Decisions, decisions!

I can’t believe its Wednesday night – this week has just flown past! I’ve been a busy little bee, but I’ll get to that in a minute. First, I’d like to talk about protein powders. You might remember that I finally threw in the towel on my EAS chocolate protein powder after suffering through shake after shake of yuckiness. In my quest to find a better tasting shake, I did some research on the different types of protein powder out there. The lawyer in me wants to attach a disclaimer here – I’m no expert in protein and what I say here on in comes mainly from internet searches and talking to the guy at my local health food store!

Whey, soy, egg or rice?

Ok, so the first part of picking a protein powder is working out what kind of protein you want to use - whey, soy, egg or rice. I’ve tried whey, soy and egg before. There’s a lot of debate about which is best, but whey is generally the most commonly used and I definately prefer the taste of whey protein (derived from milk) to soy. Unfortunately, its harder to track down egg and rice protein here in Australia and the most I’ve tried of those is from samples I bought home from the U.S. So it’s whey for me.

Concentrate or isolate?

For both whey and soy protein, there are two categories of powders – isolate and concentrate. The concentrate form is generally more commonly used and is less expensive. That’s because it can contain anywhere from 30 to 85% protein. In contrast, isolate is a higher quality protein and is, therefore, more expensive. It contains more than 90% protein. Whey isolate is more easily abosorbed by the body and contains less fat and lactose. Whether you choose concentrate or isolate is a personal choice – I was advised that the difference between a good concentrate and an isolate is quite negligble, and probably not worth the price difference. For me personally, given that I’m not a competitive body-builder or have any issues with lactose, I’m happy to opt for the concentrate which is still a good source of protein and costs less. Significantly, I was told that a concentrate is more likely to tastes better than isolate but I know people have different opinions on this (for example, if you like a less sweet powder, isolate may be better). I went concentrate.

So I ended up getting this Sculpt protein powder in vanilla. Two scoops is 93 calories and has 1g fat, 2.3g carbs and 19g protein. And here’s the good news – I like it! Woohoo! It tastes good, which means I’ll actually use it Here are some of my protein smoothie creations so far!

Shake 1 – Egg nog protein shake

Ingredients:

• 30g (2 scoops) vanilla protein powder
• 1 cup of skim milk
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 tsp rum extract
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 handfulls of ice
• decent pinch of guar gum
• slightly smaller pinch of xanthan gum

After blending it all up, I got double the amount shown (but was sharing with my dad).

Verdict: Yuuuum. I felt suitably festive downing this drink.

Shake 2 – Passionfruit and almond protein shake

Ingredients:

• 30g (2 scoops) vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 cup of skim milk
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup almonds
• 2 passionfruits
• 2 handfulls of ice
• decent pinch of guar gum
• slightly smaller pinch of xanthan gum

I soaked the almonds in 1/2 a cup of water overnight. The next morning, I blended the almond and the water until creamy. I then added the rest of the ingredients (except the passionfruit), and blended again. After blending it all up, I stirred through the passionfruit.

Verdict: Yuuuum again. Mostly, I was excited to make my own almond milk, and that it worked! The only downside was that the passionfruit fell to the bottom.

Shake 3 – Chocolate peppermint protein shake

Ingredients:

• 30g (2 scoops) vanilla protein powder (chocolate would have been better!)
• 1 cup of skim milk
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon low cal drinking chocolate
• 1 handful spinach
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• decent pinch of guar gum
• slightly smaller pinch of xanthan gum

I blended everything together – easy peasy.

Verdict: This was probably my fave because it looked green and minty, and you couldn’t taste the spinach at all.

I’m looking forward to doing lots more protein shake experiments!

In other news, apart from working (at the golf club and doing student rights work at uni) and working out (run with the girls on Monday, PT session on Tuesday, boxing today), I had a hair appointment! I was really excited about getting my hair done for the firs time since my return home (well over a month ago). I stuck with my brown, and had just a few lighter caramel bits put through. I love how a hair appointment can instantly make you feel glamorous!

That’s it from me girlies (and boys… if any read this)! I’m off to bed now.

