Full circle moment. In June, I delivered a gift from World of Maps in Ottawa, Canada to the museum in Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Yesterday I got to deliver the gift from Svalbard back to Ottawa. It was so much fun, and now I know how Santa feels. Brad and Petra loved the package and went crazy…
(Post 1 of 4) Welcome to World of Maps in my neighbourhood in Ottawa, Canada. I have bought maps here since I was a kid, and when I went in for a chart of Svalbard, the owners, Petra and Brad, told me they have been shipping merchandise up to the Longyearbyen museum for years. Aha!…
(Post 2 of 4) Witness the package of Canadiana I carried up to Longyearbyen. Petra put together a wonderful gift for her friend here (she’s been shipping maps to the Svalbard museum for years): maple candies, maple syrup, an Inukshuk and a photo book of Canada. I’ve had it in my bag for a few…
(Post 3 of 4) Anna Lena Ekeblad has been living in Longyearbyen for 20 years, and she received us in her home today. She buys fresh flowers every week. While we visited over coffee and cinnamon buns, her kids (Erik and Mia) and their friends ran in and out, and the doorbell rang three times….
(Post 4 of 4) The gift that I brought from Ottawa, Canada was finally delivered. Anna Lena smiled and laughed so many times going through the package. “It is so exotic to me,” she said. “Now I really have to come visit Canada.” If she finds World of Maps and the people who sent this…