We got Pete today! Everything went very well. He is now in his footie pj's, playing in the livingroom of the new apartment. He likes to throw things and we expect the neighbors to come and complain. I say let'em!
So today started with a bit of the unknown. Last evening once we had a few minutes to relax, we checked email, etc., and found that we had a problem with our apartment. We are moving to another apartment tomorrow at 7pm - fortunately our move will be short as we're only going a few doors down the street. If this is the only bump in the road - we'll take it! We are having lunch tomorrow with our agency contact & then coming back to finish packing everything up. Annoying cause we've been here for 2 weeks & only have 1 week left - but whatever. So after that was all sorted out we decided to pick up the pieces from our weekend plans & we hoofed it to the Artillery Museum. Let me say, that after walking over there, through the museum itself, and back to the apartment - our long walks our over. It was the furthest we walked yet & we should've taken a cab - of course - when we wanted one we couldnt get one. But the museum itself was pretty awesome. If you ever find your way to St. Petersburg - it's worth a stop. Among the displays there were items from the 15th century through the 20th century, a display honoring Kalishnikov & the AK47, and they had the actual armored car that Lenin took from Finland Station to celebrate their triumph. And you can climb on tanks outside. Yesterday was spent with Little A. The baby house staff was apparently busy in their own world as they made us wait over 40 minutes to see him. Needless to say - we were all starting to get impatient. It wasn't until one of the higher up staff members walked by for the 2nd time & got irritated about it herself that we finally got to see him. So we stayed later & then missed out on our dinner with friends. But during our visit - he taught us how to dance : ) though it looked more like a presidential wave! Fortunately - we only have to go to the baby house 2 more times!!!
And today is Thursday - our day off. We went for a walk this morning through the Decembrists Square & the Alexansdrovsky Gardens - and here it is 2:23pm and the bride count is up to 4. But back to yesterday - after our baby house visit - we also had to pay a visit to the local Okeh supermarket (similar in style to WalMart except that in the middle of it there's slabs of fresh fish just like at Wholey's in the strip. Stinky.) Among many other things, we were out of paper towels. Apparently they are not known as paper towels here.... and the dictionary didn't have them in it either... so be creative & explain a paper towel.... "it's like toilet paper for the kitchen," says Jim. And Wha-la! Everyone knows what a paper towel is! The past couple days have been very busy & a day off is coming very soon. Our feet just can't quite keep up with everything to see & do here! Sunday - went to lunch & visited the Russian Museum. We spent over 3 hrs in the museum seeing icons, paintings, statues & folk art pieces. We also decided since we were still up - to venture out when they raised the bridges at 1:30am. A beautiful sight to see! Monday - visited Little A. Another good day with him & it was so nice we got to take him outside to the playground. Later that evening - we met up with another family who is adopting as well. We went for dinner that turned out to be the worst food ever & we all resigned to never eat there again. Then we decided to get together again Wed evening before they head back. Tuesday - Only one thing today - Peterhof. This place is so huge, there is no way possible to see everything here in one day, so it just means that we have to come back! We never went into the Grand Palace only walked the grounds & were there over 4 hrs! Needless to say we were exhausted when we left, but here's a few pics & a short video of what we saw today : ) (Peterhof was the home of Peter I the Great & was made to show the world how rich Russia was. Over 400 fountains of different shapes & sizes decorate the grounds.) As for Wednesday - back to visit Little A. A request from the caregivers there that we bring them diapers & wipes, so we are. And Thursday - nothing! We are taking the day off! Phew!
Things we saw today...
1. The metro. 2. Alexander Nevsky Monastery 3. The 18th Century Necropolis (the Lazarevskoye Cemetery) 4. Kazan Cathedral 5. View from St. Isaac's Cathedral Colonnade 6. Eight brides & at 10pm - the night is still young. OK - so we thought it was time to make a commentary about the funny observations we have made here.
1. People don't know what personal space is. Not only do they dart right out in front of you while you're walking, but they stand right on top of you while you're looking at something, waiting in line, etc. 2. They get married as often as we get showers. Today we saw 5 brides. 3. Murses. Enough said. 4. Voice overs on TV. Like watching King Kong on Fox. Check back tomorrow for total bride count. Saturday ought to be huge! PS - we saw Little A today & he was a ton of fun. Only 4 more baby house visits left.... Today is Thursday, but this blog is dated kinda screwy so I thought we'd better say that. Yesterday we got to visit Little A & he left the baby house for the first time to get his passport photo taken. A short trip but he was in awe the entire time. We had some other errands to run & that was pretty much the entire day. We did finally get to the restaurant with the good pies - and they werent kidding. They were awesome & we will definitely be back. Short of that we went for a walk as we do everyday & seen some of the sights nearby. Enjoy the pictures... We are very excited to say that we have passed our court hearing! The whole thing lasted about a half an hour, but it was very intense. We will be able to pick him up at the baby house on the 29th. We will be able to visit him every other day this week & next, but only 1 time per day. The rest of our time - we will be seeing the city sights. So now we can relax & enjoy our time here with Little A and the rest of St. Petersburg. We will be venturing out here shortly to try & get a canal cruise. A very popular thing to do here & there are many ships to choose from - though we will be taking one right outside our front door if we can. Here's a few photos we've picked up along our path... The day started at 7:30am & we immediately hit the snooze button. Then we got up got ready & hurried out the door. We had our medicals done which was not only easy but fast! The Dr & his staff were very nice & the facility was too. Only bad part was that it was clear on the other side of town, so we had to venture off quite far & then it was a long ride back in. But the best part was that there is very little traffic! Apparently it is high vacation time for the city residents, there are no students yet & the White Nights are almost over. Actually it's just on the brink of getting dark now - at 9:49pm. After we got back in town from our medicals - it was time to visit Little A for the first time. Our meeting went similar to the first time - he was a little shy & must've forgotten us. Understandable since we haven't seen him in some 10 weeks! We got to spend about an hour with him & then it was time to go. We had lunch, went to the apartment rental office & got our visas registered, and then it was finally time to go home. Where we then did some laundry & collapsed. After a brief nap, we ventured out to see the Summer Gardens, the Field of Mars & if we had energy still - pictures in front of the Bronze Horseman. Well - we had the best laid plan. We saw the Field of Mars, no prob, but the Summer Garden is completely under construction & you cannot get in at all! We walked the entire length of it along the outside canal, but never got in. The statues are all covered & the entire thing is surrounded by high fencing. By the time we got back to the area where our apartment is we were so exhausted from the long walk - we didn't make it to the Bronze Horseman. We at in a nice little bar around the corner (because the restaurant we wanted to eat in was out of pies, we had to keep going), then back to the prodykti to pick up some groceries, and finally - here we are. Done for the day & ready to rest before court tomorrow. We will be leaving the apartment at 11:45a, and our appointment for court is at 1:30p. Everyone seems to think it will go well, with no problems, so keep your fingers crossed we have no hitches. We will post again tomorrow. Until then..
|