Fab 5 Friday...

So who's ready for Halloween? I know we are. The house is decked out, pumpkins have been carved, there is plenty of candy and my kids have costumes (which they recycled from previous years - since no one here has seen them before). We are once again living in a neighborhood/compound that is the hotspot for trick-or-treating and Saturday night will bring on two hours of not stop kiddos at the door.

And, I won't be sad when it's over. This is definitely not my favorite holiday. And, while I love the fact that we currently live someplace that actually makes it feel like fall, I'm ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas - my two favorite holidays.

I've found a place that will deliver a turkey in time for American Thanksgiving (here in Poland turkeys are popular at Christmas - so not as plentiful in November). Just waiting to make sure we'll actually be here on the Thursday as Blaine has a business deal going which may require us to leave a little earlier for our weekend in Dresden. (The kids do not have school on Thanksgiving or Black Friday.) But, if we're here it will be turkey and mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce and all the good stuff that makes up a traditional Thanksgiving.

I'm also wondering at what point I can put up my Christmas decorations. If I knew no one would stop by my house in the next few weeks, and think that I had lost my mind, I would put them up now.  I even made Blaine take a quick run to Ikea on Saturday just so I could purchase a few more holiday decorations. Afterall, a fire and my house decorated for Christmas are amongst my favorite things in the world.

And, it doesn't help that we set our clocks back last weekend (a week ahead of the good, ol' USA) and that it's dark by 5 p.m. and will continue to get darker earlier each day until December 21st. (We've been told that our kids will be walking home from school in the dark in December. I'm not quite sure I believe this, but will take pictures if it is dark at 3:35 p.m.) The early darkness just brings out my hermit ways...

Anyways...I know I can't decorate for Christmas on Sunday - as tempting as it may be - but you can be sure I won't be waiting until December either.

Alas, you are here for the Fab 5, not to listen to me carry on about my excitement for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that's what I shall give you this week.

1. Home Ownership. Yahoo! Join me in celebrating the closing of our lake house in New York. I am so glad that this is done and we will have a lovely place to go back to in June. I've already started looking at flights and hope to arrive June 16th with the kiddos.

Our realtor sent us these photos - taken yesterday.

2. CrossFit Christmas. A big shoutout to WodTalk and the amazing sponsors who supported the 2015 Media Team. This is one of the best parts of writing for WOD Talk and being on the media team - the swag box. My box arrived in Poland this week! Some great products in this year's box!

3. My First Polish Conversation. So, I rarely try my Polish out with anyone (besides my teacher) except for the standard please, thank you, hello, goodbye and my use of numbers to order things from the butcher or at the farmers market. But, on Tuesday I had a chance to have a short little conversation - which I completely understood and was able to respond to properly - in full sentences -  at the children's hospital. So yes, while my conversation was with a 6 year old girl - it was fully understandable on both sides and I left feeling pretty stoked. (The children's hospital is where I volunteer with a small group and do crafts with sick children on several of the floors there.) She asked me quite frankly why I was speaking English, where I was from and why I didn't speak more Polish. I answered her and then the conversation quickly turned to the passing of the red glitter glue and the more important task of making her mask. I may have to limit my Polish conversations to the level of a 6 year old while I'm here, but I'm okay with that.

4. London. I finished putting the final touches on our trip to London after Christmas. We are now booked to see 4 shows (Elf the Musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, A Christmas Carol and The Lion King), along with a tour of the Harry Potter studio (which means I have about 8 weeks to watch all of the movies) and a food tour of the London East End. And of course, throw in all the other attractions we want to see while there and I'm expecting a jam packed holiday. 

5. Messages. I received two messages in the past week from dear friends. Now, these are not friends I hear from regularly, but it does not diminish their importance in my life. I can't thank them enough for taking the time to reach out and say hello. 

So that's the Fab 5 for this week. For the month of November I've decided that the Fab 5 will be dedicated to five things I am thankful for that week. And nothing is off limits. Whether it is big or small, it stands a good chance of making the Thankful 5.

Enjoy the weekend!!!

Old Town In Warsaw...

