Foresta Festival Hotel Moscow

... my phone getting footy updates and Tom read his book. Line marking here is merely a suggestion to the drivers, road signs are ignored and it is every man for himself!

We passed hundreds of decrepid multi storey buildings... looked like they were falling down, can't imagine living in them. Makes us thankful for our beautiful cottage!!!

When we arrived at our 4,300 room hotel complex (small family run affair LOL), we met Olga, our guide who lives ...

... The
emotions are time after time in of mastery and people seek avenues. The
weak-minded rip off to drugs as a possible avenue. Continuous turn to
account lessens the lifespan. The man is struck I his regularly habits
and all big things in entity take secondary positions. The majority
feels hugely awkward. The digestion, urine the bounce; all are harmed,
and the universe is not what it should have been ...

Russia is a beautiful and fascinating country, with amazing palaces and buildings, beautiful women, incredible history and now lots of cash and glitz on display. We didn't get very far in Moscow without seeing a strech limo (or hummer) containing graduands/brides/drunken girls and the rest of the traffic was predominantly black SUVs. However amazing the country is, the officials make independent travel a nightmare. Firstly the visa acquisition process ...

... Christmas thing (but quietly lol). John and Denis made us feel very welcome in their coupe and wouldn't let us have an empty glass for one second. I went down to see the two stewardesses after midnight and gave them a vodka each. They were both laughing about the Russian lady. They are both quite nice when they warm up a bit, they just seemed frosty when we first got on. I went down again later and ...

... We took the metro to its furthest point and then got the bus from there. The bus was meant to take 20-40min, but actually ended up taking about 80mins. Then, as if the day had not been long enough, we crossed some time zones on our way to Poland and the day was lengthened by another 2 hours!! Don't you just hate that? Finally at 10.55pm Polish time, we arrived in Krakow, and very sensibly got a taxi to our hotel for a long recovery sleep.

... train from St Petersburg we arranged to meet at the Pushkin Cafe in Moscow at 9pm. It took me 1 Russian man and over 45 minutes to find it as the guide booked proved to be so confusing that I was looking at the wrong side of the boulevard. Honestly! Finally when I got there, Anna was nowhere to be found. The only concerning thought was that as a result I was stranded with the company of the Russian man who joined me in my Odyssey in finding the cafe. He was ...

So...there I was, creating my blog, without actually writing an entry. A small mistake. As some of you may know, I (in true consumptive form) went down with the Ruski lurgy on about Day 3. Resulting in some very unsavoury toncils and a trip to the medical centre- where I was prescribed lots of exciting remedies, including 2 nasal sprays (one for each nostril?) anti-biotics, and a mouthwash usually given to people with sexual transmitted diseases. As the doctor happily told me. I was a ...

... in full view of the world on a stolen aeroflot blanket. After six fun-filled hours it was time to go. I was crammed into a window seat but mercilfully I was able to sleep. The trick is to use your tray as the base for a pillow with the stolen blanket under your head. Next stop Delhi.

... Oksmanneihin. Pietari oli paikallaan. Mainio kaupunkin, jota Olli hammasteli ensimmaista ja Lari neljatta kertaa. Ensimmaiset nahtavyydet nahtya tulikin jo ostaa lippua kohti entisen sosialistitasavallan kehtoa elikkas Moskovaa, seka saada byrokraateille tointa viisumien rekisteroimiseksi. Launtai-iltana tie kavi hammastelemaan Suomen ihmetta Don Johnson Big Bandia, seka paria muuta artistia ...

... the ground into the bog it was before the previous winter came. The trains are great. Some say dirty and not at all comfortable. Well me, I'm not accustomed to first or even second class travel. I've slept on trains amongst those whom spat and snorted on the ground below your bed or seat. In comparison, the Mongolian and Siberian really are VERY CLEAN! The Siberian was vacuumed twice a day, the toilets cleaned the same. A food cart rolled on by a few times a day. At some stops you ...