Fun with Mom, and Other Adventures

Well, I am back to school now, after two weeks of vacation. Have I mentioned that, in the 7 months I am here, I have 2 entire months of paid vacation time? I know, I know...you're jealous. Just as you should be. :)

My mother arrived on Friday, February 6, in Barcelona. I went to pick her up, and we came directly back to Perpignan so that she could rest and see my little town. We went out to my favorite little crêpe place in town, and Mother fell in love with the ice cream concoctions they had there! It's ice cream like you've never imagined it before. She took pictures.

It wasn't until Sunday evening that I told Mom about the Big Surprise that I had been keeping from her since November. Maybe some of you knew about it, too, although I tried not to tell TOO many people. The news was...we were going to POLAND!! Since Mom's father's side is Polish, she has always dreamed of visiting the land of her ancestors. So I planned a trip to Krakow for three days while she was here. She couldn't stop crying when I told her, and I wasn't sure if she was happy or just plain mad at me!

Two days later, we were heading down to Barcelona (our train sat in a tunnel for about a half an hour undergoing some minor mechanical work), and the next day we were in the air en route to Krakow. The city was glorious. It was snowing, of course, and colder than all get-out, but it felt like being in a snowglobe. It was the most perfect snow I've ever seen!

On the 12th, we went to the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps. That alone was a memorable experience, to see all the horrors that I had read about right in front of me. We had an excellent tour guide -- a Polish woman whose uncle was executed for treason at Auschwitz I. Perhaps you know that there were three Auschwitz camps: Auschwitz I (the one we call Auschwitz), Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and Auschwitz III-Monowitz. We zere able to visit camps I and II, but the Monowitz camp was almost entirely destroyed by the fleeing Nazis, so tours generally do not go there. It was a humbling and sobering experience that will haunt both of us.

The next day, we went to the Wieliczka (veal-itch-ka) Salt Mines, where we descended into a huge cavern dug over many centuries by salt miners in the area. There were big rooms and chapels and statues made entirely out of the salt rock. It was quite an amazing place -- like it's own little city!

While in Krakow, we definitely ate well. We didn't have any typical Polish food, but booooy, did we eat good food anyway! Mother was particularly impressed that they served bread with butter everywhere we went, and that they gave her a BIG soup spoon with every meal. This was definitely her type of place -- definitely her people.

On Valentine's Day, we left Krakow and headed for Paris. We settled into our hotel, grabbed a special Valentine's dinner, and the prepared for our big adventure the next day. On Sunday, we began our day by visiting Notre Dame during mass, then we waited in line to ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower (NOT recommended for people afraid of heights!!), and then descended to go to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa (agaaaaain) and the Napoleon III apartments (agaaaaain). It was a full, fun day, topped by dinner with my friend Vicky. Then, we got on a night train headed back to Perpignan.

In Perpignan, we relaxed in my little apartment, went out for dinner, and walked around town. It sure was fun to have "down days" after our busy week flying around Europe. :)

We went back down to Barcelona the day before Mom left to see the Sagrada Familia (Mom accidentally dubbed it the "Sangria Familia") and other Gaudi architecture. What a fun city! Wish I spoke a little more Catalan, though...

Now, I am back at school, and can continue my posts about academic life. If you'd like to see pictures from any of our trips, let me know (sgallup@pacificu.edu), and I can try to make that happen!