Just wanted to share a few pictures of what is known as Old Town here in Warsaw. We had a chance to spend a couple of hours here on Sunday morning enjoying some coffee and brisk fall air. (The youngest of the family opted not to go. I think he has had his fill of history, churches, and paintings after Milan.)

Old Town was destroyed during the bombings of WWII. When the war ended, the Polish people wanted to rebuild this area just as it was prior to the destruction. Through private donations and the use of photographs and paintings, Old Town was rebuilt. It is very charming and I was glad we were able to spend a few hours walking around on a Sunday that wasn't filled with soccer and basketball and the normal weekend chores.

You can see the National Stadium in the one photo. My Little soccer fan insisted on a picture!

I think he only comes for the hot chocolate, but was very happy to have Caleb come explore with us.

Taking in the views

Next time Caleb wants to do the horse drawn carriage ride.

I see there is a free walking tour that takes place in Old Town and I'm hoping to hit that up in the next few weeks before it becomes really cold! So watch for a blog containing more than just a few photos! I'll try and razzle dazzle you with my knowledge of Polish history!

No Fab 5...Milan Recap...

Well, we have returned to Poland after a few fabulous days in Milan. Great food, great weather, great memories. I'll skip the Fab 5 this week so I can do a brief recap on Milan and the Fab 5 will return next week as regularly scheduled.

We left early Saturday and were very lucky to have clear weather as we flew over Austria - allowing us an amazing view of the Austrian Alps from the plane. So majestic...and so awesome. You could see tiny villages nestled in the valleys of the mountains...

Austrian Alps

When we arrived at Malpensa we contemplated grabbing a cab to our hotel, but opted to take the train as our hotel was only a block from the train station and it was super cost-effective to do so. We quickly purchased tickets and made our way to the Hotel Berna.

I had found this hotel on TripAdvisor and it did not disappoint. From helping me with a booking snafu (which was my fault) to answering all of our questions to treating our kids like kings, we can't say enough good things about Hotel Berna. It is conveniently located near a metro stop and we loved our stay there. While the hotel rooms are the typical small European size rooms, they make up for it with amazing service and staff.

We dropped our bags in our rooms (which were ready at 11:30 a.m.) and headed to the Duomo area to explore and grab lunch. Our kids quickly became metro experts - which I love! This will make the travel in the other major European cities very easy.

It was overcast on Saturday and Sunday while in Milan, but no major rain - so we did not let that dim our spirits. We snapped a few photos at Duomo di Milano and avoided all of the peddlers with their selfie sticks and bracelets and God knows what else and grabbed some lunch.

Duomo di Milano

We found a crowded cafe and figured it looked as good as any to try and enjoyed our first taste of Italian food and drink! We we were also lucky to escape lunch with only a few minor bruises as a huge piece of metal from the cafe made its way towards my head. Thankfully, Blaine grabbed it with one arm and while he has a helluva a bruise, it missed my head!

I think the cafe should've at least comped us a few beers!

We watched a ton of entertaining street performers. The kids were laughing that some of the performers were giving away cigarettes if you made a donation. (We did not grab cigarettes.)

We kept Saturday short as we were all pretty tired and Sunday was scheduled to be a long one with a walking tour and a soccer match on the agenda.

After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we headed back to Duomo to meet our tour guide, Marco. He runs a free walking tour 6 days per week and you tip him at the end based on your enjoyment. (His tour is known as Walkabout Milano if you ever go! Highly recommend!) I have to say anyone who can keep 9 and 10 year old boys entertained as you visit churches and talk history is a winner in my book. He was funny and entertaining and very knowledgable. The kids loved that he showed them an Italian family crest with testicles on it, took them to a statue giving the middle finger, talked about vipers and to the church with all the skulls and femurs. And yes, he did talk about some of the more important aspects of Italian history in Milan, but this mom was thankful for some levity.

The kids were in opposite corners here and could speak softly and hear each other due to the acoustics.

The church with all the skulls

Lunch at Spontini's - LOVED their pizza!! Loved!

This statue is directly in front of the Italian stock exchange...No hidden symbolism there.

After almost four hours of touring, we headed back to our hotel to grab our tickets for the soccer match, but not before we had a quick gelato break!