Don’t quarry, be happy

Although I do my best to be mindful and deliberate with my food choices, I also refuse to put restrictions on myself when it comes to eating.  I’m simply no good with rules. If I tell myself, “no sugar today!”, I will really, really want sugar alllll day. It doesn’t work. But if I make an effort not to ban bread (or sweets, or processed food or whatever it may be), when I do eat that stuff, I don’t get so angry at myself about it. It’s not the end of the world. It doesn’t really mean anything.

I think this kind of approach has been good for me, because, in essence, I’m an over-analyser. I do this in many aspects of my life, nutrition included. Avoiding restrictions means I also avoid thinking of certain foods as ’good’ and ‘bad’. These labels, to be honest, don’t help me. If a food is ‘bad’, how can I not feel guilty about eating it? But if food is just food, with no label or stigma attached to it, it’s simply easier to move on and make the next good choice.

At the end of the day, it’s all about finding a balance. That place where, more often than not, a good choice is made. And on those occasions where a good choice isn’t made, there’s no self-criticism and self-loathing that comes with it.

One way I try to hit the ‘balance’ is by giving myself more wiggle room on the weekend and especially on Sunday. Generally speaking, when I take it easy on the weekends, I find it helps me make more deliberate and better choices throughout the week.

My ‘relaxed’ breakfast on Sunday was a yogurt mess. I mixed together three different cereals – Protein 1st (which has pretty good stats for a cereal), Trader Joe’s Granola (not so good, but super tasty) and Cheerios (pretty darn average but also super super tasty).  For the yogurt, I used a tub of Nestle Diet Vanilla (mmm, aspartame!) and a few tablespoons of low fat Greek yogurt.

Here’s the before yogurt shot -

And the after yogurt shot -

Here’s a weird thing about me - I never have my cereal with milk. It just does not fill me up. So it’s always yogurt.

Lunch was a yummy salad – lots of spinach leaves, black beans, 2 cooked egg whites, laughing cow cheese, tuna and a generous blob of hummus. I mixed a little mild tabasco sauce into the hummus and it was a-mazing. Loving the tabasco.

After several lunch desserts which weren’t exactly deliberate and mindful (including cheese, cherries and chocolate), I headed to the local quarry where I was meeting a girlfriend for some outdoorsy fun. We arrived a little early, so did a quick run around the quarry.

It featured a lot of these -

After our run, we met up with the rest of the group that was joining us and took a more leisurely stroll around the same area. Afterwards, we had some yummy veggie wraps and fruit for dinner (which I totally forgot to photograph). We followed it all up with a game of frisbee.

After the quarry visit, I headed over to another girlfriends place where I ate a second dinner - some of the leftovers she had from a party that day (pumpkin salad and pesto pasta salad). We had a bit of a goss and enjoyed a nice glass of pinot noir.

It was a relaxed Sunday in every sense of the word, and I didn’t allow myself to quarry, err, worry about much of anything. Food included.

Here’s my question to you – do you every ’stress’ about your food choices? How do you try to find balance?

Festive mood

Without meaning to, I’ve been eating lots of red and green foods the last couple of days – I’m definately channeling the Christmas spirit!

Breakfast yesterday was an egg scramble filled with onion, spinach, capsicum, asparagus and black beans. The secret ingredient – some generous shakes of green pepper sauce. I ate this after coming home from a weight training session, which was my first session using my new weight lifting gloves. I felt a little silly in them at first, but they felt really good and the grip on the various bars was so much better. It was a great workout with lots of shoulder and leg work, which I particularly enjoy doing (because I have strong shoulders and legs!)

Until February I am working as a casual at a local golf club in the restaurant/functions area. It’s an exclusive club, and has breathtaking views of the ocean. I went to work at midday yesterday and was on my feet for over 8 hours (we only get one 15 minute break – if we are lucky).  I’m never particularly hungry while working, but when I get a chance to eat something, I realise just how hungry I am!

Dinner last night was some delicious beetroot soup, with a harboiled egg on the side.

And to continue with the festive colours – some fruit for dessert (and a little chocolate too)

This morning I was up early to meet with my running group. The weather looked a little shady – like it would rain at any moment – but luckily it stayed nice for us. When I got home I had a bowl of my lower carb oatbran (recipe here), and blended through a big handful of spinach for an extra veggie hit. I topped my oats with some almond butter and homemade blueberry jam.

