#ellhen!
Listening - Temperature by Sean Paul
Podcast - Guys We F*cked (11/01/19 - You'd Rather Give a Bl*wjob Than A Gift?)
My lovely mate Ellie got married in April, and of course what is a wedding without a hen party? She decided early on that Krakow would be our destination, and having never even visited the country of Poland I was well up for an adventure there. The troops were rallied (13 of us to be precise) and thanks to Ellie's masterful organising skills everything was planned to perfection, which was a welcome change as I am usually chief coordinator of all the travelling I do!
We rendevouz-d with the whole group at the airport, but a few of us had congregated at Ellie's beforehand for a couple of swift gin in tins pre- journey. The flight went smoothly and we had a mini bus waiting to take us to our air b&b when we landed. It was a fair distance away, so we bagsied beds and retired to sleep pretty much instantly.
In the morning a few of us volunteered to go to the local supermarket for some breakfast stuff, snacks, and booze for pre-drinks that evening. We got absolutely loads and I can't believe how cheap it all was! We had a monster buffet with pastries, fruit, eggs, cereal; and then left the house and wandered through pretty Market Square into the Jewish quarter of the city where we started a free walking tour.
I say started because after about half an hour some of the group were too cold so went off for hot chocolate, followed by the rest of us soon after as we had grown a little bored with the none too charismatic guide. We gave the guy a small tip to make us feel less guilty, and then sacked it off in favour of traditional Polish open sandwiches called zapiekanka and salted caramel churros from a nearby market which were delicious!
We met up with the rest of the group in a bar/cafe called 2 Okna where I had a mulled wine and thawed out before we headed back to get ready for our first night out. We did a cocktail making class at a cool bar called Scandale Garden, where we got to make a Bramble, a Strawberry Sour and a Dark 'n' Stormy (all definitely generous with the measures) and had a few shots before moving on to a club called Opium for the rest of the night.
On the Sunday we had a spa day booked at Lesne Spa, so a minibus arrived to whisk us away for a day of pampering. We had a couple of glasses of fizz, and relaxed in the jacuzzi, sauna and steam room before each getting an individual massage which was exactly what was needed after a night on the tiles.
That evening we had a slightly more refined night, starting with a three course meal at a gorgeous restaurant in the main square called Wesele. It was very decadent inside with a mirrored ceiling, wood panelled walls and floral decorations everywhere, and the service was excellent. I had the trio of sheep cheese to start, followed by lentil pierogi (Polish dumplings) in mushroom sauce, and finally dessert was apple pie, all of which were well presented and very tasty. Afterwards a small group of us continued the celebrations with a drink in nearby bar Budda before we joined the early birds back at the apartment.
Our final morning dawned and we packed our bags ready to check out. Luckily the owner of the air b&b was happy to look after our cases until we had to leave at 3pm, so we dropped them off and went for breakfast at a very Instagrammable cafe called Zalipianki. I had a carrot, apple and orange fresh juice and a mushroom, cheese and spinach omelette, clearly trying desperately to get back on that health train!
We walked up the hill to the castle where there is a famous dragon sculpture and perfect views of the city and across the river. After multiple group photos we dispersed to go shopping or for coffee and cake; I tried on a few things in Zara before giving up, and bought a salted caramel doughnut dipped in white chocolate from a cute pattisserie. We went back to collect our bags later and the minibus returned to transfer us to the airport to fly home.
My first experience of Poland was a very positive one; friendly people, lots to see and do, and helped infinitely by how cheap everything was. I shall almost certainly be back!
Breakdown
Flights - £92 (inc assigned seat & hand baggage)
Listening - Temperature by Sean Paul
Podcast - Guys We F*cked (11/01/19 - You'd Rather Give a Bl*wjob Than A Gift?)
