June 2026 Archives

The Jewel Tower is one of the medieval towers making up the Palace of Westminster, which was home to the kings and queens from the mid-1000s. A fire in the 1800s destroyed a lot of the former palace, but the Jewel Tower is on of the medieval buildings that remains (along with the chapel of St. Mary Undercroft, the cloisters, and St. Stephen's Hall). The Jewel Tower is open to visitors as a museum, and this is managed by English Heritage.

The Jewel Tower is a 14th century construction and was protected by a moat and used to house the treasury of the king. It was then used to store parliament records.

Inside are displays relating to the weights and measurements, which are governed for fairness on setting the standards to prevent corruption. There is a wealth of information about the building and its history.

One room depicts how the records were stored, and some of the most important documents in the country were housed here. A clerk also used to live here, and the role exists today, but the records are housed in another building after a fire in the 1800s.

During the reign of Henry VIII in 1512, a fire broke out at the king's quarters. It was abandoned as a royal palace after this, but the buildings remained to be used by parliament.

There was one room that contained some items discovered in and near the tower - pipes, glass bottles, pieces of ceramic, and a cat skull coloured green. It may have been used as some decoration.

There were also records about the inventory and checks on the items that travelled with the royal family and if any breakages happened.

There is a lot of histoy in this little pocket of London, and the Jewel Tower was worth a visit to understand the role that it played during medieval London.

A little pocket of London at Pont Street (between Knightsbridge and Sloane Square) is known as Anya Hindmarch's "The Village", and it contains a cafe and a couple of art galleries and shops selling the artist's work. One is used as a pop-up gallery that celebrates artistic work with larger brands. This summer, the shop has become the popular "Ice Cream Project" with different flavours (Yorkshire pudding to toothpaste to oxo cubes to corn to butter) created from different products by Anya Hindmarch. The ice cream opened earlier this month, and I went to try it a few days ago. 

People can try up to three flavours before choosing a flavour to buy. The flavours can be purchased in a tub or a scoop in a cup. I tried the corn, toothpaste, and the caramel bar. I decided that the ginger nut one would probably be delicious too, so I purchased that. I liked the corn one a lot, though the toothpaste was nice but a bit strong.

All of the ice creams are produced in Devon. The flavours are: Tunnock's Caramel Wafers, Walker's Shortbread, Green Giant Sweetcorn, illy Coffee, Euthymol Original Toothpaste, Lurpak Salted Butter, Müller Strawberry Corner, Yazoo Chocolate Milk Drink, McVitie's Ginger Nuts, Capri-Sun Orange, Aunt Bessie's Glorious Golden Yorkshires, Kikkoman Soy Sauce, Jacob's Mini Cheddars, Oxo Stock Cubes, and Paxo Stuffing.

There was a queue when I visited on the afternoon on a weekend, but it wasn't too bad. I think I waited twenty minutes.

Th Ice Cream Project runs until the 18th of August, so definitely do go along and try some unique flavours.

Earlier this month, a new sculpture trail launched in London called "Pride in the Quarter". The sculpture trail features seventeen lion sculptures, inspired by the football team's three lion emblem for football and the World Cup games that are taking place at the moment. Th sculptures will be on display across various sites in London until the middle of August, and the sculptures are free to visit. I visited them yesterday.

The sculptures are located near Covent Garden and then Victoria mainly (London Heritage Quarter is the sponsor), and they are within walking distance, or visitors can take a tube to the main locations. The sculpture trail will raise money for charities.

This is a fun sculpture trail visiting different parts of London to explore, and the weather is nice to allow a few day trips.

Sheffield Park is a National Trust property located in East Sussex, and I had previously visited the park in autumn and early summer. In late April, I visited Sheffield Park on a lovely warm and sunny day to explore the park in spring and to see the bluebell woods. Sheffield Park has its own bluebell woods and grounds, and I went to explore in search of the beautiful and scented flowers as well as to admire the blossom around the lakes. It really is a beautiful place with reflections of the colours in the still waters and plenty of geese and ducklings.

I first explored the wonderful blossoms around the woods before entering the wooded area where there was a circular walk and bluebells in patches.

The bluebells were set amongst the woodland, a sign that spring has come. This circular walk through the bluebell woods took about thirty minutes.

After the bluebell wood walk, I headed to the lakes to enjoy the colourful blossoms and lake views.

I also caught geese with their chicks.

There were also more bluebells just above the lake and back toward the entrance.

