So I had to go back to the hometown for a wedding recently, and I got to revisit some of my favorite places. I am somewhat chagrined to confess that this is my very first stop after arriving. I go to this particular one because it is quite near the airport.

Yes this is definitely an acquired taste, and they are just as I remember them, little gut bombs (but delicious).

And this is always the second stop. I have been eating sausages from this particular shop since I had teeth. It was started in 1940, and my grandparents were friends of the founder. This was once a respectable working class neighborhood (not anymore), but they will never move because they still use a lot of the original equipment. The old Polish ladies who spent the day chopping everything by hand are long gone, but the kielbasa and krakowska (smoked Krakow-style sausage) are as delicious as ever.

The Polish Falcons club was nearby (in early days my parents would go to dances there), but it closed many years ago as people moved out when the neighborhood changed. But they still carry some Polish items and people still drive in from the suburbs to shop here, especially for the holidays.

But this was what put this family run business on the map. The Pope came to town and the family sent some of their kielbasa and Krakowska over to the diocese. The Pope himself said that this was the best Krakowska to be had outside of Krakow. This statement got picked up by the media, and a popular National morning television show came and did a live broadcast from the store. So I must say I agree with him, I’ve tried what other delis call Krakowska and it’s never as tasty. I brought some home on the plane (after it baffled TSA) and it will soon be gone. 🙁

But this is always at least part of the reason that I choose to go back to the hometown, so I expect that I shall visit again (it’s also available to be shipped 🙂 .

So every now and again I get a visitor, and depending on the person there are certain obligatory places to visit as tourists. (I typically curse said tourists for driving about slowly and aimlessly.) But this is what I showed to a recent family visitor.

This is a quintessential tourist place, it sells bits of high-end and low-end souvenirs, overpriced fudge (a mostly sugar confection) and has a spot for eating. Oh yes, and there is a bear. We had dropped by specifically to eat buffalo burgers and unlike a restaurant, this place has these tourist things for entertainment.

Chicago has the “Bean”, a large chrome plated thing for tourists to take photos at. We have this globe thing at the soccer stadium and it’s a perfect place for taking this sort of picture. What it doesn’t have is any place to park, the creators of this pitch imagined that people would park elsewhere and walk to the stadium (ha-ha). So there was a quick snap and onward to the next spot (which is what happens at most tourist spots).

This place is the sort of thing one might get if a theme park and a sporting goods store had a baby (and it’s definitely a tourist landmark). This is the animatronic Abe Lincoln endlessly reciting the Gettysburg Address. Behind him is a mountain of wild creatures that have been shot and stuffed for our entertainment. There is also a Ferris wheel inside the store, with views of the store, video games, candy and other sparkly things to separate tourists from their money.

This is a bit of a British pub that was imported over 60 years ago, it still draws tourists and the occasional local (me, I do like the place when I can find a parking space).

The most visited tourist spot is this city park, which is now the second most visited city park in America (just behind Central Park in NYC). I also admit to really liking the place in spite of the tourists.

But there is more to this place than just bits for tourists. Like any tourist town there are those who make a living off of tourists and those who have regular jobs and never visit these places (too many tourists to enjoy it). But, when visitors come to town they are sure to see at least one of these places, even when the tour guide is me. 😉

I really don’t drink tea or coffee on a regular basis (I don’t like to make them for myself), but both are nice to have on a special occasion. And as I needed to plan a special event for my group, I decided to check out the new tea room in town.

A century ago, there were lots of tea rooms, because this was considered to be a suitable place for women to meet, tea was a the beverage of choice, and little cakes and sweets were always on the menu. This custom expired 50 years ago or so (which is before my time!). But I do enjoy a cup of tea every now and then.

The very best places to enjoy a nice cuppa are in London. This one is located at Foyles, a lovely bookshop that I always try to visit. One can eat and read or just look out over the masses of books and pick one for later.

I also like going to Peter Jones, a department store, for a cup of tea with a view over the city. And after all that shopping, one deserves a break.

So getting a cup of tea in London is no big deal, grab a tray, stand in line, and the tea comes out of a big urn. But it’s a different matter to have tea locally.

The group had previously scheduled tea at the former mansion of the town founder and it was quite elegant ($$), and featured all sorts of different teas. The founder had built this mansion to entice his missus to move here. She came out from back east and looked at it, then decided to go live in London instead (she probably moved there for the tea, or perhaps it was the shopping).

So this what is available at the new place ($). They do have all sorts of lovely china in floral patterns that marks this as a feminine space. The scones were a bit different than the ones in England and were quite sweet, rather like a soft cookie. There were a large number of different sorts of tea to choose from, but I had the plain one.

And it had an interesting decor, with sparkly chandeliers everywhere and old books glued to a wall. (I do think I like Foyles better, but it’s a long way for a cup of tea). At any rate, I think it will be popular with the group, and that is all I seek, along with a nice cuppa from a tea urn.

Well you already know that I love street festivals, etc. so here is yet another one. And how does one create such an event? One needs some sort of sponsoring organization to pay for permits and police, a reason to have this (in this case, a battle fought in Mexico) and vendors to pay for these booths. Et voila, a celebration.

The most important part of any street festival is grilled food on a stick, like corn covered in chili powder, cheese or both. It’s not the sort of everyday food, like the hotdog stand which was on the opposite side of the street, one can only find such special foods here.

The best festivals involve dressing up in some sort of symbolic outfit. These costumed dancers are walking past a wrestling ring, where masked and costumed wrestlers will shortly appear.

The cowboys outfits ranged from elaborate historical recreations to everyday work wear. I think that the gigantic rowels on the spurs are a bit of an overkill (and I feel bad for his horse).

This was not his horse, it was a horse of a different color.

In keeping with the vaquero tradition a mechanical bull was available to play on. As this is a replica, no spurs allowed. (Spurring a bull is a very bad idea.)

I must say the car show (the reason I came to this) was a bust, as there was another show going on at the same time. But there were also beer tents (mandatory for a proper festival), and various booths with social and health information (note to them: too much beer is bad). So it was identical to the many other festivals I have been to, but was a splendid way to spend a sunny afternoon (I did not have to wear spurs, either).