A Whole New Language

HELLO! My name is Kathryn and this is my fiancé Richard!

It's been a month (well almost) since the whirlwind trip to Europe and Rich's proposal. It's amazing how much has changed in that month. What I find really cool is the whole new set of words that we are using and that others are using around us:

- Proposal

- Engagement

- Fiancé(e)

- Affianced

- Betrothed

- Wedding Date

- Reception

- Ceremony

- Ring

- Bridal Gown

- Tuxedos

- Flowers

- Showers

- Best Man

- Maid of Honour

- Registered at ______

- Wedding Planner (aka my Fairy Godmother)

- Catering

- _____ of the Bride

- _____ of the Groom

- etc...

Well, not cool necessarily. Maybe a little disconcerting. It's like a whole new language that I'd never spoken or really understood before.

OK. So, now I'll throw in some details for those of you wanting to know specifics. Obviously, things are FINALIZED or anything but SAVE THE DATE!!!! ;) This is a 6.5 month warning.

CEREMONY

WHO: Richard D. Webster to marry Kathryn L. Hunt

WHEN: Saturday October 22nd, 1.30pm

WHERE: Holy Rosary Cathedral

Maid of Honour: Sandra Trace

Best Man: James Anderson

Now to answer some of the questions I've been asked recently:

1. Yes. I will be changing my last name. (Goodbye "first initial + last name" jokes/giggles around the office - YAY!)
2. Yes. My dress has a bit of a train. (Not much but a little)
3. Yes. We are considering buying a place to call home (timing is not decided as yet)
4. No. We're not going to dance at our reception
5. No. We're not going to have a full dinner reception. We're looking at having an afternoon tea.
6. Yes. There will be music. VERY SPECIAL LIVE MUSIC
7. Yes. There will be choral music at the ceremony
8. No. I don't know the honeymoon plans. That's Rich's task. :) I'm happy to be surprised later. Just as long as it's far away and warm. (He knows the criteria)

As you can tell, we still have a LOT of unknowns yet but we're getting lots of help. Fairy Godmother Natalie (http://www.thefrogprince.ca) is simply the BEST! She's really keeping my stress level down. Thanks so much.

I will continue to update the blog regularly. Admittedly not every week (as I'd hoped) but at least every two weeks.

I just wanted to say "THANKS" to everyone who reads this blog and especially to those who have told me so. It means so much to me to know that this iisn't just going into oblivion. I've had such great comments back like "I keep going back to see if you've posted new stuff" and "The stuff you write is just so interesting and the way you write is just so fun. I just have to get my hands on more".

I need to head home and rest for the big Chan Centre concert tomorrow night. Must drink lots of water and no talking. I know it'll be tough for a motor-mouth like me to stay quiet but I'm gonna try.

Engagements before Weddings

Apologies right up front to Matt and Marysia van Wollen (aka the Newlyweds). I had been planning on blogging about their wedding (Poland Day #3) as my next blog. However, something changed all that (after they left on their honeymoon). I’m sure they’ll understand. (I promise to get back to their wedding story once things calm down around here).

We’re going to skip to the end of our trip to Europe. Last things first. After Krakow, Richard and I headed for a day and a bit in London. We had grand intentions of seeing the London Eye, the Tower of London and St. Paul’s Cathedral in less than 36 hours. Good plan.

On Sunday, we arrived at our hotel near Westminster Abbey and the Parliament buildings in the late afternoon on a clear day (very rare). We decided to literally drop our luggage in our room and immediately get to the London Eye since the sun was still in the sky. It was a good idea apparently because we got on the Eye virtually right away. (Sunday nights are good times to go – no waits). We talked with the employees and they said at most times (during the day) you have to wait in 2 long lines. First one to get your tickets (which are for a specific time) and then again when your time comes up. The second line is usually 45 mins at least. PHEW. We were up and back in less than 45 mins. We saw some great views from up there.

For dinner, we went to the Sherlock Holmes’ pub and restaurant just south of Trafalgar Square. Dinner is served upstairs (try to get reservations if you can). They have a glassed off area that shows “Sherlock Holmes’ study” as a museum. Meals are all named after characters or titles relating to the books (i.e. Hounds of Baskerville). We just HAD to take in the local beer (Pride) and cider (Strongbow) with our traditional English fare as well. For dessert, we had an amazing bread/yorkshire pudding idea just soaked in toffee sauce.

