Tuscany Day 2: Pisa and Lucca

My intent for this holiday was to take it slow and not to run around. We partially managed to fulfill this :) I also have to admit, this was one of the worst prepared vacation of my life time. I didn't spend as much time as I wanted on finding the best things to do and see. So at times we improvised or followed brochures that got into our hands while being there. However, we both decided that such must-sees like Pisa or Florence will be in our schedule. And although I hate visiting cities, I enjoyed both of them. But we saw only a small piece of the two. Vacation with two little children is not really vacation :) It's just changing the place of a day-to-day parenthood - a chore that never ends.

Because we were sightseeing with children, we didn't get to see the inside of any of the beautiful buildings that we saw in Pisa. And there are so many of them! I'm not really a big fan of architecture but I admit, Pisa with its marbles is breathtaking! And Florence (that will have a post of its own) was even more stunning. So in the end I'm happy we visited those places and who knows, maybe some day we will be back and get to see the rest. But even a stroll around Pisa was soothing. It's a beautiful city and I was surprised that there were not so many tourists around. I love Italy for its narrow streets, quaint cobbled routes, coffee terraces and restaurants and coffee itself, beautiful people (oh dear they are all so elegant, I adore watching them!) and many many more.

When we finished the tour around Pisa we headed to Lucca, a very small but picturesque town to the east. It's well known for its city fortifications and thick walls that now serve as walking paths. It was exactly there that the formerly mentioned "Top gear" episode was shot. Lovely place.

It was still not the end of the day but stay tuned for the rest that will follow in another blog post.

Tuscany Day 1: Travel

Holidays, yey! Tuscany welcome to! We couldn't decide where to go - so many options, so many beautiful corners on the earth. And then, one day, we watched the Grand Tour (new Top Gear) where the trio went to Tuscany. And we booked a flight the very same day :)
I had just one requirement regarding the place to stay: it needs to have a view on the hills. As you can see in the photo above, this one is checked :) Stay tuned for more beautiful photos and description of our adventures.

Szmaragdowe Lake - first summer days

Welcome the first day of summer this year in Poland. With temperatures over 20 dg. C, we simply had to go out. There's no better place to spend such a day than the woods. Szmaragdowe lake is a well known place in the suburbs of Szczecin. I was expecting way more people than we encountered. Nature is not yet awaken but it's happening. I believe in two or three weeks' time it should be green.

 

III Bieg Krzyśka Kuczyńskiego

OK folks, time for new challenges! Running won't substitute hiking but it is fun as well. My very first run, a mere ~5 km (it was 4.2 to be precise) but what a thrill! I was feeling like was I running a marathon not a small charity run. Anyway, this is worth mentioning - Krzysiek Kuczyński was our local high school student who died of leukemia some months before his final exams. A very sad story, especially when you take into consideration that he was to have a bone marrow transplant (he found a donor) but passed shortly before. Another thing worth mentioning - if you haven't signed up as a donor yet - please do! It's super easy, you can do it via post and it might save a life. I did it as soon as I turned 18.
Getting back to the run.... I had no idea what pace I should run and I treated it as fun - no more. I ended up running 5.18min/km which is good for me (there were two ascents on route that slowed me down). I finished 62 out of 155 contestants (it's general competition - men and women together). I am happy with this result. I will sure do some more in the future.

Włóczykij Trip Extreme 2017

My second attempt in Włóczykij Trip Extreme (have a look HERE if you don't remember my first one) took place this year. It's a 50k orienteering march (or run) conducted at night close to Szczecin.
During this attempt we had lovely spring weather and were full of optimism. We walked through Puszcza Bukowa, a beautiful forest full of hills. With height difference between hills and valleys up to 80m we did a bit of hiking but we also were able to see beautiful views, at least till sunset.

After 12 hours of walk we gathered all requested points and reached the finish line. This year result was better then previous and gave us spot in the first half of the ranking. We'll see the next year :)

Nightmare vacation - Rokytnice

We don't have luck with this area of the world. Last year when Radek went skiing in Harrachov he had to shorten his trip as I was admitted to hospital during my pregnancy with Kamila. But he got to know the area and we knew it was worth revisiting. So we did this year. It was a long-awaited trip for many reasons. Therefore you can imagine my disappointment when it turned out to be utter disaster!
What happened? The very first day we arrived Wojtek got severely ill. So I stayed with him and Kamila while Radek and my sister's family went skiing. This was the only day we saw the sun! The only day out of an almost week trip! Anyway, we managed to take a couple of photos that day. Have a look and I'll continue my story afterwards.

Skiing in Rokytnice:

My short walk around:

The next day wasn't particularly inviting for skiing but we decided to give it a try and it was a good idea because otherwise I wouldn't have touched the hills at all. The weather was bad, we had to ski in very difficult conditions (thick fog and very little visibility). It was the real fight for survival. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it. Being able to spend time with my family, try and push my limits on the hills a bit... and a children-free morning - enough for me to appreciate it.

And a movie from that day:

After that day it was only worse. It wouldn't stop raining and one after another we got ill. I was by no means in the worst condition and I was unable to get up from the bed for like 2 days. My sister's husband was in a pretty bad shape too and when Radek started to fill a bit blue, we decided it was high time to go back to Szczecin. Did I mention it wouldn't stop raining? Anyway, although I do consider this as nightmare vacation, I do want to go back there the next year. In the end, I didn't get to hike those hills :)

Skiing in Szczecin (yes, it's possible!)

You remember my last post from Gubałówka hill? I told you I was up for skiing :) It's a thing in Szczecin! A thing that takes maybe 5 to ten 10 seconds but still! Have a look yourself: