How (not) to bore your children while traveling

When you travel with children to the Places-Of-Significance there is often the dilemma of what to show them.  How to show them history or art without boring them to death?  When I was a kid, my parents took me all over Europe, but all I wanted was to stay on the beach.  However, even if I don't remember everything (I wish they took more pictures), as I become older, I realized that it thought me some important lessons.  I think traveling made me realize that there is always a different way to look at things (because of cultural differences), that we have things in common and can communicate even without the language and also that learning the language(s) would definitely help.  I also took in the sights, the beauty of nature and the competing attempts of humans to create the beauty themselves.  Sightseeing definitely contributed to my love for arts and, of course, left me with a travel bug, always longing for the new vistas.

So here I was, taking my daughter down the memory lane to the place of my birth and my most beloved city, that she knew nothing about it. What do I show her without too many 'oh no Mom, not another church' moments?
    

First of all, I wanted her to experience the feel of the town.  Just wander around ancient streets, discover hidden corners and plazas, eat ice cream in the outdoor cafes, feed pretzels to the pigeons, climb the monuments, feel the water in the fountains, skip on the cobblestones and ride the trolley.

But of course we had to see the Royal Wawel Castle.  This was the old residency of Polish kings and queens, located right on the Wisla river.

Source

Castle insides were not not a big hit (no surprise here, but it had to be done), but my daughter enjoyed climbing the bell tower and visiting the famous dragon's den, a cave under the castle and a stage of the most popular Krakow's legend.  We also went to see Leonardo's 'Lady with Ermine' that was on the display at the time.

She is something else...

It is easy to fall under the spell of the fairytale quality to the castle...

Then, I had to take her to see the Jagiellonian University, one of the first universities in Europe and the school I went to.

Collegium Maius

 They have a museum with interesting Copernicus exhibit, since he went there too.

At noon, a procession of University officials emerges through the clock doors...

The building where I attended many of my classes 

Before WWII Krakow's population was about one third Jewish and the Jewish Quarter (Kazimierz) is definitely worth a stop.

Many visitors to Krakow take a side trip to Auschwitz, located about 30 minutes from the city. We didn't go, I already visited twice and I thought my daughter was still too young to face the horror of it. You can also tour the Schindler's factory in Krakow.

We loved the Chagall-esque mural.

Another interesting side trip was a visit to the Wieliczka Salt Mine.  It is also about 30 minutes bus ride from the center of the town.  The mine has been used since XII century until very recently (2010?). What is interesting, is that the miners were not only working there, they also created many monuments out of salt and built several cathedrals and places of worship, all underground and well preserved. 

You have to take about 400 steps to go down but it feels like descending into Jules Verne fantasy world.  Even the chandeliers are made of salt.  

Guess what was my daughter's favorite?  Well, none of the above.  It was our visit to the indoor waterpark (sigh).  Now you know why I brought a bikini.

Oh well, cannot beat this thrill :)

 

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If you are still reading, it means you took the trip too, hope I did not bore you too much ;)

not another church Mom...

  
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Where do you drag your children (or reluctant others) on your trips?
Do you have any tips to m make it more fun?

Shopping while traveling

Do you shop when you travel?  It sounds like fun but I rarely do, for many reasons:

• I don't want to waste time in the stores and I don't feel like trying things on.  
• I don't have my other clothes/shoes/bags with me to try things together. 
• I am a serial returner and don't like to commit too quickly. 
• I am in a different mindset and tend to lose perspective on what I really need and wear
• I like to shop alone and I get confused, not helped, by input from (well meaning) others   

Because of all of the above I did not plan to shop while in Krakow, but since I have received a gift card from the relative, I had no choice but to use it or lose it.

I used it.

I decided to keep it simple and picked a jersey dress and a black t-shirt.

The dress easy and super comfortable.  The twist in the front and the cocoon shape make it more interesting.  It also came in yellow and I was immediately tempted by the summery hue but I think that would end up being one of those compulsive-vacation-purchases,  so I bought this pretty and much 'safer' teal green.
 

It has pockets and the length is perfect.  It will travel well, hide any post dinner bulges and it can be dressed up and down with shoes and accesories.

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The t-shirt is even more simple.

It has a very nice nipped in the waist and longer in the back shape.

It kind of got 'caught' on my butt in the picture but it actually looks better irl.

The design in made out of raised dots. It is perfect to wear causally but can go a little dressy too. I really like both items and I don't think they will end up unworn, like some other vacation purchases. Maybe I have learned something after all...

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That's all folks!

Do you shop when you travel?

Are you usually happy with your vacation buys?

Please share, it would be no fun without you!!!

Mothers Day

As you know, I was traveling on Mothers Day but that's OK because I got to spend time with my mother!  In Poland, Mothers Day is celebrated on May 26th, so I still have to wish my mother very happy one, but I got to spend her 75th birthday with her.  

