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But, what and where is Lapland? This is a tough question. This territory, above the Artic circle is divided between Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia. However, officially Lapland is where the Sami live. Generally, people refers to Lapland in Finland or Sweden, neither Norway or Russia refer to their territory under this name, and usually Lapland (or Laponian region) is the name used to the union of the Swedish and Finnish areas.

For the matter of this post, we should go to the north of Finland, in the Finnish Lapland. The capital is Rovaniemi, an iconic place in which the line of the Artic circle passes across. This is an area to start wild adventures, among thick forests and wooden houses (mökki) there is the highest mountain in the country, some of its fjords and one of the best places in Finland to see Northern lights and enjoy the amazing view of the sun at midnight.

This area is known for being Santa Claus hometown (Santa in Finnish is Joulupukki). The translation is quite confusing: “Joulu” means Christmas, all right, but “pukki” means, literally, deer or goat. Years ago, people was afraid of him and nobody knows when, eventually, he became the charming elder he is now. The tradition of Joulupukki is from the beginning of the 19th century, even most of the Finnish tradition was lost after the story of Santa Claus was Americanized.

Thousands of letters are sent to the postal code of this town with tones of Christmas whises. They are collected and arranged by Santa’s hard-working assistants, the elfs. Attention! The address is: Santa Claus, 96930 Polar Circle, Finland. When Santa Claus gets to people’s houses he asks "Onkos täällä kilttejä lapsia?" (There are well-behaved kids here?), and kids should answer a convincing yes to receive the gifts.

It’s not only Santa Claus who makes Rovaniemi one of the most visited places in Finland. Around his figure and Christmas traditions, Santa Claus village was built, about 8 kilometers northeast from Rovaniemi. This is a theme park to do some shopping, participate in gifts workshops or simply enjoy a great variety of activities.

You can also visit Joulukka, the place where elves prepare the trip for Santa Claus. You will find out how elves live, you’ll be able to help them bake ginger cookies with Christmas decoration and they will guide you to meet Santa Clause.

Do you want to see what is Santa Claus doing right now? Easy! Santa is so updated on new technologies and he has cameras streaming live his daily work. One camera is outside the office and the other is inside to watch how he gets ready for this special day.

A good option to go from Helsinki to Rovaniemi is taking the high-speed train, which takes only 10 hours. You’ll feel like the main character in the animation movie “Polar Express” who takes this train on Christmas Eve to meet Santa.

But, besides the visit to the land of Santa Clause, there are many other things to do while you are in Helsinki for your winter trip.

Even Finnish people use the sauna all the year, the contrast with the freezing cold outside is the best way to enjoy a hot sauna to get over the cold. Or, for those looking for unforgettable experiences, you should try avantouinti. What is that? There a clubs in Finland to practice ice swimming. They make a hole in the ice of a lake (the hole is called ‘avanto’) and they get in the freezing water after the sauna. They state it has beneficial effects for your health but be careful or you’ll get a cold.

The winter in Finland is the greatest time to take stunning nature photos. The snowy landscapes are unforgettable memories from your trip and the whole country is covered in white most of the winder. Take advantage to the opportunity of practicing winter sports too. Skiing or skating over iced lakes is such a unique experience.

Pictures by Tarja Ryhannen

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The renowned macaron is a traditional round shape French pastry, crunchy on the outside and soft inside and made ​​from egg whites, crushed almonds and sugar. It is aromatized and colored with strawberry, hazelnut, chocolate’s flavours or any other variety one can imagine, since there is an effort to specialized bakeries for finding the most original macaron and you may find roses, saffron or gum flavored macarons and increasingly most diverse forms.

It is difficult to find the precise origin because, as with all these delicious recipes, you have different stories. It seems to be that comes from Venice and it was originated during the Renaissance, but it is the luxurious Ladurée bakery located Paris the one who invents the macaron as known today, double and different shades for differentiate depending on the flavor. It was Pierre Desfontaines, Ladurée’s pastry chef , the first one who joined two macarons with ganache. It is said that they are the best macarons in the world and the fact is that they sell more than 15,000 units every day!

Imagen de Sunny Ripert

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On the right of Po’s bridge and near Piazza Vittorio Veneto lies Monte dei Cappuccini , a hill from where you can admire the wonderfulviews Turin has to offer. Of great importance to the Capuchin friars that are in Santa Maria del Monte’s convent, it has also been since ancient times a pilgrimage destination for the more spiritual ones.

Initially built for defensive purposes, the convent building dates back to the thirteenth century. In 1988 was built a funicular railway, but bombings during the war had destroyed it, although the walk well worth it, about 15 minutes from the Church of the Gran Madre di Dio will be enough to get there, and if you are lucky and you have a clear day, you can spot the Alps.

If you still need any more reasons to go to Turin and up to this beautiful hill, the Museo Nazionale della Montagna is another reason that may finally convince you.

Picture: Geobia

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