Appreciate the little things in your life

Each of us knows or has ever heard of the famous, colorful carnival in Brazil. I think so, because who doesn't?! The carnival is the largest folk festival there, which is held four days before Ash Wednesday and gives rise to Lent. It takes place every year on the streets of Rio de Janeiro and at least 2 million people come to see it.  An interesting thing is that initially from the 15th century the event was in Portugal, and later was transferred to Brazil, which is the portugal colony. It included all street events that often ended in fights, people threw eggs or other things at themselves. Since 1932, the carnival is considered fully legal and sanctioned by the authorities. Nowadays, the carnival parades take place all over Rio de Janeiro and take various forms. The streets are filled to the brim with dancers dressed in vivid and shiny costumes, dancing samba. It is worth mentioning that these dancers represent other samba schools ...

With today's post we will return to Spanish culture again. So what exactly is Corrida de toros ? This is a traditional bull fight and for sure most people associate Spain with this spectacle.  It is difficult to point out who actually started the custom of public fighting people with bulls. It is known, however, that this is one of the oldest shows in the world that takes place to this day. It is said that it has its roots in ancient times, and even goes back to the Bronze Age.  The bullfighting season lasts in Spain from March to October. Some regions deviate from this tradition. An example is Catalonia where according to a resolution of the autonomous parliament, public bullfighting is prohibited. However, the fate of the "corrida" in the rest of Spain (especially in Andalusia and the center of the country) seems not to be at risk. Currently, it is practiced in a similar form in many Latin American countries, Portugal and southern France. Bullring ar...

Just a few days ago we were celebrating Christmas and in 2 days we have the end of the year! Seriously, I can't believe in such a fast transience of time. Sometimes it's nice to stop for a moment and pay attention to the fact that nothing will last forever and we should do our best to get the most out of our lives. And I think that the end of the year is exactly the time where we should look back, see what we have done and what we have not done, what we did well and wrong, but also what we should improve.  Many people think that all these New Year's resolutions are worth nothing and most of them give them up after some time. However, I identify with those who consider this night the beginning of something new. I don't know how exactly it works, but such an examination of conscience of what happened last year and setting new goals sets me free and adds more motivation to action. If you've never done it or still think it's silly, try it because you can really ...

We already have Christmas this week! How time flies... Throughout the year we are waiting for this magical time which we always spend in a family circle, all together at one table. Due to the fact that our family members live far away from us on a daily basis, this is the only time when we can have a laugh together or talk, so we have to take the most of it.  In Poland, Christmas Eve according to tradition begins with the appearance of the "first star in the sky". This is a reference to the Bethlehem Star heralding the birth of Jesus. The supper begins with a prayer and reading of a passage from the Bible regarding to His creation. Later everyone present breaks the wafer and makes wishes to each other. The table is always prepared for all gathered people, however, there is always one additional place setting for an unexpected guest. An important element is also the placement of 12 dishes that refers to the number of apostles, although some families say it is associat...

With today's post we will return to Spanish culture again. Everyone has heard about Flamenco and maybe even knows something more about it. Considered to be widely as a fiery and sensual passionate national dance of Spain, equally strongly associated with this country as the brutal and controversial bullfighting- corrida (but I will write a separate post about it).  Flamenco is a cultural phenomenon related with the folklore of Andalusian Roma, including music, singing, dancing, dress and behavior. Tradition comes from Andalusia so if you want to watch a real Flamenco dance performance, it's best to go to cities such as Seville or Granada. According to the Andalusians, Flamenco songs are "the fruit and pride of this land" and the people who sing it draw energy and inspiration from everyday life. Initially there was only singing, no dancers or guitars. Other elements could be observed only at the beginning of the 19th century. El Planeta (Antonio Monje Ri...

Today we will go back to my London adventure which I had a few months ago. As I said, I love traveling so whenever I have an opportunity to see a new place, I take it. I'm lucky that my friend works at the airport so when she sees great offers she always tells me about it. Of course, we usually choose flights at good prices so that they are not too expensive and on good airlines.  London is a beautiful city, but like most people have told us before it's also costly. We went there only for the weekend but we used it as much as possible. Every day we walked several kilometers, but it was worth it because we saw a lot of cool places. For these two days we rented a tiny room on the outskirts of the city, with views of typical London houses (photo below). It's good that I know Spanish, because the owner was a Portuguese and she couldn't speak English which is a bit strange. Spanish neither, but somehow we got along, haha. The first point of sightseeing was of cou...

With today's post we will move again to my beloved Spain. And more specifically to its cuisine. As you probably know, Spanish dishes are quite peculiar and are not eaten on a daily basis in other countries. The cuisine is characterized by richness, variety, simplicity and high-quality products, accompanied by one of the best wines in the world. (If you don't know yet, the Spaniards are big gourmets of all kinds of wines) Let's start with breakfasts. The Spanish people love to spend mornings with good coffee and newspaper in cafes, preferably with some nice views on such as the sea, mountains or just some streets. I don't know how they find time for it in the morning before work, but apparently they manage somehow because always all of the "cafeterías" are filled to the brim.  So, Spaniards usually eat breakfast sweet. The first thing that should come to our mind are of course those popular "churros con chocolate".  Churros are made from dough...