Sorry for not posting yesterday (Sunday). We, along with Monica, had dinner with Andy and Kathy, who arrived here yesterday afternoon for their first trip. We talked and laughed until after 11 o’clock, so it was too late to post anything. We had a really nice time though. It’s great to share this adventure with others who are going through the same thing.
Earlier in the day we walked for about four hours with Monica. One of our stops was at the souvenir shop near the Kremlin that Jamie recommended. We bought a little Astrakhan plate and a few other little things. We also did some other shopping to look for a jacket for me, but I couldn’t find anything that I liked at a price I was willing to pay. The highs have been in the mid-60s, which doesn’t seem that cold, but it’s been much cooler in the evenings. We walk pretty much everywhere we go, so I’ve got to find some kind of jacket. In Moscow, it’s been highs in the low 50s. I’m really going to need something then. I know jackets will be much more expensive there!
Today (Monday) we all met for breakfast here at the hotel. Andy and Kathy had to leave at 10:00 a.m. for their appointment at the Ministry of Education. Monica, Greg, and I went for a walk. Surprise! We walked to the Kremlin. Monica hadn’t had a chance to go inside any of the buildings. Greg got some good pictures today, because it wasn’t cloudy like our last visit. The wind is still unbelievable! It makes walking and enjoying things almost impossible. Tomorrow is supposed to be the last day of these big winds!
We left for our visit at about 2:30 p.m. It was a little shorter today. Traffic was pretty heavy trying to get there, so it slowed us down. Our visit was great though! We took a lot more pictures. We are counting down! Since it’s 11:00 p.m. now, that means only six more days until she’s ours forever!
We all met up for dinner. We chose San Pizza. Because there are five of us now, we took two taxis to get there. We had a nice meal with a lot of chatting!
We found out about our phone bill today! Ouch! I’ve called home to my parents three times because of our paperwork dilemmas. The charge is about $2.00 a minute. So we’re going to try to buy some phone cards here to see if they will work. The ones we bought at home worked in Moscow, but are not working here at the Korvet.
That’s about all for today!
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2 comments:
Hi this is your mother!! We are getting a dish tomorrow and internet on Wednesday- believe it or not.Yesterday in church I announced durning joys and concerns that your adoption was approved and the congregation all clapped. They have all been so supportive. Love and miss you, Your Mom.
Kyley and Greg, so happy to hear you found the gift shop. Since you have so much time on your hands and I am sure looking for things to do, I will offer a few other suggestions. We were lucky to be in Astrakhan during Victory Day in May 2007. One of the families there was with CHI, and their interpreters, Lena and Sasha, gave the 3 foreign families in Astrakhan a grand tour all day. It was my first full day with my 12 month old, but I was so thankful for getting oriented to Astrakhan, as I had been desparately disoriented and had not had a chance to walk that much. On Victory Day, they brought us in to the World War II museam. It was only a few dollars each, and I found it quite interesting, and good enough for about 1.5 to 2 hours. It is located in the area where the tomb of the unknown soldier is (Eternal flame) This is the park area directly across from the Kremlin entrance. If you travel to the end of that park to where the shopping district starts, the museam is located on your left a few "row house" buildings from the end.
Also, I was told there was an indoor arboretum near the area between where the courthouse is located, and that toy store that you never found. Might be worth asking your interpreter about.
Finally, there is a really unique gift shop directly across the street from the Krem cafe and a few "row house" buildings away from the water. It looks kind of run down from the outside if I remember. They had hand made wood carvings of all types. I got a beautiful large wooden container that has Astrakhan carved into it with some matching mugs. Worth a look if you like that kind of stuff. Good luck, and hope the weather improves for
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