Day two... and the jetlag sets in
Dobry den! I'm sitting in the most gorgeous little internet cafe that I found totally by accident. I didn't feel like transferring on the metro, so to avoid that, and to tire myself out, I decided to walk the extra distance to the school. The school, you say? But didn't our intrepid pilgrim find the school yesterday? Well yes, I did, but it took me forever, and I'm not really sure that I actually know where it is. So i'm going to go again today, just to make sure I really know how to get there.
Anyhoo, this cafe is lovely. It's an old building (actually, from now on, assume things are old here. almost everything is) that's very tall. The English computers are one the second floor, which is actually just a small platform, maybe the size of my living room at home. I had to climb a steep and winding staircase to get up here; very cool. It's also much more reasonable than the hotel... but I guess that's what one would assume.
I'm feeling pretty tired at 9:22 this morning.... I was wiped out at about 10 last night, and crawled into bed. I didn't fall asleep til after midnight, though, and then was wide awake at 2. Amber, thankyouthankyouthankyou for the CDs. I got through the middle of the night by listening to episodes 6-10 of the LOTR. I actually thought about going out to the road to the payphone and phoning someone just to pass the time... but I don't have a phonecard, and the hotel shops were closed. Imagine that. Closed. At 2am. Loss of good business. ;)
So I got up at 6, and cleaned up, and wandered down for the hotel breakfast. It was very good... plenty of fresh fruit. Also plenty of things that were jellied. Kind of like headcheese. But with vegetables... I contemplated stealing a piece to photograph, because it's impossible to describe how bizarre this stuff was, but I thought that it might be hard to explain to the occasionally crabby hotel staff. Trust me though... it did not look like something I'd wake up, roll over, stretch, and think "oh boy! time for jellied stew for breakfast!"
I met some nice Norweigans yesterday, and we visited for quite a bit. The woman is a stay at home mum of two boys, 2 and 3 yrs old. Her boyfriend works 12-16 hour days, so they both needed a break. They chose Prague because it was a flight deal... $100 USD roundtrip each. WOW. Imagine wanting to go somewhere cheap... Vancouver? Nah. Toronto? Done that. Prague? Yeah, let's just go to Prague. :D We chatted til a man came out, and started to play the beautiful grand piano.
At least it LOOKED like a grand piano... big, wooden, fancy... turns out it was some kind of synthesizer. It was really, really awful. Very "cheap lounge" music! Also, very loud. I headed into the restaurant to escape. I could still hear him, but at least it wasn't so bad. And I escaped just in time, because the pianist began to wail, I mean sing, along with his synthesizing. Sitting across from me in the restaurant was an elderly man with an accordion, having a beer. When the synthesizer man began to play "Blueberry Hill," and wail along in terrible English, the accordion man looked like he was about to vomit, and started to play the "aloha" song on the accordion. (You know... aloha-lay, aloha-lee, da dum du da da da da, da dum da da da dee...) It sounds like it should have been awful, but he was great! He moved on to some rousing polkas, and then a little gospel (GLORY, GLORY HALLELUJAH...) The british at the table next to me kept trying to sing along, so he kept changing what he was playing. Absolutely fabulous! hahahahhahah... it was great! :D
I quite liked the accordion man. I hope to hear him again.
Girls, as I wrap this up, I want to ask you a favor. I have a seen a new fashion style, and I think we should emulate it. Nylons are very "in" in Prague. Not just nylons, but knee-highs. And I have seen the epitome of fashionableness while on the metro.... Picture this:
A middle aged woman, wearing a tidy blouse. Pretty, well cut, not loud. Then, stylish capri pants, very nice. Almost exactly an inch below wear the capris stop, the knee highs start. But not just any knee highs... *fishnet* knee highs. Flesh colored. I almost wept at the beauty of this creature of fashion. Hilary and Kathie, I think your legs would look especially good in this style. Please get started on this right away, so that when I return, all good Canadian woman will have caught on.
Enough for now. I might hit up the internet later today, which will be first in the morning for you guys, so that I can chat with a few of you.
Love you all.
Write to me!!
Love,
Elizabeth
Anyhoo, this cafe is lovely. It's an old building (actually, from now on, assume things are old here. almost everything is) that's very tall. The English computers are one the second floor, which is actually just a small platform, maybe the size of my living room at home. I had to climb a steep and winding staircase to get up here; very cool. It's also much more reasonable than the hotel... but I guess that's what one would assume.
