Back to the US of A

We have flown in and out of Moscow 4 times now, and we have seen more in the last two days than ever. Last night we took a taxi to the largest tourist trap in Moscow. The street is called Old Arbat street and it is where American Baby Boomers are dropped, by the bus load, to boost the Russian economy. Old Arbat street is where you will find matroshka dolls (nesting dolls) on every corner and large packs of retired Americans, talking loudly with confused looks on thier faces. Several ladies stopped to talk with Lilia. The street is closed to traffic and is actually a lot of fun. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe to eat a big American style meal. Instead we sat, and sat, and waited. "Can we have menus?" we finally asked the waitress. Then we waited and waited some more. Then we left. Walking the streets we found a cafeteria style restaurant called Moo Moo's. We ate there, and then decided to walk back to our hotel. Using a big, touristy map from the hotel, the kind with big cartoon depictions of monuments, I decided to navigate us through the complicated streets of Moscow. We walked for an hour. No, we did not get lost, but I was often saying things like, "Is that the big building with the star on it?"

Today we went with a tour guide and toured Moscow. I can't tell you how neat it was to stand in the center of Red Square and take pictures of St.Basil's Cathedral. We walked through "Goom", the largest shopping area, very uppity and expensive. We saw amazing, historical buildings, and wonderful replicas of "historical" buildings, which the USSR tore down during it's reign and the Russian Federation rebuilt in the mid 90s. We were very overloaded with info, info that will hit us when we have more time to process it all. From the campus of Moscow State University (which sits on a hill above Moscow) we got a wounderful view of the city. MCCM, we also purchased a hockey jersey. We then went to the US embassy and got our final documents for re-entry to the US. We now have Lilia's Russian passport, birth certificate and more proof that she is a true Cope.

The package sent by SG to us in Astrakhan (almost 3 weeks ago) finally arrived yesterday. Unfortunately, we were not in Astrakhan to sign for it (they would not let the other american couple sign for it). So, the post office will hold the package for a few days and then return to sender! So, Sis, look for it in the mail in about . . . 3 weeks! It's the thought that counts.

We now prepare for our trip home. Sbarro's pizza was our last Russian meal! Doesn't make sense, does it? We leave for the airport at 9:00am and take off at 1:10pm. "Meet me in St. Louey".