75 and still thinks nothing of 4 inch wedges :)

My mother has always been my best friend and we are very close.  She is one of the most supportive mothers I know, she has always been there for me.  I miss living closer to my mother but at least she is surrounded by many great friends, she has visitors or visits others everyday.  Her phone is always ringing and she texts all the time. Well, that was a little annoying at times, lol.  But hey, I am happy she has way richer social life than me...

I have always been very proud of her because she is smart, fiercely independent, instantly likable (see above), fun to be around and stylish.  Guess where I got my 'when in doubt wear black' mantra?

wish I had her waist...

my mothers favorite diet is coffee with champagne

Happy faces

But most of all,  my mother is blessed with eternal optimism and generally sunny disposition, something I always envied her a bit, myself being more of 'partly cloudy' variety.  My mother cannot tell a joke but she is (very) quick to laugh.  She wanted me to take the picture with the pansies because they are one of her favorite flowers and I find their happy faces matching her cheerful personality. 

I love you Mom!

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Does your mother inspire your personal style? 

Are you close with your mother? What have you learned from her?

Back from Krakow

This is just a quick checking-in post.  I got back from Krakow yesterday and I already miss it. I had a wonderful trip and got to spend some time with my mother and see a lot of my old friends and relatives. My daughter had a blast sightseeing and I think it was quite educational for her.

When I left Poland over 20 years ago, it was the beauty of the town and its medieval charm I missed even more than people.  As it is probably the case with most old towns, when you grow up there, you always carry the love of the old architecture and its attention to detail in your heart.  Every place you see later in life is measured by its standards and often unable to compete.

I will be back later with details of some places we visited,  Mother's Day my mother's 75th birthday pictures, my musings on packing and what worked for me, plus some new purchases, but for now, I just wanted to quickly share a few pictures from the Old Town.

Map of Old Town  (source)

The map above shows you the center of Krakow, which was a walled city in the Middle Ages (fragments of the walls preserved are marked in red at the top of the map).  Krakow used to be the capital of Poland and you can see the Royal Castle of Wawel in the lower left corner.  In the center you can see Rynek Glowny (Grand Square) with the blue cross of Sukkiennice (Cloth Hall) in the middle and the red St Mary's Church to the right  of it.  The Old Town is surrounded by park-like Planty (marked in green) and is closed to the automobile traffic, except for service vehicles and local residents.  My mother once lived on Grodzka Street, where you could see Rynek Glowny from front windows, but she has since moved to a modern apartment, outside the center of town. 
 

Rynek Glowny (Grand Square)

Krakow is famous for the largest Market Plaza of the medieval Europe.  It is hard to capture it in the pictures, but is is a huge square, paved with cobblestones, surrounded by outdoor cafes and perfect meeting, shopping and gathering place for the Krakowians and tourists alike.
 

View of one side of Market Square (it is humongous) 

The shot above shows about one fourth of the space.  It is separated by building of Sukiennice (Cloth Hall) in the middle, part of which you can see on the right side.  It used to host merchants selling fabrics and now it has array of souvenir shops inside and huge underground museum in the basements that spreads underneath.

Maly Rynek (next to Saint Mary's Church on the map)

Smaller plazas in the Old Town have their own unique charm and delightful architecture.

Other side of Maly Rynek (Small Market Square)

Every street corner promises some surprises, details you did not notice on your previous walk.

Pijarska Street near old city walls

Florianska Street, old entrance to Krakow in the back

Almost any random street turns out extremely photogenic...

One of Grodzka side streets

Kanonicza Street leading toward Wawel castle

It was relatively cold in the first few days, forcing everybody to eat inside, but once it got warmer it was hard to find the seating, despite what must be thousands of outdoor tables available in close proximity.

Outside Cafes at Grand Square

Small plaza next to St Mary's Church

If there was such a thing as Krakow's town bird it would be a pigeon without any doubt.  They are omnipresent and you have to feed them with crumbs from 'obwazanki',  big round pretzels available on every street corner in Krakow.  Not sure if this is what pigeons should eat but they definitely seem to thrive on the diet.

Famous pigeons

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That's all folks!

I am off to do the laundry and catch up on my favorite blogs. Despite having a lots of fun I missed everybody's daily musings.  

I know I could never be a travel writer but at least I hope you enjoyed some of the pictures.

Memories of Blue (Perfect shirt in Aegean plaid)

Have you ever been to Aegean coast?  Recently, Greece has been associated mostly with 'austerity measures', but this is not the first thing that comes to my mind. When I was a child, it was my parents favorite vacation destination. We did not have much money, but vacations and travel were considered basic needs in my family. We drove (from Poland) and it took us several days with many stops on the way (yes, those were month long European vacations). We had a camper and we brought a lot of our own food to save money.

source

My parents did not speak any languages but never considered it any obstacle. At the campground, they always made friends with locals and I remember many evenings, sitting with strangers and having animated discussions, usually revolving around food, soccer and politics, using about 20 words and very creative 'sign language'. Limited vocabulary was never an issue for me either.  When playing with other kids, and I would quickly pick up some essentials like 'I don;t understand', 'no', 'yes','thank you', 'swim', 'ball', 'let's go' and 'eat'. Add some basic curse words and you were all set.  

