the scariest thing this Halloween...

Krakow - City of Literature

For past two weeks, I've been grounded by an incredibly annoying cold bouncing between me and little Z.
The weather was delectably autumny so sitting wrapped up in a blanky with a hot cuppa, and a box of tissues handy felt very natural. I actually enjoy the horrible fall weather a lot, knowing that in short three weeks ill be back in Goa...
But I willed myself to get better by today because today was the last chance for the trip to the international book fair.

Growing up, books were my constant companion. I remember that on birthdays and Christmases (and other occasions), they were the most welcome gifts. The unread ones held the promise of days full of great adventures and excitement, while the known ones I welcomed like old friends. Till today, I feel there is something inherently magical about books and all the places that house them. But, living with one foot in Asia and the other in Europe, I had to adopt a more practical attitude and befriend Kindle (which proved to be a very loyal companion).
Nonetheless, the trip to the fair confirmed one thing: I'm not at all immune to beautiful children's books. Honestly, I had no idea how many publishing houses print exclusively for kids. I don't know if my perspective has changed, but this year especially, most of the stalls seemed to be dedicated to the youngest readers.

Among millions of new titles, I was happy (and a little sad) to see some familiar ones with brand new, beautiful illustrations.
And now, we come to the scary part. Surrounded by the ocean of books, I seemed to have lost my mind. At least I plan to claim temporary insanity if somebody decides to judge my recent purchases.
I'm fairly certain, that if it wasn't for my old trick (I only bring limited cash - no credit cards), I would spend all my savings and then some!

En plein air

For some reason, this summer was full of unexpected turns, the kind I could only summarize as A Series of Unfortunate Events.

It makes me remember this year's holidays even more fondly. Being a creative soul, it was everything you could hope for: art, work, beautiful setting, eccentric characters and a large dose of quirk!

Growing up surrounded by artists of all sorts, it's only hitting me now, how unusual plein air invitationals are. When I replay it in my head, it's almost like a trailer to a magical movie.

First of all, the only way to get there is by a night train. We reached Torun - the city famous for Nicolaus Copernicus and gingerbreads at the break of dawn. Now, if gingerbread city isn't straight up from a fairytale, I don't know what is.

But that wasn't the end. We had to travel about 30 minutes more to reach a hill - the only one around, where stands a lonely palace surrounded by orchards, ponds and forest with long forgotten cemetery.

Slowly the whole crew gathered: the botanist in harry potter glasses and straw hat, the musician who built a considerable amount of wind chimes during our stay and the whole bunch of artists.

For the next two weeks, you could stumble upon them in all kinds of places. whenever the sun came out, we took to the easels, and during the rain, everyone was ensconced in one or the other corner of art studios.

There is something incredibly inspiring in such atmosphere. Even for professional artists, it's a rare luxury to be able to focus solely on their work - perfect space, all the materials, no distractions and creative spirit almost tangible in the air!

Apart from it being a great opportunity to get you creative juices flowing, I had a chance to meet a whole lot of real personalities. Everyone worked in different technique and style, had a different approach to their work which made our time together all the more interesting.

holidaying in wonderland

I spent last two weeks in a fairyland full of eccentric characters and truly magical places. The weather was a little more prosaic, so I came home with a cold as a memento of beautiful holidays. There was a huge Pegasus prancing among the stormy clouds.

Huge weird mushrooms were popping here and there. I swear, I almost saw a caterpillar smoking a pipe on one of them...

Stone gate straight from the opening of Prince Caspian (Chronicles of Narnia). Do you remember castle ruins and apple trees in the long forgotten orchard?

And then there was a palace. Maybe not as old as the one in Narnia, but palace nonetheless!

Gate opening to the sky...

...and the magic door behind which the art happened.
Oh, and did I mention over a dozen quirky artists?

Market day in Cracow

Farmers markets are becoming a new place to be, there is no question about that. However, it took several years in India for me to see the attraction of Cracow's old market.

 And I'm not alone! Both tourists and locals are flooding in and the market is keeping up well with the new fashion. Next to the seasonal fruits and veggies, new stalls opened up. You can find everything from fresh antipasti, Turkish soaps, spices from every corner of the world to organically grown grains and cold-pressed coconut oils and doggy treats.

On top of that, once a month you can enjoy kind of a market picnic with specially selected food, drinks, and some handmade items.

Living in Goa, I can't complain about the availability of fresh produce, but I did miss all the berries, homemade cheeses, and wild mushrooms.

I'm still planning a photographic visit, but till now I stayed true to the purpose of the place and only managed to click few pics, ladened with bags and bags of fruits and jars (hello preserve making season!).

