My IKEA

I paid my first visit to IKEA today. A couple of years ago I never heard of IKEA but then they opened a store in my city and they were all over the news so by opening day every body in the county knew about IKEA.

People showed up two days early to stand in line for the opening. These people are called IKEAFANS - and there are millions of them.

I, of course, had no interest. I'm not a shopper.

But today my Boyfriend and I were up for an adventure so we headed to the IKEA in his city.

By the way, his IKEA is adjacent to The Mall of America. This is the largest mall in the country. Brits fly over in groups to shop for the weekend. All expenses paid.

I've been there once.

My Boyfriend, who's lived here longer than the mall, has been twice.

The big blue and yellow warehouse that we call IKEA was overwhelming and a little manic. It's a world of garish colors, plastics and red lacquered veneers.

In fact, it's many worlds. It's like Disney's "It's a Small World." It just goes on, and on and on.... until you just want to grab a baseball bat and start smashing. Oh, sorry!

We went to the restaurant that my Swedish friend has raved about. Looked it over and left. Then, on the way out, we stopped at the grill and each had a 50 cent hot dog. Not bad.

That's all we bought.


***