruins semifinal!

The four of us went to see Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes. Elenor and I. Most people had the team colours, black and yellow. It was great to be there, but the bruins lost and the hockey was not that great... Anyhow a great evening!

Lunch at the Barking Crab

This place has quickly turned into my favourite restaurant in Boston! It doesn't look much from the outside, but the lobster roll is to die for! Three times out of three I've had the lobster roll, so I guess I need to try something different next time... This time I got Ingrid and Marge with me. Marge works for Volvo Group North America and is spending the week here with us.

Saturday in Boston Common Park

Had the Saturday morning off so I took a walk to the Boston Common Park in full bloom. Had breakfast at a café, went past the pub Cheers (from the sit com series) and eventually ended up in Fanueil hall that had a lot of shops, market and very nice atmosphere! Did some shopping before I had to head back to the hotel.

More images in http://picasaweb.google.se/Grahn.Jessica/BostonUSA#

All boats on land!

Green Dragon was the last boat to be picked up on land and is now being worked on.

Delta Lloyd arrives at dawn!

Telefonica Black and Delta Lloyd arrives!

Bright and early on Monday morning Telefonica Black and Delta Lloyd arrives to Boston with just some minutes appart them! The two hour call came about 3.30 in the morning and I was down in the pavilion by 4 am. The teams did customs in our pavilion and we had some coffee and tea available for the teams, so someone had to be there.
So with the two teams safe home, I'm heading back to the hotel for some sleep...

Ericsson 3 comes into Boston in full speed!

What a finish!

Ericsson 4, Ericsson 3 and Telefonica Blue all finished within about 10 minutes on Sunday afternoon. Very good for the public and considering that they spent about 14 days at sea! We went out with Mattias to meet the Ericsson boats. A beautiful day with almost summer heat!
All images are under Boston in my web album:
http://picasaweb.google.se/Grahn.Jessica

Morning walks..

Got into the routine of taking a walk along the harbour every morning. (Except the other day when it was a little bit too much white wine and late evening to get up early...) It's interesting how different it is in the different countries. In Rio, when going out at 6.30 in the morning, you often met a lot of people still partying or on their way home from the pubs. In Boston, people are on their way to work and you meet the commuters coming with the ferry. They have arranged a very nice board walk along the harbour. The weather has been lovely the last days and now it's also getting a bit warmer. It's nice to feel totally safe when going out. Ingrid came yesterday, so now I also have company for my walks. As the breakfast is not included we bought some at the cafe on the way back and after a very leasury morning, it's now time to get going. We're opening the race village today and with the nice weather it's hopefully gonna be some people.
Hope the warmth has come to Sweden too!

Boston!

In Boston! Very nice city! The Race Village is still looking like a construction site, but hopefully they get done in time for the opening on Saturday the 25th of April.
The boats are due around Sunday/Monday depending on the winds.
Weather is like Spring home. It was very nice this morning when I was out for a walk along the water, but now it's raining and around 10 degrees... Everyone says it's going to improve this weekend with sun and 25 degrees, so that's gonna be good!

Yes, packed!

Had a very nice walk around Härlanda kärn! It's nothing like Spring in Sweden! So, finally more or less packed... I've also watered the plants, payed my bills, done my tax declaration and done the dishes, so I feel ready for bed.
Until next time, take care!

A week goes fast...

