We went to a little TGIF party at the apartment of the Principal of the Elementary School. He invited all the elementary teachers and staff to come over to unwind and it was a loud party. It is funny to see how quickly these teachers have become a team and how much they seem to enjoy one another’s company. We had a good time talking with everyone and stayed for about an hour before coming home for dinner.
I had made a lot of stuff for Cindy to eat while I was gone but she didn’t eat much of anything so I had to use up what was left. (I ate a lot and it was all delicious – he just left a bit too much!) The obvious answer was soup, so I made a rich chicken soup with lots of veggies. I cooked the rice in a separate pan and then when everything was ready just spooned some of the rice into a bowl and covered it with chicken soup. Cindy had made a great salad the night before that we didn’t get to so we started with that and some dense, moist, thickly crusted brown bread.
This morning was another beauty and we went out for a run at about 9 am. I had decided that if I could run so much at the airport, I should try to get back into running again. Cindy took off like a flash and I was more of an afterglow, but I managed to run for a total of about ten minutes, not consecutively, but not bad for day one. I must say the legs are holding out but the breath control is shot to heck. Walking is great but it doesn’t do much for the breathing. I’ve a long ways to go, but I’ll get there.
We ended with espresso at our local café, where we can also pick up a free copy of the weekend English language newspaper, which always has interesting articles, and reviews of cultural events and restaurants. One of the exciting things about getting rid of Mayor Yuri is that now everyone is turning against him and especially his taste in art. He was quite close to a sculptor who did lots of commissions for the City of Moscow, most of which have been universally despised by the citizens. They are now thinking of getting rid of most of his work. Here is a funny article on the subject: http://www.mn.ru/local/20101007/188107997.html
After breakfast we made plans for a long walk in the city. I had noticed a really lovely church on one of my wanderings but didn’t head over to it, saving it instead for a time when Cindy could come. We wandered down the main drag towards the Kremlin and then went under the street to some side roads that lead to the church. It has five spires of white and blue, topped with gold leaf onion domes, very Bavarian. It was a modest church with a lovely garden and we enjoyed being the only ones in there.
We next headed for the Hermitage Gardens - set on the grounds that house the New Opera and several other theaters - including an outdoors theater. We knew we were near the gardens when we saw all the limos decorated with flowers lining the street. It is a tradition to go to as many of six or eight particularly beautiful places in Moscow, with your entire wedding party and guests accompanying you, to have photos taken. There were at least four wedding parties wandering around the grounds posing everywhere. It was a perfect day with lots of sunshine and lots of great color. I’ll post some photos of the gardens online. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Hermitage_Garden
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| Victor Hugo in Moscow |
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| Garden Walk |
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| Heart Wind Chime in a Heart Garden |
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| Victor again |
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| Garden Cafe |
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| Garden Fountains |
After that we just walked and walked and walked on back streets having a ball finding little things of architectural interest, or little restaurants, shops and theaters tucked away on side streets. We finally got home and realized we had been walking for three hours. It was grand.
Tonight we have been invited to see our favorite version of Romero and Juliet (Prokofiev), at the Bolshoi no less! We are so excited and can’t wait to see what they have done to the Bolshoi during the three-year renovation. It only opened a month ago. Here is one of the best bits with the incomparable Nureyev. The Sharks and the Jets it ain’t!
Lots of details tomorrow, Cindy and Wm
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