Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!!!

Feliz Ano Nuevo!!!

Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku!!!

Felice Anno Nuovo!!!

Godt Nytt Ar!!!

Prost Neujahr!!!

Feliz Ano Novo!!!

Bonne Année!!!

Akemashite Omedetô!!!

Craftsman Toolbox

Here is something that would be great to add to my Wish List. It is a Craftsman Toolbox. It would be perfect for all the bicycle tools I have at the moment. If they weren't so expensive, I would buy two of them for all the bicycle tools I have. Maybe, next Christmas.

It can be found at Craftsman Toolbox.

Fuji 1GB xD Memory Card

Here is something I have added to my list of things I want. It is a Fuji 1GB xD Card. It would be nice to add to my camera accesories. Tired of having multiple smaller cards and having to change them out while taking pictures. Maybe before my next big trip.

It can be found at Beachcamera.com

Bicycle Tire Going Flat, No worries.

Riding along with your buddies and one of them says, "Hey, your tires look a little flat. Why don't we stop so we can pump them up?" You reply, "Nah, Everything is cool and press a button on the fly." It seems that can now be the case. There is a company that has modified Hummer Technology for the average bicycle. Ok, no button yet, maybe later. The company is Nakano Iron Works and the product is the Nakano Air Hub. Definately needs a better name, maybe SRAM or Shimano will buy them out.


Nakano Air Hub

Add Fried Duck to the list

If you read my blog regularly, you know that I have fried turkeys for the past 3 years. Well, this year I have added Fried Duck to the list. I basically used the same recipe, just a shorter cooking time.

To date I have fried the following items:
Turkey
Duck
Chicken Wings
Sweet Potato Fries
Yucca Fries

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas .... Feliz Navidad .... Wesołych Świąt .... bon Nadal .... feliz Natal .... god jul .... joyeux Noël .... gioioso Natale .... C Pождеством .... Nollaig shona

Santa showing you his pimp hand.

NASCAR for Christmas

Now here is something that would be nice to try. Drive a NASCAR Race Car like the Pros.
Bad part is that it cost alsmost $300 to do just 10 laps.

NASCAR Driving Experience

Graceland in Memphis, TN

Well, today I took my cousin to Graceland in Memphis, TN. Lot of pics. Tour cost $28.00 and included tour of the Mansion, Airplanes, Car Museum and Sincerely Elvis Museum. Not a bad deal at all. We did go downtown to Blues City Cafe and each got a slab of ribs. Great food. We took some pics of downtown, but some how they are not on the camera anymore. That really sucks. So, I guess we need to go downtown again and grab some more ribs. Whose complaining?



Check out more photos at My Photos

Walking in Memphis

Well, looks like I will be a Tourist in Memphis, TN. My cousin is in town and I will be giving him a Tour of Memphis TN. Of course, Graceland is one of the stops, with a few places downtown.

If you have any suggestions on other places to show him in Memphis, TN, let me know.

Polish Postal Service

OK, I heard that it can take 2, 3 or more weeks for a letter to get to the states from Krakow, Poland. The postcards were sent on December 5th and 6th and I have already heard from some people stating that they received them. Not bad at all. I wonder how long it will take my postcards to arrive to Lima, Peru.

Finally Home

Well, I have finally made it home. I will only be here a few weeks, till I head back out to Krakow, Poland again. Hopefully, I will be lucky and not have to fly into Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport.

Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport

The layover in Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport was what I expected. It is the worst airport I have been in ever. There are more Satellite Terminals than 10 airports here in the states. Plan on being there at least 3 hours prior to your flight leaving, because you have to ride a bus for 45 minutes before even getting to the right terminal. The other problem was that there was no one around that worked for the airport to answer any questions.

Well, I'm on my way Home Sweet Home......

Well, my time in Krakow, Poland is almost over, though I will be back again in January. I will be leaving at 8 am and heading towards the Paris Airport, which I hear is hell. I am guessing I will have a good story to tell from Paris. The heading to Atlanta then Memphis. I have updated all photos and should have descriptions added to them later.

Be sure to visit the pics at My Photos

Paparazzi

Well, a trip in Europe would not be the same without the Paparazzi. While in the Holiday Inn Bar/Waiting area about 10 Paparazzi stormed in to start snapping photos os some guy. The guy was standing up and watching the Plasma TV when flash bulbs started flaring. After recovering from the blinding flash, I asked the waiter who the guy was getting all the attention. Per the waiter, it was the new Polish futbol (soccer) coach, Dan Petrescu, who was having a press conference in the hotel to sign his new contract for 305,000 Zlotych. I plan on looking in the paper to see if I am in the background.

Snail Mail

I have asked many for addresses to mail Christmas Postcards. To those that responded, all cards were mail on December 5 and December 6th. If one of those people, hopefully the card will arrive before Christmas in the US. If you are in South America, there is no telling when the card will arrive. Cards were mailed to my team at work, so my guess is that I will arrive before anyone gets them.

If you remember, let me know when you get the card.

Anyone for Golf...

