So on to "Plan B"--we decided to walk along the Nowy Swiat, the main "shopping" street in Warsaw.
It was a fine day for strolling--a mostly sunny and crisp fall day. We moseyed along, first down one side of the avenue, and then back up the other. We stopped to look in a few windows, popping into just a few of the more interesting shops. Didn't make a single purchase, but as usual we had fun looking.
We stopped for lunch at about 1:30, and after looking at several menus, we chose a Mexican restaurant. Yup, nachos and pozole (Mexican soup) in Poland. It was just marginally good, but at least it wasn't heavy Polish or Bavarian fare.
After lunch we continued on Nowy Swiat, and didn't find much of interest. Here are just a few photos--I only took 10 pictures today!
Here's a couple of those "Guys with the weight of the world on their shoulders". For some reason, these always fascinate me. They are all just a little bit different.
As we were walking along, I spotted our flag--it's The United States Embassy in Warsaw. It was fenced all the way around, concrete barriers, heavily guarded, with signs stating no photos, no cell phones, no weapons. (I was across the street when I took this photo, and hadn't seen the no photo sign).
There was a small intercom button to push to speak with a guard. I guess that's the sad reality of the world we live in today.
Right across from the embassy, there's a small park. We noticed a nice statue--"Hey--that guy looks familiar"
President Ronald Reagan in Poland:
Later I "googled" Reagan statue in Warsaw. In Poland, Ronald Reagan is considered one of the great leaders of the 20th century. He was a great supporter of the Solidarity movement, which effectively led to the end of Communist rule in Poland. This statue was installed in 2011, with Lech Walesa giving the dedication speech. Interesting!
And that was just about the most exciting thing we saw today! We walked for miles and miles, through pretty tree lined streets in residential neighborhoods, along busy thoroughfares, and along Embassy Row.
About 4:30 we decided it was time for a mulled wine. We found a small cafe near our apartment, and ordered---or attempted to order. The nice young waiter apologized for his lack of English, saying he only spoke Polish and Spanish, asking if I spoke Spanish. I answered, "si, un poquito", and then we had a lovely conversation in Spanish! I managed to communicate that we wanted hot wine, and soon we we relaxing with two warm mugs of deliciousness. As we left, we thanked each other, and said our goodbyes in Spanish!
We went back to our apartment to relax and warm up for a couple of hours. For dinner we had decided to eat at the nice Italian restaurant right here in our hotel--they have a wood-fired oven and the pizzas look delicious.
Interestingly, when we returned to our apartment this afternoon there was a note informing us this restaurant would be closed tomorrow, as they were filming an episode of "Top Chef"--cool! Of course, David wondered if Padma was going to be there!
It was very busy and lively at 7 pm, but we managed to get a table for two right away. I think if we'd waited another 5 minutes, we would have been out of luck!
David ordered a pizza-fresh buffalo mozzarella, salami picante and fresh basil--it was delicious. I ordered what I thought was ravioli in browned butter sage sauce, but I was surprised! It was actually raviolo--which means ONE ravioli. But, oh my--what a raviolo! It was about the size of half an orange, stuffed with house-made ricotta cheese with a (runny) egg yolk inside, It was served in the most wonderful browned butter, and the sage was fried crisp. It was heavenly! It was also so rich I couldn't quite finish it. Add a couple of glasses of great wine, merlot for David and a Sangiovese for me, and it was the perfect meal. Sorry to say--I forgot to take pictures!
We also shared a dessert; we had noticed almost everyone was having the same dessert-- a pudding like creation served in a small glass. I had actually read some reviews before we went down tonight, and everyone raved about this dessert--a rich custard topped with salted caramel and chocolate.
Our verdict? Just so-so. But the rest of the meal was so delicious that we didn't care!
And---the grand total for dinner in a fairly "swanky" restaurant: a pizza, an entree, two glasses of wine and dessert? Less than $30!! Dining in Poland is quite a bargain.
A quick elevator trip up 3 floors, and now we're relaxing and talking about our lazy day in Warsaw. It certainly wasn't an exciting day, but we enjoyed every minute of it!
Sadly, tomorrow is our last day of the trip, and I'M NOT READY TO GO HOME! Usually by this time in our month long trips, I'm exhausted and ready to go home, but for some reason this time I feel like I could go for another month!
But, all good things must come to an end............
Tomorrow in Warsaw: A market in the morning, and then a visit to The Warsaw Uprising Museum. And maybe a couple of stops for mulled wine along the way!
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