Next morning, we took the Tube/Underground (Mind the Gap!) to the other end of the city to see the Tower of London. The name is a bit of a misnomer. It’s got about 10 towers!!! It’s quite a big museum. From dark and bloody torture devices to the crown jewels. It was very impressive. It was also a very LONG morning. We spent more than 3 hours in the attraction. At one point, we both sat down and said, “Sorry St. Paul’s, you’ll just have to wait”. There was no way we were going to be able to climb the bell tower after all this. We were exhausted. Both of us had queasy stomachs too. Was it something we ate? Off to grab food at Pret a Manger and then eating the food in the hotel room. NAP TIME!!!! Sleep off the pain!!!

We woke up at about 8pm. Yikes, the entire afternoon had gone by. At least we both felt slightly better on the queasiness front. Both agreed that since we had a VERY early flight back to Vancouver the next morning (no time for breakfast probably), we needed to get something to eat for dinner. My knee was still really bad from all the stairs and walking at the Tower of London. I requested that we just eat in the pub downstairs. Richard said that his stomach couldn’t take two nights of English food in a row. Also, we needed to get some Galaxy chocolate and only convenience stores seemed to carry it. Since there was nothing else in our neighbourhood, it was off to Trafalgar Square.

We got our chocolate fix (for back home) at the Tesco Express at the square and then we decided that Italian food would be ok for our tummies. Café Zippi was the place. Since we were the only ones in there at this late hour (9pm), we got our food in 10 mins. It was great Italian food. We both really enjoyed it.

Walked back home along Whitehall passed 10 Downing Street (PM’s residence). Just as we were getting within eye-shot of Big Ben, he started ringing for 10 o’clock. Richard wasn’t getting there fast enough to see the exact time so I was pulling him forward saying “Hurry up! You’ll miss it!” At the corner of Whitehall and Birdcage (across from the statue of Winston Churchill), we stood there and listened to the bells chime. The rain had stopped and we just stood there both facing Big Ben.

Then, Richard turned me around and said “You make me so happy. Will you marry me? Kathryn, will you marry me?” I was already in his arms hugging before he got to the “marry me” part. So I just stayed there hugging him and said “Yes, of course! I love you!”

Needless to say, I neither of us have had a good night sleep for a few days with all this going on.

It will be my highest honour and ultimate priviledge to marry Richard.

(Just in case anyone missed it… I SAID YES!!!)

Krakow Tourist Day #2

April Fool's Day is not celebrated in Krakow. Or perhaps it was just not this year. Things were really sombre. Let me explain...

By now, most of you (the world) has heard of Pope John Paul II's illness and declining health. Before he was the pope, he was Father Karol to many people in Krakow and then Archbishop Karol for all of Krakow. Needless to say, he was Polish before he was pope and his heart belonged not just to Poland but more specifically to the city of Krakow.

We (Richard/Kat and our friends Alice and Douglas) decided to see the sights of Krakow itself rather than the environs. We started off climbing up Wawel Castle (remember that in Polish, W's are pronounced as V's as in Victory). This castle (and the hill it sits upon) is the site of some of the most extraordinary views, sights and feelings/emotions in all of Krakow. (In my opinion anyway).

Wawel Cathedral sits within the castle walls. It's a beautiful cathedral that has been expanded over many centuries. So many important Poles have been buried there. In particular, just about every Archbishop of Krakow has been entombed within the Cathedral. Not just buried but each one is given a chapel. And if you look at the cathedral from the outside, you can see that each new chapel is appended to the main building. It's very obvious since the building materials differ. Also within the Cathedral are the relics of at least two saints. Most notably, the patron saint of Poland - St. Stanislav. His relics hold the place of highest honor (middle of the sanctuary). You could actually feel an almost electric feeling in this place. Something was going on within these walls. If only they could speak.

We the ascended up to the bell tower. It is said that touching the largest bell's "ringer" is a sign of good luck. (DONE - pic to prove it). Hope the luck will show itself soon. :) Then, we descended to the main sanctuary and then into the catacombs under the cathedral where even more past famous Poles now reside. Since I've mentioned that the religious figure prominently in the sanctuary itself, you can imagine that the catacombs are for the non-religious. Many are from the monarchy and those that have done great things for Poland (like fighting the Communist onslaught).

On to the treasury and armory museum in the castle. Richard wanted to see some swords so we had to indulge him but then again, Alice and I wanted to see some of the fine gold pieces. It's quite a sizable collection of gold and other "treasures". The number of gold tankards (yes BEER tankards) was amazing - and the sheer size of them. The Poles must have always loved their drink. I just hope they were in fact drinking beer and not vodka - that could have been REALLY disasterous. Funky swords and canons and guns OH MY!

Next on our list (well at least Alice and my lists) was to find the Wawel Chakra Stone. It's one of the 7 chakras (or spiritual energy points) in the world and in every living being. It's between the Cathedral and the courtyard so you can't see or get near it. It's supposed to give you a sense of inner peace and balance. Douglas and Richard were not into it so they just moved along. Alice and I did as the guidebooks mentioned and touched the wall closest to it. Perhaps that is what I was feeling within the cathedral along with the other spiritual forces within the walls of the holy house?

