THE WORLD'S FIRST AND ONLY AIRPORT TATTOO PARLOR

During my layover at ARN airport in Stockholm, Sweden, I stepped into a coffee shop that doubles as a tattoo studio. Nothing beats a good travel tattoo to mark an amazing trip. I considered getting some work done but my layover was too short.

Airport tattoo studio

Salong Betong studio's on-call artists are among Sweden's most reputable tattooists. Opening up shop in Stockholm's airport was a savvy move, since the brand is already popular with Swedes and since Sweden is the most heavily tattooed nation in the world per capita. One-third of its young residents are tattooed, perhaps because a law prevents employees from workplace discrimination, allowing even its most pierced and tattooed citizens to work anywhere with little stigma.

Photorealistic tattoos, typical of Swedish tattoo art  

Not only does Tro Hop & Kaffee make tattoos, but it's a full-on coffee shop with delicious fair-trade roasts, apparel and fun knick-knacks. To boot, a percentage of proceeds funds Maskrosbarn, a charity which helps children whose parents suffer from alcoholism.

This airport tattoo parlor, in Terminal 5, allows travelers to spend long layovers getting fresh ink - perhaps the most unique and personal airport souvenir ever!

Ocean of love, 

-Naomi

THE MOST INSPIRED CAFE IN ROME

There's no better place to write indoors than an excellent cafe bookstore, with Internet (for research) - or better - with endless stacks of books to peruse, and coffee or wine for when the writing begins to jam.

Sant'eustachio arguably has the best espresso in Rome, and Cafe Greco the most classic ambiance, but Liberia Invito alla Lettura Roma is the best place to write. Decoupage tabletops, classical music and tufted, weathered leather nailhead couches make for the perfect writing situation. 

The tall walls are decorated in shelves that house thousands of books, old movie posters, vintage suitcases, framed newspaper clippings and weird dolls. Rusted tin cars, 1950s kitchen appliances, hair dryers and yellowed books spilled in cabinets. Strings of colorful kerosene lanterns, vinyl records, 45s and chandeliers line one wall. Pots and pans, and various musical instruments, randomly hang from another corner, along with a couple of flapper dresses (perhaps for sale, or perhaps the cashier's change of clothes). There are old radios, a mismosh of rotary phones and bins filled with worn postcards, some written by strangers from past eras that remain unstamped, and unsent. 

The oddities, the old magazines, first editions, espresso kicks, access to wine and petit fours, the bikes, movie posters, kitschy souvenirs, and the random ladder leading to a tiny balcony of books - all belong in this strange world, and perhaps nowhere else.

What piques my curiosity most are the shelves upon shelves of purely decorative, not-for-sale collectibles.  

But there's a rhythm to the madness. Perhaps this is why Liberia Invito alla Lettura Roma spurs my imagination to float in and out of the strangest places, and enables me to escape myself and to embrace and leverage my own chaos. 

Next time you go to Rome, be sure you come here and experience it for yourself. It's centrally located on Corso Vittorio Emmanuelle II.  

Oceans of love,  

-Naomi