I've been home for a week and it's time to head off again! Time is flying and it's time for Boston! So this is what I've been up to since I came home (as some of you believe I have vacation when home between the stopovers :-):
Monday: Arrived home in the afternoon. Took some time to update the web album with images from the past stopovers. Went for a long walk, had something to eat, went to the store and unpacked one suitecase.
Tuesday: Worked between 8.00 to 22.30, so not much else..
Wednesday: Worked between 7.30 and stayed til 22.30, so not much else that day either..
Thursday: Worked between 7.30 to 16.30. As we had a meeting outside the office, I took the chance to get off work early. Met Mia for a coffee and went over to Christina, a collegue, to get some small strawberry (smultron) plants for my house. Ended up having dinner with her at a local Japanese restaurant. Very nice!
Friday: Worked between 8.00 to 18.00. Met Anna at the Avenue and we went for something to eat and Monica met up afterwards. Very nice to get a chance to meet them!
Saturday: Unpacked the other bag and did laundry the whole morning. Went for a loooong walk and coffee at Bertilssons stuga with Viveka and Kjell-Åke. Beautiful weather! Went to my house to "assess the damage". Turned out there's not too much to do. Had fresh shrimps in the evening. Sooo good! Really miss that when travelling!
Sunday: After breakfast I went out to my house. Spent about 8 hours clearing the flower beds. It was a lot of work, but now it looks decent! I met the neighbours, which was very nice after the long winter. Anna came out to see me and we had some dinner. Two carpenters came out to look at some work and hopefully they can get it done before I move out July 1st. Home late and spent two hours preparing presentations for Monday meetings.
Monday: At work at 8. Good first meeting. Skipped the second meeting after lunch as pretty much all participants went to the first one. First time ever and I suddenly had two more hours to the day! Yeha! Didn't manage to get out of work until 18 anyway... Have had something to eat and now I'm working up energy to pack... The travelling would be so much more fun if I didn't have to pack! At least everything is clean! Flight is early tomorrow morning, so I need to do it before getting to bed...
So that was my week in Sweden! I'm home in a month and then I'm planning to stay for four whole days in my house to really get some stuff done! Especially remove half of the flower beds! I have a plan for the whole garden, so I'm really looking forward to get to work!
So, time to get to work or I think I'm going for a walk instead of starting to pack before it gets dark...
Take care!

Spring in Göteborg

Back in Göteborg! Beautiful spring weather!
Have uploaded some images in the webalbum from the previous stopovers.
Cochin, India stopover:
http://picasaweb.google.se/Grahn.Jessica/CochinIndia#
Singapore stopover with some vacation days in Indonesia:
http://picasaweb.google.se/Grahn.Jessica/Singapore#
Qingdao, China stopover:
http://picasaweb.google.se/Grahn.Jessica/QingdaoChina#
A couple of days vacation in Beijing before heading back to Sweden:
http://picasaweb.google.se/Grahn.Jessica/BeijingChina#

Time to leave Rio

Happy Easter! I hope you all have a very good Holidays! Here in Rio you don't see a lot of it...
So been back in Rio for a few days. Ingrid and I had our little trip on Friday having lunch in Santa Teresa. Very nice little quarters up on the hill behind the Marina. We had a good lunch and a walk around. Some pictures are found here:
http://picasaweb.google.se/Grahn.Jessica/SantaTeresaRioBrazil#
Yesterday we saw the boats off to Rio. We had a very good start and a very nice day on the water with our guests on a scooner! It was clear blue sky and the racing was interesting for the first part that we could follow before the boats headed out into the open sea.
http://picasaweb.google.se/Grahn.Jessica/RestartFromRioBrazil#
In the evening we had the usual Thank God Their Gone Party at the Marina. Not a lot of people, but a nice party.
We're leaving in a few hours. Before we head off from Rio, Ingrid and I will take a walk on the beach and have some lunch to make the most of the last hours.
http://picasaweb.google.se/Grahn.Jessica/CopacabanaBeachRio#
So, soon I'm back in Sweden again. Will be in my little house for the next weekend and then head to Boston April 21st.
Take care!

Iguazu falls

More images on:
http://picasaweb.google.se/Grahn.Jessica/IguazuFallsBrazil#

Iguazu falls, Brazil

Have taken a couple of days off and gone with Rosie, one of the girls working for the Race Office, to Iguazu falls. They are located at the border between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay and is one of the top destinations in Brazil. We arrived around lunch and had the time to see the Brazilian side of the falls. It is truly amazing! The whole area has about 275 water falls and is about 3 km wide. They have built walkways along the falls and you have some great spots to view the falls.
Tomorrow we´re going a full day to the Argentinian side. We will try to also do a boat tour of the waterfalls from there. Then back to Rio on Wednesday morning.

Inport race in Rio

Saturday was Inport race. A very nice day on the water with some very good sailing. Due to lack of wind we only had one race and had to wait around for it for quite long, but we had a nice time in our rib.
Images heres:
http://picasaweb.google.se/Grahn.Jessica/InportRaceRio#

Back in Rio

Back in Rio and life is pretty good here too! Have continued with a walk on the beach every morning. Nice way to start the day!
Have uploaded some images on:
http://picasaweb.google.se/Grahn.Jessica/ParatyBrazil#
Take care!

