Today we went into Stockholm so Mirinda could have her eyes measured then to arrange the possible dates for her operations. Jonas reckoned three months, Fi said the standard waiting time in Australia is around 18 months. It would probably never happen in the UK. The waiting time turned out to be 15 hours. Yes, we’re returning tomorrow for the first operation.
Anyway, today we headed up to Vagnhärad just on midday, accompanied by the girls, and set off.
Emma and Freya were both very good, as was the massive dog under the table across the aisle.
Chris was waiting for us at Stockholm Central and the girls happily went off with her. It’s so lucky that we found Chris. She loves the girls and they reciprocate. We never have a problem leaving them.
Rather than return to Le Bistrot, we headed for Gino’s for some Italian. It was an improvement though hardly what you’d call gourmet. And I don’t think the waiter had much job satisfaction. He was quite the miserable fellow.
So, the appointment went okay and the operation is set for tomorrow morning.
We left, heading for Mirinda’s favourite Portuguese restaurant, Botica where I had bacalhau. It was delicious, though not a lot like any bacalhau I’d had before.
And the pastel de nata was the perfect end to the meal. It felt like a celebration so we toasted Mirinda’s completion of her recent course and assignment.
Having eaten our full, we headed back to central only to be vague witnesses to some sort of mugging. A man grabbed a woman’s bag or phone or whatever – it was quite a distance away. She screamed. A lot and very loud. In fact, she was so loud that a vigilant bunch of policemen raced across the road and apprehended the mugger.
It was all very unexpected and very shocking. The mugger was so shocked he made quite a few subhuman sounds as the police tried to subdue him. The woman waited patiently, ready to testify if that was necessary.
It felt like something off the TV and made an exciting end to our day in Stockholm.
Of course, the train was late, which meant sitting and looking at the empty platforms for longer than necessary.
Subsequently, it took forever to get home but, eventually, we did. It was the end of a long and surprising day.