I’m working again today from midday – I better go get ready! Hope you all have a fabulous weekend in store.

Work in progress

Brekky this morning was one of my regulars – a piece of German rye bread with some laughing cow cheese and two hardboiled eggs. Eggs are my favourite food ever and I could seriously 4 or 5 a day if I let myself. Yolk and all.

After my egg-celent breakfast, I spent a little time reading blogs and catching up on the ‘goss’. I’ve been lucky enough to have most of this week off, and its been really great to spend some time with my dad who is at home at the moment. In the afternoon I caught up with my friend E (no, not ecstacy) who is down from interstate at the moment. She’s joining my gym for the duration of her stay, and so we decided to do a boxing class together. I’d originally planned on having a rest day today, but actually felt quite good and had some energy to burn (probably because I’ve had a pretty cruisy week so far!)

When I got home, and after some dinner, I attempted to make protein ice cream – a recipe I’ve had bookmarked from (surprise, surprise) Heather’s blog. I’ve had xanthan gum in the pantry for a while, but it wasn’t until today that I managed to track down some guar gum. 

I made a few small changes to Heather’s recipe, and used:

•  1 cup skim milk
• 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (my friend gave me a sample of hers to try – didn’t need to resort to my nasty EAS one)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 strawberries
• 1 packet stevia
• pinch of sea salt
• approx. 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• approx. 1/4 tsp guar gum
• 2 handfuls of ice

I blended it all together and… well, the texture wasn’t spot on. After reading Smoothie girls post about the gums, I’m fairly sure I used too much of the xanthan gum and not enough of the guar gum. Taste-wise, it was very very good. It made an absolutely massive bowl and I ate it all. I’ll be playing around with the gums in the future, for sure. Has anyone else tried experimenting with the gums?

Santa is coming soon! I started getting legitimately excited for Christmas today, when I noticed my dad try to sneak this bag past me… For those of you who don’t know, Mimco is an Australian company which makes very very cool bags. Maybe a bit like the American brand Coach. Seems like someone will be ‘toting’ an awesome new bag soon (hopefully me).

Seeing this shopping bag made me realise – its 15 days to Christmas and I still haven’t started my shopping. How about you?

Protein dilemma

I’m in a protein powder rut at the moment. I have run out of all the Jay Robb I brought over from the US (he’s not available here in Australia),  and am left with my massive tub of EAS whey protein in chocolate. And I just can’t stomach it. I’ve tried to hide the taste of it in my shakes and oatmeal, but nothing is working. I think I need to find a new powder because I’m definately missing my protein hits. That said, not using the EAS is pretty wasteful…

Anyway, since I’ve returned home, I’ve been alternating between eggs and oats for breakfast.  Breakfast today was a lower carb oatmeal attempt which turned out quite well. 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons oatbran
• 2 tablespoons cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 egg whites
• 2 tablespoons flax seed meal

I whisked the egg whites into the oatbran, cottage cheese and water mixture, then cooked the oats over the stove until the egg looked ‘grainy’ and cooked. Then, I transferred the mixture into a blender. In a bowl, I mixed together some water and the flax meal together until the flax became gel-like, and then added this to the blender too. I blended.

I topped my oats with some chocolate PB2. I’ve never had PB2 before, and was surprised by how yummy it was (I had low expectations). That said, it’s not quite as good as almond butter because you can definately taste the de-fattedness of the PB2 and I like that fatty, nutty taste!

I had a fabulous opportunity to enjoy the beautiful weather, and caught up with a couple of friends for lunch. Check out the beautiful view from the deck of the cafe.

I enjoyed a tandoori chicken salad with yogurt dressing. Just what I felt like!

After lunch, we headed to a USA supermarket nearby where I stocked up on some more canned pumpkin (so I can make more custard!), black beans and some diet Dr. Pepper too… I spent a good minute staring at the Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, but I resisted. It was tough.

It was hot hot hot and getting excited for my boxing class in the afternoon was a little difficult. I was a sweaty mess by the end of it. After a super-quick shower and dinner, I headed to the theatre to watch New Moon (for the second time!). It wasn’t as funny and good as the first time I saw it, but I couldn’t complain about the view (ahem, Taylor Lautner’s abs) so I’d call it an evening well spent! 

