Richard and I met our Guide, Mike Roberts, at breakfast this morning. A friendly, knowlegable, and very patient man, he endured our many questions about what lay ahead. We came away from this discussion reassured, especially after his firm refuttal of the Man Eating Yeti rumor I had read about somewhere on the internet.
Afterwards, Richard and I took the Metro (subway) to Red Square, which by the way isn't red at all. The bricks are black. There is a tall red wall that runs the length of one side. It keeps the tourists off the Kremlin lawn. But if that is where the "Red" reference comes from they should call it "Red Line." Not as snappy, I know, but infinitely more accurate. I'm going to leave a note in the suggestion box. Todd Williams would be proud.
We walked around Moscow, through Gorky Park, and down Old Arbut St. We bought a few souvenirs for the people back home, had some lunch, then rode the Metro back to our hotel. It was quite an adventure in a beautiful city. Just ordering lunch is an adventure here. Since the Russians write in the Cyrllic alphabet there is no guessing even what a word means. I just open the menu and point at an item and hope for the best. I ended up having a sort of pork cutlet stuffed with tomatoes, bacon, cheese, and vinegar. I like it!
This evening we met the other two members of team, Paul and Ankita from New York. Ankita has climbed Kilimanjaro and trekked to the Everest Base camp. This will be Paul's first mountain climb. They are a fun couple.
Tomorow morning we will fly to Mineral Vody, then shuttle for 4 hours to the village we will base out of. More on that later.
Afterwards, Richard and I took the Metro (subway) to Red Square, which by the way isn't red at all. The bricks are black. There is a tall red wall that runs the length of one side. It keeps the tourists off the Kremlin lawn. But if that is where the "Red" reference comes from they should call it "Red Line." Not as snappy, I know, but infinitely more accurate. I'm going to leave a note in the suggestion box. Todd Williams would be proud.
We walked around Moscow, through Gorky Park, and down Old Arbut St. We bought a few souvenirs for the people back home, had some lunch, then rode the Metro back to our hotel. It was quite an adventure in a beautiful city. Just ordering lunch is an adventure here. Since the Russians write in the Cyrllic alphabet there is no guessing even what a word means. I just open the menu and point at an item and hope for the best. I ended up having a sort of pork cutlet stuffed with tomatoes, bacon, cheese, and vinegar. I like it!
This evening we met the other two members of team, Paul and Ankita from New York. Ankita has climbed Kilimanjaro and trekked to the Everest Base camp. This will be Paul's first mountain climb. They are a fun couple.
Tomorow morning we will fly to Mineral Vody, then shuttle for 4 hours to the village we will base out of. More on that later.
Greg and I visited Moscow in 1974!! Bet it still looks the same! I can totally see you putting a "suggestion" in their box! Do it!!
ReplyDeleteDave, we're all so excited for you! As usual you crack me up. I'll make sure Todd knows you're doing him proud!
ReplyDeleteSonia