I haven't been to bed yet!

Friday was a very, very long day!  Because really... it hasn't ended yet for me!

I spent the day at Bancroft with most of you before my adventure began.  (Could you tell I was excited all morning for what was to come?!)  I immediately left Bancroft and drove home so I could drop off my car and get my suitcase and my mom since she was going to drive me to the airport.  My grandmother came alone for the ride.  Here's a picture of Nan and I at my house right before we left!

I met my group of fellow traveler’s at Logan Airport’s Terminal E, my favorite terminal because it means you are going to an international destination!   I said good bye to my mom and headed through security with my 20 fellow travelers.  (Yes, there are 21 of us in total!  That’s a lot!)  Unfortunately, we had quite a bit of time to wait before our flight left.  But that was okay because it gave us a chance to talk and get to know each other.

While we were waiting for the flight, my name was called over the intercom… I needed to check in at the desk right away.  I know the flight was over booked, so I was nervous they were going to tell me there wasn’t any room for me on the plane!  But it was way better than that… I was upgraded to Business Class!  Oh my goodness… I was SO beyond excited!  There were about 6 of us who were upgraded… the rest of the group wasn’t very happy with us!

Here I am with my upgraded boarding pass!  Yahoo!!

Finally, it was time to board the plane and for me to see what exactly Business Class is all about.    I found my seat and settled in for the long flight to Frankfurt, Germany.  The chair was like a space chair… it was so cool!!  I had 3 courses of food, and while I enjoyed my food I got to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows!  After I was done eating I was able to stretch out and lie down flat and settle in for the night.  Let me tell you, sleeping flat, laying flat, on a plane is amazing!

Here I am sitting in my new fancy seat!  You should have seen it recline!

A perk of getting upgraded is alllll the different foods I got to eat... just look at this!

And Miss Russo... if you're reading this, this one's for you!  I know I was sad I wasn't able to get the new Harry Potter DVD before going the airport... but look at what I was able to watch while enjoying my dinner!

After we finished eating I was able to lay down, and I think I dozed for maybe an hour or a little more... but it wasn't a very good sleep.  I was comfy though, being able to lay down!

We had a layover in Germany, before continuing on to Warsaw, Poland.  FINALLY!  After almost 9 hours in the air we had finally arrived at our destination, Warsaw, the capital city of Poland.   In the picture below you can see how far I just traveled by the red line.

This, I hate to say, was the easy part.  The hard part is now adjusting to the new time zone.  When I left Boston it was 5:00 Friday.  When we arrived in Poland it was 9:00 in the morning on Saturday!!  Now the challenge all day was to stay awake, after not much sleep on the plane, all day!!  Luckily, I had a great distraction and that was the city of Warsaw!  Right now it's 10:00pm... and I can't wait to go to sleep!

Today was a free day, there was nothing official planned for us to do, and so we could roam and discover the city of Warsaw on our own.  During World War II most of the city of Warsaw was completely destroyed.  Some of the city looks very modern, and other parts were completely rebuilt using old photographs and postcards.  When you think about it, it’s pretty cool!

We started out as a group of 21, but it's to difficult to get around with that many people so we broke into small groups.  Some of us found a gorgeous place to have lunch outside... it was SO YUMMY!  We shared an appetizer of 3 different kinds of ... well right now I forget what they are called!!  But I'll remember and put it here, but they were yummy!

Then I had baked potato's and chicken stuffed with feta and dried tomato's.  It was SO good!

Here's where we actually ate... it was a PERFECT location, with all the gorgeous buildings to look at:

We spent the rest of the day "getting lost" and not looking at our maps for almost 2 hours walking around.  (Rosamaria, aren't you so proud... NO map!!!!!  We got LOST!)  But getting lost was great... here are some of the beautiful places we discovered...

And we walked some more and saw...

No remember this... the areas in all of the pictures above were COMPLETELY destroyed by the Nazi's during WWII.  It was all rebuilt using old post cards and pictures.  I got some post cards that has pictures of it destroyed, then today rebuilt.  I'll bring them into school to show you!  I also bought a book today that has a ton of great pictures about it, too!


Since next weekend is Easter, we also found an Easter Fair!  There were lots of interesting things there...  (I didn't buy anything, though!)

I'm not sure how I would feel about buying meat at this market... but all the Poles seemed to be doing it!


Now to my favorite discovery about Warsaw... they seem to have a very healthy obsession with ice cream!  The small stands are everywhere!  So all day we were waiting and waiting to get one.. and then we finally did!  It had a different flavor and consistency than what we're used to at home... but it was still yummy!  (And it comes in a silly shape!)

Tomorrow, after our tour of the city, we plan on going to the top of this building, the Palace of Culture and Science... I should be able to take some great pictures from there! 

Now that I'm finally back in my hotel room, showered and in bed, the last 2 days is finally catching up with me.  I am SO tired and cannot wait to shut the computer down and go to sleep!  Thanks for sharing my first day with me!!!

Good night!!

:-)

p.s. if you click on the pictures, they'll open in another window larger!