Question – Do you use protein powder? What’s your favourite type/brand?

Lead legs

This morning I met a girlfriend of mine at the gym for some spin class action. We were both dreading it after doing a million squats (or thereabouts) yesterday in our PT session. Although the warm-up was enough to leave us cringing, we made it through the 45 minutes. Afterwards, to my delight, we went out for breakfast. I was a little miffed, however, by the ‘tude shown to me by my waitress, who thought it was ‘a first’ that I ordered eggs benedict with the sauce on the side. What’s wrong with wanting to moderate the amount of hollandaise I add to my english muffin, ham and poached eggs? That’s one thing I miss about the States – you can customise orders, whereas here in Australia you get that look which says ‘difficult customer’ if you try.

After brekky I did some Christmas shopping. Or at least, attempted too. It wasn’t a very successful mission and all I managed to buy was something for myself – a pair of gloves for lifting. I’ve started sporting some massive blisters on my hands from my lifting sessions, and have discovered that bandaids are totally useless. I was pretty pleased with my purchase – I had a giftcard for $20, and a discount at the shop, so only ended up paying $2.50 for the gloves. Swweeeet.

When I got home I felt a little peckish and spooned out about a 1/4 of the pumpkin custard I made, using Heather’s recipe. I used a can of pumpkin in the recipe, and ommitted the ginger and cloves in favour of more cinnamon. This stuff is very more-ish and it’s extra good with a little almond butter or even regular butter smeared on top. Just sayin’…

It’s late in the afternoon here, and my plan is to catch up with a friend who arrived home today for the Christmas break. I’d also really like to stay in a seated position for as much of the rest of the day as is possible, because my legs are still aching!

Time to publish

I have sat down at least a dozen times since I returned home, about a month ago, to re-start this blog.  I have at least half a dozen drafts in my ‘posts’ section, which I haven’t actually posted…  Despite being a blog enthusiast (I have continued to read my favourites), I haven’t returned to blogging since stopping in August.

So why did I stop?

Well, I was overseas and (1) didn’t have reliable internet access and (2) was no longer channeling the notion of ‘healthy ambition’ and didn’t want to pretend to be. I took a break from routine in every literal sense, and found that the few times I did blog, I felt quite guilty about not eating better and exercising more. Long story short, it was simply easier to enjoy myself when I wasn’t reflecting and analysing quite so much.

The truth is, I did miss blogging and all my blog friend. But I think my decision allowed me to truly enjoy my trip. I was originally a little nervous about travelling alone, but it’s the best thing I could have done and it’s something I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to learn more about themselves and have a great adventure at the same time. 

So why haven’t I blogged since returning home?

Well, I think it took me a while to feel good about being home again. I had a few weeks of feeling pretty down after all my fun times away. Post-travel blues, I suppose. I also had to struggle with getting into a new, positive routine. I got back into exercise and felt a little mentally thrown when I discovered my fitness had dropped. It has been a month since I’ve come home, and I definately feel better, both physically and mentally, and feel ready to start blogging again and telling you all what I’ve been doing to get back into shape and keep myself balanced.

But first, a little about my trip! America was awesome!!! It’s too difficult to do a recap in one go, so here are some of my top interesting food experiences in the US. And if you haven’t gotten the gist so far, don’t be expecting big green salads and lots of heathy looking foods…

Number 10

The Monte Cristo sandwich is number 10 on my list of interesting food experiences, mostly because I was, and remain, in awe of it. To me, it is symbolic of the excessive side of American food culture. In case you don’t know what it is, it’s  a deep-fried sandwich, covered in powdered sugar with jam on the side. I had a few bites of this one, which I bought in Chicago, and felt instantly sick. The waitress told me tourists usually can’t handle it. I would pay money to see anyone eat the whole thing. 

