i'm back!

Yippee!! I made it home safe and sound, although a little tired. A lot tired, actually. I loved being away and seeing all the things I saw, but there's nothing quite like coming home to your own bed. Especially when it's comfier than any you've slept on in over three weeks. And your shower... mmm, hot pressurized water... you wouldn't think it'd be so hard to master. Yes, well, all you Europeans out there, with your tepid gravity fed showers are really missing out on a great invention! Ahh, my creature comforts.

So, what to say? I have so much, that I guess I'll just say a few things at a time. Poland is beautiful! Ireland is stunning! London... is not exactly the same city it was to me 15 years ago, but still a load of fun. Arek's family is amazingly generous, funny, lovely, and welcoming. They ALL met us at the airport with lots of flowers for me, and whisked us off to a week and a half of being fed, watered, vodkad, and driven around. It was fantastic. I took all film pictures, so you will have to wait to see them until I get around to scanning them in.

For now, here is my list of things I am so happy to have experienced:

• Arek's family's open arms
• Warsaw's royal gardens and parks
• Zakopane and its mountain-nous-ness and my new mountain-cow-boy hat
• Krakow and those damn pigeons
• In-grid's Milord!
• driving on the other side of the road on the Motorways of England
• Warwick and the Tudor House Inn
• walking like an egyptian on the ferries to Ireland and back
• Dublin and it's highest pub
• Arek's other family's open arms
• the west coast of Ireland in general - fields that flow into the ocean
• sheep that stand in the middle of the zig-zag road letting you know who owns the place
• a new drum from Spiddal!
• getting to say you spent the night in Spiddal
• the cliffs of Moher
• the Ring of Kerry
• the Roman baths of Bath
• Stonehenge
• Camden Town
• sitting in the Holly Bush pub in Hampstead, across the street from Jamie Oliver's house
• Erno Goldfinger's house
• Tate Modern via the Tate to Tate boat
• falling in love with my husband all over again :)