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Friday
After last years near-disaster, where we missed our flights as a result of Mel's hair appointment, but then subsequently managed to fly later that night, we decided not to take a chance and made Mel get her hair done the night before. We needed to leave at around 10am, as we were flying from Liverpool. Mel saw this as space for something and promptly booked herself in for a beauty appt, which ran a lttle over and we ended up leaving nearly an hour late!! We arrived just in time, met up with Ellis, Emile, Helen, and Cedric, then boarded our Wizz-Air flight to Katowice.
Landed, picked up the hire car (A minibus as there were 7 of us), the all-important (after last year) Sat-Nav, and we were on our way to Wieliczka. The journey was ok, despite a few roadworks, and after picking up our passes we dropped everyone at their hotels, then it was just Mel, Cat, and myself…. And yes, we got lost trying to find our hotel!!!
It took us about an hour to find it, checked in at about 10pm, quick freshen-up, then over to the Salt Mine (they stop the lift between 11pm and 2am). We caught the last lift down and met up with the others, along with a few of the guys from New Swing Sextet, just outside the main ballroom.
There's only one brand of beer available at this event as a result of sponsorship, so we all drank 'Desperado', a larger then normal bottle of beer with a shot of tequila in it, which can be quite lethal!! Had a few, watched the shows, then the band were on for a surprise gig which went down really well!
We ended up leaving at around 2:30am, very tired!!
Saturday
Bit of an early start today, as Mel's class was at 10am. It was raining, and the venue for Mel's class was scross the town from the Salt Mine, but she still had a great turnout and everyone was really eager to learn.
Once the class was finished, Mel and Cat were driven back to the hotel, and I took Ellis to find the venue for the Intermediate workshops, then headed to the hotel, where I found Mel and Cat hanging out with the guys from New Swing Sextet in the hotel dining room. C at was teaching them a few Cumbrian phrases, and trying to explain the delights of the Cumberland Sausage!! The hotel we were in was a bit away from the main town, so was difficult to get anywhere without a car. So, we suggested taking the band into Krakow for dinner that evening!
Met them in the lobby at 3pm, and followed the Satnav directions to the Kryjowka Music Club in central Krakow. The place was a basement restaurant with exposed brick and loads of nooks and crannies. We ate well!! :-)
A couple of hours later, we left the restaurant and walked back to the car to find a parking ticket, then drove back to Wieliczka with what sounded like a rowdy football team in the back of the bus!!
Had a quick nap, then got ready for the evening party!
 We bumped into the band again in the lobby, and they invited us to ride to the venue in their Limo. Bit of a squeeze but we all got in!
The Desperados we're flowing from the moment we got in the venue, then we watched the shows, with the highlight for me being Jazzy and Amy, and Tamambo and Ania's performances. The band were on at around 1am and played a great couple of sets. The party went on until 5am, then we left with the band back to the hotel. I had an interesting discussion with Henry Knowles walking back to the lift about DJ's mixing Salsa music ;-)
Got to the hotel around 5:30am and they wouldn't open the bar, so we all soon headed to our rooms!
Sunday
Woke up at 1pm feeling a little rough, had lunch in the hotel, then drove Mel and Cat to  their workshop venue. Mel was teaching a spins class and had a great turnout of over 80.
Back to the hotel, packed most of our stuff, then drove into Wieliczka to find somewhere to eat. The place was deserted and everywhere was closed!! After a while walking round, we eventually stumbled across what must have been the only eaterie that was open in the whole town. Food was good!!
We then freshened up at the hotel and headed for the final party of our trip, which this time was held in one of the other hotels where a lot of the teachers had been booked into. Did a couple of interviews while we were there, then left at around 2am.
Monday
Picked everyone up from their various hotels (minus Emile, as he decided to stay a few days and take a 28 hour coach trip back to the UK), and started our journey to the airport at 8am, as there were roadworks on the way. We passed them with plenty of time to spare and followed the Satnav directions to where we thought the airport was, but upon arriving at our destination, was obviously not!!
We managed to find a Service Station, and asked for directions, with about 50 minutes left before check-in was due to close. They told us the airport was about an hour away. Cue driving at breakneck speed along the highway, arriving at the airport with about 15 minutes to spare to find our flight was delayed by an hour!!!
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