Number 9

Next on my list is Starbucks. It. Is. Everywhere. We have it in Australia too, but what really interested me was the absurdely long drink orders people make in the US. “Can I have a venti, skinny, half sugar-free hazelnut, half sugar-free vanilla, no-whip, iced coffee with a shot of espresso?” You would never hear that in Australia. At most, someone might get a ’skinny’ latte instead of a regular, but that’s probably it. (FYI – The reason I had a photo taken in front of this Starbucks was because it was featured in the Sex and the City Movie, and I’m a huge fan).

Number 8

Drinking American beer while watching a game of baseball was one of my favourite American experiences. I’d always wanted to go to a Baseball game after watching ‘A League of Their Own’ a a kid, and was lucky enough to get great seats with a friend at Petco Park in San Diego. Sports are a huge part of Australian culture, and obvioulsy American culture too, so it was fun to experience it. 

Number 7

Having easy access to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups was both a blessing and a burden, all at once. Reese’s is definately the best American chocolate there is, closely followed by Hershey’s Cookies and Cream.

Number 6

Next on my list is the deep dish pizza, which is famous in Chicago. It’s a bit like the Monte Cristo – a pretty unbelievable concept. But I liked this, given that the main ingredient is cheese (nom nom nom). This is literally filled with cheese, which oozes out all over the place the moment you cut into it. It was very rich, and hard to eat more than a slice, but delicious. The pizza I had in New York was also among some of the best I’ve ever eaten and deserves a shout-out.

Number 5

Wholefoods was a-mazing, and definately a favourite place of mine. Particularly, I was a big fan of the peanut/nut butter aisle. I had all kinds of peanut butter in the States and found them, generally, to be a lot sweeter than the ones you can buy in Australia. I did become a big fan of MaraNatha nut butters, however, and took a few jars of Dark Chocolate Almond spread back home with me. America has a huge peanut butter culture which I think is unique to it, and which I’ll miss now that I’m home and don’t have an endless supply and so much variety available to me.

Number 4

I had never had New England clam chowder before, but knew of it from an episode in the Simpsons where the major’s nephew makes fun of a French waiter for pronoucing chowder incorrectly. “Shau-dere? Shau-dere? It’s “chowdah”. Say it right!” I had it a couple times in Boston, once at Wholefoods and once from a place called the Barking Crab, and it was creamy and delicious both times. I will have to learn how to recreate this one at home. If anyone has a good recipe, let me know.

Number 3

Next on my list is a bit of an American institution, and it was shown to me by a good friend in San Diego. The smore. It sounds simple enough - a marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker. But holy moly was it delicious! I ended up teaching the recipe to a group of travellers at a hostel in Washington DC, and everyone who tried it wanted some more…

Number 2

Runner up on my list of food experiences is pretty much all the food that New Orleans has to offer. New Orleans was a favourite place of mine, and I fell head over heels for the people in that city, and their spirit and positive energy. I also fell in love with gumbo. And shrimp creole. And muffaletta sandwiches. The best muffaletta sandwich I had was from the Central Grocery in the French Quarter. It’s all about the marinated olive salad.

Number 1

My top food experience in America is one for the sweet tooths, which shouldn’t be a surprise, because that’s exactly what I am. I became a huge fan of the amazing cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery in New York City before I had even stepped foot in there. That’s because I’m a big fan of Sex and the City, and if you don’t know, the bakery was made famous after featuring in one of the episodes. It’s also featured in this really funny SNL clip. Plus, I’ve never met a cupcake I didn’t like. And these beautiful cakes did not disappoint! I ended up visiting the shop a total of 3 times during my 10 day stay in New York…

It’s time to publish

Krakow, Poland

Hello again! I’m glad to have found a free morning because lots of exciting things have happened since my last update. On Monday of this week mum, dad and I headed on a little ‘road trip’ from Warsaw to Krakow. I wasn’t feeling particularly well on the Monday having caught a cold which, according to my parents, was the likely result of the flight to Europe and the air in the plane. In any event, it was really frustrating. Normally I don’t mind being sick because it  means a day off from uni or work and an excuse to laze around on the couch, but not so much on holidays when there is lots to see and do.

Anyway, early into our drive we stopped by one of the many road-side fruit stands. This is organic fruit at its best! Mum bought a bag of apples, some plums and some red cherries. The apples weren’t that good (in my opinion, mum really liked them) – they had a potato-y texture. The plums and cherries were lovely though.

