Wroclaw Poland

Pronounced vrotsauve...  About a 4 hour drive from Warsaw on mostly two lane highway throu many small towns. City limit speed zones start with a silhouette of an urban skyscape, no number indicated.    After about 3 hours we turned onto a super highway with 120 km speed limit. The last half hour into Wroclaw went quickly.  We followed the GPS directions to the city centre, medieval in design, very narrow cobblestone streets.  Craig did a great job navigating and taking us to the underground parking garage. Julia found the apartment rental office. We pulled our luggage over cobblestones to find the building.  What an adventure.  The city square is very large surrounded by tall narrow restored buildings, some very colorful, others beautifully decorated, still others, lovely old brick. The square is cornered on two sides by cathedrals with soaring spires.
Up a narrow stair case to suites 6 and 7: I have my own bachelor. Julia, Craig, Colin and Laura in a two bedroom.  We dropped off the bags and went to explore.  A bubble maker surrounded with children filled a large section of the square. The kids had a great time chasing bubbles.  The square's fountain was ultra modern, a contrast with the medieval buildings and cobblestones.

We had dinner at an Italian restaurant that was very good, then made our way back via. corner store marked with a frog, apparently a chain in Poland.  A few groceries, ice ream (Kit Kat drumstick!) for the kids and we returned to our rooms.  Time for a shower and a rest until tomorrow!

Warsaw, Poland - on vacation!

August 20, 2013, first stop Calgary, then Amsterdam and finally Warsaw on the 21st!  That was the itinerary and I made it!  My sister and brother in law dropped me off at the Victoria airport about 5:15 a.m. For the 7 a.m. Flight.  My dear friend, Helen, and her husband picked me up in Calgary to help pass the time between flights. They took me to Lou and Phyl's, her brother and sister on law for a lovely visit.  Lou was my grade 10 science teacher in 1961 at River Glen in Red Deer.  He wanted me to meet his sister the summer of 1962 because she was coming to Red Deer for Grade 11. We've been great friends ever since.

Back to yyc for my 3:40 flight on KLM.  8 hours later I was in Europe for the first time.  My row mate was a woman from Croatia who had been visiting her daughter and three grand children in Calgary - "speak English, no." She said right away. We were able to communicate a bit. Landed in Amsterdam and after about an hour and a half, I was on another flight, the final one to Warsaw.  Craig, Colin and Laura were waiting for me. How wonderful to see them.  Julia got home from work about 2 hours later. All was well!

Thursday, Julia went to work. The kids, Craig and I walked over or Willanow palace, an amazing complex, pictures will follow.  We had a lovely lunch then home so I could nap!  Julia and I went to an amazing concert, one of many during Chopin and his Europe music festival, the 9th annual.  We heard two remarkable artists, pianist, Ewa Poblocka and Ewa Podles, a world renowned contralto. (Ewa is pronounced Eva in Polish). What a lovely evening!

Friday, Julia went to work!  Craig, Colin and Laura and I went to a shopping centre. I had a nap 😴and then Julia came home. She's now on vacation and tomorrow we're going on a road trip!

More to follow!

Going to Victoria

The trip:

Monday night I drove to Red Deer to spend the night with Elaine.

Tuesday, I went to Olds for a fast visit with my Auntie Bea, the sweetest little lady in the world. She had a doctor's appointment so our visit was condensed. Then I drove to Calgary to have a short visit with my sister, Anne, at her work. The sun was shining and we had a good little chat in the shade of a tree. The receptionist knew immediately that I was Anne's sister - "do you ever look alike?" We've heard that before and it's always cute.

After leaving Calgary, I drove to Golden and stayed the night at Mary's Motel. It could definitely use new furniture, but it was clean and not terribly expensive. I found a Chinese food restaurant, family run, and enjoyed chow mein and egg foo yong. I didn't think anyone served chow mein any more. A travelling salesman was sitting at the table behind me and we began our conversation commenting on week old Calgary Sun papers that we were each reading. We had a good conversation. Being grandparents is a leveler for conversations. I had a reasonably good sleep at Mary's and was awake early.

Wednesday, I drove to Kamloops to spend the night with my dear friend, Dorothy. We met when she was 14 and I was 13 in Red Deer, Alberta. We talked and talked. I had a very good sleep at Dorothy's and was undecided about whether to spend another night because there had been a slide on Highway 1 between Hope and Chilliwack. However, the road was open according to the news and I decided to carry on.

Thursday was a big day. I had made a ferry reservation for 6 pm because I didn't know how long it would take me to go from Kamloops to Tsawwassen. I was there at noon and got on the 2 pm ferry. It was great. Getting to the ferry feels very confusing although I just followed the signs and got there. It seems to me "they" could make it more direct.

Moving in

It's July 1, 2011. Happy Canada Day. I'm celebrating by waking up on Day 1 of residency in Victoria, BC. Wow!

Getting here has been an adventure.

The movers arrived at 5:30 on Monday and finished loading at 8:30 pm. It was a long day. I woke up at 3:30 and couldn't go back to sleep... the hamster on the wheel was exercising in my brain. So I got started!

Turns out I had 6000 pounds instead of 4000 pounds of stuff to be moved. Way too much. I will be culling again once it arrives in Victoria, which according to Mike, the mover, should be on Monday, July 4.