Warsaw Street Art


There was a lot of really impressive street art in Warsaw. 


One of my favourite things about public art is that it is available and accessible to everyone. Street art takes fine art and makes it available to anyone who wishes to seek it out; it isn't stuck behind velvet ropes, glass cases or admission fees. There are rarely plaques with information about the artist or the intention behind the art, making the viewing experience an exercise in interpretation for the viewer.  There are no definitive meanings and the viewer's interpretation can be influenced by the urban environment that surrounds the work. 




Warsaw: Scenes from Everyday Life


Coming back from Warsaw was a hard time. I knew I was going to miss: all of the incredible people, the city streets, the entertainment, the architecture, the food and the delicious beer. I also didn't know how I would organize what I had to say and I felt a bit overwhelmed by the hundreds of photos I had taken. I thought that a bit of the day to day life would make a nice start.


I was in Warsaw for three weeks and I spent about half the time wandering the streets and experiencing things like a tourist and the other half of the time living like a local and being absorbed into my partner's wonderful family life. These photos are a meld of the two halves.

     



Rysio's cousin walking with her partner and his child in the park. 


     

Rysio's cousin in the workshop where he went to school at the Warsaw University of Technology. Did you know that university in Warsaw is paid for by the government? Students must pass very difficult entrance tests to be accepted, beyond their regular high school exams. 

Antek in one of the many extremely tiny elevators in Warsaw. Most of the older buildings have elevators that only fit two people, uncomfortably. This may have heightened my fear of elevators. 


How I assume my work space would look like if I were an engineer: cluttered and covered in plants. 



The street where we stayed and the view from the apartment. I loved the way this building was painted, like a pastel patchwork quilt, I always felt so cheerful arriving home at night. 


     



     


One day it rained and rained and we decided to walk out on a bridge to get a nice view of the new stadium that was built for the Euro Football Championship. Shortly after we stumbled upon my idea of heaven: a small book store with couches, a swing and an espresso bar! 


And that is a bit of day to day life in Warsaw. Time to prepare for my third Polish wedding of the year, I'm getting to be an expert!



Re-acquaintance

I'm back from Poland and all I can say right now is that it was so awesome. I'm not ready to share photos, memories or feelings. I am treasuring them all to myself for the time being. It was a big trip with a lot of big feelings attached to it so I think it may take a while for me to decide what to share. For now, I am becoming re-acquainted with Hamilton, falling back in love with my city and making plans (big and small) for the summer.

I've been wandering my neighbourhood, trying new routes back and forth to work on my bike, making delicious food and eating it in the backyard, caring for the plants that survived my absence and putting my life back into order. I took hundreds of photos in Poland so I haven't had the camera out at all since my trip but I did take a few photos of my neighbourhood right before I left.

I took these photos exactly one month ago. Just a couple of things in my neighbourhood that made me smile.



Carpets of flowers are better than grass


House trim that reminds me of doilies and crochet


A cheerful garden hose 


Cute houses I would love to call my own


Houses painted white


Weather worn wooden sheds at the end of secret alleys



Kittens in awkward positions 

Tonight I'm going to throw the frisbee around in the park with Rysio and Wally. Afterwards I am meeting a friend for tea and she is going to return some plants I asked her to take care of before I left for Algonquin Park last summer. I'm really excited to be getting them back (even though I secretly feel like a neglectful plant-mama for leaving them with her for so long)! Life is full of fun and friends right now, I have it pretty sweet.


Beautiful Poland



I poked around on flickr a few weeks ago, looking for photos of Poland and places I might like to visit, which is where I stumbled upon the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and ended up glued to the screen for far longer than I should have lingered. While I went through thousands of photos I favourited some of my favourites as reminders of where I wanted to go and things I wanted to try and experience. They're just too good to keep to myself, here are some of my favourites out of the bunch. 


I'm just finishing up packing and I'll be heading to the airport shortly. It is very much my style to be packing right up to the last minute. Being organized and prepared down to the last detail has never really been my thing. I did get traveller's insurance though! That's one thing. If I've forgotten to pack socks or something little then I'm sure there will be stores in Poland that sell them, or anything else I may have forgotten. 


















I hope I get to see lots of castles and forests and colourful buildings. I can't wait, it's going to be wonderful. 
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