Wow, been a while since I've posted! Lots going on these days- mostly work, music, hanging out with friends, Japanese homework, cleaning house, etc. Hope everyone is doing well!
Today was really good, one of those days where I just felt good about everything, happy to be here in Poland, delighted with life. Haven't had one of them for a while.
Decided to wear a skirt that my best friend made for me a couple years ago. It's a slinky taffeta sort of fabric, black with red roses, sparkly gold glitter, and cute Russian nesting dolls on it. I love it and always get compliments on it. If I add another chiffon skirt I have underneath, I get a wonderfully full, swishy, rustly outfit that makes me feel happy and energetic. I guess it did the trick today!
Accomplished a lot at work- two successful meetings, a big binder-shifting project completed, some work on a recruitment for my unit, things hauled away to storage. Met a nice new colleague who's returning to Poland after a long time in the Caucasus, and heard some interesting stories. Another colleague showed me two interesting film trailers and said he'll track down the films for me. Ended up staying late and working on stuff- every once in a while, I just feel very productive and go with it.
Took the bus to Empik to find wedding cards for two friends, and found some other cute cards as well. Got back on the bus, enjoying the nice weather, and got off at Plac Zamkowy, in search of Georgian food. It had been a long week and I figured I deserved a yummy dinner. And several colleagues had told me of an excellent new Georgian place in the Old Town, so I figured today would be a good time to find it.
As I happily walked down Krakowskie Przedmieście toward the Old Town, I just took in all the familiar sights around me- the old-fashioned European apartments and storefronts; gofry and lody all over the place, wafting heavenly scents over the street; summer tables still out on the sidewalks; the big white church with the Pope's picture on it, next to the awesome taras widokowy with the most spectacular view; breakdancers and teenagers hanging out at the base of the statue of a famous Polish king, high on his pedestal, brandishing his staff and sword at the invading Swedes; the Royal Castle, the river, the bridges, the nice summer sky; the familiar blue and red street signs with white lettering, street name on blue, neighborhood on red; Coffee Heaven and Sari on the corner of Pl. Zamkowy as it turns into Miodowa. I felt happy and content, right there and now, and especially where I was, in this underestimated and often misunderstood city of surprises.
Turned down Ulica Piwna and immediately found myself drawn in by a local Polish arts and crafts gallery. I had wanted to find a gift for one of the friends getting married anyway, so I took a look. The gallery owner was a nice woman who told me about all the pieces and gave me some recommendations. After a great chat, I narrowed it down to two- I'll give it some thought and return for then next week. Also found the perfect Xmas gift for my mom- random shopping for the win! It was really nice to meet the gallery owner and learn more about Polish art.
Ambled around the Old Town where I thought the restaurant would be, but to no avail. Rounded the corner for a second attempt and heard the low, drawn tones of a cello. Discovered a young teen sitting by the Barbican bridge, playing some lovely Baroque and early Classical pieces. Listened to him play for a good while- such a deep, rich tone in this instrument! Definitely worth the years of practice it'll take to master it. I'm glad I'll get more practice time this weekend.
Walked up the street and spotted a tourist info office that was still open, decided to ask if they might know the address of the restaurant. The guy there knew it was on Piwna, but not the name. That helped enough, though- Piwna is not a long street. I found the restaurant pretty quickly and as soon as I saw where it was, I felt a warm happiness, like good karma. Back when I first moved here, in my uncertainty about the whole thing, I had a strong craving for Indian food, something warm and familiar from home before embarking on a strange new adventure. P had looked up Indian places in the guide book and found one in the Old Town (near where we stayed) called Namaste that got good reviews. On our last night in that neighborhood, we found Namaste and had dinner there- excellent food and wonderful atmosphere, despite being a tiny space with four tables.
Eventually, Namaste's business grew because of their wonderful food, and they expanded their premises, moving up the road to a new location on Ulica Piwna. Their old location? Now the site of the Kuchnia Gruzyńska and Galeria Rosyjska. I spent a long, leisurely dinner there, eating very tasty Georgian food and reading. I had khachapuri, of course, and spinach with spices and pomegranates, as well as chashliki with bread ( a kind of beef stew) and pear-flavored lemonade. All utterly wonderful, of course. Just my good fortune to find two of my favorite cuisines on the same street!
Also found a little something for my best friend in the gallery- the gallery lady was wonderful and packed it in a pretty box with a bow! Such a nice conclusion to the evening!
Got on the 180 to Wilanów and headed home. At the Hotel Bristol stop, a group of about 20 guys got on, rowdy but not totally drunk. One of them started singing something, then the rest joined in. Eventually, they got to the chorus which mostly consists of "sto lat, sto lat..". This means "one hundred years", and is the title of the Polish version of "Happy Birthday", so it must have been someone's birthday. Eventually, they all joined in, and the bus was full of deep, energetic voices singing all the way down Nowy Świat. They branched out after that into some other drinking songs that I didn't know, but others on the bus sang along, too, and everyone was happy and grinning. Fun ride home, all right!
Now I've gotta do a little tidying before heading to bed. Wedding tomorrow morning, then music, gym, studying and cleaning. Full two days!
Happy summer wishes to all!
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