I wish I have my own pictures to share, but unfortunately, my parents were not into preserving memories of beautiful sights and panoramic vistas. The scarce photographs that I have from those vacations always show us half naked on some ubiquitous, unidentified beach; my father in the one shady spot he could find, reading a book in a lawn chair, my mother sunbathing with a giant hat and a leaf attached to her sunglasses to protect her nose and me with droopy hair-bows almost falling off my wet, curly pigtails. My brother was never in the pictures because he always disappeared for hours with some newly met friends. I wished I could tag along, but was never welcomed or allowed (he is 9 year older than me).

     

Perfect shirt in Aegean Plaid

Roll forward to 2012. When I first tried the perfect shirt in Aegean plaid I liked it a lot. The blues are vibrant and beautiful and made me think of all the happy memories from my childhood vacations. But at that time I decided I did not need another button down, however pretty it is, and especially not at full price. I forgot about the shirt until the recent 30% off, when I snatched it for about $18. I could not resist it at this price.

The shirt is currently sold out (as of the time of writing) but you can probably still get it in store or catch it on a popback.

Shirt size 6. See review here

Of course it would look beautiful with jeans but since there is some purple in the print, I thought this could be more fun with my Pilcro Stet Anthro cord and J.Crew pink Valentinas.

Sorry that the shirt looks a little messy. It wasn't intentional, like bedhair always sported by some catalog models. It is just that we usually take pictures on our walk to school and have about 2 minutes for it. Let's say this is a more realistic look...

I am a big fun of Ray-Ban sunglasses.  I have been wearing another pair recently but I suddenly wanted a pair of traditional aviators. I have borrowed these from my husband (shhh), so they are a little too big, but I do want a pair of my own. I instantly felt a little bit cooler in them.

I am glad I ordered the shirt, I really like it.

source

One of these days I will go back to the Aegean coast. I think my parents had their priorities right...

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That's all folks!

Have you been to Greece or want to go? What was your favorite childhood vacation spot?

Do you own the perfect shirt in Aegean Blue? How do you wear it?

Please share, it would be no fun without you!!!

Camping Pictures and Packing Again

It took me a while but I wanted to post about my camping vacation. I don;t think I mentioned it, but we went to Ogunquit, Maine. I never heard of Ogunquin before and I have only been in Maine once, about 14 years ago and my last longer camping trip was also at least 10 years ago. But when WMM posted about the town I knew it was just the place for us. Thank you WMM!.

at the campground

We are not hard core campers by any means and even if we use the tent and not the trailer, we sleep on cots and we go out for most lunches and dinners. Our campground had a heated pool and a store where you could buy essentials and get coffee in the morning. We had hot water and coin showers and the bathrooms were clean, but it took me about three days to get over the fact that it was not exactly hotel standards. After I accepted that it is what it is, everything got better and at the end of  our week there I though I would not mind staying longer.

Going out to dinner in York, ME

Ogunquit is close to the beach and variety of seafood restaurants, museums and, nature walks. Most days I would wake up around 8 AM and go for coffee, sit on the deck and catch up on blogs. Then we would make breakfast and hang around the campground.

Ogunquit beach

On sunny days we went to the beach, otherwise we visited local museum, walk the Marginal Way, visit lighthouses and eat a lot of lobsters (sorry to all of you who are vegetarians, but I love seafood).  In the afternoon we went to the pool and on most evenings we have campfire.

Garden at Ogunquit Museum of American Art

I have to admit, I was skeptical about the Museum and I thought the collection cannot be too interesting and I was expecting some of those slightly kitchy seascapes and such but I was pleasantly surprised. I found the collection very interesting, you can see some of it here.  Good lesson for me about having preconceived notions. 

View from the front of the Museum

 The grounds are stunning and the building itself is an architectural treat.

From the sculpture garden, I loved this

The quality of light itself is worth a visit

I thought this bridge looked a little medieval in shape, something like from a picture book about knights.

Bridge at Perkins Cove

The lighthouses also look almost too cute to be real...

Lighthouse in York

Overall, we had a blast and my 9yo daughter cannot wait to go back camping. But as for myself I am happy to be packing again. Tomorrow we are leaving for a week on Cape Cod, MA. No camping this time. We are renting a place at Ocean Edge Resort in Brewster.

It will only be me and my younger daughter. My husband, unfortunately, will not be able to join us. Because of that,  I picked a place with plenty of activities on site, including 3 day tennis camp for my daughter.  That will give me 4 hours a day to walk on the beach or just relax by the pool! I am very excited by this prospect. And I will finally be able to wear my maxi skirt from Anthro. It is super comfy but my husband hates it, so this is my only chance, lol.

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Have you been to Maine or Ocean Edge?

Do you have book recommendations for summer reading on the beach?

Do you ever go on vacations without your spouse/partner?

I may be able to post from vacation but most likely I will take a break and I will be back in a week.

But I will definitely be reading what everybody is up to!