Krakow

Poland for me has always been a cold, grumpy place that I would never really consider visiting. Nevertheless, my trusty guidebook convinced me to give it a shot, and I was delightfully surprised at how enjoyable of a city it is. Last week I went to Florence for about 24 hrs (quick hello to my favorite view on top of Bruneleschi's dome)then flew to Krakow (meeting a non-English speaking, really attractive Pole along the way--he will be my dream man for this trip), arriving just in time to dump my luggage and head to the square. The downtown square in Krakow is massive, and energized with people. I wandered for a bit, then happened upon an outdoor restaurant near a tower where a four-man jazzband was playing live, including "The Shadow of Your Smile" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". They were wonderful! After a long day of complying with RyanAir restrictions, I had a wonderful night eating duck, potatoes, and salad and watching the square, listening to this live jazzband, accompanied by an eccentric lady from San Francisco named Francesca who told me I was too pretty to be alone on the square and proceeded to plop down at my table. The experience was the very best. I also learned a lot from the WWII sites, especially seeing the ghetto in Kazimirez and the Schindler factory where Oskar Schindler saved over 1,000 people from getting murdered by the Nazis. It was nice to see that Poland is more than just a dark place of WWII history; it is a fun, vibrant, musical must-see.