Miss World takes over Warsaw

The Miss World pageant is being held in Warsaw on September 30, but the contestants arrived a couple of days ago, and the entire city has Miss World fever!



We saw the South American contestants on their guided tour of Warsaw's Old Town. Surrounded by cameramen, paparazzi, and young boys taking photos with their mobile phones (not that we were any better... we elbowed our way into the crowd to check out the girls too!). They were stumbling over cobbled walkways in their stilettos, and flashing cheesy Miss World smiles to anyone who called out their names.. "Brazil, over here!", "I love you Columbia!".

Warsaw is much more beautiful than we expected. Something like 90% of the city was destroyed in WWII, but they have rebuilt the entire old town exactly as it was before the war, as well as many other important buildings.



We also explored the area that used to be the Warsaw ghetto. Part of the old ghetto wall is still standing today. The history of Warsaw is really upsetting, but the people here seem genuinely pleased that tourists are coming to their city to learn about it.