Yesterday wasn't too great- nothing was open, so there wasn't a lot to do. Slept in too long in a really warm and stuffy apartment, woke up to the sounds of protesters marching around. Wanted milk for cereal, but no groceries were open. Ended up just vacuuming the living room for a while and doing a load of laundry. Vacuuming here takes *forever* because the canister vac requires you to bend over a lot to really use it, and you have to work at the rug for a while until the dirt comes up. Not good for my back, so I've been waiting until the rug *really* needs it to vacuum. Back home, I'd routinely vacuum everything about once a week.

Eventually wandered out and saw a movie (New In Town). Not too bad, kinda cute- I do like Harry Connick, Jr. And Minnesota accents are something else!

Came back, had some coffee in w Biegu, chatted online for a bit but unfairly took out my grumpiness and boredom on my mom and best friend. Eventually decided that yesterday was *done* and just went to bed.


Woke up a bit earlier today, got milk before the stores closed at 2, then just wandered out. Everyone's begging me for photos now, so I have to do something about it. Decided to start at the soccer stadium and just go from there. Of course, the batteries decided to die after about only five photos, so I made a detour into Old Town for more.

Spent about 2 hours slowly wandering through the old town, taking photos, getting sun, watching the tourists. Saw four separate weddings happening in those two hours, within only about four blocks. I guess it's wedding season, especially in this quaint area of the city. There were tons of people out and about, mostly tourists. This entire area changes when the weather turns sunny. Patios with umbrellas and extra outdoor seating appear from nowhere and the squares fill with small tables and stalls selling absolutely everything- jewelry, scarves, kitschy souvenirs, paintings, wood carvings, etc. In the wintertime, re-enactors practice their swordplay on the fortress walls- today, a vendor selling "traditional Polish folk carving" occupies those niches. It feels a bit like the beginning of "Notting Hill" where Will is describing the change in his otherwise-normal part of London. Two totally different neighborhoods, depending on the season.

I got some soft ice cream and ate it on a sunny bench, watching the tourists eat their overpriced lunches. I discovered a literary museum that's open every day except Saturday, so I'll return to that later. Found a Dom Kultury that I *think* hosts theater, poetry and music clubs- took a booklet, will work on translating it further at home. Heard "Besame Mucho" about five times as I walked around- that seems to be THE favorite song to play here for some reason.

Turned the corner and found a breakdancing performance in process at the base of one of the statues in the square by the castle. There were about 6 young teenagers totally rocking out to some older-sounding hip-hop, and they were actually pretty good. It was cute to watch them for a while- how did that craze ever start in the first place, anyway?

Didn't have the attention span for a tour of the royal castle today, so instead, I paid 4 zloty to go up to a Viewing Terrace. It's right next to St. Anna's church, and from the top, you can see absolutely *everything*. It stayed up there for a quite a while, just enjoying the view and fresh air. It's a good spot to know about, I think.

Decided to have a late lunch/early dinner when I came down from the tower and had pizza at the restaurant right next to the church. Tastiest pizza I've had in Warsaw so far, and all the proceeds go to support this Catholic foundation that helps the poor, takes kids on cultural outings, runs orphanages, etc. Also a good place to know about!

Kept wandering down Krakowskie Przedmiescie, (and spotted three more weddings!), I discovered that there was some sort of local farmers' market happening. I noticed bread, pickles, honey, beer, cream, meat, sausage and sweets, as well as a variety of artistic creations. Everything looked really yummy, though I just browsed today. Maybe next time I'll get something. But I've already got bread, milk and beer at home and it's not good to start collecting food. I did find a cute gift for a friend, though, and something that looked like round rice krispie treats made of puffed brown rice.

After that, I looked at an open-air photo exhibit that will be up through the end of May, called Warszawa z Wysoka (Warsaw from Above). An historian had discovered a cache of aerial photos from WWII in the NARA 2 facilities at College Park MD, and done some research. With grants, the photos have been reproduced and hang on silk screens in the middle of a park. It's pretty grim subject matter- everything was totally destroyed in the war, and the Nazis were
very systematic about it. I recognized most of the areas depicted and even found my building on a couple. Warsaw looked a lot different back then!

Felt the need to wash my hands after a long day of wandering around, so I'm now in Costa Coffee, drinking a huge bowl of Americano. I like this cafe- it has good coffee, comfy chairs and couches, and good music.