Sunday night was the FC Inter vs. Juventus match at 8:45 p.m. You know...just us and almost 80,000 of our closest Italian friends at a little soccer match. We grabbed the metro again and headed to San Siro Stadium with some excited little boys.

This was my first professional soccer match and it did not disappoint. WOW! So crazy! So loud! Until you've experienced it - there's just nothing quite like it! And you've got to love a team that enters the stadium to "Welcome to  the Jungle" by Guns-N-Roses!

The game ended in a 0-0 draw, but what a fun night!

We got back to the hotel around 12:30 and planned to leave the hotel at about 9 a.m. the next morning as we spent Monday and Tuesday at Expo di Milano - the World's Fair. This was really the reason we chose Milan as our vacation destination. The theme for expo this year was food - which we love. And, the location was convenient - Milan. 

With over 120 different pavilions at Expo we knew we would be pushing to see just a small portion. The lines are long at certain pavilions (Italy was over a 6 hour wait) - so we decided we would be smart and visit the ones that were near and dear to us or didn't have long lines. It all worked out perfectly! The kids grabbed their Expo passports and we were off to visit country pavilions and grab some stamps!

Passports for Expo 2015

The US Food Truck Nation had us eating BBQ - pulled pork, ribs, and brisket!

The kids became part of the Kuwaiti display

Chile

Poland

Malaysia

France - We were the first to enter the France pavilion on Tuesday

Inside the France pavilion. It was beautiful. It showcased all of their products in different waves and the waves all converged in the center of the pavilion like it was pouring into their cooking ware.

The UK display was all about the plight of bees around the world. It looked like a giant hive and was incredible!

Looking up while within the "hive"

Spain

Mexico - Home of the tastiest tacos el pastor and margaritas

We next visited the Future Food District which was essentially a model of a future supermarket - and you could actually purchase things. Every item you picked up/pointed to in the store showcased where it was grown/produced and then where it was processed. It was mind blowing! You could pick up a bottle of olive oil and know all about the product. One can only hope this technology is not far off!

The Tree of Life and some cute kids in cutouts

Vietnam

Tuesday evening we left the Expo thoroughly exhausted. We managed to visit over 30 different pavilions in two days and enjoy a lot of yummy food from around the world before heading back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

Wednesday was our last day in Milan and consisted of a rooftop visit at Duomo and an afternoon viewing of the Last Supper by Da Vinci. I think the kids were pretty churched out by then, but they were good sports about going on the roof at the Duomo and were attentive in looking for the things Marco told them to find (i.e. the statue of St. Bartholomew holding his own skin and the various gargoyles).

Look at the blue skies

Art inside Duomo

Statue of St. Bartholomew

The rooftop

Caleb catching a rest

 Art on the roof

After the rooftop visit we did a little shopping next door - you know - Prada, Louis Vuitton, Cartier. Haha! More like window shopping and grabbing a cup of cappuccino.

We walked around some more and bought the kids a few more soccer jerseys. (My kids are soccer jersey addicts!) Then it was lunchtime. I have to say Cafe de la Ville was great - mainly due to the front of the house manager who went way above the average customer service. Lunch was delicious, he brought us shots of limoncello and nutella tarts on the house and we left ready to see The Last Supper.

Gnocchi - Yummy!

The kids stopped to watch this puppeteer who gave them balloon swords once they tipped him. I guess it's better than cigarettes.

We arrived at the monastery to see The Last Supper. You only have 15 minutes to spend looking at the fresco and we were appreciative of the information our guide provided us regarding the hidden symbolism. Well, the adults were appreciative - Grayson was just about at the end of his church visiting.

No pictures are allowed of the actual fresco, but we were truly in awe.

This tour also included a trip to two lesser known churches in Milan. One is known as the "Sistine Chapel of Milan" and the other has this incredible forced perspective arch inside of it. Both were very beautiful.

So there you have it! We cranked out a lot in our five days there - which is evident by the 600 pictures on my camera. And we completely enjoyed all that Milan had to offer! Art, food, history, Expo, soccer, shopping and more! Definitely la dolce vita!