We took a train to Florence on Tuesday. It was my second train ride and it was during the day so we got to see the countryside. It was beautiful.
It is very sunny here and we are loving it. Florence is a bit colder than Rome. Tomorrow afternoon we take a train to Orvieta.
Today we took a city bus up into the hills of the city and the view was incredible!!! We walked down. We went to see the statue of David. We went to the market to shop. We have done LOTS of walking. No calories remain of whatever we eat!! We found a wonderful stationery store and I bought some fabulous papers for book making. Last night we found an art supply store and I bought two watercolors and some glue.
Tonight we came to an internet cafe after eating dinner. It costs too much to pay for internet at the hotel. In our room we have an upstairs sitting area and a walk in closet. The breakfast at this hotel isnàt as good as the one in Rome.
We are all exhausted but are having a wonderful time. I have take many, many pictures.
You wouldn't believe all the leather products for sale here in Florence. Barb bought herself a beautiful coat, gloves, and purse. Suzanne is still looking for the right purse for her. Suzanne, Barb and I each bought a fun t-shirt and scarf. I got PURPLE cashmere lined leather gloves.
There is so much to see it can be overwhelming!
Last night we walked along the Ponte Vecchio. It is a bridge that has shop buildings all along it. I took some great shots of the bridge and also bought postcards of it.
It has been a wonderful experience!!!

The words don't exist to describe Rome/Italy. Sunday night we arrived, got to our hotel and went out to eat. We ate our meal outdoors apx. 150 feet from the Pantheon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amazing!!! We then went for gelato and saw two fountains. After that I went to bed; I was exhausted!
Today we had breakfast at the hotel and then went to the Vatican. We payed extra to not stand in line. I'm glad; the lines were very long by 9:30. There was a lot to see and we skipped over lots of it. It became overwhelming. We saw the Sistine chapel. We were there for 2 hours.
We lost each other inside and Irene and I ended up together. We went to the Colosseum. There was lots to see on the way there. We chose not to go inside and instead went to the forum. That was a very interesting place. Lots and lots of ruins. We spent a long there. We also went to the Spanish steps and Trevi Fountain. We did a bit of window shopping and went back to the hotel. We met up with Suzanne and went out to eat. My meal was great. I'm sure the pasta was homemade. Suzanne and I went for gelato afterwards.
I'm exhausted!

We arrived in Krakow! (It is so nice to be out of the Ukraine!) It took an hour and a half to get to here from the airport. We are at the Ascot Hotel. It is very nice. We went out to eat at a place called Sioux City. Very good food. Tomorrow we have until 2 p.m. to explore and then we head to the airport. The city has a great main square. The buildings are beautiful; it will be great to see them during the day.

Below are two pictures of the snow on Thursday morning. The first picture is looking towards the back of the school on the road I walk to work on each morning.

Below are two pictures of some of the garbage I walk by everyday on my way to work.
It is a reflection of people's lives here; why worry about the environment when your everyday life is in chaos and constant fluctuation.

It has snowed twice here this week. We now have 4 to 5 inches of snow. It was very pretty this morning with the fresh snow. Of course now it will be dangerous walking on the sidewalks cuz nobody shovels and it gets packed down and turns to ice.
Last night we had supper at Suzanne's. She made spaghetti as a pre-view to Italy.
Sam showed us pictures of his past trip to Italy. I am in awe of the art, architecture and history I will be seeing!!!

Below is a chocolate shoe I bought at the French bakery. Isnt' it fun?!

Happy Valentines Day (one day late)! I had a great day. I had my group of friends over in the morning for for my infamous scones. I also made creme fraiche and lemon curd. It was all very delicious and we stuffed ourselves. Sam gave each of us two white tulips and chocolates. Barb and Isobel brought me a bromeliad and a fun card. In the afternoon I worked on a collage. At 4:30 Barb, Isobel and I met up to go downtown. We went out to eat at the French bakery. I had a Greek salad and spinach quiche. We then went to hear the National Philharmonic Orchestra. It was a fantastic concert (for the unbelievable price of US $6.13!). The first half consisted of Ukrainian songs and a woman sang for 4 of the songs. What a voice ! After intermission they played show tunes; from Cats, Smoke gets in your eyes; Stevie Wonder 'I just called to say I love you'; Man from La Manche; Get me to the church on time; the Can Can; From Evita, 'Don't cry for me Argentina'; something from My fair Lady; were some of them. It was very fun. We went out for a drink afterwards and had fabulous desserts. We bought flowers and pussywillows on the way home.

I have internet!!!!!!!! I'm still waiting for a person to come and make it wireless. It is 8 and he is coming yet tonight. How weird. Nothing is easy over here.
We woke up to a 1/2 inch of snow but it had all melted by 10. It had started to rain when school got out.
Tomorrow night Isobel, Barb and I are going to a concert. I don't know what it is.

Ukraine experience no. _____: Being stuck in an elevator in a country where your friend is the only one who speaks English. Luckily I was only in there for apx. 40 minutes. I doodled in my sketchbook. Suzanne said I should have taken a picture of myself in the elevator.
We had sunshine yesterday and it was glorious to see the sun! Today we have fog. It has been warm, tho. In the low 40s for about a week.
We had tacos at Isobel's last night and it was very good.

Our flight to London was cancelled on Friday. Luckily we didn't make it to the airport before we found out. We were able to have our taxi drop us off downtown. We went exploring and out to eat. Saturday we went shopping and to Billa, an Austrian grocery store. At seven everyone came to my place to watch a movie. Sunday I stayed home and was creative.
Yesterday was a very difficult day for me. I was terribly home sick and very frustrated with work. I blamed it on the full moon. Today was better.

On Thursday a family friend died. She was 95. I feel like I have lost a Grandmother. I am very glad I got to visit her while I was home for X-mas.
We leave for London at 3:30 today. We have our fingers crossed that we don't get stuck in traffic on the way to the airport.
Yesterday it warmed up again and the snow and ice started to melt. We now have lots of fog this morning.

Tuesday we had sunshine and blue skys. It was wonderful. It is warmer again today and slippery

On Saturday we got sunshine!!! What a relief!!!
Sunday we went out to lunch at the Olivia restaurant. Excellent food and inexpensive! They also had English menus!!!
It has gotten colder, just in time for my turn at outside morning duty. How fun.
Friday evening Isobel came over and we watched "Moulan Rouge."
Saturday evening, we went to Suzanne's and watched "Everything is Illuminated." It is even funnier once you have lived in the Ukraine! We laughed like crazy.
I was feeling very creative this weekend. I made a hand sewn book, started a collage/painting, and started on a tablecloth for my kitchen. On Sunday after eating I went to an art store for handmade paper for the cover of my book. I am running out of PVA glue; hopefully we can find it in London. Suzanne knows of an art supply store there.
We leave on Friday at 4 and hopefully don't get stuck in traffic on the way to the airport. I am very excited about going. I'm hoping to see part of the Kensington Gardens.