I also discovered rather funny addition - a milk vending machine, where you can get a bottle of farm fresh milk anytime!

Why Air France - Jet Airways customer service sucks

After all the FRO drama, we had to make the quick decision and finalize the travel plans fast. Obviously, we couldn't just drop everything and leave, so, in the end, we decided that I will fly out with the baby while Anant holds down the fort and keeps the cats company.
We chose Air France once again - god knows why! And once again the customer service they provided was, well... I would say shocking if I didn't know better.

We booked the ticket through Air France website, but as they now joined operations with Jet Airways, the first "leg" of the journey was carried by Jet Airways. I'm not really clear on how exactly this "cooperation" is supposed to work, because, quite frankly, from the customer point of view - it doesn't.

On Air France website, we came across sth called bassinet seat provided to parents travelling with kids under 2 years of age. You have to apply for it in advance as there are only a few on each flight. We messaged Air France immediately requesting said seat, and, to be sure, called them to confirm.

They told us, that, as the flight is carried by Jet Airways, we have to request bassinet through their customer service.
Fine.
We called Jet Airways - they told us that, as we booked the ticket through Air France website, we have to book the seat with them.
That carried on for a while, till the point when my husband, technical genius as he is, got both of the airlines on one call. After a lof of confusion, they mutually decided that we do have to request bassinet with Jet Airways, but only after Air France issues PNR number - 24 hours before the flight that is. In other words, the "joined operation" doesn't allow you to book the seat in advance and thereby take advantage of facility they allegedly provide.

Of course, we tried booking the bassinet the day before the flight but the Air France customer service doesn't work on Sundays and the Jet Airways representative was such a bright bulb, that she made me long for FRO officers! First, she claimed, they have no bassinet seats whatsoever, then, that she can't book one for us for some mysterious reason. In the end, we wanted to know if there are any left so we could book it at the airport, but she was "not at the liberty to disclose this information". Why - she didn't know.

We set out for the Goa airport at 2 am. In Mumbai, we went straight to the Jet Airways counter, to see what can be done about this unfortunate bassinet. They assigned the seat on the spot BUT told us that there won't be an actual bassinet - just an extra leg space.

On my way to the gate, I stopped in the bathroom to complete the whole pre-travel baby ritual. My diaper bag was still wide open on the changing table when they announced the final call for my flight. Of course, I panicked - as I hate being late for anything- and didn't stop to think that there was still at least half an hour left until the actual end of boarding time.

As I got on the plane, it turned out that the seat they gave me was... directly behind the bassinet seat. That was just adorable!

The flight attendant told me not to worry, though - they will see what they can do.
Luckily the flight was half empty, so they didn't have to do much. In the end, I got a whole row of seats and the infamous bassinette - go figure.
While I was quite comfortable, it wasn't thanks to the airlines. Simply put - there was no-one sitting there and nearly every passenger had at least 2 seats to themselves. If the flight were full, that would be an entirely different story, which is sth to think about, especially when you have difficult "baby travel" ahead of you.

Obviously, it wouldn't be the end of the world, getting the regular seat, but it does tell you what to expect in terms of care for the client and service they provide. If you have a stressful journey and want to plan ahead - the ground crew is just rubbish.

On the other hand, they really have excellent flight attendants - I give them that. They were extra attentive and very helpful with the baby, wich is priceless if you are alone on such a long flight.
Even so, I doubt I will fly with them again (not counting the return flight), and if you value your sanity, I wouldn't advise you to do that either.

tying loose ends...

I mentioned a while ago that we had some issues with FRO and visa extension. As it was quite funny (if by funny you mean full of incomprehensible absurd) I decided to continue the saga.
After the last visit, we asked our landlord to come along with us to FRO and explain why he didn't provide the C-form on time. As it turned out, he used to work with like 70% of FRO officers, so there was much of back slapping, man hugging and weird boxing but not a lot of actual office work. It came as no surprise that we didn't get any answer then and had to make yet another trip the next day.

