6/13/14 - "Pre-Wedding Jitters"
Blogger's Note: I forgot to finish my thought in my last post. I began the feature with the statement that I was relegated to the balcony. I even said I would explain why in a moment. But, I don't think I ever did. Let me remedy that now.
Joanna was sick. Sick as hell. Like throw-up non-stop sick. And now Roman's sick...
Today is Amelia's first birthday (I'm not sure what it is about our family and being sick on birthdays, but I think I've discovered a pattern). Roman just wasn't in the festive mood. Aw, hell let me just cut to the chase...
Listening to: Eddie Vedder "Society"
Joanna was horribly sick. I sat around with little to do. She, being my window to conversation, was bedridden; so, Roman and I entertained ourselves. We took a walk to the train station to watch the trains come and go. And then we came back home to stare at each other. Without transportation or language skills, we're rather helpless.
Late that afternoon, when Dza Dza came home, he offered to take us to Lanckorana to grab a bite to eat. The restaurant was called Verona, and we had been there before. They have tables on the patio outside or even on the grass. And they have Italian-style pizzas.
The menu claimed that the pizza dough was imported directly from Italy. I don't know, but I really enjoyed it. They come with a bottle of olive oil (whichever flavor you like; I chose Red Pepper). Roman got a cheese pizza, and he was still eating on it long after Dza Dza and I had finished.
On the way home, we stopped at a gas station. I ran inside to buy a couple of bags of Lay's Papryka chips. We don't have those back home, and I know that Joanna loves them. I figured that she would like some after she was feeling better.
Lay's Papryka chips were once the subject of a heated debate that Joanna and I once had. The subject? I told her that they tasted exactly like Lay's Bar-B-Q chips that we have in the states. Joanna insisted that they tasted totally different. So... we took a bag of Papryka chips back home with us and did a blind taste test. The verdict?
I could (just barely) taste a difference between the Bar-B-Q and the Papryka chips. I think that our Bar-B-Q has paprika in it and, more than likely, some other spices to give it that barbecue flavor. So, I suppose Joanna won that one, but they still didn't taste totally different. (hey, I'm a guy. I'm not gonna fold that easy!)
The next day, Joanna was feeling a little better. We ended up in Wadowice so that she and her mom could do some shopping. Wadowice is, by the way, the birthplace of the ever-famous Joanna Madej (and the lesser famous Pope John Paul II). The Polish are, you might suspect, absolutely crazy about their beloved former Pope. In Wadowice, everything from posters to pictures to action figures to thimbles are engraved with his likeness. Tourists are coming and going by the busload.
After spending the morning watching Roman playing with some Polish children at a playground, a day of shopping finally came to a close. I was getting grumpy, anxious to do something "grown-up". I think maybe Joanna was, too. We ended up making a late-afternoon drive to Krakow to a restaurant in Kazimierz.
After walking around for a while trying to decide on one of the many restaurants (they range from absolutely amazing to meh), we decided to stick with something we knew. So, we went to the Horai Restaurant which is a Thai/Japanese place with an incredibly large menu. The food there is the best Asian food that I have ever eaten. We have a couple of pretty good Thai/sushi places back home; I had never found one any better until now. The Horai Restaurant is now (in my book) the best Asian food that I have ever had. I could eat the sushi rice just by itself and enjoy every bite.
We went for a stroll afterwards and had a mojito at Nova's. Nova is a place we always end up in Kazimierz. It has this 70's feel to it. You can sit on the deck and watch people coming and going while sipping on one of their absolutely amazing mojitos. I have to give it to Poland when it comes to mojitos. They can make some damn good ones. Maybe, it's because the mint there is so fresh, I dunno...
The next night, Arek and Ewa invited us to their place for dinner. When we arrived, the table was set for several people. In the middle, an interesting grill was stationed. Jimbo, Karolina, Ewa's brother Bartek, and his wife Helena were also coming. Everyone was great, but I particularly liked Helena. She spoke exceptional English, and she had a cool dog that she had trained to do flips and shake hands and sing karaoke (yes, I'm kidding about that last one).
Once everyone had arrived, the food was brought to the table. Bite-sized portions of curry shrimp, sesame or barbecue chicken, spicy pork, mushrooms, and red onion were scattered around the grill. Apparently, we were to use the wooden skewer that had been supplied to throw what we wanted on the grill. Underneath the grill, a small tray could be filled with gourmet cheeses like brie and bleu cheese (and several others, I don't know my cheese that well). Arek recommended that I sprinkle the cheese with corn, so I tried it. After the cheese melted a little (with the corn), it was ready for consumption. Damn, it was good. When I had first seen the bite-sized portions, I thought that I'd never get full. Boy, was I wrong. Thirty minutes later, I was stuffed and feeling no pain after being treated to several different types of beer that I had never tried before.
