Thursday 2nd August

My sleep was actually pretty good but I have to admit that the plane made me feel a little yuck. Since the plane I've been coughing and I've got a runny nose. So not sure what this means, maybe small plane + onboard swine flu = unwell Angelo?

Renata's mum left us with three 30 minute public transport tickets do we used them to get into the city. Lucky for us the bus stop is just a minute walk and takes us to Galeria Krakòwska which is just north of ye city. So about a 5 minute walk. Think of it like going to Melbourne Central and having trains underground and trams just outside with all buses passing by or terminating there. There isn't a metro system here or an extensive train network but it's practically not needed because public transport is serviced well. So there are mainly buses and trams here which circle the city.

The city is only small and compared to other parts of Europe, it's not that busy at all. I walked around the old town and Renata showed us the Cloth Hall which was built during Medieval times as well as St Mary's, the Bell Tower and the streets around. The river is just by the city and there are so many churches around that each look spectacular and some are hidden really well. We walked past Wawel Castle which looks amazing.

To describe the architecture of the city is like looking back in time, similar to Paris, London and parts of Rome. It's a very different type altogether and has some Russian influence and feel to it as well.

The currency is also amazing. I pulled out $150 AUD and got zł500 PLN. I got a meal from McDonald's for zł11 which is about $3. Insanely cheap. Justin got sunglasses that retail for $400 for about $170. It's like Bali. But the European version of Bali.

We went straight to visit Renata's grandmother who has been in a nursing home for about 2 years now. Instantly I could see how good the place was because it was massive and clean. It looked nicer than where my Nonno is actually. But it was fantastic to finally meet her because I have heard so much about her from Renata. It was actually a really beautiful moment seeing grandmother and granddaughter together after 4 years of not seeing each other. Glad I was there for it.

Also this is the first night I'm cooking since over a month ago so it's a welcome change.