Welcome to Australia! – I lately hear this phrase pretty often. It is the beginning of my new adventure. I’ll be staying in Sydney here for at least a year or maybe two. In fact, after two full weeks here, I am optimistic about this idea. It all came quite unexpectedly, like many things and travels in my life, and I’m considering it a great opportunity to know better this far away continent. Let me share with you five things I found rather surprising in Australia. Everybody runs Jogging and running are extremely popular. The CBD from early morning throughout the day with a peak in lunch hours is full of runners. They are mostly heading towards Botanical Gardens which is a fantastic place to run. Not only the views are breathtaking but also the shadowed paths and the nature around you are very encouraging. I came with no running shoes because of the luggage weight restrictions which was a mistake but luckily for me I found great running shoes in one of the stores and bought it right after my arrival. The weather is just amazingly beautiful which makes the whole running in Sydney pleasant. Everything is sweet This is something I found awkward: most of the food here, including yoghurt, tomato sauces, drinks and even milk is really sweet. I am not used to the sweet foods thus this was striking. I now pay attention in shops and before I buy any food I check the nutrition information for sugar quantity. Also, when I have my coffee I specifically ask for no sugar in it. When you come to Sydney remember to repeat ‘no sugar’ phrase, unless you want it sweet. Every day is sunny I’ve heard a lot about the weather in Sydney but let’s be honest: after living in Italy for years I did not believe it. The last two weeks were extremely sunny. From the early morning until late evening the sky is blue and the temperature is way above 20 degrees. Thanks to its location there is a slight wind from the bay which makes his city so easy to love! Everyone is chilled out Obviously not everybody but in most of the cases, I found the Australians easygoing folks. Not only they sit and lay down on green grass in parks and gardens but they also finish working early so they can enjoy life by visiting bars, restaurants, spending time with their friends or simply exercising. The peak hours are pretty narrow and after 5:00 p.m. everybody leaves offices heading home or leisure spots. Every tourist will find something interesting here Sydney has a lot to offer. From high adrenaline activities, through the music and theatre events, up to craft beers. In last two weeks, I went to two museums, had a few drinks here and there, run in the park, watched the huge ferry cruises muring in the harbour, walked along the beaches, did shopping and had a few dinners outs. All in all, you will find everything in Sydney. A huge variety of activities, places and fun things to do awaits for the tourists here. Sydney, I have a feeling we’ll come along quite nicely! Keep coming back for more info about Sydney, Australia and adventures of a foreigner in the Antipodes.  

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Venice is one of the most often visited places on earth. The tourists have invaded this tiny island and this trend shows a steady growth. I visited it many times before but last weekend, for the first time ever, I visited in the winter time. I thought that the pouring rain will discourage the tourists and I shall have Venice to myself but I was so wrong! Many tourists, Italians and internationals, visit this place irrespectively the weather conditions. If you ever wanted to know how is winter in Venice and whether it is worth to try, read this post. The literature For me and many other readers, the literature is what attracts us to this particular city. I loved a wonderful piece of prose titled Watermark in English and Fondamenta degli Incurabili in Italian. If you haven’t read this book I strongly encourage you to do so. In my opinion, this is the best book about Venice ever written. Josif Brodsky, the author, Nobel Prize winner, spent in Venice seventeen winters in a row. He always visited the island in the worst possible weather: foggy, rainy and with the high level of water called in Italian aqua alta. Evocative, suggestive and despite the horrible weather conditions the books praises the city of Venice. It’s all about the water – the author is convinced about the importance of this element in our lives. He sees beauty everywhere and last weekend in a pouring rain I saw exactly the same thing. Travel with books I often follow footsteps of my favourite authors and I was excited that I will finally visit Venice in winter. Reading aloud the quotes from Watermark was a truly fascinating experience. I swear I felt the smell of seaweed the moment I stepped into the city and saw the first canal. I was totally amazed how intense the emotions evoked by this book were. I can sincerely say now that I consider Venice one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. In wintertime, of course.  

