Friday, November 18, 2011

Seventh Entry: Life with Art


The best way to know a country and a culture is by traveling in the rural areas. Darkness had settled over the countryside by the time we reached our destination, but we were met warmly by our gracious hostess. Being an artist, she has created a whimsical, happy, and hospitable world.




Delicious food...salad, polenta, pickles, cheese and wine...

Random thought:  I chuckle when people say they love polenta, but won't even taste grits. After checking internet sources, the answer is that they are basically the same...just different types of corn.)


Upstairs with regional clothes and linens
-a very nice collection
(Please note the creative shelving.)


My new friend-a sweetheart who kept me warm during dinner
Random thought:  When JP first saw me, he said, "AJ, you
need to color your hair. You're not all wrinkled yet!"  As of today, the
experiment continues although when I told Flint that I was getting
my hair cut yesterday, his words were, "Are you going to get
it colored, too?"  Hmmmmm.......


Yard art: The sidewalks, house foundation and more were decorated like this. It almost made me want to
break our dishes when I returned home! I mentioned this to my dear friend, D'J, and told her that her colorful
dishes would be much prettier than my rather plain ones. She informed me not to use her name and broken
dishes in the same sentence!
Our entrance

The goat-contributor to the meals-enjoying the morning


Excellent breakfast on served on traditional pottery


With our lovely hostess and creator of this fantastic place

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Sixth Entry: Into the Countryside

 Lunch stop at a rather eclectic place...
lots of collections inside and out

 The fire kept us warm and cooked our food.

 Delicious soup! Andriy introduced us to the shot of
vodka with our meals.



 The truck next to us at the gas station was filled with apples....

 ....and they shared!

The beautiful Carpathians



 Exquisite regional embroidery held by its artist
(I'm admiring this piece as I blog.)

In the market area

Apparently, people are 'locking in their love'
all over the world.


Lions of Lviv

The lion is the symbol of Lviv.









 Outside a coffee shop

Fifth Entry: Lviv Walking Tour

We ate a delicious breakfast while listening to some good jazz at the Lion's Castle Hotel. Andriy (Green Ukraine) introduced us to our lovely guide, Joanna, for the walking tour of Lviv.

A street sign for the coffee we use at home, but please
note Ukraine's use of the Cyrillic alphabet.

Former KGB building

Joanna commented on the heavy traffic that day. The cars
in this picture (except the one on the tracks) were parked,
and the drivers had decided to walk.







 Panels depict two of the four seasons

 So touching to see people praying in public since
the lady definitely lived during the time that right was denied. When we
passed this way again, a larger group had gathered.






Fascinating and incredible amount of history
on one monument


 Disagreement in history covered by added metal
writing under the individual cannonball


Jesus must feel this way quite often as He looks
at us from above.

 




European Football Championship
games 2012 scheduled for Poland and Ukraine




Churches had been used for museums or gymnasiums.


 Book Market


 Made in the USA...National Cash Registers...an old pharmacy
that is now a museum


So much to think about!