Off To The Zoo!

So today me, Tomek, Tomek's uncle Marek, and Marek’s grandson Ziegmund went to the zoo. It was so incredibly fun and fascinating I can't recommend it highly enough! (If you haven’t been for a while go - with or without kids!!) 

We saw so many, many, many things…baboons play-fighting and waving their odd pink bums in the air, a muscly gorilla swaggering around and pounding his chest and bellowing, lions lounging, seals, penguins, meerkats, zebra, bison, giraffes, elephants, anacondas, turtles, lizards, flamingos and waaaay more. 

Crimson Rosellas and Magpies on display - weirded me out!

We saw a rhino, Tomek was prits stoked!

awkward...

sad simba

Tomek reckons they can eat cows...

stylish Ziggy posing in front of the hippo tank.

Afterwards we went to a pasta restaurant for lunch. Then to a café to eat chocolate eclairs, custard pastries and apple cake with espressos... pretty blisserific!!

 After our cake-out we went for a walk through Warsaw’s famous Lazienki Park which was full of autumn leaves, afternoon sunlight and squirrels. Perfectly fabulous day!

Uncle Tomek -great method of transport...

Designer Minor

Its funny…

When I began designing this blog I was using greys and blacks and creams. And then I suddenly thought: what the hell??!! I am so not clean lines, co ordination, subtlety and effortless chic… what was I thinking??!!

It turns out I am lobster font in bubblegum pink.

The maps? Well, I think its about time I figured out where I am in life and I also think my Dad will appreciate them because he’s forever complaining that I don’t speak map (but am making a concerted effort to learn)

p.s. its already freezing and I only have one woollen jumper – feck!

A few snaps from Krakow...

A teeny bit of Wawel Castle.

Zagala madness...

Polish amber - I want me some!!

Awesome lamp-lit markets

Cute tourist

Evidence of the ice cream mania sweeping Poland!!

Floor and statue both made out of salt!!

Polish Booty!

When we went to Krakow we stayed with Tomek’s cousin Beata and her husband Robert. They were wonderfully hospitable, and as well as cooking for us and taking us into their home they showed us around the city and took us to some famous sites. We walked around the old town, visited Wawel Castle (pronounced Var-Vell), the Wieliczka salt mines and The Oscar Schindler Museum. These are the cute little booties that Beata lent me to keep my feet warm after all the walking, I’ve seen similar ones being sold on the street and when I find the right ones I am going to get me a pair or two…

Booty-liscious!

Melbourne Gallery Days

Me, my Dad and my sister Ava treat ourselves to a 'gallery day' about once every three months. I love them. We have coffees, lunch, we chat, we walk all over the city together and we mosey into about 10 or 12 galleries.

Sometimes I see stuff I like and sometimes (pretty rarely) I see stuff that makes me tingle all over with excitement and inspiration and want to run home and get out my pencils immediately. 

These paintings were so exquisitely beautiful I can't forget them. The photos don't do the colours or the overall luminosity of this artist's work justice. I stood in front of these works and just drank in the colour with my eyes. 

The artist's name is Julia Ritson (www.juliaritson.com), she is represented by Scott Livesey Galleries in Melbourne, she also makes beautiful silk scarves.

Welcome to Warsaw...

When I arrived in Warsaw I had furry teeth and broccoli smeared down my white T-shirt...
When Tomek arrived to pick me up he smelt like a David Jones' perfume counter (to my hungry nostrils), had somehow acquired a tan and generally looked delicious...  
At least someone wasn't letting down the team!

This is what he made me for lunch, my first meal in Poland...

The First Supper...

A woman in search of her word:

So I have decided to bite the bullet and blog.  

As I am in Warsaw now - for who knows how long - I have ample time to commit to writing.  And, I am in a place where A) I see lots of new/different things every day which B) I actually do notice because not speaking Polish means I spend more time using my eyes, not my mouth!

Last night I watched Eat, Pray, Love and although I’ve already read the book and in general find Julia Roberts sappy and bland, I loved it! When Liz is caught off guard during a dinner conversation - that swings from which word you would use to sum up a particular city, to which word you would use to sum up yourself - her friend suggests that maybe she is 'a woman in search of her word'.

Who of us isn’t?   

My point was supposed to be that I came away from the film feeling uplifted and enlightened. My belief that the journey is the point was re-ignited. And a decision to face my fears and write a blog was made!

So here goes…