On Monday we did lots of driving. I’m a bit scared to have a go at driving because the whole driving on the right-hand side of the road thing still confuses me a bit, so I’m leaving it to dad. There was a very funny moment when both mum and dad went to the wrong side of the car and didn’t notice until they had their seatbelts on. You had to be there.

On the way to Krakow, we stopped first in a town called Czestochowa and a place called Jasna Gora, which is is the most famous shrine to the Virgin Mary in Poland and the country’s greatest place of pilgrimage – for many it is Poland’s spiritual capital. Here you can see the image of Black Madonna, to which miraculous powers are attributed, and for which Czestochowa is very famous. The place had a very calming atmosphere. I instantly felt at ease and at peace there.

After our visit to Czestochowa, we hit the road again to finish the journey to Krakow. Along the way, we stopped for some lunch. I had a zupa grochowa (split pea soup) which is traditionally made using green or yellow split peas, bacon, diced ham, potatoes, carrots and celery, and left chunky.

My mum had one of her favourite Polish dishes (she’s eaten this 3 times since we’ve been here!) called Flaki (tripe soup). I’ve never really been a fan…

My dad orded for himself barszcz czerwony (beetroot soup) and a krokiet (a fried pastry stuffed with mushrooms).

And then we all shared probably one of Poland’s most well-known dishes pierogi. These were meat-filled ones, made with Pork, which are my favourite kind.

We finally arrived in Krakow late in the afternoon and after checking into a hotel, we walked to rynek Krakowski (the main square) where we  saw the beautiful Kosciol Mariacki (St Mary’s Basilica) which was built in the 13th century. A trumpet call is sounded from the church’s main tower every hour which always ends abruptly midstream. According to legend, the tune was played during a Tatar invasion by a guard warning citizens against the attack. He was shot by a Tatar warrior while playing, the melody breaking off at the moment he died.

That evening, we headed out to dinner and shared amongst the three of us a plate of meat (pork, chicken, sausage) and some vegetables.

… and also some salad.

At home I don’t eat a lot of meat (only poultry) but I’m really enjoying the meat-heavy cuisine in Poland. It is interesting to see how my ‘tastes’ have adapted while overseas. I am truly in love with Polish food!

Breakfast the next day was at the hotel. I haven’t really taken any pictures of my breakfasts while in Poland (which is ironic, because before I went away most of my pictures were of breakfast!) I guess it’s because it hasn’t been especially note-worthy. At the hotels, I generally had museli and yogurt. At my Aunt’s, I eat oats. A Polish breakfast can be quite varied but the very ‘traditional’ variety includes cold meats, salads, eggs and bread.

So back to our second day.  As we were walking around, I noticed these bread stands everywhere. They sell rolls and pretzels, called obwarzanki.

My dad bought one… The great thing about travelling with my parents is that when they buy anything, I always have a bite or two

During our second day in Krakow we went to see the famous Wawel Hill, crowned by Wawel Castle and Wawel Cathedral, which was the seat of royal power up until the 17th century. Wawel Castle was built in the 14th century at the behest of Casimir III the Great. The Castle was home to many Polish kings and queens and the royal crypts in the Cathedral marks their final resting place, along with several other Polish heroes.

After our visit to Wawel Hill, we snacked on some goralskie oszczypki (smoked ‘mountain’ cheese).

Later on we had some more ice cream (I think the reason they can pile it on so high is because it is quite icy so it can stay upright) and mum had gofry (Polish waffles!).Yeah, they were awesome.

Apart from meat, cheese is a big part of Polish cuisine…

And so is bread! The little bowl on the left contains smalec which is spread on bread and is made from lard with onions and bacon. Although it sounds kind of bad it is actually really really tasty. Enjoy this in moderation

This was my dinner  on the second night in Poland – golabki – which are cabbage dumplings filled with ground beef, chopped onions and rice, baked in a spicy tomato sauce.

And yes, I’ve ventured into new drinking territory while here in Poland – beer (or piwo in Polish). I’ve never been a big beer drinker but the ones I’ve tried here have really been quite nice. My favourite has been one called ‘Tyskie’ which has a clean after-taste and none of the nasty bitterness I attribute with beer. Gina, are you proud?

