Going to Hel for baltic farniente..........

it's the start of the long May weekend. It's an important time over here, the Polish flags are up in preparation of the celebration of the Polish constitution (that's on the 3rd).. so lucky, we certainly are.. another wee holiday!!
Decided to go to the baltic coast..
really miss not living by the sea.. I'm no mountain girl, but i need a sniff of the salty air, walk in the sea, and get drunk on the beach if possible...
After looking for hostels for ages around Gdansk and Sopot, I was advised to look at Hel, yes, Hel...
It's a tiny peninsula on th north of the coast....
so, here I am, ready to go with Mister B..
getting the train tonight at 8.30 and we'll be in a small place called Chałupy tomorrow at 8...

Longing to breathe the air of rest and peace, of time dedicated to the leisure of being...
No role to play for another couple of days, energising the body, appeasing the soul....
Do the work that I will set for myself, try to be fair... and ignore the call of the world,
for a couple of days,
repair, recharge and relax...

pojadę na morze...
I'm going to the sea...
je m'en vais a la mer...

talking limbs

Stories from the back bench, what wouldn't I do to compensate, bottle up and take up the pen. Speak the life of someone else. The stories from the back bench pierce the protection, wipe the make up off. They don't come haunting 'cos they've never left in the first place. Denied them as much as I tamed the wildest dreams. The stories of pain and desillusioned aspirations to Good, teamed up, somewhere, hidden behind the bed, ready to bounce and answer the call of revenge.
the stories from the back bench are written on the surface. And it's the look of the outside that speaks them to me. Inside.
Woman does as woman must. Listen & comfort.
If only ears could speak..

wielkanoc (minus the spelling mistakes)

the Easter break's just finished... It's been a family catch-up ocsasion, with 3 of the famous Cullen gang visiting Poland..
We spent about 3 days inWarsaw.. this city definitely has a weird quality to it: despite the overwhelmingly present buzz (on the scale of any european capital city, i.e. numerous flyers and posters advertising gigs and exhibitions, and an unbelievable quantity of street art/ see www.dodgystereo.blogspot.com for more info on the stencils spread all around the city), you can of wonder where are the people...
they're probably much wiser than us 'fresh tourists', and don't hang around the city centre...
it's probably the kind of place where you're much better off knowing some ' experienced locals'!!!!!
But hey, the Cullens got to try some bigos and pierogi...
as well as discovering with great dedication the polish beers!
Ah, that was a happy Easter...
On a different note, the pix is a view from the kitchen window... where Barry states that the wee granny across the street appeared in the buff, yes...in the buff... to let her dog out...
and I was just thinking that after all, this view is my daily soup for the next 7 weeks only...
oh well... so much for time passing..

the chimneys

that's my favourite view.. out of the bedroom window... they've become familiar, and that's got to be a good sign! Man, I just love them....
Technology's good for sharing views, isn't that right!
I took some more shots of roofs, trees in the buff and different shades of grey sky.....
to be continued then!!

voila ma vue de predilection.. a l'arriere de l'immeuble, a gauche de la cour en photo plus bas...
les cheminees, les miennes!!! Elles me sont devenues aussi familieres que la brique rouge de l'appart ou j'etais avant a belfast!
en bref, je profite de la technologie pour partager mes vues.....
J'ai pris d'autres cliches de toits, arbres tous nus et autres ciels gris....
a suivre donc!!!

Voila Mister Barry et moi dans un bar a Kielce cette semaine. Les etudiants de Barry l'ont invite a aller boire un coup et je les ai rejoint apres avoir descendu ma biere chaude! Tres bonne soiree ma foi, mais assez bizarre quand meme... le 'statut' de prof d'anglais nous a valu d'etre pris en photo a peu pres 10 fois.. pas trop a l'aise!! Ils on demande au DJ de dedicacer une chanson de U2 a Barry et on a du aller danser sous les regards satisfaits de sa classe.... Le passport irlandais casse la baraque! Incroyable quand on sait ce que beaucoup de gens ici pensent des etrangers... comme une de ses eleves nous a dit ce soir-la apres m'avoir dit que paris est une tres belle ville mais qu'il y a quand meme beaucoup de noirs la-bas, hein "c'est quand meme mieux d'etre blanc en Europe. et puis les noirs, ca fait peur"....
Cool,detendu, on respire bien profondement, on finit son verre, on prend ses p'tites affaires et puis cassos.....

Wee picture of Mister Barry andme in a kielce bar this week. that was with Barry's students, who on the one hand were incredibly sweet and thoughtful (DJ dedicated U2 tune to barry and we had to go and dance), loving the Paddy passport, and who, on the other hand, were so narrow-minded it was hard to believe.. anyway, cut a long story short: "it's much better to be white in europe, and the Black are a bit scary, aren't they"..
alright, finish the drinks, get the coat, and thank everyone for such a great evening, and get out of there.....

Here's a view of the backyard, out the bedroom window. that was about 10 days ago, just before the big melt-down!
Snow is ususally responsible for this 'eery winter' sensation we get at the sight of the first snowflakes..
The first crack-crunching footsteps in the snow are the sonic highlight of the freezing cold season..
So, here I was, walking around, listening to the melodies hissing under my soles at the start of December.. loving it!!
After months of layers of fleece clothes, of ice everywhere, of falling on my bum under the apalled gaze of people, I kind of agree with an english man, who told us a couple of weeks ago, that "yeah, I love snow! especially when there's a window between it and me".... thought that was a fairly good summary!
Anyway, the tricherous ice is gone and my arsebone cam now heal in peace!