After the visit to Sheffield Park, I headed to the Walled Garden. This is a little shop that sells some garden furniture, plants, and wines. There is also a little vineyard here. 

My previous visits to Sheffield Park:

• Autumn: http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2020/10/sheffield-park-and-garden-autumn.html
• Summer: http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2020/07/a-visit-to-sheffield-park-and-.html

I went to Fuerteventura for a long weekend to relax on my birthday this year. I first visited a couple of years ago and enjoyed my time there, so I went back. The place I stayed at had had some changes with a new bar. I had a couple of days to relax by the pool and enjoy some cocktails, although the weather was very chilly. Below are some photographs from my trip.

Enjoy! I would like to do another one of the islands in the future and felt that I had exhausted all there is to do at Fuerteventura.

When I was in Fuerteventura earlier this month, I had on day reserved for a road trip. I rented a car to explore the island for the day. The aloe vera, wineries, villages, beaches, and larger towns were part of my journy to the nothern part of the island to explore. I started off driving to La Oliva.

This village is one of the main travel destinations with restaurants, museums, shops, and history. I went to explore the church, which was open for me to peek inside.

I then headed to the aloe vera farm that I visited a couple of years ago. I had spent a lot of money so got a massage there. I bought some more aloe vera products.

The next stop was a winery, Bodegas Conatvs. 

I had a wine and food tasting / pairing with traditional cheeses, bread, olives, and local foods. I really enjoyed the wines and wish that I had bought some, but I only had my carry-on baggage. I did try to locate it at the duty free in the airport, but it was not there.

Afterwards, I went to the main town of Corralejo. This is where I got the ferry to Lobos island.

After returning from Lobos island, I explored Popcorn Beach on the north coast and a short drive from Corralejo. The beach is named for its white and black stones that have a similar appearance to popcorn.

There are also some structures near Popcorn Beach used during the second World War.

Driving is pretty easy on the island because there are not too many cars, and it is a good way to see the island at your own pace.

On my birthday earlier this month, I was in Fuerteventura (Canary Islands). I had a rental car for the day, and I went to the town of Corralejo to get a boat across to the island of Lobos. I was in Fuerteventura for a long weekend, and I wanted to see some more of the island and have a short and much-needed break. This was a relaxing break with a day of sight-seeing, which was on my actual birthday. I wanted to get to Lobos island last time, but I had run out of time.

The town of Corralejo is one of the largest towns on the island and is situated on the northeastern part of the island. From here, there are boats to Lobos island and Lanzarote.

I checked out the harbour.

Soon, I was off to Corralejo on the boat with beautiful blue waters.

There are a few buildings on Lobos and a pub, but the island itself acts as a nature reserve with a lot of restrictions. There are walkways through the island with some climbing for views, and the walk can be done in about 2.5 to 3 hours, but I did not get that long so stayed on one side and enjoyed a wander.

The ferry boat is a speed boat that does a round trip.

I enjoyed my visit to Lobos island and would have liked to have had longer. Some tips are to bring walking shoes and a lot of water as there's no shade and no shops. Also bring suncream as the island is exposed without shade. The boat ride back was a little bit choppy like a rollercoaster, but it was not too bad.

Pizza Pilgrims is currently offering a Saturday bottomless brunch option with spicy margaritas, pizzas, and Prosecco. A friend and I went along for an early birthday treat last month to indulge. I love spicy margaritas, so I was really looking forward to this. This bottomless brunch takes place at Pizza Pilgrims near Liverpool Street station in London.

The venue is a new building beneath Tower 42, and it has an upstairs and a downstairs area. The kitchen is upstairs, and that is where the brunch took place.

Movie posters and references to popular culture were decorating the walls.

We had the place to ourselves for the first twenty minutes.

For the pizzas, we received one of each of the following flavours: margherita, double pepperoni and hot honey, nduja, mushroom and truffle, marianara (vegan). I did not have the pepperoni nor sausage options, and the bottomless brunch includes bottomless pizza in those flavours.

My friend gave me a birthday card.

The bottomless drinks include non-alcoholic options and Prosecco, and the spicy margarita cocktails are an additional cost for the bottomless.

For my birthday, they had candles in the tray of tiramisu. This was also included in the bottomless.

I enjoyed the bottomless spicy margaritas and pizzas.

At the end of May and to coincide with the schools being closed for a week, Battersea Power Station held some events and art installation pop-ups. One of these was Luminarium by Luxart. Luminarium is an inflatible series of "bubbles" or "domes" connected together that once entered inside, create glowing chambers and tunnels with bright colours and shapes meant to appear as an organic building. I went to check it out having previously seen photographs of the chambers when it was on a tour in other cities.

