Time away in Poland 🇵🇱 (with stops in Spain and UK)

strolling in Denia, Spain

It's been a while, I know..., with two children life can get very busy 🙃 but I'm happy to be back!

We left Portugal and beautiful Esposende, after 2 years of living there. We have fallen in love with the people and the country and made some wonderful new friends. I write about my experiences in Portugal and later in Spain on my Mediterranean Travels Blog, so hop over there if you are interested. 😊

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So.., we are back in Cambridge for now. I must tell you that, it is such an amazing little city.., and for me the most beautiful city in England. Most of all, it has train links (via London) to Provence and even further to Tuscany, which is something I have been missing when living in Portugal.

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This summer, we went to my hometown in Poland. Szczecin is a port city, with many shipyards that were (and some still are) in operation and a Maritime University. Once a year in June,  Sea Days festival is held including Tall Ship Races. It is right next to the German border on the west with a beautiful coastline to the north.

The summers are almost always guaranteed, and our long and wide beaches with dunes, are some of the most beautiful in Europe. Direct train will take you from Szczecin to Miedzyzdroje or Świnoujście and the journey is just above one hour.

From Szczecin we travelled to Toruń, the city where Mikołaj Kopernik, the Polish Astronomer was born, although it was in Frombork, where he created his famous works. Toruń is a beautiful city, with many attractions such as Kopernik's family home, Planetarium and Gingerbread workshops. 

The next stop was Warsaw. We spent some wonderful time in Łazienki Królewskie, where we visited the Palace on the Isle and Wilanów - a summer residence built for the Polish King Jan III Sobieski and his family in the last quarter of the 17th century. I loved the owl art piece on the Queen's writing desk, how beautiful is that. 😍

Then a short stay in Kraków and visiting my family near Wrocław.., just look at this magnificent garden, designed and looked after by my lovely cousin Beata.

Finally, we got all the way back to the north of Poland and the lovely seaside town called Świnoujście. I love the old style of travelling and I always try to stay away from airports. I especially love travelling by train. There is so much to see and the pace is slower. 

In Świnoujście, we have frequented this lovely organic ice-cream café, called Manufaktura Ekologiczna. On one of the walls, was this fantastic illustration, and right next to it, sitting my beautiful Mum. :)

 

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Back in Cambridge now, and I can also tell you in secret, that beautiful new designs are on the way and the collection is growing to include plain and dot grid pages. :)

Thank you, if you've reached this far. I look forward to finally unpack and visit one of my best friends Anna and her family this Sunday. 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend Darlings! 

till next time

Pati 😘