This am I woke up to take a tour, not a normal tour. No tours were taken on December 6th due to too much rain. The tour was not on foot or by bus, but by a covered golf cart. The tour pretty much took me around the entire city in 2 hours for about 200 Zlotych which is about $62.50 for 4 people (we paid per carload and could have fit 2 more people in the car). We tour the city by going to a few church, one being the church were John Paul II served, the Jewish Ghetto, Jewish Cemetary, Wawel Castle, and many other locations. Though we could have walked to each of these location we opted for the tour since it was raining.

Photos will be posted here later.

Doing the Dew in Poland

After almost a week here in Krakow, Poland I was informed that they do in fact have Mountain Dew. Taste a little different, but close enough. Also, instead the darker green the bottle is closer to a flourescent lime green.

You can go to the Polish version of the Mountain Dew Web page at Mountain Dew

Ipod bicycle charger

Ok, so now you can ride your bike and charge your ipod at the sametime. Bicycle light generator was modified to be able to charge an ipod. Niterider needs to work on an official version.

ipod bicycle charger

Zakopane, Poland

Today we went to Zakopane, which is similar to a ski resort in the states. Skiing has not officially begun as the ski lifts were not working. After walking around the mountain a bit we decended via the gondola to the town of Zakopane where we walked around the shops and restaurants.



While there I took the tourist type picture with a person dressed in traditional clothing and a lamb around my neck for 5 Zlotych= $1.56. I didn't really like the gun part.



Next I had my picture taken next to the Fiat Polsky, which from what I was told is only made in Poland. It is the smallest car I have seen around here. Small cars like this seems to be the norm as many streets are very narrow.

And another instance of paying to use the restroom. This time it cost me almost 50 cents. I even for a receipt. But the view from the restroom window was well worth the 50 cents.




An as always more photos can be found at My photos

Market Square Krakow, Poland

After sleeping the day away in the hotel I finally work up at 4:30 pm , I went to bed at 3:00am.(13 hour sleep) I must have been extremely tired. After waking up I made my way to the Market where many vendors have been for a week, selling Christmas stuff. Ther are also setting up for a festival for Sunday. I was able to snag some pictures of the stage and a few night photos of the Market.

After walking the Market for a while I figured I would walk to McDonalds to see what they have and to my surprise, I found the Mac Royal. Of course, I had to get myself a Mac Royal with Cheese to see if it tasted any different than in the states. No, difference at al to me, except for lots of mayo. (I had to wipe most of it off) The McDonalds did not have a drive through window, but instead a walk through window.

I also lived a little dangerously and try something I saw for sale at the Market Plaza. I have passed them all week wondering what they tasted like and finally got brave and tasted them. They are called Oscypki and tasted pretty good. I also saw them roasting a pig over coals.

Tomorrow I will be going to the mountains and hope to get lots of pictures. In the meantime, you can find more photos at My Photos

"Bitch Ass Cold"

"Bitch Ass Cold", or at least that is how one of my co-workers considered today to be. I would have to agree. It was very cold and windy. Though it might not be as cold as it is in Salt Lake City, Utah, it is very cold. Even in the cold I managed to take in a tour to the Wzgorze Wawelskie Wawel Hill Castle here in Krakow, Poland.



I made my way to the Castle by means of the "Planty", which is a park that surrounds part of the city. This many, many years ago was a moat going around the city. The "Planty" reminds me of parts of Boulder, Colorado. This is pretty cool, because you can walk anywhere in the city. There is no reason to have a car in the city because there is plenty of public transportation at a reasonable price. There are some photos that were taken on the "Planty" and the balance at the castle. Unfortunatly, cameras were not permitted in the Castle itself but I took pictures outside.

I decided not to go to Warsaw this trip as I just found out that I will be returning to Krakow, Poland in January for another 2 week stint. I plan to visit Warsaw then and have plans well in advance. The difference between this trip and the next trip is that instead of working Poland night shift, I will be working the Poland day shift.

More pictures can be found at My photos

Bird Flu and Cribs

Just kidding about the bird flu. There are just a ton of birds in the Market Square. I almost got nailed by one when it flew by. I would even guess that a bird has hit someone in the face more than once, as I had a few close calls. Now is regard to "Cribs".

While walking through Market Square, I noticed a big crowd of people and made my way to see what everyone was viewing. As I got closer, I noticed these big models of churches or what they call cribs or officially Shopke (Cribs is what they were called in the Tour Book, bad translation). Shopke stand for Nativity Scene. The weekend there is a big festival and today I was able to see a few scattered through the main square. The pictures can be found at My Photos.

I also encountered this sign while at the Salt Mines yesterday. Not something you encounter everyday, but there are pay toilets in some places. I actually had to pay 50 grosky, which is like 15 cents. It takes care of the cleaning and supplies. I don't mind it as long as it is clean.

One thing I like about restaurants here is that when it is time to pay they do not take your credit card, instead they bring a machine and scan it it front of you. This way you don't have to have someone walk away with your card, it is in your sight at all times. You also, don't put the tip on the card you give them a tip in cash. That part is a pain if you do not have a cash with you.