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I normally skip this sort of activities: short stay over the weekend in a big city, but this time it was different. It was my birthday and I decided to organize a surprise trip for my husband so we could spend some time together. I wanted to make it special and, therefore, I chose a place that was new to both of us: Scotland. One of the things I took with me was a SIM card given to me by MTX Connect. It guarantees an access to the Internet in over 40 European countries including Scotland. I thought that for such a short trip there is no time to loose for purchasing a local SIM card. I decided for this handy solution to save some time and fuss. Thus, here is my story of a romantic weekend retreat with a short review of the MTX Connect services. Weekend Retreat It took me about 2 weeks to organize everything. This was a challenge as I started from getting a workshop organized in Warsaw so we had an excuse to leave the house. I bought a one-way flight from Warsaw to Dublin first with a late arrival at midnight. I booked a hotel at the airport so we could have at least 4 hours sleep before we flew to Edinburgh the very first thing in the morning. Travel Tip I shall never fly from Warsaw Modlin on Friday evening again! The line for security check was 1 hour 15 minutes long! It was unpleasant and highly frustrating. In fact, this airport is doing so badly in terms of security services there are rumors that Ryanair is leaving them (not confirmed information but I can easily believe it). Weekend in Edinburgh We arrived at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. The morning was glorious! I haven’t expected the sun and tranquility so we felt wonderful from the start. I got in touch with AirBnB host and he was kind enough to meet us at 9:00 a.m. which was great because we felt tired. The guy was polite and very welcoming. He gave us a few tips on how to move around and where to eat. We came back with a direct flight to Poznań which was a marvellous thing to do. Travel Tip Always contact your AirBnB host in advance. There is a good chance that they will accommodate your needs. Also, find a local person as a reference point and a good source of information. Super hosts are especially helpful. Food and things to do in Edinburgh I hate rushing, I dislike crowds, I loath quick guided tours. You might ask: what was I doing in Edinburgh over the weekend. Indeed, this was a tricky journey but even a person like me could find something interesting to do and do it with no rush. First, we walked a lot. We used tram only twice: a round trip to and from the airport. The rest of Edinburgh was seen by us on foot. It is a fantastic way to spend time actively, enjoy the good weather, feel independent and avoid the crowds of the public transportation. Edinburgh is a walkers’ friendly town! Second, we followed the advice of the host and ate in pubs and restaurants near the apartment. As our host said: “You can’t go wrong with food in Edinburgh”, and I must say I completely agree with him. All five restaurants and pubs we ate at were terrific! Further, we kept our restaurant budget tight with one exception: a whisky tasting experience. After all, this was my birthday, I like whisky and this was once in a lifetime opportunity to taste the real thing. This wasn’t cheap but I must say they are well prepared to accommodate guests who are not experts in whisky. Not only we felt welcomed and taken care of but most of all there were packages we could pick up with a profound comment of the waiter. We felt that even if we knew nothing about whisky we tasted the most characteristic ones. Last but not least, we visited the main attraction which is the Royal Mile only once and next day we picked up a long walk to the harbour. Crossing Leith was really nice! No crowds there and we spotted a military cemetery which was really interesting to visit. The harbour was also quite spectacular with a huge ship of the Queen Elizabeth II available for visits (the real Scots name The Queen Elizabeth the First, as the first one was not the queen of Scotland). True: we haven’t seen even half of the attractions prepared for tourists in Edinburgh so what is the point of such short visits in a city? For me, the main gain is the explorative activities. What I mean is that after 3 days I’m able to say whether I wish to visit a place again and stay there longer. Is Edinburgh a place I wish to go back to? YES! And I have a dream to expand the journey to the Highlands. A week long trekking around the mountains should do the trick! Travel Tips for Weekend Retreats Walked as much as you can. The major part of mid-size towns and cities have their historical sites located within a 2km radius of the downtown. It is best to see everything you want on foot. Visit the places that are not top 10 attractions. It’s OK if you don’t see the main attractions. Sometimes the suburbs or small villages near the main city are the most interesting ones. Spoil yourself even if only once throughout the journey! I’m so happy we tasted whisky in a proper way! Such birthday is memorable and very joyful. There are some things not worth being parsimony. Go back to a place more than once. It gives you a chance to fully know it. The MTX Connect Review Throughout the journey, I was using a SIM card sent me by MTX Connect. The card was working great. I logged in, in no...

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Poznan is easy to love. Not that I am biased by the fact of being raised in this city. Poznan is simply a very attractive place to visit and to have fun. Let’s say you’re coming to Poznan to visit me. Where should I go with you? What should we see together? Here are few places in my home city I would like you to visit. All are really special to me. For a good start To fully appreciate any place you need to relax first. There is no use to running around like a mad cat. So first I’m going to take you to a cafe. Poznan is known for a variety of cafes located in the heart of the city. There are many places to enjoy your coffee or snack but there are three places I particularly like. Our first stop is Kamea Cafe on Wroniecka Street. There are couple of reasons why I picked up this place. First, I remember it from my high school times. This cafe was located elsewhere but successfully survived more than a decade serving fabulous desserts. Second, I like the interior design of this place. It’s not excessively fancy nor rustic, its brown color creates a nice atmosphere of leisure and feast at the same time. Third, the fruit and ice cream desserts are delicious! I’m not going to tell you which is my favorite. You need to figure it out for yourself. And lastly, I have good memories of meeting my friends here. When I lived abroad and stayed in Poznan for few days a year there was always an issue on how to meet all friends in a very short time. And, more importantly, not having an apartment in Poznan: where to meet them all? Kamea was just perfect for long winter evenings and bright summer nights. Having my dessert in Kamea now brings all these wonderful moments alive. So this is a special place to me. Where next? Another place, another story. Dominikanska Street no 7 hosts Tea Shop Chimera. It combines exquisite tea selling with cozy cafe and good restaurant. Surprised? Well, although this mix sounds weird I think this place is very successful in hosting guests of all kinds. Since I remember this tea shop was here and in my high school time this was one of very few places where we could drink a high quality green or white tea. For years this was a place of meetings with my school mates, which is especially joyful many years after graduation. People from my high school spread around the world so whenever there is a holiday season we try to gather in Poznan. This is a tough task but we managed to meet few times after we parted at the end of high school. Just recently, visiting Chimera with my Italian friends I discovered how good the local kitchen is! My dear friend ate here an exquisite duck with dumplings and red cabbage (pretty traditional Polish food) and she told me that this was the best duck she has ever eaten! Here is something extra for you: Erin and her family recently visited Poznan and they picked up best Polish food. Find out what foreigner appreciate in Polish kitchen! Good company The last place I wish to share with you was discovered recently. Hosting Laurence and Vera from Finding the Universe travel blog few weeks ago I tried to find a very particular place to have our coffee at. And found one! Through a radio station International Poznan I’ve heard a story of Erik – an American guy from Seattle – who runs a small coffee shop at Ratajczaka Street, 18, called The Bigfoot Cofee Shop. This place might be tricky to find as it is located along a street restricted to traffic. But when you find it you will love it! Erik is one of the most friendly people I have ever met. I’m not going to share his story here. To know him you will need to visit this place for yourself. Let me just tell you that his coffee machine and sandwiches are delicious! Plus: his photographs of Poznan he exhibits on walls are fantastic! You can see that he loves our city. This story continues. Follow me to know Poznan and let’s go to Food Market together! Disclosure: this post was kindly supported by City of Poznan, however, all opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.  

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