I have to say, they are very consistent in their lack of helpfulness, but the ways they invent to make your life harder are quite imaginative. As we got there, we were sent to talk to some women I never dealt with before. She glanced at our file, slammed it close and said, not even to us but to some other person, "Issue an exit permit" and made to leave without a word of explanation. At that, my dormant monster awoke, and I told her in no uncertain terms, what I think about this kind of behavior and of this office in general.
I mean, they accepted our file, gave us a confirmation and were supposed to send it to MHA in Delhi to be processed and all of a sudden she is issuing an exit permit without so much as "Hello, sorry we can't help you" ?!
What we got instead was, and I quote : "Visa expired, you ENJOYED here for almost three months, not you go".
So we went - to the guy who is supposed to be the head of something there. Honestly, at that point, I didn't much care.
He definitely tried to appear helpful but wasn't. Instead, he blessed us with this piece of office wisdom: "there are only two cases when we can extend X-visa. When you get married on it or if you are born on it". Now, how anyone is supposed to be born on any kind of visa - that I don't know. Don't you have to have a passport to have a visa? And a name, nationality, and date of birth for that matter?
He also got confused, and at some point, tried to send all of us- including my husband, out of the country,  to, I'm guessing, get rid of the problem altogether.
After much time wasted, they grudgingly agreed to forward our file to Delhi. It hardly felt like a victory then, and even less so when we learnt that we will have to wait for a decision for another 2 -3 months.
That was just too much on top of everything, so, in the end, I just packed my bags, book the tickets and came back to Europe with our little troublemaker.
It goes without saying, we needed a beforementioned exit permit, which we had to apply for. It's quite simple, really, though it didn't stop me wanting to rip their throats out at some point or the other.
You write an application mentioning that you need an exit permit, for when and why - they tell you to wait. At some point they will give you a green light to buy your tickets, you need to submit the copy and... wait. Then, you have to pay for overstaying your visa - mostly it's the cost of the visa you overstayed, as far as I can tell - they tell you to wait again. And finally, you can come and collect you permit, which will be issued a day or two before your flight - talk about nerve-wracking!

Of course 24 hours on the plane(s) with 6-month old is a whole other story, so I won't even get into it now. I'm just emerging from my post-travel coma, trying to comprehend the fact that just a couple of days ago I was packing in pre-monsoon Goa, and now I'm eating strawberries in pre-holiday Poland!

Litte tings 2

The off-season has begun in earnest. We already had a couple of those unbearable pre-monsoon days. Have you ever experienced a heat so overwhelming and sticky, you liquefy on the spot? That's what I'm talking about - only worse! We escaped to the beach to find the clear blue sky turned milky white, yellow sand turned gray and the peaceful waters turned to stormy waves. Suddenly the jagged rocks became more noticeable and sinister looking. But the breeze was a lifesaver! the only place  you can catch a breath in!

But the off-season is not all bad. With it comes the parade of the local fruits, which is not only delicious but also quite surprising. For example, I had no idea how cashews grow until we moved to Goa. Though I can't say much for the smell, they do look quite decorative!

In the meantime, and in the spirit of cottage life, I took up bread making. I always used to skip the recipes that stretched the process over two whole days, but recently I decided to try one and I got completely hooked! It's such fun. Plus, is there anything better than the smell of bread baking in early hours of the morning.?!

Well.. there is always the less appetizing though equally satisfying smell that concludes sometimes gruelling process of creation, that of the varnish drying on the recently completed project. Growing up around artists and then studying art myself, I have a great sentiment for all those chemical smells. If it wasn't downright kooky, I would have turpentine as an air freshener and oil paint as perfumes!

The little things...

I remember as a child, I was reading and re-reading books like Six Bullerbyn children, till they parted their covers. I couldn't get enough eventhough nothing big ever happend there. Nothing ever hapened and yet every day was a discovery, an adventure!
Something about our new cottage life reminds of those childhood books. I'm not sure why it feels different now, but I'm not gonna question that and enjoy it one day at the time. Just like in my books - nothing really happens (if you manage to forget about the FRO shenanigans), but it's fun just the same!

For example, we have a frog living in our bathroom door frame. When I first saw her, I thought it was just a one-time sighting, I even consider throwing her our, but she was quite cute and pretty color too. Well, I'm not sure it's a "she" - especially since she looks like Jabba the Hutt most of the time, but I like to call her Ursula nonetheless. As it turns out, she sleeps in the bathroom during the day and spends the nights hunting for insects. Once, I had to rescue her from our cats and some other time, the poor thing was forced to play dead in front of them until we realized what's going on. That's not just a frog anymore, it's a real character!

Another day we had a tiny natural disaster. A branch broke off from one of the mango trees and pulled our internet line. Obviously, it couldn't take the weight of the fruits- I've never seen such huge mangos! It used to spread widely, all the way to the well, with the heavy fruits hanging just above it, until, one day, it collaped, with the mangos almost purpousfully layed down on the garden table.

And then, I was making a no bake mango cheescake with a layer of mango musse, mango cream cheese and home made mascarpone. It actually isn't as time consuming as it sounds, especially if you use store bought mascarpone, but it takes a while and a whole lot of bowls just the same. And so, just when i was about to assemble all the three layers, I was loudly reminded that motherhood waits for no cheesecake. I dumped everything in the cake pan, and put it in the fridge hoping that at least it wont leak out. It didn't. It was delicious, if a little whimsical...