"Don't Ya Want a Fanta, Fanta"
My wife has wanted a Fanta shot for a long time now. Finally in Poland we found glass Fanta bottles. 6 bottles and lots of natural light made for some interesting shots.
Danboard Visits Poland
The rumors are true, Danboard is in Poland. He was a little shy to come out in public at first because he speaks very little Polish. I let him borrow some of my books and he is progressing very well with the language. He is now comfortable mingling with the locals and he can even order a coffee with milk in Polish. He really loves Krakow and looks forward to checking out more of the sights. You can view more of his adventures here.
Naleśniki and a Drunken Bum
So, the other night everyone had plans except for me. Don't worry, I wasn't sad. I had a nice night by myself to take some photos. I started my "date" with a delicious plate of Naleśniki at an outdoor cafe in the Main Square while I waited for the sun to go down. Naleśniki are similar to crepes. They come with a variety of fillings like fruit or cheese. Mine were stuffed with apples and covered with chocolate sauce, powdered sugar, and whipped cream. Since I had to sacrifice a lot of space and weight in my suitcase for my tripod, I thought I better start making use of it with some long exposure night shots.
This is when I met my new "friend". He came up to me and asked what I was doing. I thought it was pretty obvious, but maybe not to someone with beer goggles as thick as his. I chatted for a few minutes with the extremely close talking drunk. Occasionally he braced himself on my shoulder. He told me that he was a law student and had 2 more years left until he graduated. The fact that he had only 3 teeth, dirty clothes, and liquor breath that could knock you over, kind of told me otherwise.
After his "spiel" came the punch line I was waiting for, "Do you have any money for food?". I gave him 2 złoty to get rid of him, but he said, "Only 2 złoty?!". "Sorry, that's all I have on me. If you don't want it give it back!", I replied. Of course he kept it and staggered away.
I have uploaded some new photos in addition to the ones below to the Krakow Gallery.
One Foot in Poland, the Other in Slovakia
Saturday we spent the day hiking in the Tatra mountains of Zakopane, southern Poland. The peaks are a little over 6,560 feet. The border of Poland and Slovakia runs along the ridge of the mountains. Along the trail are markers with an obvious "P" for Poland on one side, and "S" for Slovakia on the other. It's kind of cool to stand in 2 countries at the same time!
Hello from Krakow!
I can't believe we have been here for 3 weeks already! We are finally settling in to our home away from home for the next few months. Krakow is such a great city, and our apartment is close to everything, even our Polish language school is right across the street. This weekend we are heading south to the Tatra mountains in Zakopane.
Last Post From America!
So, today is our last day in the US! We are off to Poland for 6 months. It's tough packing your whole life into 2 suitcases! We have an apartment in Krakow that is in walking distance to much of the historic area of the city, including the main market square, Wawel castle, the river, and many parks. Sounds like many great photo ops!
Peabody Essex Museum
We took a break from packing today and visited the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. They had a great exhibit on the Dutch Masters that we wanted to catch before we leave. The detail and clarity of these paintings from the 1600's are amazing! Unfortunately, no photos allowed! Another cool exhibit going on now is called Eye Spy, Playing With Perception. On display was a collection of mirrors, abstract sculptures, and optical illusions. One was a giant wall sculpture made of different colored spools of thread. It doesn't look like much at first, but when viewed through a glass ball the image comes to life.
Packing Up!
One week left before we head to Poland for 6 months, and still so much to do. Most of our belongings need to be packed and stored. I really liked how the light was shining through these glasses as they were waiting to go into their box. For the photo though, I cheated and fired a flash through them from the other side of the counter. I should really get back to work!
The Beehive, One Week Later
This past weekend was our first checkup on our beehive. We were just hoping that they wouldn't all be dead. With the smoker puffing away, we slowly removed the cover. To our amazement, the bees were very alive and they had been very busy during the week. They had freed their queen, and had filled several of the frames with comb. You can see the queen in the photo marked with a white dot. Each day I am more impressed with these little creatures, especially since we have still not been stung! More photos
Danboard Goes For a Ride
The weather was finally nice enough for Danboard to try out his new scooter. He looks pretty classy on that vintage Lambretta!
