Day 11 - Tour Day 9 - Sat 13 July 2019 - Warsaw

Sunrise:         4:29am                                              Sunset:          8:52pm

I woke with the alarm this morning and by the time I showered and dressed, it was almost 7am, so I went down to breakfast.  A very light meal this morning. Mushrooms, crispy bacon, fried egg, OJ, coffee and a wholemeal bread roll.

 

Gates to the Palace

We boarded the bus to go out to Wilanow Palace and we arrived there shortly before 9am I think.  We did a fairly extensive tour of the gardens. Our local guide was really good today.  All our guides have been good but she was really good.

The history of the Wilanow Palace, a wonderful Baroque royal residence, began on April 23, 1677, when a village became the property of King John Sobieski III. At the beginning, the residence built there was small. Augustyn Locci, the king’s court architect, received the task of creating only a ground floor residence of a layout typical for the buildings of the Republic of Poland. However, military successes and an increase of the importance of royalty in the coming years had a huge influence on expanding the initial project. Huge construction works were conducted in the years 1677-1696. After completion, the building comprised of elements of a nobility house, an Italian garden villa and a French palace in the style of Louis XIV. After the death of the King, the Palace became the property of his sons, and in 1720, a run down property was purchased by one of the wealthiest women in Poland of those days – Elizabeth Sieniawska. In 1730, the Palace, for three years, was owned by king August II the Strong, who made considerable changes in the residence, particularly as far as the internal décor is concerned.

In the middle of 18th century, the Wilanów property was inherited by the daughter of Czartoryski, wife of a field marshal, Izabela Lubomirska, during whose reign, Wilanów started shining with its previous glory. Sixty nine years later, the Duchess gave Wilanów to her daughter and her husband, Stanislaw Kostka Potocki. Thanks to his efforts, one of the first museums in Poland was opened in the Wilanów Palace, in 1805.

First up we walked through the gardens and then we toured both wings of the main floor of the Palace. We were  able to see the royal apartments of the palace. Rooms where parties took place, chambers where the royal couples listened to music, met their friends and guests, and where they worked and rested. 

After the tour was completed, we walked back to the bus park. Greg had been back to the hotel to pick up the others who didn’t do the optional, so we were all on board to do the included city tour.

We visited the Chopin Monument in Łazienki Park and had our group photo taken there. 

Back on the bus and we drove past the Palace of Culture, visited the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes and then had a walk through the Old Town, which has been re-built since WWII.

After that we had free time until leaving for our farewell dinner at 6pm.

Neither Nicole or I were interested in souvenir shopping, so we found a coffee shop and sat inside having a coffee and a bite to eat. We then walked back to the hotel passing the tomb of the unknown soldier on the way there

and were back at the hotel by 3pm. 

The Westin, Warsaw. The central circular section  contains the 3 elevators with their street views.

I had a shower and washed my hair, then ran a bath, put a treatment in my hair and had a relaxing soak in the bath for half an hour or so.

After that, I dressed for dinner, sorted out some clothes for the next few days and then went downstairs to go to our celebration dinner.

The food was more than plentiful and delicious too. I think we were back at the hotel by 8:30.  A few of us had a glass of wine at the bar, said our farewells and I was back in my room by about 10pm.

Pretty much a free day all day tomorrow until 6:30pm, when I meet the new TD.  I’m not setting the alarm for tomorrow. 

Steps Walked                     11,502

Hotel: The Westin Warsaw, room 1813