The day Sadie had been waiting for was finally here . . . getting to see her bestie NYC bud, Jasmine!!
Upper West Side Buddies
Jasmine & Sadie were classmates in nursery school (Bright Horizons, age 2.5-4), Pre-K (PS84) and Kindergarten (PS166). She & her family moved to Geneva, Switzerland just before Christmas this past year, and Sadie missed her friend.
Pause: Let's just appreciate these two cutie patooties and their friendship through the years :)
Saying Hi in Copenhagen
We weren’t able to get over to Geneva, but were fortunate that Jasmine & her family would be in Scandinavia the same time that we were briefly in Copenhagen. We hatched a plan to meet at the Copenhagen Zoo on Wednesday morning, August 7th. Excitement was high! Sadie - who doesn’t particularly like attention on her or the hoopla that comes with reuniting with friends/family after a long time apart - told us “I’ll only hug Jasmine when no one is looking at us.” :)
We arrived at the Zoo and kept our eyes peeled for Jasmine & crew. There they were! Jasmine was joined by her Dad (Samer), brother (Keenan), Aunt (Tanya) and cousin (Selma). At first the girls awkwardly stood next to each other, barely uttering a word. But within 10 minutes they were hopping along hand-in-hand together to see the animals, chatting in their own little world and giving hugs on the sly :)
We had a great morning checking out all the zoo creatures and play spaces. Crowd favorites were definitely the panda, tiger and zoo playground. All five kiddos won a little stuffed seal pup out of those hokey arcade games! Jasmine’s Aunt & cousin live in Copenhagen and very graciously shared recommendations of their favorite playgrounds, eateries & neighborhoods.
Our lunch timing was fortuitous; as we were seated under a pergola it started raining. We waited out the rain inside with a fika (Swedish term for a break with coffee and cake/snack). The rain was short-lived and soon the skies opened up & the sunshine returned.
Sidenote: The food at the Zoo was amazingly fresh & healthy! Nothing like the junky, unhealthy food options you typically see at American zoos. They even had a mini farmer’s market at the entrance to the zoo, selling in-season fruit & vegetables. Score Copenhagen Zoo! Oddly, the kids meals came with a little side of critters. Yes, you read that right . . . fried insects! Paige even tried one!!
Goodbye Again, For Now
By mid-afternoon it was time to go our separate ways. We gave big hugs and said goodbye, thanking Jasmine & crew for carving out time & making the trip to hang out. Our hearts were full . . . happy to see old friends in new places, meet new friends and create new lasting memories. That’s such a massive part of what this year is all about!
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