Travelog post for: Tochi

My mom got back online! She wants me home! Yay! To celebrate my FosterMom took me sightseeing 

I got to walk in the Old Town of Porvoo It's probably the most popular sight in Porvoo, my host says it's full of tourists in the summer.

There are many many small shops that sell all kinds of quality stuff, mostly handmade. My host's favorite shop is a toy shop called Riimikko. It sells good toys made of wood or tin or such - basically anything but plastic. This store has a Moomin house on its window all year round - they just change the decoration by the season.

I did some window shopping and then walked on the other side of River Porvoo to see the famous (all the local brochures have these red houses on the cover) red shorehouses. The brochure tells this about them: The shore houses are now red, but they got their colour only in the late 18th century. Red ochre paint was used to paint the shore houses in honour of King Gustav III's arrival from Sweden. All of the houses along his route were painted, in order to make them more beautiful. The red ochre also helped protect the logs from wind and sun damage. Exotic fruits, wines and spices were brought to Porvoo, and the shore houses also served as intermediate storehouses for coffee an tobacco. Today the shore houses are used as private living quarters and storage space.