The week that school let out, my mom and dad journeyed to Moscow. They journeyed there fully reliant on me to guide them along. That's easier said than done. Between trying to stop my dad from getting lost as he raced down the metro escalators, hunting down better walking shoes and certain hair products for my mom, and trying to explain that the cheese is not cheese...it's butter...it was quite an exhausting task. But fun and adventurous nonetheless.
...there he is...wandering off on his own. Breaking rule number 11. I couldn't find a leash for him that week.
.... thats better....
...and finally! Almost perfect! It only took the whole week!
We spent the day with Anton (the little boy I tutored in English all year) and his wonderful mom.
And now:
The Lenin mausoleum.
During that week I was able to act as a tourist myself in Moscow!
Anyone who really knows Mr. and Mrs. Wagner, knows how important it was that I made a list of rules and regulations for their stay. Some of the rules included, but were not limited to:
1. Outbursts of any kind will result in dismissal from the day's activities.
2. Do not talk to strangers.
3. Do not open your wallet for every homeless beggar and street performer....mom.
4. Do not expect Gina to be fluent in Russian. She is still laughed at with her barbaric structuring of Russian sentences.
5. Do not convert rubles to dollars. You'll have a panic attack at how expensive things can be.
6. Specify that you want water without gas. In Russian.
7. Try new food, you won't die.
8. Use your inside voice outside.
9. Know the location of your valuables at every given moment.
10. You are a guest in Russia. You are representing moms and dads of America. I expect you to be on your very best behavior. Leave everything in Russia the way you found it.
11. Do not wander off on your own. You'll be lost forever without your most trusted guide, Gina.
12. Roll with the punches and expect mishaps. We're in Russia, baby.
....yes, some rules were broken. Dad had trouble with numbers 5 and 11, and mom couldn't handle number 7. No one abided by rule number 8.
Here are a few photos from their trip:
Christ the Savior Cathedral. This is a fairly new cathedral. During Soviet times...there was a swimming pool in this very location!
Mom and dad gawking at the kremlin from a distance.
Novodevichy monastery:
I tried to get a nice looking photo taken with my dad. Here are a few attempts:
...let's try again, maybe further away...
...eh, how about another day...
...nope, still not there...
...almost...
... not the best father-daughter backdrop for a photo shoot....
...oooooook we took three steps back...
...and finally! Almost perfect! It only took the whole week!
Mom wasn't AS confused at what to do when the camera was snapping a picture.
So here is just another hodge-podge of photos from the week:
Dad inside the Kremlin walls:
Cathedral Square in the Kremlin:
He caught on early that my parents are suckers. They got stuck playing Rock Paper Scissors, and "one two three, JUMP" with him for quite some time.
Tsar's cannon, and tsar's bell:
Cosmonaut alley, and the all Russian exhibition center/ VDNX park:
Dad with the bust of Yuri Gagarin, first man in space. Dad was like a kid in Disney world who just spotted Mickey Mouse. "Oooooo! Gina, look! Take my picture, take my picture! Quick!!!"
We journeyed on this Ferris wheel to get this view:
Another monastery:
St. Basil's Cathedral, and Red Square:
I looked up so much, that I fell backwards:
...both of them broke rule number 11 in st. Basil's. Lost them for a bit inside.
Moscow state history museum.
Red Square in maybe the 1920s....
Tomb of the unknown soldier
Old photo of the Bolshoi theatre...
New photo of the Bolshoi theatre...
River boat dinner cruise:
The architects for this statue here tried giving it to America...saying it was Christopher Columbus. America didn't want it. So they gave it to Russia saying it is Peter the Great!
Luzhniki Olympic complex
My dad wanted his picture taken too...and was fast to exclaim: "Quick! Now take MY picture with Dudley!"
I took my parents to the market:
When I lost my dad, I found him playing with this astronaut:
We spent our last day wandering around victory park:
Here are some miscellaneous leftover photos:
...and that concludes Mr. And Mrs. Wagner's trip to Moscow!
-Gina