Lastly at Wawel, we visited the Dragon's lair. There are good legends about how a dragon lived under Wawel Castle. By the size of the limestone caverns we saw, it's plausible. :) You actually come out at the bottom of the hill next to the river so if you are planning on visiting the lair, leave it until the end. That way you don't have to climb back up!

On our way back to the centre of the city, we walked along the river for a bit and then through the greenery zone called the Planty that surrounds the entire central city. We heard beautiful music being sung. Gregorian Chant. So we followed the sound and ended up behind the Franciscan church. Behind you say? Yes. Behind. It was time for the afternoon Angelus prayers and all of the citizens were not facing the church but the building across the street. It's where the pope resided (as archbishop) before he moved to Rome. It was a solemn prayer vigil. News crews everywhere. I think our sneakers were taped for CNN or BBC or something... If you saw a couple of pairs of New Balance shoes in the news in reports about Krakow, it was us. :)

For dinner that evening, we went to a French restaurant. The name escapes me. I will edit the post when I find it. The food was wonderful. Very french. But what was even more divine was the conversation between the 4 of us. With the decline of the Pope's health, we talked spirituality, religion, morality, and ethics. For HOURS! What is even more amazing is that only Alice and I are Catholic. That didn't stop Richard and Douglas from being VERY active participants (and in fact leading) in the conversations. One thing that came out of our discussion is that there is a real need for more of these types of non-judgemental open and frank discussions closer to home. Would anyone else be interested? Just a dinner once a month or something? Feel free to add a comment to this post if you are or for any other reason of course. It was amazing how invigorated I felt about my faith and my life after that evening.

Thank you so much Douglas and Alice for another absolutely amazing day in Poland! And of course my dearest Richard for sharing it all with me!

Tomorrow is the big day. Matthew's wedding to Marysia!

Krakow Tourist Day #1

Wieliczka
A few of my Polish friends all suggested the same place to visit. The salt mining town of Wieliczka. We're taking a little shuttle bus there right now. It's 10km out of the city. http://www.kopalnia-wieliczka.pl/english/index.html

It was really neat. We rode in a little mini bus to the town and then decended what felt like hundreds of steps to the mine. Absolutely amazing. I can really descibe what we saw. Chapels and statues carved all out of salt. Understanding the different forms of salt. Hearing a german choir sing in the largest chapel (st Kinga's chapel) and the way it resonated was phenomenal.

We each got to take a piece of rock salt home. (Hey can't seem to get rid of it fast enough).
For lunch, we went to a traditional Polish restaurant that advertised 'we will remedy you hunger'. That they did. Alice and I tried the soups (borscht and mushroom respectively) and the boys (Doug and Richard) went for veal and potato pancakes (and beer for course). It was a wonderful meal. And at the end they gave us each a souvenir. Can you guess what it was? More salt!

Then, mini bus back to Krakow.

Jewish Quarter
We then walked around the Jewish Quarter where the Jews were all rounded up and sealed in by a brick wall. The area was tiny. It reminded me of the movie "The Pianist" but that took place in Warsaw so I'm told but it's the same result. Very moving. Found it strange that only one of the

Night Life
Off for a brief snooze and then dinner at the Italian restaurant (il Calzone). Alice, Doug and Richard all had calzones and I had pasta.

After our massive and very yummy meal, we headed back to the Jewish Quarter to a French cafe called "Cafe des Couleurs" to meet up with my friend the Groom (Matt) for his "Bachelor Party". His Bride to be showed up but was ushered out once the Canadian Contingent got to say Hello. Instead of beer, I was being fed vodka and apple juice. The special vodka has a buffalo grass strand in the bottle to give it flavour. YUMMY! Tasted almost like there was a hint of cinnamon in the drink. Very nice. We brought some home with us as part of our duty free.

Got to catch up with Matt's brother Sebastian and sister Samantha as well as his best man Alex whom I hadn't seen in 15 years. Matt, Alex and I all worked together at summer camp when we were in senior high school.

Once we got to midnight, we were told that's when parties really get going in Krakow. So off we went to the Zentrum (or Centre) of town also called the Market. We went below the city's streets and buildings into club PROZAC where it was techno all the way.

Needless to say, Matt was "well taken care of" from a bachelor party point of view. Alex took his duties as best man seriously and got our groom-to-be home and ready for his rehearsals and dance lessons the next day (his true last day of bachelorhood).

What will we get up to in Krakow as tourists while Matt is pacing around as a nervous groom? We'll see shall we?