Paraty, Brazil

Have now spent a week in wonderful Paraty, Brazil. It is a little paradise!! Stayed in a very nice Pousada (Like a guest house) a bit outside the city center. I had the poolhouse with a little veranda and a hammock (hangmatta) that I used a lot!
Suffering from jetlag also this time around I woke up early every morning and started most of my days with an hour walk on the beach in the sun. Then had a home cooked breakfast on the veranda with a view over the bay and the city center. Then some activity during the day.
First afternoon I spent at a cafe looking at people and strolled around in the colonial city. Very pritty little town with narrow streets and small boutiques.
One day I went out with a scooner stopping at a couple of islands and beaches in the bay.
One day I went to Trindade and lay on the beach, had one of the best meals ever and went to the natural pool among the rocks.
One day I took a horse back ride through the rainforest and swam in the waterfalls.
I also had a couple of treatments at the Asian Spa close by my pousada. Very nice!
On Friday I went up to another Pousada in the rain forest. They have one of the best kitchens in Brazil as the owner is a former french chef. Stayed there for two days and spent most of the time walking in the rain forest, swim in the water fall and lay in the hammock on the veranda reading a book. (By chance also the second pousada had a hammock on the veranda... As I really liked them I had to buy one to my little house in Sweden. Just have to figure out how to attach it...)
I´ve now finished three books, so time to go back to Rio...
Waiting at the busstation for the bus to take me back. Will upload a few images when I get to Rio and my computer. Have another two weeks in Rio working and really looking forward to see more of the city! Brazil is beautiful and I hope that I can come back one day!
Hope all is well in Sweden! Take care!

Heading to Brazil

Time to go to Rio where the boats are estimated to arrive on Tuesday! It's been very nice to have some time at home and catch up on everything that has fallen behind the past months! I have had time to clear my computer to increase the memory and clear the Inbox of my mail, so now I feel well prepared for the upcoming months of travelling and for a week of vacation!
Tomorrow I'm heading to Rio. I land in the evening and Monday morning it's time to hit the road! I'm going out backpacking for a week! That was a long time ago! It's gonna be a lot of fun, even if it is only for a week and to one place, Paraty. It's about four hours bus drive south of Rio. It has all ingrediences for a good vacation, beutiful beaches, boat trips, hikes to waterfalls in the rainforests, horse back riding, nice old town with cobble stones and beutiful views. I found a couple of nice places to stay, which are small and cozy, so I'm really looking forward to it. And the best! I'm not bringing the computer! For a whole week! But I'm sure they have an Internet café where I can sneek in to add something to the blog....
To read more about the place visit:
http://www.paraty.com.br/iindex.asp
Until next time.. Take care!

Dont know how this happened...

Nice new decoration on my wodden table. If nothing else it makes it unique...

Boston

So we reached Boston! Boston is great! We're staying at Seaport Hotel, where we are staying during the stopover. Very good and conveniently close to the Race Village! Still suffering from jetlag so for the third day in a row I had some time on the "girly machine" (as Peter calls them) in the gym in the morning. It feels great afterwards, but not to fun when you go down there at 6.30.. They have a class similar to BodyBalance three times a week. For you that know how much I love Body Balance it's gonna be great during the stopover to be able to take up that class again!
We had a tour today of the venues we are using during the stopover for management hotel, environmental seminar, cocktail receptions and charter boats. Seems very good and everything is very close by! We have also managed to identify the closest Starbucks! Crucial information in a country where the regular coffee is undrinkable! As I said the other day it is though very expensive. About 45 Sek for a small latte... Hope the exchange rate is improving fast! Otherwise I'm going to be ruined on Caffe Lattes!
Hope everything is well in Sweden! Take care til next time!

Greensboro, NC

On tour in the US. Christina and I are currently in Greensboro, NC at the headquarters of Volvo Trucks. Last week they had snow here, but now it's full spring with 25 degrees and sun. Wonderful! I finally has gotten some time for myself and due to the jetlag, which I really suffer from this time around, I managed to get to the gym yesterday morning. Felt very good to do some exercise again! Gonna try to keep that up from now on! We had a good day at the office with good meeting. We went for a walk in the evening in the lovely weather and ended up having dinner at the hotel. With the current exchangerate everything is very expensive! Today we will spend the day at the office and then continue to Boston tonight for a site visit for three days. Boston is going to be a big stopover for us so it's gonna be good to meet with the key people and sort some of the activities out. The weather in Boston though is snowy and cold, so back to the winter clothes. Then back to Sweden again. Take care!

