I left Warsaw with a little sparkly stud in my nose.

It’s probably the most impulsive (my parents might say silly) thing I’ve done this year, and seems a little cliché (young girl lives in Europe for the first time, comes home with a tattoo/piercing/handsome foreigner?)– but I think I kind of like it. In any case, it can always come out.Aside from getting our noses pierced, we filled our days exploring Warsaw. Kaitlin was an amazing guide– taking me to places not mentioned in any guidebooks and filling me in on the city’s long, and sometimes tragic, history. We saw art (this being my favourite exhibit), and neon signs, and peacocks.We went rowing, played boules at a French wine bar, drank vodka with herrings, ate at an old Milk Bar, and sat by the river for long chats. We went on the hunt for ancient royal weavings (and found them!), listened to beautiful Chopin piano in the park, and hipster-watched. We learned about the uprising, explored Stare Miasto, the reconstructed old town, and then Praga, the rough, eclectic, up-and-coming side of Warsaw on the other side of the Vistula.I am so glad that I got to see where Kaitlin has been living for the past semester, meet her Polish “grandparents”, and have such a great guide with me! We did all that exploring, but mostly it was great to catch up and just hang out together. And then, just before I rushed off to the train, we got our noses pierced together. Maybe next time we’ll just stick with friendship bracelets?!
Dziękuję, Kaitlin! xox