And yes, I have still been faithful to Polish vodka. At a lot of restaurants, after you finish your meal, you are given a shot of wisnowka which is a sweet cherry vodka. Very yummy!

On our next day in the Krakow region, we headed out to a town called Wieliczka to visit the famous Polish salt mines, which had been operating since the 13th century! The tour features statues of historic and mythic figures which are all sculpted out of rock salt. Even the crystals of the chandeliers are made from rock salt! The mine is a really interesting place, and more than 1 million people visit each year. That’s about 6 thousand each day! Notably, the salt mines of Wieliczka were on the first World Heritage List ever.

On our last day, we went to Oswiecim which is not far from Krakow and is the location of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration and Extermination Camp, which is now a state museum. It was an incredibly sad but significant visit. Below is a picture of the infamous entry point of the camp with the ironic phrase ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ which means ‘work makes you free’ or ‘work brings liberation’.

On the way back to Warsaw, we stopped in a town not far from Kielce to visit my mum’s family. This was an interesting experience for me because I essentially met a lot of my relatives for what felt like the first time. Although I was last in Poland 8 years ago, I haven’t seen my mum’s side of the family since my first visit (when I was 5!) It’s a little strange to meet people you have a blood connection with, but don’t really know.

While there, we were served the most amazing food, made by my cousin who is a chef, and nearly all of which was made from food produced by my Aunt on her property. First were the cold platters, filled with cheeses, meats, breads etc. Then came the hot meals, with more meat, potatoes and vegetables. The servings were absolutely enormous. It was quite literally too much food, but despite our protests, we were told to eat! One thing I have noticed about Polish people is the incredible hospitality they show when you visit their home. I used to be embarassed when my mum would constantly offer my friends food when they were at my house, but now I understand! You will never enter a Polish person’s house without being offered a proper meal. A special  effort is always made.

I will leave you with a picture of some of the Polish candy we bought to my Aunt’s house as a gift for the children.These are called Krowki (cows) and are little sugary creamy buttery lollies which are so delicious, you may indeed turn into a cow if you eat too many.

So my last week has been truly wonderful. I am in Poland for another 10 days before heading to Paris, which is a little unbelievable to me! The time is going so fast!

Apart from the excitement of seeing new things, I also found out I did well in all my exams and will be graduating from my law degree with first class honours. Life is good on all fronts at the moment

I hope you are all well and I look forward to doing some blog reading of my own soo!

A trumpet call, hejnał mariacki, is sounded from the church’s main tower every hour. The melody played ends unexpectedly in midstream. According to legend, the tune was played during a 13th-century Tatar invasion by a guard warning citizens against the attack. He was shot by a Tatar warrior while playing, the melody breaking off at the moment he died

Warsaw, Poland

Hello everyone! This is my first official post since landing in Warsaw, Poland after the long long journey. We (mum, dad and I) left Melbourne, Australia on July 15 in the evening and flew for one hour before we had our first stop-over at Sydney airport. Our next flight went for about 9 hours and took us to Hong Kong airport. Then we flew for another 12 hours (approx.) and arrived at Heathrow airport. Then we had another 2 hour flight before we touched down in Warsaw, Poland. So I think that’s about 24 hours of flying, not including all the time we spent waiting in-between flights. I tell you what – it was exhausting! I won’t bore you with the details of the flight except to say that the food was bad and the leg-room was lacking.

We were picked up at the airport by my cousin  and taken to my Aunt and Uncle’s house in Warsaw. They have the most beautiful property! I loved seeing how green and alive everything looked. In Australia, because of all the water restrictions, a patch of green grass is pretty rare.

I was delighted to see my Aunt’s doggies again. This cutie below was originally called ‘Tina’ but then the family started calling her ‘Pinda’ (which is Polish for ‘bitchy’) because she’s a little bit stuck-up. The name stuck. She’s a little bit reserved but still a total sweetheart.

This little fellow is the opposite to Pinda – he loves being cuddled and craves affection. His name is Guzik (Polish for ‘button’).