The attraction was mostly popular with children and families. No shoes are allowed inside to protect the material. I visited on a particularly hot day at the end of May, but there were air conditioners inside, so it felt cool.

There are different chambers inside where visitors can relax (or play) and soak up the different colours being emitted. This is a good example of immersive art, and the "sculpture" is made to look like interiors of cathedrals or other architecture features.

Luminarium was a fun experience, and I found it to be quite relaxing inside. Children will enjoy exploring and running around the different tunnels, but there were quiet areas that I was able to find to relax in. 

One of the highlights of spring was my visit to Bluebell Railways to enjoy a three-course dinner on the Golden Arrow dining experience. After a very wet winter and majority of rain and clouds so far, I was treated to a lovely sunny and warm spring day. The experience was to dine in a vintage dining railway car pulled by a steam engine from Sheffield Park station, through blooming bluebell woods, to Horsted Keynes.

The station building itself is set up in vintage style, and there is also a museum, bookshop, and pub located here at the station. The museum was shut when I visited. There is a rail service throughout the day catering to tourists and railway enthusiasts.

I went to explore the station and watched the trains.

While I waited, we received a welcome drink of Prosecco and a selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian canapes.

Then, it was time to board the train for the dinner service. There were three cars. I was sat in the newest of the three dining cars - Christine. It was built in 1928. The other two were also built in the 1920s. This carriage was used in the London North East Railway originally.

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On arrival, we received a bread roll. I also ordered a bottle of wine.

I enjoyed pleasant views of the countryside and bluebells while I had wine and waited for the food to come. I really liked the look of the menu with the South Asian-style vegetarian food, which had to be ordered in advance.  

Spiced lentil and butternut squash soup was the starter, and this was tasty.

My main was sweet potato, chickpea, and cumin lettuce with tarragon juice. My guest ordered beef roast. We were served a selection of vegetables.

The train went back and forth between the stations, and I watched as the light dimmed outside.

For dessert, I had the lemon and ginger posset. My guest had the chocolate fondant with caramel sauce. The food was delicious.

Afterwards, we were offered coffee and tea and received a little box containing two chocolate truffles.

I loved the dinner and vintage railway experience. Bluebell Railway is located in Sussex. I would love to go back to try the afternoon tea or enjoy a trip.

I visited Mr. Fogg's Society of Exploration cocktail bar near Charing Cross earlier this month. I've been wanting to visit it for awhile, and a friend and I decided to go for birthday cocktails. The cocktail bars are Victorian-themed from the fictional world explorer named Mr. Fogg. Each location has a different selection of cocktails to try. This venue is decorated as a library and "society for explorers" with a train carriage and Victorian-style decor.

We tried a selection of different cocktails. One of the most memorable comes in a glass sitting atop a camel ornament. This was "The Golden Camel" - tequila, chilli, and mango. The cocktail was one of my favourites.

I also had on served in a glowing lantern.

As it was our birthday, Mr. Fogg provided us a telegram to wish us both a happy birthday.

I loved the Victorian theme and cocktails here. I would like to come back and try more, and food is also served here too.

I visited Mottisfont gardens early last month with a group of friends that I meet up with a few times a year. We normally meet up for lunch and then go to a National Trust property or have a walk. Each year, I am either too early or too late to see the popular roses at Mottisfont. This year, I did see that the irises were out in full bloom during my visit to Mottisont. Irises hav a special place in my heart because I remember them from my childhood; the house I grew up in had some white ones with purple petals (exactly like the ones in the first photograph below) and deep purple ones too. 

First, we went to a restaurant called The Duke on the Test. This is the first time I have been to this pub, which is situated on the Test River. I had the vegetable curry and a mango pavlova, which did taste delicious. 

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Afterwards, we had a short drive to Mottisfont. We did not go inside the house this time; we just walked around the walled garden. I was happy to see some nice sunny weather for once and after such a long and cold and dreary winter.

Some of the roses in the sunnier part of the garden were in bloom and over, but the irises were the star of the show.

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I have seen Mottisfont in the different seasons with the different plants in bloom. I like to visit the National Trust gardens at different times of the year because there is always something new to see.

I was in Krakow, Poland, for several days in early April. In this post, I will show what I ate and drank while I visited the city. I visited over Easter, and this only shows some of the food and drink that I had, but I did enjoy some at the markets and other places.

