Gulfstream Hotel Kazan

Today Russia awaits us. Rick makes coffee and we're on the road....and what a road! It started as ruined undulating tarmac which was an early test for our suspension with heavily laden bikes and a Landy full of bling. Then the roadworks. Roadworks in Russia means ripping up most of the tarmac leaving trucks,bikes, cars and vans to make their own way through the quagmire.....did I mention it was raining? Cold ...

Sorry it has been so long.  I thought it would be good to let everyone know that I made it home.  It was something that needed to be said.  I also had some other stories that I wanted to share before I sign off until my next adventure. So here is the first in my last few blogs.  I hope that you enjoy.  The last few weeks in Kazan went by like lightening.  It seems like all a bur really.  We all ran around trying to do all the things that we should have ...

I told you guys that I went to Moscow and found out that someone had jacked my card.  Well, I called the bank from Moscow ($60 US) to try to get them to send me another one and they said no problem.  A few weeks passed and I haven't received it or heard a word, so I called them again.  This time they told me that it hadn't been sent and that would send it again... US post.  I have been here long enough to ...

              So I found a new favorite word.  A word that I know that I will use until the day I die and one that you, my dear friends, will be sick of in a matter of moments when I get home.  I've used it several times in my blogs and I am almost sure that you know exactly what I am about to say.. Koshmar.  The word for nightmare. I know that not everyone understands the delicate workings of living in Russia, but koshmar is the ...

So we decided that we were going to give Thanksgiving a go here.  It was a huge undertaking considering that we can't even cook an American breakfast, but being the resourceful and intelligent girls that we are, gave it a go.  The first problem consisted of finding a place that would fit all of us, so we roped in one of friends that has an apartment albeit a small one.  Poor guy didn't even know what hit him.  "By the way," we said,         "we're having ...

... Barcardi Black with Pepsi and it was amazing.             We stayed there for over six hours, just talking and playing little games like: which state is your favorite and why.  He would look at us and could read what type of person we are.  It was incredible.  He hit the nail on the head every time. "I bet," he says "that you are an old soul.  You have a lot of books and love classics.  Do you like Dickens?"  I told him ...

... they offer champagne and chocolates in a room that looks like a ballroom.  It is unreal.  If you have facebook, there are some pics that Kristen took and I was tagged in some of them.  One day I will post all my pics, I promise but I think you can see what I am talking about.              The ballet itself was something that I wish I could explain. The curtains opened and I literally gasped.  The set was amazing and so beautiful. I kept on thinking that I was ...

... but that is the fun of it, you know?              Leaving the Kremlin, we passed the statue where the man is wrapped in chicken wire (I know it's symbolism, but chicken wire is all I can think of to describe it) and you guys will see it when I get around to posting pics.  I haven't posted one since we began in Dublin and I have lots and lots.  I'm sure you will LOVE to go through them when I finally do post them ...

... it was rather large. You would think that would be the end of my fabulous and most wonderful day, but unfortunately no. I won't go into detail about my brain going dead in Russian class or my spat with a black clad Russian girl on the elevator, but let me just say.... I should have stayed in bed. However, even with all the misfortunes I had today with every move I made, my friend Liam had the worst night ever. I can't even complain about my day in ...

... I mean, it's 20 degrees below zero here in the winter and you have to bundle up and put on boots just to go to the supermarket that is inside your own building. Does that make sense to you? Anyway, I then notice the weather, which is dark, rainy and cold. Oh well, that is how it has been since I first got here so why should it change now? I go to take a shower and say a silent prayer, asking God to please let there be warm water, thanking Him greatly when I find ...