The Bee's Knees
After months of preparation and anticipation, the bees finally arrived! We had to drive to Weston, CT to pick them up. It was an interesting ride with 13,000 buzzing passengers in the back seat! Once we got home, they were sprayed with sugar water to calm them down and make them happy. After an hour rest they were dumped into their new home. The queen came in her own separate cage with a piece of sugar blocking her in. In a couple days the other bees will eat through the sugar and free her from the box. Honey bees are surprisingly docile and pretty harmless. They were flying all around us and other spectators and nobody got stung. Josh, our bee partner didn't even wear gloves when handling the queen box. But then again, he is pretty tough.
Eventually, more boxes will be added to increase the hive. This year the bees will be using most of their energy making wax and building the combs, so we probably won't get much honey until next year.
Scotland and Ireland
We flew into Edinburgh and drove throughout Scotland for 1 week. From there we drove south through England and Wales and took a ferry over to Dublin. We spent the second week driving across Ireland, spending most of the time on the West coast, and flew back home out of Shannon. Despite the horrible airline called Aer Lingus ruining our lives, the trip was great! View the whole album
Back in Action!
It's been a while since I have posted anything here. I have been super busy since we returned from Scotland, photos coming soon! Our bee hive has also been keeping us busy. It is finally painted and all the frames assembled. This Sunday will be an exciting car ride as we bring home 13,000 of the little guys!
The Cliffs of Insanity
We left Dingle this morning and headed for county Clare. Still no rain, perfect for viewing the 700 foot Cliffs of Moher. This is where they filmed the "Cliffs of Insanity" scenes from the Princess Bride.After that we drove through the Burren, a weird but beautiful landscape of fields, cliffs, and flat limestone formations. This area is also home to some Megalithic tombs and structures that are older than the pyramids in Egypt. Our B&B for the night is in nearby Doolin, with great rolling farmland and a stunning, rugged coastline. O'Connor's Pub had great food, pints, and live traditional music.
A Day in Dingle
I woke up early today to catch the sunrise over the Dingle peninsula on the west coast of Ireland. After a huge Irish breakfast we took Conor Pass, a one lane windy road through the mountains and headed into the seaside town of Dingle. The views were spectacular! There were sheep everywhere, even on the steep grassy cliffs. We stopped by the beach in Inch for a late lunch. So far, no rain on the whole trip. Tomorrow that may change.
Mountains, Whiskey, and Football
We left Dublin today and headed south through the desolate, yet stunning Wicklow Mountains.Te Jameson distillery in Midleton had a great tour and whiskey sampling. Our night ended with some pints and a live football match at a local Blarney pub. What a perfect setting to watch Ireland's 2-1 victory over Macedonia.
Hello From Dublin
After a hearty Welsh breakfast, we took the Holyhead ferry over to Dublin. A night of great pubs, music, and Guinness.
Holyhead, Wales
We just checked in to our B&B in Wales after a 6.5 hour drive from Scotland. The weather is perfect and so is the ocean view. Tomorrow we walk over to the Holyhead ferry terminal for a 2 hour boat trip to Dublin.
Haggis, Whisky, and a Royal Palace
Today was our last day in Scotland. One week is definitely not enough time to see everything. I did manage to fit in some fried haggis bites though. Not as disgusting as it might seem, it was actually pretty good.Cadenheads whisky shop let us sample some local single malts unfiltered, straight out of the cask. We also visited the country village of Falkland, home of the famous Falkland Palace the summer hunting retreat of the ancient royal family. Tomorrow we drive south through England and Wales to Holyhead, where we take a ferry over to Dublin to start our last week in Ireland. See ya soon!
Loch Ness and the Highlands
What a beautiful drive today up into the highlands! The rugged landscape is like nothing I have seen anywhere else.Unfortunately, Nessy was nowhere to be found.
