Russian Day 2

I am in Heaven!!!
It's Wednesday morning and I'm at D1's school. She's getting ready to perform in a ballet recital and she put me in the "American" room with the computer!!! I don't have much time but I'll try to update you as much as I can.
Let's see ...... all in all ...... she's trying to kill me.
Look up the Boston trip in 2008 and you'll see that there's a theme here.

OK ..... yesterday ......
I stayed in the room while she went to the school for a meeting.
She came back and we headed out.
We were looking for a museum that she wanted to see (a museum that seemed to hold the history of Russian artwork .... though it was hard to tell ..... everything was in Russian!). She has a list of things she wants to see before she leaves and she saved some of them for me. I can not tell you the joy that I felt about going to see the history of Russian artwork (and know that that sentence must be read aloud with sarcasm dripping from your tongue).
It took us quite a while ..... and quite a lot of walking ..... to find it. It appeared to be lodged in some kind of ex-warehouse.

Here was the first thing I learned about Russia yesterday ..... Russians don't give two rubles whether you find what they are selling or not.
Nothing is obvious.
Like .... the museum.
Or .... the theatre that we went to last night.
We entered it from an alley ...... in what appeared to be a back door.
No sign.
No name in lights.
No lines.
It's very eerie.

As for the theatre ..... THAT was an experience. I went with D1 and two of her fellow students from Boston. The "play" (and I use that term very, very loosely) was based on Don Quixote.
And it was without words.
Which, totally didn't make that much of a difference since I don't speak their words anyway.
Or so one would think.
And yet ...... if I had been Russian I think I would have "gotten" more of the show.
I think.
I need words. I'm not that deep.
I like to hear my theatre. I'm funny that way.

We stopped on our pilgrimage to the museum for lunch on a boat on the river.
D1 had never been there before and we're in to just giving things a shot.
We missed the target on this one.
As we boarded we passed through a metal detector (they are all over here) and what appeared to be a Mafia guy, who looked us over. He pointed us down a long hallway towards the restaurant. He did not smile.
Not many people here smile.
At all.
We went into the restaurant .... it wasn't crowded (have yet to find something that is ..... except for the mute theatre ..... which by the way, had wooden pews for seats. My hip HATES Russia!).
They gave us a menu which was unreadable. And not just to me ..... D1 couldn't really make anything out of it ...... and so with mumbled apologies for being stupid non-Russian-reading-Americans, who would rather have more than salad (the only food he thought we'd want) for lunch, we left.
I don't think the Mafia guy was too pleased but he let us pass.

We found a restaurant at the museum. This restaurant was also quite empty.
But .... they had a Russian/English menu.

I had spaghetti.
I've had more pasta here than I had in Italy.
Sheesh.

Something else I learned yesterday ..... they don't spice their food in Moscow. And they're proud of that.

After we ate we went through the museum. By this point all I wanted to do was curl up on the floor and take a nap, but the little old women guarding the art in each room looked like they wouldn't go for that, so I shuffled through the warehouse. I am not one to tick off little old Russian women.
Thank God ...... really .... half if it was closed to the public.
D1 was less than thrilled.
I was estatic.

We headed back to the dorm to get ready for the theatre and to rest a bit.
I wish I could nap. I really must check into that some day.
After I come home from Betty Ford for my addiction to pain killers.
Kidding!!!!! sort of.....

We stopped at the grocery store on the way home to pick up something to eat. By this time it was after 10:00 p.m. She really is trying to kill me.
We had bread, cheese and wine.
Oh .... and a vegetable frozen pizza which actually was very good.
We were done around 11:30.

This morning I got up at 8:00 to get ready for school.
It is now time for me to go watch the dance.

I don't know when I'll have internet again, but I'll keep Twittering updates on the right side bar.

It's great to be wtih D1 .... no matter what country we're in and what we're doing.
Of course ..... I'd prefer to live through most of the trip so .......
keep praying, Peeps!!!!