Poland Recap

I've been trying to write this blog for a week with no success. After I got back from my Poland trip, I turned right around and accompanied Sean on a trip to Landstuhl to visit the doctor. Although we had internet, it was a bit spotty, so it made uploading pictures a bit difficult.

Anyway, a couple of my friend and I decided we wanted some Polish pottery. The best place to do this is Boleslawiec, Poland, where all the pottery factories are located. Although we considered driving, we found some 18 euro round trip tickets on RyanAir that we couldn't pass up and instead, decided to fly. The only downside to flying on a budget airline is that there are small weight limits. So, even though I paid to check a bag, I only had 15kg to work with. With that in mind, Polish pottery shopping was on!

This is where we stayed while in Boleslawiec. I had several blog buddies who stayed here and loved it, so I booked it right away. Let me just say, this place is amazing. It might be my favorite place I've stayed since I've lived in Europe. The service was top-notch and the food there was amazing. You can also schedule cooking classes, massages, pedicures and manicures too. I had a 30 minute foot massage for 10 euro and it was heavenly. Seriously, I wish I could have one everyday. 

I had several different soups while I was here, two different types of pierogies, the breakfast buffet each morning and lots of different types of beer and alcohol. Everything was delish (although I'd stay away from the vodka) and the raspberry jam was so good that my friend Sarah and I both bought some to take home.

This is my friend Sarah in one of the many pottery shops/factories we visited. I think in all we visited 12. The first day we knocked out 9. Our hotel gave us a list of recommended shops with some info on each, which I found very helpful.  A word about Polish pottery, some times there are more common patterns that you'll find at several shops. Most of the time though you won't find similiar patterns at different shops. We also went in a few shops to get an idea on prices before we bought anything, which I think worked out well in our favor.

Most of the time we ate at our hotel since the food was so good, but one day for lunch we stopped in at a little place had a bite to eat. I had these pancakes with smoked salmon and a cream sauce with caviar mixed in. For that, a bowl of soup and a beer, it came to 7 euro. That was with the tip included. Poland is seriously the cheapest country I've seen when it comes to food. And it's all tasty! I told my friends I wanted to move to Poland just for the food.

Check out this nest! It was outside one of the more rural shops we visited. We tried asking the lady who owned the shop what kind of bird made it, but she only spoke Polish and since I don't speak Polish, the only thing we could learn from her was that the bird showed up in April and left in September. Later, looking at some postcards in Wroclaw we found out it's a stork that lives in it and this stork is one of the national symbols of Poland.

Although we went to Poland for the pottery, it wasn't all pottery all the time. One day while we were there we took the opportunity to go visit a castle about 20 minutes from where we were staying. Just so happened they had a medieval festival going on at the castle that day. The above picture is some of the scenery we passed along the way to the castle.

This is part of the castle I was talking about. It was foggy, rainy and chilly that day, but I'm still glad we braved the weather to see a little bit of the surrounding area.

This was the delicious soup we had while we were at the castle. I believe the soup was traditional, as we saw it on several other menus while in Poland, but it was very filling and quite tasty. I couldn't even eat my bread bowl when I was done with the soup!

One of the towns we passed on our way to the castle

After our time at the castle we headed back into the town of Boleslawiec to check out some of the downtown area. This is in front of the church in the main square.

Colorful buildings in the main square of Boleslawiec

For some reason when I'm traveling, I always happen upon black cats. This is the fourth time it's happened. This cat was all about posing in front of city hall.

Some of the various pottery we encountered in our shopping.

These are the beef pierogis I had the last night we were in Poland. Although they were good, the traditional filling is my favorite.

There were big pieces of (fake) pottery around the town of Boleslawiec, so my friend Sarah and I took the opportunity to pose with some of them.

Our last day in Poland, we headed over to the bigger city of Wroclaw (which is actually where we flew in and out of) This is the town hall. It was beautiful!

This is just one more reason why I loved Poland. Do you know how long it's been since I've had Starbucks? Too long my friends, too long.

All over Wroclaw they had these little dwarf statues. There were about 100 in all and they are scattered throughout the city. Each dwarf is in a different pose. We found about 10 or so while we were walking around.

My friend Sarah and I posing as dwarves.

One of the many outdoor cafes, too bad it was too rainy and cold to enjoy them while we were there.

