It is all eaten now

So all we have now is this...

Christmas in Poland - last leg of the journey - Krakow

To combine the best of both worlds I decided to book my flight back from Krakow, so that I would be able to visit my friends there too. I stayed with my best friend but also one of my favourite cooperators and models - Monika. Of couse we spent the whole time chatting. Unfortunately she was not feeling very well so her husband Piotr went out with me on a walk entitled 'a tourist in your own city'. Well, I haven't been to Krakow for almost a year so some things I did are fully understandable: I took a picture of me next to a monument of Piotr Skrzynecki. In the Vis a Vis bar behind me, there was one of the staff members of the photolab where I was a regular (at least once a week) visitor and who clearly was surprised at my actions - this is a thing only tourists do! Well, I am kind of one now...

I have also realised that I am posing for this picture (courtesy of Piotr) in exactly the same manner as my mum does for her tourist pics...

It was also nice to meet again with Marcin designs for Teatr Stary. We would need you here in Edinburgh too!

Monika and Piotr by me at the airport couple of hours after pictures above were taken. I hope I will be able to see you soon in Scotland. Luckily my flight was only 2 hours late. I was reading Chopin letters so I did not even noticed.

Ouch, my coat

The only downside of the Polish holidays was a destruction of my favourite winter coat. It burned on a heater in a little shop I went into to say hello to a familiar owner and I ended up chopping off the whole bottom of it so now I just have a not so favourite winter jacket...

Christmas in Lublin - Christmas Eve

Apart from visitng my native city of Lublin (just look at all these huddled pigeons on top of Maresal Pilsudski monument!) I had a lovely time with my family, which I tend not to get very often (as last time we met when they came for the wedding in Oxford) not to mention a very special Polish food prepared especially for the Christmas Eve:

Snowy Christmas in Lublin

I am not a believer in an activity holiday. My ideal is pyjamas, good film on TV (this time it was a biography of Chaplin with Robert Downey Jr) and a perspective of not being obliged to do anything for next several days. Unfortunately I had to take some work with me to Poland but luckily it was not more than for 4 hours a day so the rest of that time I could spend in he way I wished.

Lublin was less cold than Warsaw when on the evening of my return from Dominika's it was -18 degrees! but it had much more snow:

Breaking (home) news

Back to our Scottish dwellings for a moment - Simon's sister sent us a pack of absolutely gorgeous Rococco Chocolates in an exqusite box. I am just fighting off Simon before he scoffs it all in 3 sec straight!

Thank you Sarah (+Micheal + Belinda + Honor)!

Christmas in Poland - Warsaw part 2

Warszawa was extremely cold during my visit. I went to visit my nine months pregnant friend Dominika (last time when I was in Warsaw and we arranged to meet all I got was an answering machine as Dominika was already busy with giving birth to her first son! This time I had more luck as Ignacy was born on 27th of December so almost ten days after my visit.) She lives in Saska Kepa so that to meet her I had to cross the river ^

It was not the end of meeting friends with babies as Kasia's sister and my very good friend Joanka brought her son for his visit in Poland too! When I saw her last, Julian was still in her belly!

I was so happy and overwhelmed that I finally MADE IT to Poland after a year of absence that I quickly went to the All Saints church to say a quick prayer and drop a little plea for a saint Juda Tadeusz who as Monika Zeromska claimed is a very special saint specialising in unresolved matters.

I kept myself busy with photographying a Warsaw landmark - Palac Kultury which kept on creeping up on me everytime I have turned around. Here ^ it is just before my visit to Kasia's favourite hairdresser who she very kindly booked for me 3 months in advance! Now I am sporting a crop a la Juliette Binoche in Bleu though I got a parting on the wrong side and I cannot get used to it grrrr....