Today we saw the Pope.

This morning we flocked like many other people to St. Peter's Square to listen to the words of gratitude and prayer from Pope Benedict as he stood in the Vatican window for the last time. The experience was one that we had not necessarily planned on, but one that we will always treasure.

When in Rome...

Troy just can't get enough of my wise cracks, but I have done a good job at finding opportunities to use the when in Rome line... Look on for a few examples.

Scenes From Sunday

A walk from our flat to Three Ponds Park.

Deep Thoughts in Katowice

One of my favorite works of art is up on the second story of a building on Mariacka - a walking street in Katowice lined with shops, bakeries and restaurants.

   Whether it symbolizes the struggles of communism or is more optimistic and represents that with courage one man can have the strength of several, I have no idea. Maybe it's just men tugging on a rope. My curiosity has spent many a moment pondering this scene that stands life-size in front of classic Katowice architecture.

Note: A friend of mine found some information! The scene was created by Mark Jenkins for the Street Art Festival and is titled "Tug of War".

A Visit to Zakopane.

Yesterday we drove to Zakopane which lies up in the mountains that separate Poland from Slovakia. A winter paradise, it was hard to discern whether we were in Poland or Jackson Hole.

Holy Family Church

It's Fat Thursday...

Have you had your paczki yet?!

Rum Pudding Filled Paczki

   A walk down the street past a piekarnia and we could smell these donuts baking in the ovens last night. Although they are meant to be consumed today (Fat Thursday), they were packed into the bag while still warm. How could one resist? We couldn't.. Like sneaking a Christmas cookie before Christmas, it was the best donut that I've ever had.

A Day in Milan.

You know when you walk by window after window looking for just the right place to grab a bite and you see so many terrific spots go by; you begin to fret that perhaps the one you choose may not be as good as the others that you've passed. Well, that didn't happen. Our first stop was a cafe for a late breakfast. I had a chocolate tart. Because it looked phenomenal. And I was hungry. In Italy. Amore. And at a later stop around lunch time, pistachio gelato. In Italy. Amore.