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Visit the Polish Pottery Festival in Boleslawiec, Poland in 2022

Slow Travel Tours Posted on May 22, 2022 by Sarna RoseMay 22, 2022  
Polish Pottery Festival display

Every year, in late August, in the small town of Boleslawiec, located in the Lower Silesia region of Poland, about 75miles/120 km west of Wroclaw, Polish Pottery Festival transforms it into an outstanding place of joy with live shows and beautiful crafts. Everything to celebrate the most famous ceramics from Boleslawiec, and perhaps all of Lower Silesia – Polish Pottery!

Crowds gather at the Polish Pottery Festival opening ceremony in Boleslawiec, Poland

Crowds gather at the Polish Pottery Festival opening ceremony in Boleslawiec, Poland

Hand made pottery from Boleslawiec is completely different from the pottery you will find in Italy or France. The tradition of making pottery in the region of Boleslawiec goes back hundreds of years. Today, white clay is chosen carefully and baked in high temperature kilns. As a result, you get unique pottery, which is flame proof, can be used in a microwaves, and looks great in your dining room. Pottery from Boleslawiec is also ecologicaly safe, because lead free enamel is used for decoration. Most patterns are detailed, geometrical and floral designs. Each piece is completely different than another, all are hand made, unique, worthy to be collector’s item.

Beautiful Polish Pottery patterns on display

Beautiful Polish Pottery patterns on display

This popular summer festival in Poland, offers unforgettable and entertaining events: parades, shows, culinary presentations, and performances. Ceramic goods are presented at the marketplace for sale, and the streets are full of booths, where you can buy regional products, sculptures, and so on.

Often, great deals are available on Polish Pottery pieces during the festival and you can always bargain with the many vendors! You will be surprised that in Boleslawiec you can also purchase pottery using US dollars! This is because pottery from Boleslawiec is very popular among US military personnel stationed in Germany. So, when you visit the Polish Pottery Festival you will run into many Americans. Communication with vendors is also not a problem – most of them speak English very well.

Polish Pottery production process

Polish Pottery production process

You can also visit pottery museum, and pottery factories (where you can paint your own piece of pottery during a hands-on workshop), as well as many historical landmarks in Boleslawiec, for instance the beautiful town hall and market square.

Polish Pottery Festival tour flyer

Polish Pottery Festival tour flyer

Polish Pottery Festival in Boleslawiec, Poland is a really unique, wonderful experience! You should definitely consider visiting this part of Lower Silesia with Poland Culinary Vacations. Our August 14 – 20, 2022 “Flavors of Lower Silesia and Wroclaw” culinary vacation in Poland is scheduled around the 28th Polish Pottery Festival. Click here for all the details and start planning your 2022 Poland vacation today!

Malgorzata (Sarna) Rose, is a native of Poland. Poland Culinary Vacations grew out of her love and passion for travel and everything Polish, including fine Polish cuisine, eventually blossoming into a first-class culinary travel company. While growing up in Poland, she experienced the great joy of cooking with family and friends. Using her grandmothers' recipes and fresh ingredients from their gardens, they prepared food for weddings, parties, and traditional holidays. Now, through Poland Culinary Vacations, she wants to share that experience with you, and show you the best of everyday Polish living: the special people and their hospitality, and the heritage and traditions unique to each region. Only a native can help you discover and fully experience the authentic Poland!

Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries.
Posted in Poland, Poland Culinary Tours, Polish Pottery, Polish wine, Slow Travel Tours, Wroclaw | Tagged august in poland, boleslawiec, festivals in Poland, lower silesia, lower silesian vineyards, Poland, poland tours, poland travel, poland vacation, polish cuisine, Polish Food, polish pottery, polish pottery festival, polish wine, vacation in poland, wroclaw | Leave a reply

Up on the Roof…in Venice

Slow Travel Tours Posted on May 8, 2022 by Anne & Kirk WoodyardMay 8, 2022  

 