Stockholm

In Stockholm for a long weekend. Took the chance now when I'm home for a longer period to take some time in Stockholm. I've managed to see most of my friends and spend some longer time with them. I got to see Stefan and Magdalenas appartment that is finally coming together after all the work they put into it. Very nice! Stefan and I also got the chance to visit Båtmässan and talk to the Stockholm Stopover organisation. A nice setup with the old Ericsson VO 70 boat! Tonight it's back to Göteborg again for a week. I will probably not be able to come to Stockholm again until the boats arrive the 17th of June (16th of June they'll arrive to Sandhamn).
So the plans for the upcoming months looks like this:
2-7 mars Göteborg
8-14 mars Boston
15 - 26 mars Göteborg
27 mars - 13 april Rio
14 - 21 april Semester i Brasilien alt. Göteborg
22 april - 18 maj Boston
19 - 26 maj Göteborg
27 maj - 7 juni Galway
8 - 14 juni Marstrand
15 - 23 juni Stockholm
24 - 29 juni St Petersburg
I'll try to be better to upload images to the blog....
Take care for now!

Beijing

So now on our way back to Göteborg. We've had a full day in Beijing yesterday sightseeing. We started out in the morning with the Great Wall of China. Incredible beautiful! We celebrated Ingrids birthday with some champagne on the wall. Then off for a nice lunch and continued back to Beijing and the Forbidden city. Very interesting! Then off for shopping after the mandatory stop at Starbucks coffee! Did some shopping and found some good things! We then had a very good dinner at a modern Chinese restaurant. Back at the hotel around ten we were quite tired after a very long, but very good day!
Now it's time for boarding! Soon back in Sweden after 6 weeks!

The boats have left and so do we!

Three of the boats left at the start signal yesterday. Telefonica Blue hit a stone and had to haul the boat out of the water again to fix the damage, but they also left this morning. Ericsson 3 finally made it to Qingdao last night and made a pitstop, 1, 5 hours, stocking up and getting three more crew aboard and then they started to chase the other boats. So we have for this leg 5 boats on it's way to Rio.
Karin and I are leaving Qingdao in a few minutes for Beijing. We will join Petra and Ingrid for some sightseeing and shopping and go back to Sweden on Tuesday. So hopefully I see you soon in Sweden!

New hat!

Love the new hat I bought at the Puma shop!

Green Dragons arrives to Qingdao, China!

Long time no hear! Sorry for being away for so long, but our network has prevented me to add messages to the blog while at work and there hasn't been a lot of time to sit at the hotel to blog. I really appreaciate all the comments I get that I don't update the blog, so I'm glad that some of you are following it!
So after one week at the Canary Islands with my family over Christmas and three weeks in Singapore (Wonderful stopover, but unfortunately no people in Race Village. Pictures will come the next days. Among other things Johan and I had a couple of wonderful days at Bintan Island!) I'm now in Qingdao, China. It is really great to be able to travel around with the race to the different stopovers, same people, same event, more or less the same pavilions in the Race Village, but so different cultures, environment, weather and problems! Qingdao has done a great job with the Race village with very good set up. We've had few problems and most of the things are running according to plan. But it is a little bit cold... Especially after coming straight from Singapore with about 30 degrees... But with a lot of clothes it is very nice outside when the sun is out and without wind! Johan left a couple of days ago, after about a week in Qingdao. We've have had a good setup and quite good calm days, but from now on the workload is pretty much going to increase by each day coming up to Inport weekend and restart. A minor setback is ofcourse that we've so far only have had four boats crossing the finish line... Green Dragon, half sponsored by Chinese companies and with a chinese sailor onboard, just crossed the finish line in fourth place and the pavilion is currently filled with Green Dragon sailors and staff. Telefonica Blue, Puma and Ericsson International came a couple of days ago well together and there were some spectacular arrivals. For the rest of the boats the plan right now is for Ericsson Nordic to repair their boat in Taiwan and then continue their journey up to Qingdao and join the rest of the fleet before the restart. Delta Lloyd and Telefonica Black are though more uncertain if they will make it to Qingdao...
So it's over 22.00 and I'm getting really hungry, so time to leave the Race Village! I'll try to give a more thorough update the next upcoming days! Until then take care!