Later, after some drinks and a bottle of champagne, I took Carita to Restaurant Michelle for dinner. Helsinki doesn't seem to have many slick-looking, independent, modern restaurants - most are very traditional in design and cooking, so Michelle seemed like a good option. The atmosphere was romantic and peaceful when we arrived, and we both had the fillet of reindeer, Daniel Saint sauce and cheese potatoes, which was perfectly cooked and bursting with flavour - really fantastic! Vegetables other than potatoes are unusual in Finnish cooking and it's often said that Finns get their stamina from sausage, beer, and sauna!

We'd been warned when we arrived that, as it was Saturday, there would be a band playing later, and by the time desert arrived the band was setting up and the bar area was getting packed with Finns in search of beer. We had the chocolate cake with berries and caramelled sugar, and the selection of three mousses. Desert and cake isn't given the same priority in Finland as in many other countries, and isn't considered an essential part of a good meal, so it's often disappointing. This, unfortunately, was no different, so we paid the bill, dodged out before the band started, and went home to have a lovely bottle of wine, determined in future to find a good source of cake in the capital.