The next day would be Amelia's first birthday (boy, that went by quickly). Everyone is (understandably) in a frenzy over Arek and Ewa's wedding. I try to find a place out of the way as everyone is running to and fro preparing for the occasion; but, I often fail, it seems. The pace is disconcerting, and I can't just jump in the car and go somewhere. Joanna decided to take us to the castle ruins above Lanckorona for the day.
We parked in the market area where I noticed a rather polite-looking, elderly lady that sat with her window open, watching the world. If a pedestrian happened by, she would talk to them. Sometimes, they would stop and talk for a while. She smiled when she saw us, and I felt a pang that I couldn't speak Polish at that moment.
I pushed Amelia in her stroller up the very steep hill until we arrived at the castle ruins. As we were walking, a car load of teenage boys drove by us rather fast with their windows down and some loud music playing. At the ruins, we found all five of them gathered on top of the tallest tower being rambunctiously appropriate for their age. I was taking pictures with my cell phone, and Joanna was using her good camera. We were in such an isolated place, and I fear I must admit that I had a silly concern that they were going to jump down, hold us at knife point, and steal our valuables. That never happened.
In fact, when they finally jumped down off their perch, they filed past us on the way back to their car. I smelled the distinct aroma of marijuana as, one-by-one, they tilted their heads and politely wished us a good morning. I had a sudden urge to file in behind them and join them to wherever else they were going next.
After we left, we stopped, again, at Verona to eat. I wanted Joanna to try the pizza that I had, and I knew that Roman really enjoyed the food there. But Roman wasn't acting right. I took him to the bathroom where he pressed his back against the wall and sat down. Something was wrong.
We found a table on the grass, and Roman kept laying his head down. I grabbed a blanket out of the car and made him a place to lie down on the ground. He had been really worried about the balloons that were decorating the patio where Amelia's afternoon party would be. We thought that maybe he was "tripping" about that. (He should be a party-decorator; once everything is in the right place and looking perfect, Roman doesn't want anybody to touch anything...)
When the pizza arrived, Roman came to join us at the table. He took the first bite of his pizza... and threw up. Like that Exorcist girl. Fortunately, it was in the grass; but, we knew we had to get him home. He must have gotten whatever it was that Joanna had. We paid the tab, left a generous tip, and got the food to go.
Back at the house, I carried him up the stairs to the bedroom. We got him something to throw up in case he, again, felt the urge. He placed it on his head and wouldn't let us remove it. He fell asleep that way.
Later, we set the patio for Amelia's birthday celebration. As Ba Ba brought out a marvelous cake, two children walked up. Kinga (18) and Miłosz (14) (Joanna's cousins) had walked two miles from their house with beautifully wrapped gifts for Roman and Amelia to join us in the celebration. I marveled at how polite they were and wondered, to myself, how many American children would have done something like that.
Kinga is a competitive dancer and will be the one responsible for watching the children at Arek's wedding. Keep in mind, now, that, in Europe, the legal drinking age is 18. So, she is going to forego a night of partying in order to babysit. And Miłosz spent time trying to cheer up sick Roman by building some rather impressive Lego contraptions. He also helped us to get Amelia to smile for some photo opportunities. I couldn't get over how great these kids were, and I just wanted to share that...
And, so Amelia turned 1. She got all kinds of gifts and a strawberry cake that I decided to share with everyone. We sang to her both in Polish and English and gave her a slice of the terrific dessert. She was a happy mess.
Her big eyes took in the bright flowers and Ba Ba and Dza Dza and Roman (who actually kissed her for the occasion) and Momma and Daddy and her Polish family. Until, at last, after the large slice of cake that she fed herself with and after all the excitement, she tuckered out. I carried her upstairs, lay her in the bed, and placed her new doll next to her.
Back downstairs, we all toasted a glass of champagne. We sat and played with Lego's and talked.
1 down. 99 to go.
Blogger's Note: I forgot to finish my thought in my last post. I began the feature with the statement that I was relegated to the balcony. I even said I would explain why in a moment. But, I don't think I ever did. Let me remedy that now.
Joanna was sick. Sick as hell. Like throw-up non-stop sick. And now Roman's sick...
Today is Amelia's first birthday (I'm not sure what it is about our family and being sick on birthdays, but I think I've discovered a pattern). Roman just wasn't in the festive mood. Aw, hell let me just cut to the chase...
Listening to: Eddie Vedder "Society"
Joanna was horribly sick. I sat around with little to do. She, being my window to conversation, was bedridden; so, Roman and I entertained ourselves. We took a walk to the train station to watch the trains come and go. And then we came back home to stare at each other. Without transportation or language skills, we're rather helpless.
