Lindsay came and invited me for a nightcap in the pub downstairs. When I got there, they were sitting at a table, drinks half gone, and looking rather tired. The only other people in the room were the bartender and an Asian customer sitting at the bar, staring intently at the World Cup match on the TV. I wouldn’t normally have thought much about him, but he was wearing a Korean flag as a cape, and that caught my attention. We sat at our table talking until the adults excused themselves, and headed upstairs. I then pardoned myself and hit the [View Full Entry]

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What a long, strange trip it’s been. I went into this with as few expectations and preconceptions as I could manage. In the last ten days I’ve spent nearly one whole day in the air, having not flown in 14 years. I’ve eaten delicious food, drank innumerable pints (and not nearly enough water). I had time alone to reflect and had fantastic company. Done laundry in the bathtub, and had a 90 minute suit press take 24 hours. I have had dreams of expatriation, like Hemmingway, and been so homesick I didn’t know which way was up. I’ve tried to capture [View Full Entry]

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Lindsay came and made sure I was awake at three, bright eyed and bushy-tailed. I mumbled I’d meet her in the lobby in 30 minutes, and I managed to do it too! We bid her father goodbye, and with much thanks, we departed by cab to Gdansk Airport. Traveler’s note: Wizzair is nice and all, but they have a real issue on landings. Don’t get me wrong, they stick them, but maybe a little less gravity, little more flaps, that’s all I’m saying. So after a rather hard landing in Luton, and extricating the seat cushion from my dupa, we collect [View Full Entry]

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I got another good night’s sleep, this is becoming a habit! And to think, it only took me 8 days to get over my jetlag! Ironically, I slept through breakfast at this new, swank hotel, so I venture across the green park, to the symbol everyone in the world knows instantly. The Golden Arches, gleaming under the Sopot sun. Now, I’ve been in a few Mickey D’s, but this was the cleanest, most well organized and well run I have ever seen. It is what other McDonald’s aspire to be. Outside, in the park, is a covered picnic spot to enjoy [View Full Entry]

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Finally a good night’s sleep! Up this morning for my last breakfast at the Mercure Helluvia. It’s a very nice hotel, but I’m over it. I started getting homesick, or maybe just bored, yesterday afternoon. This trip has been amazing, but I know it can’t go on indefinitely. My mind has already wandered home to my cats, my job, my friends, my life. My life? How can I go back to my life? The world is so much bigger, so much grander than before I left Tallahassee. How does someone incorporate all of this into their usual day to day life? [View Full Entry]

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As it turns out, when you start your birthday by getting eaten by an elevator in Poland, the rest of the day only gets better. Lindsay and I were on our own this morning, and we decided to do all of our last minute gift shopping. First thing, we had to drop our wedding clothes off at the 90 minute pressing place across the street. They will be ready before noon tomorrow. Truth is so much funnier than fiction! Then we set off to shopping, but decided to go to it a different way. I can’t say what exactly it was [View Full Entry]

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When I learned Gdansk was on the itinerary, the only person I could think to ask about it was my friend Dan, he responded, “Gdansk, jewel of the Pomorze region of Poland. As with much of Eastern Europe, a crime of geography, putting such a beautiful people in such a precarious place…Further crime that such a people would be burdened by communism for so long.” I find this to be a perfect assessment, if not understated. So far, Poland beats England in every conceivable measure. There are large sections of town that are ugly, large concrete flats and offices built during [View Full Entry]

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Yet another night of not nearly enough sleep. I’m up at 4.00, packed, showered, dressed and out the door by 5.15. We headed to Luton Airport by cab, the first ride in a car I’ve had since parking in Tallahassee. Security there is tight, we're being herded like cattle through a number of rows for the x-ray and metal detectors. Then we bought champagne for the wedding at the Duty Free, and grabbed some breakfast, two chocolate croissants, the lightest and fastest breakfast I’ve had in England. We walk out on the tarmac and board a large, purple WizzAir (pronounced Weezer, [View Full Entry]

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It’s bright and early, and I’m heading to London for a very long walk. I won’t get into the details of the route we’re taking, but needless to say, my father can plan a bloddy hike. Before leaving he lent me the camera that I’ve been using (supplemented by my Treo when needed), his suitcase, various cabling, a book on London, but most importantly advice and a highlighted map of the route he took the last time he was in London. After learning where good shopping for Lindsay was, we incorporated it into the bright yellow line and set off from [View Full Entry]

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Got up early (too early) got showered, and headed downstairs to what I was told was to be quite an “authentic British breakfast”. I was ushered in to the dinning area at 9.00, and offered cereal or muesli (if you ever have the chance, it’s lovely). There was milk and orange juice, as well as toast, and different homemade preserves. There was also a hot tea kettle and a French press on the table. Then Linda, the proprietor, came in with a plate, it was heaped with eggs, ham (bacon), sausage, tomatoes, potatoes, and mushrooms. Just brilliant! I sat there for [View Full Entry]

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