Helsinki wasn't at its best last Saturday - it was blowing and raining quite heavily. Nothing to worry as I had my  "Storm" with me - I bought "him" in London after my "Berlinerin" broke "her" neck, the London wind was a bit too much to her. Our art nouveau walking tour was about to start. I gave a short overview of what we're about see in a cosy Art Nouveau cafe - it was still pouring but off we went.

We passed the cathedral - the square in front of it was almost dead. One tourist bus from France stood there alone. Why on earth did these people come to Helsinki in November? Probably a "madventure".

The Helsinki Art Nouveau brochure was getting wet in my hands - I ticked every  "pearl" we managed to see on our route. My sister struggled taking photos in the pouring rain. But honestly, we quite enjoyed what we saw. It was great to look at Helsinki from a different angle - looking up. The Art Nouveau houses need to be looked into every single detail and the most interesting details are usually above the street level: towers, decorations, sculptures, balconies, windows of different sizes, charming gates - it's sad that the modern age doesn't allow such creativity.

In one street corner, next to one of the "pearls" there was a small confectioner's shop - we couldn't resist going in. The smell of chocolate was irresistable - and so was the shopkeeper. The young man knew everything about chocolate, he explained us all about the process and the different sorts of cocoa (Madagaskar, Peru...) and how you can immediately taste the differences. Chocolate is like wine - you first like the sweet milk chocolates but later on the dark even bitter chocolates seem to taste better. The shopkeeper has his own recipe for mixing cocoa mass in France - he carefully chooses the right mixture of cocoas from different parts of the world. I bought a box of handmade chocolates to Jari - I had forgotten his "name day" on Friday, and as the way to a man's heart goes via stomach...

A crazy idea crossed my mind after this Art Nouveau Tour - why don't I start a new business: Art Nouveau Runs for tourists! There are always some crazy people who like to do their daily exercise during their holidays. Why not combine it with a guided tour! Maybe a 5K and a 10k option? Beginners and advanced? I'm sure I could make an arrangement with the "chocolate boy" and bring the group to his shop to make up for all the lost calories after the run...

For the best chocolates in Helsinki see: http://www.chjoko.com/index_en.html