Macaroons were available at the Christmas market, and I bought some to try.

Karmello Chocolatier was located near the hotel I stayed at, and they had nice boxes of chocolates in the windows. Easter chocolate was out on display, so I tried some of the selection of chocolates. 

Lajkonik Piekarnia has a lot of pastries, and this cafe does light lunches and hot drinks. I had the Easter cookie and fruit tart.

I enjoyed some drinks in the main square.

Simon Rolls sells cinnamon rolls in different flavours, and I had the plain one; others are served with cream cheese, which is more savoury and less sweet than the traditional style.

If there is a Hard Rock Cafe, I will visit it.

Filthy Burgers was good. I had the chicken burger, and I enjoyed the fries.

One of the meals I had, which was probably the best sit-down meal, was Morskie Oko. This Polish restaurant gets very busy. I enjoyed some traditional food (potato cakes and chicken schnitzel) and drinks with a selection of vodka.

I went to Bharat Flame (India Flame) restaurant, which is one of the only Indian restaurants in the city and well-rated. I enjoyed my meal here, though the Indian cuisine is better in London.

For Easter Sunday, I visited TA'AM restaurant and cocktail bar and enjoyed my meal and drinks.

Cafe Mini Cukiernia is a small cafe that serves hot food as well, and I tried their desserts. The desserts look so beautiful. I had this very swet pistachio meringue, and I would have loved to have tried other flavours too. 

Dobra Paczkarnia serves different doughnuts, and they recommended me a rose jam one. The doughnuts were much too sweet for me.

Bakehouse 14 was a bit of a disappointment as it had glowing reviews. I had the carrot cake cookie, which was an Easter theme, but it was too dry. 

Pasibus Burger was recommended by a friend, and I tried and enjoyed it once they gave me the correct order.

Pizzatopia is highly-rated and does nice pizzas.

My biggest regret was the vodka because it was so strong.

There were other places that looked good as well, but I only had time for these places. I would go back to Krakow for one of their other markets at a different time of the year.

Today's post features two bars that I visited in Krakow, Poland, over the Easter break: Gin Mill and Hanashi Omakase. I visited Gin Mill twice because it was so good. The cocktails are all gin-based and very inventive on the flavours. I've never been to a bar as good as this one with the inventive flavours. I tried some of their gin, and they had some unusual and different flavours that were great. 

The cocktail menu includes a selection of gin cocktails that taste like food items - tiramisu, pastel de nata, cheesecake, green curry, truffle, sticky mango rice, and more. I am partial to a spicy or fragrant cocktail, so I tried the green curry one. This was an excellent combination with gin infused with a green curry taste, and it was delicious. It was like eating a cocktail. I also tried the sticky rice and the signature jalepeno cocktail as well as a selection of gin and tonics. 

The Gin Mill is excellent and highly recommended. It's a tiny place with only a few seats, so it can get busy. In my first visit, I was the only one. In my second visit, I was lucky to find one space free.

They recommended that I visit Hanashi Omakase, so I visited it as well. This is a larger venue, and I entered as the third customer, but it got busy during my visit there, and only one staff member to serve meant that waiting times were difficult. I decided to try the tasting menu where a food item is paired with a drink. The cocktails were ok, and the concept is a pairing of food and drinks. They also have different types of spirits instead of just gin. I also tried a couple of diffrent gins there.

I was impressed at the bar culture in Krakow. However, bear in mind to watch the vodka as it is a very strong proof.

One of my friends also celebrates a June birthday, so we went along to J.Sheekey, a fish and seafood restaurant in Covent Garden. This restaurant has been in operation since Victorian times. It started operation in 1896 after permission from the prime minister granted the stallholder to sell fish to people visiting the theatre. The restaurant is popular with actors and others looking for a good meal, and it serves more than seafood. I do not eat seafood, but they have other options including meat and vegetarian.

We received some delicious truffles filled with caramel for our birthdays. 

The restaurant is located next to theatres at St. Martin's Court.

We had a couple of cocktails and wine to start.

My friend had fish for her main and a fish starter.

I had the chicken, which was delicious.

This was followed by a strawberry Eton Mess dessert.

The food was delicious, and we enjoyed our meals.

The Emmaus Fair is held on Easter Monday in Krakow, Poland, and this festival has a religious biblical background. The fair itself has ties to medieval ages where people in those days would display and sell products that they made and welcome spring. On Easter Monday, people in Krakow traditionally spray water on strangers as part of the fun. The fair is very commercialised nowadays and seemed to cater more to children with many sellers selling balloons. 