My lovely mate Ellie got married in April, and of course what is a wedding without a hen party? She decided early on that Krakow would be our destination, and having never even visited the country of Poland I was well up for an adventure there. The troops were rallied (13 of us to be precise) and thanks to Ellie's masterful organising skills everything was planned to perfection, which was a welcome change as I am usually chief coordinator of all the travelling I do!
We rendevouz-d with the whole group at the airport, but a few of us had congregated at Ellie's beforehand for a couple of swift gin in tins pre- journey. The flight went smoothly and we had a mini bus waiting to take us to our air b&b when we landed. It was a fair distance away, so we bagsied beds and retired to sleep pretty much instantly.
In the morning a few of us volunteered to go to the local supermarket for some breakfast stuff, snacks, and booze for pre-drinks that evening. We got absolutely loads and I can't believe how cheap it all was! We had a monster buffet with pastries, fruit, eggs, cereal; and then left the house and wandered through pretty Market Square into the Jewish quarter of the city where we started a free walking tour.
I say started because after about half an hour some of the group were too cold so went off for hot chocolate, followed by the rest of us soon after as we had grown a little bored with the none too charismatic guide. We gave the guy a small tip to make us feel less guilty, and then sacked it off in favour of traditional Polish open sandwiches called zapiekanka and salted caramel churros from a nearby market which were delicious!
We met up with the rest of the group in a bar/cafe called 2 Okna where I had a mulled wine and thawed out before we headed back to get ready for our first night out. We did a cocktail making class at a cool bar called Scandale Garden, where we got to make a Bramble, a Strawberry Sour and a Dark 'n' Stormy (all definitely generous with the measures) and had a few shots before moving on to a club called Opium for the rest of the night.
It was a classic uni style club with super cheap drinks, (12 shots for less than a fiver anyone?!) questionable clientele and all the dance classics pumping, so of course we couldn't resist asking for some Sean Paul bangers. Rather worse for wear and with aching feet, we set off for home in the early hours of the morning after demolishing a Polish spin on takeaway chips. A couple of us opted to walk rather than taxi, which obviously meant that we ended up getting completely lost and rolling in an hour later than everyone else!
On the Sunday we had a spa day booked at Lesne Spa, so a minibus arrived to whisk us away for a day of pampering. We had a couple of glasses of fizz, and relaxed in the jacuzzi, sauna and steam room before each getting an individual massage which was exactly what was needed after a night on the tiles.
That evening we had a slightly more refined night, starting with a three course meal at a gorgeous restaurant in the main square called Wesele. It was very decadent inside with a mirrored ceiling, wood panelled walls and floral decorations everywhere, and the service was excellent. I had the trio of sheep cheese to start, followed by lentil pierogi (Polish dumplings) in mushroom sauce, and finally dessert was apple pie, all of which were well presented and very tasty. Afterwards a small group of us continued the celebrations with a drink in nearby bar Budda before we joined the early birds back at the apartment.
Our final morning dawned and we packed our bags ready to check out. Luckily the owner of the air b&b was happy to look after our cases until we had to leave at 3pm, so we dropped them off and went for breakfast at a very Instagrammable cafe called Zalipianki. I had a carrot, apple and orange fresh juice and a mushroom, cheese and spinach omelette, clearly trying desperately to get back on that health train!
We walked up the hill to the castle where there is a famous dragon sculpture and perfect views of the city and across the river. After multiple group photos we dispersed to go shopping or for coffee and cake; I tried on a few things in Zara before giving up, and bought a salted caramel doughnut dipped in white chocolate from a cute pattisserie. We went back to collect our bags later and the minibus returned to transfer us to the airport to fly home.
My first experience of Poland was a very positive one; friendly people, lots to see and do, and helped infinitely by how cheap everything was. I shall almost certainly be back!
Breakdown
Flights - £92 (inc assigned seat & hand baggage)
Accommodation - £70 (3 nights based on 13 sharing)
Spending Money - £105.50 (inc taxi one way between 5 & airport spending)
Misc - £89 (spa day, cocktail making & transport)
Total = £356.50
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