Our Last Day of Vacation....

It had to come eventually, and our last day of our 3 week vacation had arrived (way to soon). Back in Warsaw, Tammy, Theresa and I headed to Wilanow Palace, built for Jan Sobieski in the 1600s. Amazingly, the palace survived WWII, and now showcases a large collection of European art. After touring a couple of palaces in Warsaw now, Theresa and I realized when you tour historic homes in the U.S. such as Monticello or Mt. Vernon, you see the house as it was used by those who lived in it. At Monticello you see Jefferson's study, his bedroom, etc. They try to recreate the house as it would have been when he lived there. In Poland however, the palaces are essentially galleries for Polish and European Art. Warsaw was destroyed in WWII, yet much of the Art was saved. The Poles are very proud of this and the Palaces serve as a location to display the art.


After our palace Tour, we were STARVING!! I'm beginning to think being a tourist burns more calories than swimming, biking and running. Naturally, when we passed a Mexican restaurant, we stopped dead in our tracks and convinced Tammy to join in the international Mexican food adventure. Theresa's assessment: edible, but they use ketchup for salsa. (And there didn't seem to be much alcohol in the drinks either...)


Next, we had to have ice cream. For a week, I'd seen people walking around with these huge tall soft serve ice cream cones. I stupidly tried the gelato the first day in Warsaw. The gelato itself was fine, but there was something clearly lost in translation because I ended up with 3 times as much whip cream in the cup than I did ice cream! This time, at Theresa's suggestion, I got the cone (just like everybody else does), and since the ice cream was so tall, I just ate it down to the cone and then threw the rest away. It was yummy!

After our ice cream, we headed back to the apartment to pick up Heather who worked all day. We went to dinner and then to a lounge for drinks. It was a great ending to a great vacation that resulted in making several new friends, reconnecting with old ones, and cramming as much exploration into 3 weeks as humanly possible!

We saw this poster on the wall in the lounge - apparently the Poles like ketchup!!