Anne & Kirk Woodyard – Music and Markets Tours

If ever a city deserved the title of  “an outdoor museum” , it’s Venice! Where else can you float by glorious facades or stroll through squares bordered by exquisite architecture, perhaps while sipping the city’s signature drink, an Aperol Spritz?Yes, there’s much to be seen at eye level, but as in all impressive cities, one must also look up, up and up! And when you do in Venice, you’ll no doubt notice those wooden rooftop structures sprouting up from one building after another. What are they? They’re Venice’s particular and peculiar outdoor spaces, the Altanas.The name comes from the Italian word for high – alto. An escape from the dense and crowded city below, they date back to the 12th century. A city filled with canals and tall buildings doesn’t leave much room for a courtyard or garden, so  why not add an outdoor space on the roof?!? The stout wooden or stone pillars attached to the roof support a platform of wooden planks, allowing the passage of light and air for a bright and inviting space to sunbathe, enjoy the coolness of the evening, or gather for a meal or a chat. One of the prettiest I’ve seen, draped in gauzy fabric and adorned with flowers, was on the colorful island of Burano.During the time of the Venetian Republic (697-1797) blonde or red hair was very popular and women used to bleach their hair while sitting on the Altane, using a dye called Bionda (blonde) or Acqua di Gioventù (Water of Life). Covering their shoulders with a white silk scarf, and placing a Solana – a straw hat with a hole in the center – they protected lily-white skin from a dreaded tan, and pulled their hair through the hole in the hat, then combed a complicated concoction through the hair and spread it out to dry and bleach on the Solana.
Still popular today, with spectacular views over the city and water, an Altana is a coveted addition to any home. Since the entire city is a protected Unesco World Heritage Site, an Altana can not be added unless it can be proved that one existed in the past, involving a search in the land registry, or even perusing canvases of the great landscape painters such as Canaletto and Guardi.
We enjoyed a breezy afternoon on one of the Altanas of Hotel Paganelli, perched above the Riva Schiavoni with a fabulous view of the Bacino, and San Giorgio Maggiore.Looks like this family has added a pizza oven to their perch!A couple of striped-shirt gondoliers taking a break, perhaps?How to enjoy an Altana for yourself? Book a room at Hotel Paganelli – ours featured that same fabulous view as from the Altana, or book an Airbnb with a rooftop perch – it’s such a valuable feature that it is highlighted in the description of any property lucky enough to have one. We’re always sure to point them out, and access one when possible, on our custom-designed private Venice tours!And keep looking up – those interesting details are sometimes high above our heads!

The best way to describe us (Kirk and Anne Woodyard) is that we’re interested in the stories that make the places we visit come alive.

We’ve visited Europe more times than we can count, learned some entertaining stories there, and met some warm and helpful people who also enjoy the wonders of music and life in Europe. We look forward to sharing these stories and friends and experiences with our Music and Markets guests.

Since 2003 we’ve hosted Music and Markets tours in France, Italy, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, England and Spain, and in 2019 added Wonder Tours with a more intentional concentration on art and architecture, local culture, food and wine, and less time dedicated to concert-going.We also design and host custom private tours – previous locations include many French, Spanish, British and Italian regions.

Between our music-related travels, we enjoy our home in the south of France. While both of us have experience in organizing travel and music groups, Kirk’s background is in project management and competitive writing, and Anne is an accomplished pianist with over forty years of teaching and performance experience.

Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries.

 

Posted in Architecture, Burano, Canals, European Travel, History, Italy, Kirk and Anne Woodyard, Outdoors, Slow Travel Tours, Venice | Leave a reply

Ireland Has the Loveliest People in Europe—Visit with Other Women

Join Her Irish Road Trip This July!

It was the summer of 2005.  My husband and I took the kids to Europe for the first time when they were ages 11 and 9, respectively.  We thought it would be a good experience for them to see how other people in the world live.  It was also my husband’s first trip to Europe and he needed that education as well.  We chose Ireland because of the common language and proximity to the U.S.; also, it was easier for me to convince my husband because he is a national handball champion and the game has a long and cherished history in Ireland.  We had heard that every village has a handball court.

Everything was going well as we drove around to places friends had told us to visit.  The kids got a kick out of the driver sitting on the “wrong side” of the car, and driving on the left side of the road.  I had to yell “Go left, go left!” every time we approached a traffic circle.  At the Cliffs of Moher, I definitely did not allow my 9-year-old son Nathaniel to get close to the cliff edge without my hand on his arm.  He was all little boy, and there were no fences!

