Gamla Stan -Founded in 1252

Today, we took the bus the 3 km to the old part of Stockholm. We had been in this area a couple times already and had even eaten dinner here but we hadn't taken the time to really explore

Today, we explored it all. It reminds us so much of the old town in VANNES, France, only much bigger and open on Sundays! Nothing was open on Sundays in France which was all well and good until you needed something to do, had visitors in town for the weekend, or needed something from the grocery store!  Anyway, The old town of Stockholm is called Gamla Stan and was founded in 1252. It has beautiful, colorful buildings, cobble stone streets, churches, museums, stores, restaurants and of course, the Royal Palace. We walked up and down the narrowest alley which is only 90 cm at it's narrowest point, we listened to the Royal band play in front of the palace, we wandered through the main square, we roamed through art galleries and souvenir shops, and we ignored Max's request for ice cream every time we passed an ice cream shop. We saw the Nobel museum and the national cathedral of Stockholm. Beautiful! We then took the number 2 bus home. Josh and I got off on the main shopping street of the city while the kids came the rest of the way home. We had to tackle a VERY important task before we could come home. We had to stop at the Nespresso store and restock our coffee. Absolutely critical! I have always had to order my Nespresso online but now actually live somewhere with a retail location so we checked it out. It was terribly crowded but easy to maneuver and we stocked up on our favorites before heading home.