After a big breakfast in the hotel restaurant , we met with Anya again around 11:00 a.m. to head out to see the sights. Outside, the air was cold and the blustery wind made us think we were in Ohio in December or January. Thinking I'd leave my hair down for warmth on my neck was a mistake. It was so staticy it ended up stuck all over my face when we went out in the wind! Kinda funny, I'm sure, for any observers out there :)
We travelled on the Metro again, and were we ever glad for the warmth in the station this day! It was amazing how empty the station was. Most people had the day off, so the crowd was much, much thinner than we had seen it any previous time. We travelled for a while on the Metro, changing trains several times. The Metro is color coded, making it much easier to get to where you are going- the trains on each color all go to the same place- you don't have to check the front of each tram to see if you are getting on the correct tram or not. Well, it's easier if you can read Russian to see which color you need to choose!! We were very thankful for Anya's assistance.
We went to Ismaylavo market- an open air market located outside the inner circle of Moscow. It was quite amazing, sort of like a permanent farmer's market on steroids :0) The booths were all made of wood and looked very permanent. We later went up into a flea market area.
There was everything one could possibly dream of here, and we only saw part of it! Jeans, tops, jackets, coats, furs, lace, handbags- just in the first few feet! There were several stands carrying all types of matruyska dolls- ranging from the original type with very simple features, all the way up to the number 24 car with Jeff Gordon- We even saw OSU- yes, Ohio State Football Matruyska dolls in the middle of Moscow, almost half way around the world!!!
Some of the dolls were so amazing! One had 30 dolls stacked within! It was almost a foot tall! We went into a t-shirt shop for a few minutes. Not to buy t-shirts, so much, as we wanted to thaw our noses :) The small shop was enclosed and heated. It was very cold and blustery outside. Reminded me of Ohio in Jan or Feb. They have temperatures very similar to ours normally, but they had an early cold snap just before we left. Anya, smiling at us, asked us if we had warmer jackets to bring back in Jan or Feb when we go back to get our son. We began thinking if we had anything warm enough :) Look out Cabela's- we may be storming the winter section soon :)
Some of the dolls were so amazing! One had 30 dolls stacked within! It was almost a foot tall! We went into a t-shirt shop for a few minutes. Not to buy t-shirts, so much, as we wanted to thaw our noses :) The small shop was enclosed and heated. It was very cold and blustery outside. Reminded me of Ohio in Jan or Feb. They have temperatures very similar to ours normally, but they had an early cold snap just before we left. Anya, smiling at us, asked us if we had warmer jackets to bring back in Jan or Feb when we go back to get our son. We began thinking if we had anything warm enough :) Look out Cabela's- we may be storming the winter section soon :)
Then we continued our unique experience seeing the flea market, Moscow style, in a separate building. There were a lot of vendors selling goods from clothing, food, used items to souvenirs. We walked through the pathways between each vendor, seeing a variety of things for sale. The area, much like the rest of Moscow, was very clean. No trash along the wayside. The vendors were, each, very friendly, either talking directly to us or through Anya, our guide/interpreter. Some folks had new things to offer, often items they had made themselves. Others had pieces of their lives they no longer had need of keeping.
After spending 2 or 3 hours at the market, we made our way back to the hotel via the Metro.
It was really too cold to do much more outside. When we got back to the hotel, Anya gave us our bill from Phillip for the Moscow part of our stay. After going up to the room to get the payment for her, we ended up sitting in the lobby and talking about our lives- us in Ohio and her in Moscow- for almost an hour. We went back up to our room, rested a little, watched our tape of our time with our son again and headed out for dinner.
We didn't feel quite comfortable venturing out too far for dinner, so we went to the restaurant at the hotel again. And, again, as with the first night's dinner, we spent almost 3 hours there. It is amazing to me, even now sitting here typing this how rushed all our meals in America are. We don't take the time to enjoy each other and the meal. It's rush, rush, rush, chew as fast as you can and swallow, finish up quickly and move onto the next thing. Why do we do that? Shouldn't we enjoy every moment we have with each other, not be continually striving toward the next thing to do? I think I'll start brewing a pot of tea after each meal. It was a great end to the dining experience. I've been thinking- we prepare the meal for hours and finish in 15 minutes- no wonder I like baking better- it's much more savored :)
We had Pelmeni again- that's the name for the Russian dumplings we had for dinner the night before. They were pretty good- Tim wants me to get the recipe- I think I'll see if Kroger's carries them :)
Not a whole lot happened today. We were pretty tired after all the fresh cold air and exercise, so we packed and went to bed, thinking about our travels home the next day.
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