The roads are narrow, however, and the stone fences bordering the roads are ubiquitous.  When a car or bus comes at you from the right side, you instinctually move to the left to avoid it.  It’s a very strange feeling.  My husband finally moved over just a tad too much and hit our tire on the stone wall.  For some reason, we didn’t feel the need to inspect the damage until we got to Killarney, a fairly big town.  We had a flat tire.  Being newcomers to Ireland, and a bit overwhelmed at every wrench in the plans, we were staring at the open trunk when a young couple approached us.  I suppose everything about us was screaming “American”!  Our kids were probably wandering around looking for cheap souvenirs or taking pictures while we surveyed the damage.

The young couple offered to change our tire for us.  Not only that, they were on their honeymoon and spending precious hours of newly-wedded bliss in Killarney.  That is the precise moment I fell in love with Ireland.  I am fairly well-traveled and neither before nor after that trip have I met lovelier people or witnessed a national consciousness that values connectedness above all.  Ironically, I have since heard of tire-changing scams in other countries that lead to the would-be Good Samaritans extorting money from the hapless tourists.  Not the case on that day in Killarney long ago!  These were simply good people who valued visitors to their beautiful country and had a deeply-instilled pride in their heritage.

My children are grown now and have both studied in Europe.  My daughter Dayva worked as an au pair in Paris after college.  In the mid-2010s, I was struggling as a middle-aged lawyer with a lot of work history behind me.  It was getting stale.  I needed an Act II.  I had been with my family to Ireland again, but I always missed it.  It was a hole in my heart.  I decided to make Ireland part of my life on an ongoing basis by taking mature women there to discover the joys I had discovered with my family.  I knew that not every woman has a spouse or partner—by choice or life circumstance—to travel with.  Also, I knew that I wanted to stay in towns for three nights each in order to get to know the place, have time to visit the local pub or grocery store, and talk to the hoteliers over days not hours.  I wanted to connect with the local people, in other words.  Her Irish Road Trip has home bases in Doolin, Dingle, and Dublin, not because of my tendency towards alliteration, but because they are a good combination of village, town, and city.  We visit all manner of attractions in the environs of these home bases, from a castle, to an abbey, to cliffs, to a spa, to a cooking school, and much more.  This is a tour for women who want to soak in Ireland.

From family to women companions, I have made the journey to incorporate Ireland into my life, and hope you will join me!  Here we are in the beach town of Kilkee on Ireland’s Atlantic coast.  We’re on our way to Loop Head to hike, passing George’s Head, Foohagh Point, Castle Point, and Tullig Point.  It’s not the most famous of Ireland’s peninsulas, but it’s beautiful, secluded, and awesome.

Our Irish driver scoots us around in an “executive coach”—it’s not a big, noisy bus, and not a cramped van.  It’s perfect for women on the go!

See the Gallarus Oratory on the Dingle Peninsula, an early Christian church believed to date from between the 6th and 9th centuries.  This picture was taken in September 2021, during a rare visit devoid of other tourists.  Lucky women to see it in such a peaceful setting!  There are theories that it served as a shelter for pilgrims or as an ancient burial place.

Get your groove back in Dublin, the final stop of the tour.  Riverdance at the historic Gaiety Theatre will mesmerize you.  We have tickets to see this joyous spectacle in July.  We may even bust a few moves as we make our way to dinner afterwards!  We’ll also take a two-hour walking tour with a graduate student guide to see the Viking and Georgian parts of the city and taste its rich history.  It will have you frequenting bookstores to find out more.  Here’s a hint:  You can go to the central Post Office on O’Connell Street, where the 1916 Easter Rising took place, and imagine representing Cumann na mBan, a group of women rebels.  It will take you back in time.

The Road Trip will be in Ireland on May 19. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Now filling up the summer 2022 Road Trip from July 27 to August 6.  For further information, visit us at www.heririshroadtrip.com or email heririshroadtrip@gmail.com.

 Gloria FrankGloria Frank launched Her Irish Road Trip during simpler times (before the pandemic) to celebrate her love of Ireland and the connectedness she finds with the people there. Previously, she was a lawyer in the public and private sectors for 30 years and honed her attention to detail, which serves her well has a tour operator.

Gloria’s ten-day tour for mature women combines hot spots like Dublin and Dingle Town with quiet places in the Irish countryside. There is something for every woman!

Learn more about about Her Irish Road Trip here.

Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries.
Posted on May 1, 2022 by Gloria FrankMay 1, 2022 2 Replies

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