Yep, that's right. We played soccer. :D
Steve was especially happy because we haven't played soccer all trip long and he needed to get his soccer fix.
Parents, don't get upset with me when I mention that I played too.
It was a small 7v7 game with a mini-ball, most people were barefoot (except some jerk who showed up with cleats and didn't take them off when he saw everyone else was barefoot, as courtesy would dictate >:( ), and the rule was that only girls could score, which is mostly why I decided to play, despite my lack of intact ligaments in my knee. I mostly just hobbled around and took shots only with my left foot. But for some reason everyone found my soccer-playing abilities impressive because I could actually kick the ball... Pretty much ALL the other girls could not play soccer since, as I've told you before, girls here don't play sports. I did, however, score the first goal of the game, and we (we being CS Rest of the World, with players from USA, Bolivia, Switzerland, Belarus, Russia, Pakistan, and PHILIPPINES!) won the game 4-3, despite the CS ambassador referee's very obvious home-cookin'. Steve kept getting asked to sub out because he was way too good and two of our goals didn't count because they were supposedly too high. But still, we conquered! Steve took a video during one of his substitutions. You can see it here if you want to get a better idea of how ridiculous this game was. You can't really tell, but I'm the one in the multi-colored dress (which I wore in an attempt to keep myself from playing, but my plan backfired because half the girls were playing in dresses) with a bandana thing tied around my head trotting around doing nothing. :P
That evening was, of course, THE EURO2012 FINAL!!! Spain v Italy! AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!
Rather than going to the fan zone, Steve and I decided to watch the game over dinner and drinks at a restaurant called Sense, in Old Town Warsaw. And for dinner, on our last night in Warszawa, Steve had a burger and a mint julep. What a silly - so American. :) (Though I really have no room to talk, as I ordered stir-fry....)
Can I just say that the EURO2012 final was a bit difficult to watch. I am very happy that Espana came out on top. They played fantastic in the final, best they've played all tournament. But I was so embarrassed for Italy, who played so well this tournament up until this last game, where they lost 4-0. FOUR-NIL IN THE FINAL??? what a disaster. The British people next to us were completely silent, after they had been going on and on about how they wanted Italy to win because they didn't think Spain deserved it. The game was so one-sided that at a certain point, Steve and I weren't even watching it - we were instead discussing who we would have on our fantasy teams based on how certain players played in EURO2012 and flirting with the cute bartender, who poured us many a free sample of the house-infused vodkas, which included a cayenne chili vodka that nearly burned my mouth off when I tasted it.
Our conversation with Magda (the bartender) was much more entertaining than the game. We talked our lives, compared USA to Poland to the rest of Europe, discussed the strange characters in the Polish language.... We were apparently so cool that Magda wanted to hang out with us after she got off work, but as she had to close down the restaurant at midnight and we had an early train to catch, things just didn't work out. So sad :( but now we have another local friend to hang out with next time we're in Warsaw! Which would hopefully be in the near-ish future because both Steve and I have fallen in love with the city. It is a beautiful place, so full of people who love it and are happy to be there, full of pride in their Polish culture, full of everything you could wish for in a city: parks, restaurants, a river, cobblestone streets, history, nice people.... It has definitely exceeded my expectations and I am very glad we came to visit this wonderful place. Poland tourism websites all say that if you are going to Poland, Krakow is the place to go. Well, we will see about that when we go to Krakow in a few days. I think Warszawa will be hard to top.
We will miss you terribly, dearest Warszawa. Hope to see you again soon.
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