Wooden toys, sweets, and art were traditionally sold here, although many of the options now are modern. There were many sellers selling bread tied with string; they looked like pretzels and came in different flavours.

Another item I saw at the fair were wooden figurines with musical instruments, which are said to bring good luck to those who buy them.

The coloured dried flowers and plants, known as palms, are an Easter tradition in Poland.

I arrived in the afternoon, and the crowds were huge. It was difficult to see everything, but this fair seemed to be more for children and for people to get out to have a walk around. 

The Emmaus Fair takes place along the river on the western side of Krakow. I recommend to get there early before the crowds.

Back in April, I visited "Chill Since 93" in Covent Garden. This pizza and sandwich restaurant has been located on New Row for a few years now on a large corner plot, and it has outdoor seating. I have been wanting to try it for some time, so I made my way after I finished work and ordered a pizza, drink, and dessert.

The pizzas are served on a lunch tray and are sold by the slice, which is a generous amount for lunch or a snack. I had the cheese pizza, but they do offer other options too.

For dessert, I had the walnut and chocolate chip cookie, and this was so good that I will probably visit again for the cookies alone. 

The Rynek Underground Museum is located in Krakow, Poland underneath the central market square. During some paving and escavation works, the ruins of the old square and market building were discovered beneath the existing structures and consuming 4,000 square metres. This was the former mdieval town of Krakow, and we can see the remains of merchant stalls, items discovered, and buildings. There are various multimedia displays and items to see at the museum.

Visitors can see the cobbled stones and walk onto glass walkways above the ruins of the old 13th and 14th century market stalls and see the remains of workshops. Throughout the trail in the museum, I was able to discover many different artefacts that were discovered - toys, decorative figurines, worked metal, gold, coins, jewelry, pottery, tools, weights, and much more.

One of the areas showed workshops belonging to blacksmiths.

Above as some rattles.

Keys and religious symbols.

Weights

Toy horses

Rings and other jewelry

The foundations of the old market building

Cobbled floor

I also saw some burials. There was a section about the vampire burials. These unfortunate people were suspected and decapitatd with the head removed from the body so the body would not come back to life.

I really enjoyed visiting this museum and learning about the medieval history of Krakow.

Chocholow Spa is located near to Zakopane and about an hour and a half's drive from Krakow. I visited the spa at the start of April on a cold day as the region had had snow. The spas are popular with families, and there are different areas, such as adult-only areas and different pools, hot tubs, and exterior pools. There was also a swim-up bar in the adult section. I visited as part of a wider tour to Zakopane, and the general admission covers two hours. We had about an hour and a half, which was due to some rude Italian family who were late to get back to the bus at the previous stop and who also kept the bus waiting for them after having spent half an hour longer at the spa while everyone else was on the bus. 

The spa was busy, and there were many pools to enjoy both indoors and outdoors.

I really liked the outdoor pool, which was heated. 

The spa was a little too busy for my liking as it is popular with tourists as well. The spa was created due to natural healing properties in the water and has been a place to relax and enjoy the water and fresh air for a long time.

Toward the end of last year, I visited New York City. I am still going through my photographs from my trip so that I can post them. Life is getting in the way these days, and work has been busy as wll. I am not finding the time to update this as much as I would like to do.

I visited before the holidays, but I did not get to see the Rockefeller tree lit up.

I stayed at Lotte Towers and had a view overlooking St. Patrick's Cathedral.

I loved finding these little vending machines that gave you a little printed artwork. I found them at various places in Nw York City.

I attended Radio City's famous Rockette Christmas show.

I also saw "Wicked!" I had seen it when it first came out in London. This was my first visit to the theatre in New York City.

I also saw other attractions, such as Plaza Hotel.

The financial district was nice to explore, and I found some nice streets to walk down.

And saw Wall Street.

The famous Raging Bull sculpture is here too.

Ground Zero museum was there to visit, but I did not visit it.

Because space is limited in New York City, parking cars happens in a multiple-storey elevator.

I saw the firehouse building where "Ghostbusters" was filmed.

Chinatown is huge in New York City, contrasting to just the couple of smaller streets London has. This area went on for miles.

I also explored Essex Market.

And Times Square.

And Grand Central Train Station.

More of Times Square

I found som nice markets too, so I explored those.

Of course, I had to visit Macy's and Bloomingdales.