You may be amused to know that one of the first things dad and I did when we arrived was to head to the local supermarket to find some oat bran so we could continue making our breakfasts while here at my Aunt’s house. Despite lots of searching (we went to several supermarkets!), the best we could find was rolled oats. Alas, there has been no spinach or cauliflower finding its way into my oats (yes, I miss them…) Instead, we have been using lots of apples, blueberries and raspberries which are all in season. Along with searching for oat bran, dad and I also sought to scope out the ‘nut butter’ situation here in Poland. Unfortunately nut butter doesn’t really seem to be very popular over here. I found some peanut butter (it took some effort!) but that’s about it. We are going to check a health food store later today, however, so maybe we can find some nut butter there…

Ok, onto more ‘Polish-y’ things. In the last couple of days my parents (especially my dad, who was born and raised in Warsaw) have proved to be excellent guides by taking me to the key landmarks in Warsaw. The last time I visited Poland was 8 years ago, so the refresher was definately needed. We visted Stare Miasto (Poland’s ‘old town’) which is the oldest historic district of the city.

Below is a picture of Kolumna Zygmunta (Polish for Zygmunt’s column) which was erected in 1644 and is one of Warsaw’s most famous landmarks. The column and statue commemorate’s King Zygmunt III Waza who in 1596 had moved Poland’s capital from Krakow to Warsaw.

There was a lot of walking and a lot of eating! Mum and I shared this massive plate below which features trout, and prawns and salmon on top of some saffron rice, potatoes and red and white cabbage. As usual, I couldn’t get enough of the cabbage. The salmon and trout was delicious too.

Other notable eats included a grilled Polish sausage with mustard and warm cabbage salad.

And of course ice cream!

For 2 zloty (about 65 US cents) you can buy a pasztecik. This is a traditional Polish pastry filled with mushrooms.

One of the other truly lovely places we have visited was Łazienki Królewskie (Łazienki Palace) which is Warsaw’s Royal Baths Park. In the photo below I’m standing in front of a monument of Chopin, which is in the Park, amidst some red roses which are in bloom.  

We did lots of walking around the park and eventually had a much-deserved sit down and a cup of tea. My dad ordered one of Poland’s best known desserts called Charlotka which is apple pie cake served with cream. I stole a few bites, of course.

These first few days of my holiday in Poland have been marvelous! I am thrilled to be able to wear shorts and t-shirts and feel the warmth of the sun on my pasty-white skin (though I’m not so thrilled about the pasty-white bit). I have to be honest – I do miss my daily exercise sessions. Although we are walking a lot, I am craving a weights session which must sound a bit weird. But I really want to make the most of my time here… In any event, I’ve only seen one gym while I’ve been here anyway. Which is interesting because all the girls are soooo skinny. And they are total stunners too. Must be something to do with genetics

In any event, I am loving seeing where my parent’s home country, getting the chance to practice my Polish, eating amazing Polish food and seeing all the beautiful sites. I’ve also become very well-acquainted with Vodka while here too..

Truly, what I have posted is really a small small piece of what I am experiencing! Although I’ve struggled to find the odd free minute to update this blog, I am really keen to share what I can of this amazing country.. (here I am below sneaking in some blog time!)

On Monday we are leaving Warsaw to explore the rest of Poland, including Krakow, Gdansk and Lublin. We are also going to go visit my mum’s family. I will take lots of photos and keep updating you when I can! I hope you are all well my lovelies

Departure

I’m not quite sure how I got from ‘5 sleep’s to ‘Departure’ but I do know I have been crazy busy getting organised for my flight this afternoon. I wanted to do a proper post today, but I have been running around doing last minute things all morning – and am now 15 minutes away from heading to the airport!

I am so excited about what is to come! My first stop is Warsaw, Poland where I will spend 3 weeks visiting family and travelling around with my parents. Then, mum and I are headed to Paris for a week before I head to London for another week. From then on, my plans are a little hazy… I figure I’ll go where I please! On my list are Greece, Ireland and Scottland… and whatever else I can squeeze in. In early September I leave Europe and head to the US. I’ll be travelling the whole country (or at least, intend to!) and will be back home in late October. I’m looking forward to having some blogger catch-ups

I have every plan to blog my travels while away – so please check back so see what I have been up too!

With that, I best be off…