More of Krakow, Poland

My most memorable cultural experience in Krakow was attending an evening concert of classical music at this majestic old church. The Church of Saints Peter and Paul dates back to the seventeenth century and represents Polish Baroque style.

As for my best culinary experience, it was a brunch with my husband at a small inviting tavern. We both had traditional Polish dumplings called pierogi. I had ones stuffed with cabbage and mushrooms, and my husband had ones stuffed with potatoes. They both were very delicious.

You might ask me what my best shopping experience was. Well, I didn’t do any shopping. I realized that my home is filled with tons of small souvenirs and trinkets from my trips and I probably don’t need any more. I thought it was wiser to spend time and money on seeing and experiencing things rather than shopping. Nevertheless, I enjoyed window shopping at some lovely artisan shops.

Evening Krakow

Dear friends, thank you for your kind comments on my previous posts about my trip to Europe. It was a fantastic time of my life and it’s so wonderful now to experience it again by sharing the pictures and stories with you!

From Ukraine, my husband and I took a plane to Warsaw, the capital of Poland. There we changed planes and flew to Krakow, another old Polish city.

The purpose of our visit to Poland was a friend’s wedding that was to take place in a small village two hours by car away from Krakow. We, however, arrived to Krakow a few days prior the wedding, so we could explore the city.

It was late evening when we finally got to our hotel, which was located near the Main Market Square of the Old Town.

Neither my husband nor I had been to Poland before, so despite being tired from the flight, we set off to explore the city. We walked narrow streets to the Main Square, which dates back to the 13th century.  I was absolutely fascinated by its grandeur!

We walked around the square and strolled inside the Cloth Hall, a Renaissance building in the middle of the Square.  

There were many beautiful skillfully crafted things to explore (and buy) inside. Probably because it was a long tiresome day for me, I didn’t buy anything though I was particularly drawn to a few booths with gorgeous amber jewelry.

I fell in love with Krakow right away! In the dark of the night, everything seemed so perfect. A clean and quiet town, alive with pedestrians but hardly any cars. The majestic toll of the bell from the tower of the Cloth Hall announced the time, and it utterly felt like a town from another time!

The following day, when the sun came out and I saw the city in a different light, I was not any bit disappointed. On the contrary, I was certain it’s going to be one of my favorite cities in the world!

More about daylight Krakow next time.

Until then,

Olga  

Ukrainian Countryside

From the capital of France, I’m going to take you to a completely opposite world – a tiny village in Ukraine. My grandparents spent their entire lives there, raising their children, working on the land and tending to farm animals. A simple way of living. And a very difficult one too!

They are long gone, and with their passing away destruction began to take its toll. It’s hard to believe that this empty estate overgrown by trees and grass once was a happy place filled with life, children’s laughter, mooing, bleating, clucking, etc.

   

In this small hut, which now has almost collapsed, my mother and her five siblings grew up. I spent many summers here too. There were only one room and a kitchen with an earthen floor. The water always came from the well. Luckily, during my time, there already was electricity, but it wasn’t there when my mom was growing up.

Despite the lack of daily-life necessities, I remember it as a very happy place.

  

My grandfather built another house (I remember it being referred to as “the new hut”) on the estate in hope that one of his children will make home there. But no one did. Yet “the new hut” was practical when there were family reunions. My grandparents, however, never moved in there; they preferred their old tiny hut.

I love visiting my grandparents’ place whenever I go to Ukraine. It holds so many happy memories. I feel a bit sad that all that once was there is now gone forever. But that’s the way the life is! 

Paris

Hello blog-world friends. I’m back from my two-week trip to Europe. What a wonderful vacation it was!

For the next few weeks Olga’s Home and Garden Blog will become Olga’s Travel Blog!

I’ll start with Paris. My husband and I only spent a couple of days there, so it was not possible to see all its beauty. Nevertheless we managed to visit several of the main attractions such as the Louvre, the Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and Sacre Coeur Basilica.

Below I include some pictures from all of these places except the last one. We visited it late at night and I didn’t bother to take many pictures. Taking pictures inside was prohibited anyway. So I tried to enjoy that majestic place as a Christian (though I’m not Catholic) rather than as a tourist.  

Getting Ready for the Big Trip

I am very excited as this September, my husband and I are traveling to Europe. We are going to visit three countries – France, Poland, and my native Ukraine!

Traveling and visiting new places is lots of fun! Visiting family and friends who live overseas is so exciting! But one thing that I am not looking forward to is packing!

That task can be quite overwhelming. While I still have several weeks before my trip, I should start working on it.

The first thing would be to buy a good quality luggage. But there are so many possibilities that this along is a big challenge.





Should I buy a hard or soft one? A hard one wouldn’t get wet and will be easier to clean. But a soft one wouldn’t scratch and should be lighter in weight.

The issue of weight is important. Many airlines have restrictions on luggage weight. So my suitcase should be light but at the same time sturdy.



The choice of color/pattern is not that essential, but since I want my suitcase to serve me for many years, I should go with a classical one. Bright colors are in fashion now, so a bright yellow suitcase, for example, would look chic and stylish this summer (and perhaps the next one) but in a couple of years it won’t.

I started window shopping for my luggage, but I will wait until the end of August to actually buy one. I hope there will be end-of-summer sales.

All the pictures in this post are from Oldrids and Downtown website.

My Dream Place

Today I’m sharing more pictures from my mini-vacation back in May. These pictures are from Carmel Highlands, which is located 3.5 miles south of Carmel-by-the-Sea. The population there is only 822, and most of the houses are summer homes.

On a misty afternoon my husband and I took a walk around the area and I fell in love with it right away. A bit gloomy, but quiet and serene, with gorgeous ocean views and covered with luscious vegetation, the place seemed like out of my dreams. Good thing dreaming is free because the home prices in the area are five millions and up!















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