When I'd been to New York City years ago, I didn't like it. I thought it was okay this time, and I already have plans for the next visit, whenever it will be.

I visited New York City at the end of last year, and I am a little bit behind on posting my photographs. In this post, I wanted to cover some of the food I had, notably things that are not that good for the waistline - cookies and doughnuts! I have a weakness for cookies, actually, and I wanted to try different ones in New York City. Fun fact: my favourite cookie is the snickerdoodle, which is a cinnamon and sugar. This is followed by an iced or frosted sugar cookie and the traditional chocolate chip (or chocolate chip with walnuts, which is good).

First up is the best meal that I had in New York City. This was in Hell's Kitchen - Mamasita Bar and Grill. This restaurant serves Mexican food and glasses of frozen margaritas in different sizes. The food and drink was very good!

I had the chicken fajitas, and there was so much food!

Next up was Jeremy's Ale House in the Financial District. I visited with my cousin on this picturesque little street. The bar was showing several football games on different screens. The most notable item is the atmosphere here with the bar covered in bras. This tradition has been happening since the 1970s. In addition to the bras are pictures and writing on the ceiling and walls.

Next up is Dagg, a Thai restaurant located not too far from Central Station. The food and cocktails were nice, but the portions were very large again. It feels awful to waste food as staying in a hotel means that I couldn't take it back and heat it up the following day.

Seven Grams Cafe - They have a large selection of cookies, and they will warm them up for you. I had the chocolate chip. I didn't care much for it warmed up, but it was delicious a few hours later and my favourite.

Chip City - This bakery are located underground at the Rockerfeller Centre and serve different flavours. I tried the chocolate chip and a special apple cookie. The chocolate chip was delicious. It was also one of my favourites.

Crumbl - This bakery went viral last year with its cookies. They sell snack sizes and full sizes, and I regret not getting more of the snack sizes as they did have my favourite type - Snickerdoodle. I tried the iced sugar cookie. I did not think too much of it as it was a little too sweet for me.

There are quite a few little bakeries around New York City.

Buttercup BakeShop has a large selection of cookies, cupcakes, and other treats. I had a cookie, but I was not impressed. I wish I had tried a cupcake as they do look nice.

Jacques Torres Chocolate - The shop is known for its chocolates, but it does sell cookies. The cookie was alright, but it was not my favourite. I did get some chocolate too, but one of the chocolates had a staple inside it, which really put me off. I did go and complain. I don't know how a staple found its way into the chocolate.

One of the ice cream chains is Van Leeuwen, and I tried their ice cream in a couple of places. I really wanted to try the peppermint one advertised, but it wasn't yet in store.

Max Brenner is a restaurant known for its chocolate. It sells hot chocolate that is served thick and in mugs. I decided to give it a try, but a sip was more than enough for me. This was much too sweet for my taste.

The various markets sell doughnuts, cookies, and other snacks.

Doughnut Plant was another place I visited, and it is all about different flavours of doughnut here. I got the pumpkin one, which was delicious. It is located in Grand Central station.

I also enjoyed some cocktails.

I also went to Magnolia Bakery for the famous cupcakes.

I look forward to return to New York City to try more sweet treats.

I took a tour from Krakow in Poland to Zakopane. On the way to Zakopane, the tour bus drove through the wooden village of Chocholow. We were told that we would normally stop here and then look inside the church, but we did not get to stop as the day was the Saturday before Easter, and this is actually a special day in Poland where people go into the churches to have their food for Easter blessed. Luckily, I was at the front of the bus, so I was able to get some drive-by photographs. 

We were told about the history of the village, which is unique in that it is filled with log cabins or wooden houses. Each wooden house is scrubbed clean at least once a year, and we were told that the women did this to find suitors back in the older days. A clean house was a mark of pride and of a good woman.

We drove by the church but did not stop, but we saw many people entering it with small baskets of food and chocolates.

It is a pity that we did not get to stop to have a wander around.

After the village, we stopped off at a little shepherd hut where we had some nice views of mountains and snow.

The hut is a small tourist stop, and they sell different food items, such as the smoked sheep's cheese - oscypek. This is served with cranberry sauce, and I enjoyed it. It seems to be a common food staple here and was also popular at the Easter market.

We also tried two different types of flavourd liqueur. One was apricot, and the other on was a cherry.

Keep coming back to read more about my time in Poland and the stop down the road to the thermal spa here at Chocholow. You can also see my post on Zakopane here: http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2026/05/an-afternoon-at-zakopane-polan.html