I'm feeling pretty tired at 9:22 this morning.... I was wiped out at about 10 last night, and crawled into bed. I didn't fall asleep til after midnight, though, and then was wide awake at 2. Amber, thankyouthankyouthankyou for the CDs. I got through the middle of the night by listening to episodes 6-10 of the LOTR. I actually thought about going out to the road to the payphone and phoning someone just to pass the time... but I don't have a phonecard, and the hotel shops were closed. Imagine that. Closed. At 2am. Loss of good business. ;)
So I got up at 6, and cleaned up, and wandered down for the hotel breakfast. It was very good... plenty of fresh fruit. Also plenty of things that were jellied. Kind of like headcheese. But with vegetables... I contemplated stealing a piece to photograph, because it's impossible to describe how bizarre this stuff was, but I thought that it might be hard to explain to the occasionally crabby hotel staff. Trust me though... it did not look like something I'd wake up, roll over, stretch, and think "oh boy! time for jellied stew for breakfast!"
I met some nice Norweigans yesterday, and we visited for quite a bit. The woman is a stay at home mum of two boys, 2 and 3 yrs old. Her boyfriend works 12-16 hour days, so they both needed a break. They chose Prague because it was a flight deal... $100 USD roundtrip each. WOW. Imagine wanting to go somewhere cheap... Vancouver? Nah. Toronto? Done that. Prague? Yeah, let's just go to Prague. :D We chatted til a man came out, and started to play the beautiful grand piano.
At least it LOOKED like a grand piano... big, wooden, fancy... turns out it was some kind of synthesizer. It was really, really awful. Very "cheap lounge" music! Also, very loud. I headed into the restaurant to escape. I could still hear him, but at least it wasn't so bad. And I escaped just in time, because the pianist began to wail, I mean sing, along with his synthesizing. Sitting across from me in the restaurant was an elderly man with an accordion, having a beer. When the synthesizer man began to play "Blueberry Hill," and wail along in terrible English, the accordion man looked like he was about to vomit, and started to play the "aloha" song on the accordion. (You know... aloha-lay, aloha-lee, da dum du da da da da, da dum da da da dee...) It sounds like it should have been awful, but he was great! He moved on to some rousing polkas, and then a little gospel (GLORY, GLORY HALLELUJAH...) The british at the table next to me kept trying to sing along, so he kept changing what he was playing. Absolutely fabulous! hahahahhahah... it was great! :D
I quite liked the accordion man. I hope to hear him again.
Girls, as I wrap this up, I want to ask you a favor. I have a seen a new fashion style, and I think we should emulate it. Nylons are very "in" in Prague. Not just nylons, but knee-highs. And I have seen the epitome of fashionableness while on the metro.... Picture this:
A middle aged woman, wearing a tidy blouse. Pretty, well cut, not loud. Then, stylish capri pants, very nice. Almost exactly an inch below wear the capris stop, the knee highs start. But not just any knee highs... *fishnet* knee highs. Flesh colored. I almost wept at the beauty of this creature of fashion. Hilary and Kathie, I think your legs would look especially good in this style. Please get started on this right away, so that when I return, all good Canadian woman will have caught on.
Enough for now. I might hit up the internet later today, which will be first in the morning for you guys, so that I can chat with a few of you.
Love you all.
Write to me!!
Love,
Elizabeth
posted by Elizabeth @ 01:18
3 Comments:
At 3:00 p.m.,
Anonymous said…
Dear Elizabeth:
I'm impressed by the new style you have described. I feel I haven't done anything in a while to embarrass my kids, so maybe I'll just adopt the new Prague fashions and see what they say. Poor you! You won't be able to walk alongside me and see the wondrous looks I get, but perhaps I could send you pictures that you could blow up for your bedroom walls and then you could proudly show all your new friends your very fashionable mom.
At 11:39 p.m.,
Anonymous said…
You know my initial reaction was to pass on this whole Czech fashion statement but when I read that your mom was going to start wearing it I decided to reconsider. Once Amber moves up here, Kathie, Amber and I will go get some fish nets. Actually I believe I own a pair already!
At 3:24 a.m.,
Elizabeth said…
You guys laugh, but Prague seems to not be a part of the whole "fashionable Europe" thing. Most people look kind of like me, clean and mostly well put together (I don't think my "You can't get THIS in the States" shirt counts), but then there's this whole group that look, well... um..... For example, there was a lady at the bus stop yesterday wearing a white skirt made of sweatpant material. It was pulled up to her ribs, and barely, and I mean BARELY, covered her bum. And then there was the MAN on the metro this morning wearing short-shorts. They were practically Daisy Duke's!!
Send me photos of your new looks... :D
Post a Comment
<< Home