So, after dinner last night, I went back to the hotel, made an Earl Grey (which I stole from that Cafe in Oslo... got even more benefit out of that great brekkie!), watched a bit of telly, then went to bed and had a FANTASTIC sleep! I didn't even dream about being naked whilst giving a spiel or anything!
I woke up this morning at 9:00, got out of my very warm and comfy bed by 9:30, and out the door shortly afterwards. I dropped off my luggage at the Hotel Santa Claus :) then decided to check out the Lonely Planet-recommended cafe down the street. I had a capuccino and cinnamon bun, and checked out the cool, old-school paraphernelia in the cafe; old kettles, video games, radios - a random assortment of old, very cool junk.
Then I headed to the train station, where I caught the Santa Express bus ... YIPPPEEEE!! I told the bus driver that I was very excited, and he looked at me like I was a bit nuts (then kept his eye on me through the rearview mirror). So I cranked up all of the Christmas tunes on my MP3 and quietly rocked out all the way to the Santa Claus Village. And WOOHOOO was it ever awesome!!
Unfortunately, the real Christmas action doesn't kick off until December, so I didn't get to see any reindeer or huskies. But I had a ball nonetheless. I shopped a lot (there was lots of actually cute stuff, not the average plastic Christmas crap); bought a letter-to-Santa-writing kit for Brett, sent a letter from Santa home to Daddy, bought some postcards for Susan and Tupper, got a card for Mom, and an official "I crossed the Arctic Circle" certificate.
I was gutted not to see any reindeers, so when I came upon a restaurant selling reindeer meat, I figured that was the next best thing. I was going to buy the whole lunch meal, but then the waitress offered me a sample that was actually half a plateful, so that was enough. It was very tasty, really salty and delicious, but it left a funny aftertaste (both mentally and physically). I'm glad I tried it, even more glad that I didn't have a whole plate!
After lunch, I walked into the woods, hoping to spot a stray reindeer or at least someone walking a husky, but alas, all I got was a nice, snowy stroll. It actually snowed all day, which totally added to the festive atmosphere.
All in all: a BRILLIANT day ... made even greater when I got to meet Santa!
I was in my final gift shop of the afternoon when I saw the door leading to Santa, so I couldn't resist. I had to walk through basically a haunted house, full of dark corners and creepy, creaky sounds; it was really neat, like I was entering a hidden, Tim Burton-esque lair! And then an elf photographer emerged from a big, heavy door to lead me in to the big man himself. I felt a little ridiculous, but giddy at the same time. I chatted with Santa about Ottawa, the Sens, he taught me how to say "cheese" in Finnish as we smiled for the camera, and we took a few photos together. It was fantastic!
I caught the bus back from the Santa Village at 5pm, and along the way, I chatted with a local girl who was in love with all things Canadian. She was very sweet, with perfect skin (that's what you get in a country with very little sun!).
When I got back into Rovaniemi, I had dinner at McDonalds. I didn't even feel guilty about it this time, because it is the "World's Northernmost Golden Arches", so it had to be done (and I thoroughly enjoyed every bite of my Big Mac Meal).
I shopped a little bit, enjoying the snowy and sparkly street, then walked back to the train station and caught my train to Helsinki.
Okay, I've killed 20 minutes now. Only 11 hours, 40 minutes to go.
Shit...
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