My view of the Wroclaw airport as we are getting ready to fly out.



These are the goodies I got, minus a Christmas tree, as it was in my friend's backpack and I neglected to get it from her.

All in all, I highly recommend going to Poland. I'm really wanting to go back and explore a different part of it before we leave.

I Need Your Help!

Every year I enter the Army Digital Photography Contest and this year I'm having a bit of difficulty deciding what photos I should enter into the landscape/nature category.

So...I'm going to post seven pictures and a poll with corresponding number so you guys can help me choose which ones I should enter. If you have any comments or suggestions about the photos and why you think I should pick them, feel free to give me your feedback.

The poll is located at the bottom of this post, please choose your top 3 photos. Thanks!

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Halloween Costumes

*I previously scheduled this post as I am currently in Poland buying oodles of pottery and eating my weight in pierogies*

Normally I don't put much thought into my Halloween costumes and generally I dress up in whatever I happen to have around the house. This year, for some reason, I decided to actually dress-up and buy a costume.

So...who am I going as this year?

Sookie Stackhouse! Specifically as her dressed in her waitress uniform. I've already got the shorts and blonde hair. I just need the shoes, shirt and apron. Oh yeah, and a gap in my teeth. Now if I could only wrangle an Eric or Alcide look-a-like to accompany me...

Anyone going to dress up for Halloween? If so, what are you going as?

Finally!!!

So, I was browsing around on iTunes yesterday and look what I found!

I have been waiting for this cd for years! No joke, Michael did a few Christmas songs a few years ago and I wished that he'd done an entire cd. Now I no longer have to wish for that. If you're interested, it comes out on October 24th.

10 Things You May Not Know About Me

I haven't done one of these posts in a long time, so I thought I'd share a few facts about myself that you guys may or may not know.

1. I didn't date in high school. Like, at all. In fact, I only had a date to one dance and both of my proms I went with friends. At the time it really got me down and almost made me feel like something was wrong with me, but looking back on it, it doesn't bother me. I'm sure there were guys that did like me, but just didn't tell me for whatever reason.

2. I graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2006. To say I'm excited about this football season is an understatement. I'm pulling for us to finally win a national championship and to put the other university in our state to shame.

3. I used to be really shy. Sometimes I still am. Depending on the person I'm around it can take me months to warm up to them. Sometimes it only takes a few hours, but once I know you and am comfortable around you, I'm can be a complete ham.

4. My two all-time favorite books are Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan and Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. I've read Summer Sisters almost every summer since I turned 16 and I've read Joy Luck Club numerous times. If I read a book more than once, it's a testament to how much I like the writing.



5. I don't like the dumb blonde stereotype, but sometimes I can be really blonde. For example, the other day I was singing my new favorite song, "Cheers, Drink to That" by Rihanna, and I was wondering about one line where it sounds like she says, "Don't let the bar studs get you down..." So I was thinking, "What in the heck is a bar stud?" Then I realized she was NOT saying bar stud, but bastard. Yeah.....

6. I'm one of those girls who tries to be confident, but most of the time I second guess myself. Especially when it comes to clothing. Ever know girls who always look put-together even when they are wearing a t-shirt and jeans? I'm not that girl. Hence, why I love Pinterest and Polyvore, because they give me outfit combos plus accessories that I'd probably never think of myself.

7. Sometimes I wish I could be a travel agent, but I'm not sure in the age of internet that there is so much of a demand for travel agents.

8. I tried a couple of dance classes a few weeks ago because it was a task on my 30 Before 30 List. I had visions of me wowing the teacher with my natural talent that I hoped I might have. Turns out, I'm pretty uncoordinated and it takes me forever to get a routine down.

9. I'm not a fan of thrill rides and the only place I will ride thrill rides like rollercoasters and rides that drop you 13 stories, is at the Disney Parks. No idea why I feel like I can do it there and nowhere else.

10. My biggest pet peeve with my husband is that he hates having his picture taken. I'm so jealous of all these other couples that oodles of pictures together, because I'm lucky if Sean will take one picture with me a year. In all honesty, it makes me more sad than mad.

Boot Love

I just bought the cutest pair of Franco Sarto riding boots on Ebay for more than half of what they were originally. They aren't even pre-owned! Granted, they are last seasons or maybe the season before that, but I could care less!

Oh Ebay and bargain shopping....how I love thee!