Late that afternoon, when Dza Dza came home, he offered to take us to Lanckorana to grab a bite to eat. The restaurant was called Verona, and we had been there before. They have tables on the patio outside or even on the grass. And they have Italian-style pizzas.
 |
| A pizza from Verona's |
Lay's Papryka chips were once the subject of a heated debate that Joanna and I once had. The subject? I told her that they tasted exactly like Lay's Bar-B-Q chips that we have in the states. Joanna insisted that they tasted totally different. So... we took a bag of Papryka chips back home with us and did a blind taste test. The verdict?
I could (just barely) taste a difference between the Bar-B-Q and the Papryka chips. I think that our Bar-B-Q has paprika in it and, more than likely, some other spices to give it that barbecue flavor. So, I suppose Joanna won that one, but they still didn't taste totally different. (hey, I'm a guy. I'm not gonna fold that easy!)
 |
| Pope John Paul II's original church |
After spending the morning watching Roman playing with some Polish children at a playground, a day of shopping finally came to a close. I was getting grumpy, anxious to do something "grown-up". I think maybe Joanna was, too. We ended up making a late-afternoon drive to Krakow to a restaurant in Kazimierz.
After walking around for a while trying to decide on one of the many restaurants (they range from absolutely amazing to meh), we decided to stick with something we knew. So, we went to the Horai Restaurant which is a Thai/Japanese place with an incredibly large menu. The food there is the best Asian food that I have ever eaten. We have a couple of pretty good Thai/sushi places back home; I had never found one any better until now. The Horai Restaurant is now (in my book) the best Asian food that I have ever had. I could eat the sushi rice just by itself and enjoy every bite.
We went for a stroll afterwards and had a mojito at Nova's. Nova is a place we always end up in Kazimierz. It has this 70's feel to it. You can sit on the deck and watch people coming and going while sipping on one of their absolutely amazing mojitos. I have to give it to Poland when it comes to mojitos. They can make some damn good ones. Maybe, it's because the mint there is so fresh, I dunno...
The next night, Arek and Ewa invited us to their place for dinner. When we arrived, the table was set for several people. In the middle, an interesting grill was stationed. Jimbo, Karolina, Ewa's brother Bartek, and his wife Helena were also coming. Everyone was great, but I particularly liked Helena. She spoke exceptional English, and she had a cool dog that she had trained to do flips and shake hands and sing karaoke (yes, I'm kidding about that last one).
 |
| Arek, Helena, and the grill (see the cheese tray?) |
 |
| Do you see the lady in the window? |
We parked in the market area where I noticed a rather polite-looking, elderly lady that sat with her window open, watching the world. If a pedestrian happened by, she would talk to them. Sometimes, they would stop and talk for a while. She smiled when she saw us, and I felt a pang that I couldn't speak Polish at that moment.
 |
| Roman playing on the castle ruins |
In fact, when they finally jumped down off their perch, they filed past us on the way back to their car. I smelled the distinct aroma of marijuana as, one-by-one, they tilted their heads and politely wished us a good morning. I had a sudden urge to file in behind them and join them to wherever else they were going next.
After we left, we stopped, again, at Verona to eat. I wanted Joanna to try the pizza that I had, and I knew that Roman really enjoyed the food there. But Roman wasn't acting right. I took him to the bathroom where he pressed his back against the wall and sat down. Something was wrong.We found a table on the grass, and Roman kept laying his head down. I grabbed a blanket out of the car and made him a place to lie down on the ground. He had been really worried about the balloons that were decorating the patio where Amelia's afternoon party would be. We thought that maybe he was "tripping" about that. (He should be a party-decorator; once everything is in the right place and looking perfect, Roman doesn't want anybody to touch anything...)
 |
| Roman wasn't feeling well |
Back at the house, I carried him up the stairs to the bedroom. We got him something to throw up in case he, again, felt the urge. He placed it on his head and wouldn't let us remove it. He fell asleep that way.
Later, we set the patio for Amelia's birthday celebration. As Ba Ba brought out a marvelous cake, two children walked up. Kinga (18) and Miłosz (14) (Joanna's cousins) had walked two miles from their house with beautifully wrapped gifts for Roman and Amelia to join us in the celebration. I marveled at how polite they were and wondered, to myself, how many American children would have done something like that.
 |
| Kinga and Miłosz |
And, so Amelia turned 1. She got all kinds of gifts and a strawberry cake that I decided to share with everyone. We sang to her both in Polish and English and gave her a slice of the terrific dessert. She was a happy mess.
Her big eyes took in the bright flowers and Ba Ba and Dza Dza and Roman (who actually kissed her for the occasion) and Momma and Daddy and her Polish family. Until, at last, after the large slice of cake that she fed herself with and after all the excitement, she tuckered out. I carried her upstairs, lay her in the bed, and placed her new doll next to her.
Back downstairs, we all toasted a glass of champagne. We sat and played with Lego's and talked.
1 down. 99 to go.
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