The IKEA experience

Just got back from a visit to the shiny-new IKEA down the street. As expected, it was a zoo, with overflow parking at a dirt lot a short hike away from the store itself. With the crowds being what they were, we didn’t purchase any furniture and passed on the restaurant as the line looked like it would take well over half an hour just to be seated. Too bad, as we’d been looking forward to the some shrimp sandwich goodness as well, of course, as some lingonberry juice (so tasty).

I’ve been to a lot of IKEAs, and this one is the largest I’ve ever seen. According to the company, this store carries every single product sold, and it looks it. There is no such thing as a quick visit to this store–it is massive.

Andrea had an absolute blast in the children’s section, which is where a lot of our future disposable income will end up being spent.

The Swedish Food Market is well stocked and was the least crazy-busy part of the store, so we ended up doing some shopping there. Anchovies for making Jansson’s Temptation (hooray!), Marabou chocolate bars (yummy yummy yummy), Vacuum cleaners–a.k.a Delicato Punschrolls (a piece of heaven when consumed with a cup of coffee), Singoalla cookies (mmmm … cookies), a couple of packs of frozen Swedish meatballs (rock!), and a tube of Kalles Kaviar (creamy caviar to put on sandwiches … tasty).

The Swedish Food Market alone makes the opening of this store a total hit.

There didn’t seem to be too many Swedish people around, although it’s probably a fair bet that anybody you see in the Food Market stocking up on lingonberry jam and Kalles Kaviar will be Swedish…

It’s good to have an IKEA nearby and not have to make the six-hour trek to Southern California.