a mellow day of shopping
it's a holiday today in russia
which means everything's open but no one's available for interviews. we had no
plan save perhaps a bit of recuperation from yesterday. we spent the day
shopping.
We seem to be regressing
sleep-wise. Ingrid woke us up at sometime between one and two thirty a.m. and I
never got back to sleep after that. I tried moving from the bedroom into the
living room to sleep on the couch. But sweetie followed me and tried to curl up
with me there (since she wiggles and squirms sleep was out of the
question).
Eventually I got her back to sleep again in our bed, and moved back out to the couch where I slept soundly until 6:00 a.m. when Sam stomped in to ask if he could watch cartoons.
After everyone else woke up we improvised a breakfast and started talking about what we'd do today. The Kremlin? Mom said she didn't feel up to any walking today so we nixed that idea. Still we wanted to get out of the house to do something.
A first task for both Mom and Monica and me was to pick up a few more rubles. I walked Mom downstairs to the nearest exchange bank, where I traded five twenties for about 2800 rubles. Mom tried using her debit card at the ATM machine, but the machine kept saying she had insufficient funds. It wouldn't give her a balance check so after she converted a couple hundred dollars into rubles, we left a bit worried about her Apple Bank account's security. We'll work this out later.
After we returned we turned to the job of thinking about what to do with our day. The kids started to get sleepy and by noon they were both out. I had the idea of going to a big bookstore we'd seen on Tverskaya in our walks to Yeliseev's (something of a cross between a Barnes & Noble and Cody's in Berkeley); and since Mom agreed to watch the kids while they slept, I had an hour or so to browse the store and pick up a few supplies at Yeliseev's.
I love bookstores. This one had sections laid out nicely with the contents of each isle listed in both Russian and English. My focus was on a copy of Lermontov's Hero of Our Time, which features Russia's greatest male role model (Pechorin) set in against the backdrop of Russia's long war in the Caucuses. I also wanted to pick up Russian copies of some of my favorite science fiction, the Lord of the Rings, and Anna Karenina, The Brothers Karamazov, and War and Peace. The cost for once was low, but the bulk and weight are intimidating (adds a lot of sweat tax to one's suitcases on the way home). I also found a memoir written by a late Army captain serving in the Chechen war (something of a Robert Graves for Chechnya). There was a fantastic children's section, including a Russian version (Disney/Pixar-authorized) of The Incredibles.
Time ran short so I only bought a few of these treasures (Monica and I will decide later on the children's books and two-volume sets). I then happily marched up to Yeliseev's for milk (the stuff Monica bought last night, bless her, was Russian and smelled, well, "farty"), bread, cheese, and above all more instant coffee. When I returned we were all so hungry we devoured the bread in about ten minutes with butter and goat cheese.
Ingrid was already awake, and after our snack we woke Sam and girded ourselves for a lunch trip. I wanted to get a "bizness" lunch at Akademia so we reserved a table and wandered up Komergerski street to kill time.
Sam ran into a young boy blowing soap bubbles and when Ingrid caught up they both amused themselves running and trying to catch the bubbles.
After that we settled down to wait.
Our table was soon ready and we enjoyed another fantastic meal before heading back to the apartment to clean up and regroup for a late-afternoon outing of some sort.
But it never materialized. Mom went into her room and soon fell asleep; as did Monica (briefly) after sitting to browse one of the new books on Chechnya. I tried to drop off but the kids were still bouncing around the rooms so it was impossible. Monica roused us all: let's go get Ivan an electric razor so he can shave his now-excessively wooly face (Monica was a bit put out that I'd left mine home).
The idea was to head to Okhotny Ryad Mall (it's an underground mall built into Moscow's central Metro station), which is literally right across the street. Mom didn't feel up to it so Monica and I got the kids ready and we headed out.
Except for the airport metal detector security the place is much like 900 North Michigan in Chicago. It's got lots of expensive shops ranging from Mont Blanc, and Tiffany's to Adidas, Reebok, Ecco and a fast food court on the lower level. All in all it was a pleasant walk but no sign of anything like an electric razor. Still, Ivan also needed new brown shoes, so we stopped in an Ecco store to look at some promising possibilities.
We found them right away. While I waited to try on shoes, Sam and Ingrid found a cool kid's toy in one corner of the shop where, together with an obnoxious Russian boy (armed with a realistic-looking toy six-shooter) they amused themselves.
Eventually the Russian boy forcibly took Sam's red car and Sam cried out for justice. When I arrived to find out why he was crying I spied the Russian boy with the car, clearly using it and his gun to tease my son, all the while his mother looked blithely on (very likely amused at the wimpiness of foreign children, but I was proud of Sam for not caving in to his natural inclination to haul off and smack the kid). He left before we did so Sam got his car back anyway, and the only problem that followed was him screaming his head off as I forced him to leave the store (I'm sure he wanted to hang onto that red car in case the Russian boy happened to walk by the shop window so Sam could lord it over him that he'd got the car back).
His cries of frustration were stilled at once, however, not by my stern warnings (which were on the way), but by the unlikely arrival of help in the form of two Russians dressed up in red monkey outfits. Sam's delight at encountering these fake furry primates paled in comparison to Ingrid's. She alternated between terror and extreme delight as she howled her way toward and away from the monkey men. Too bad I chose this trip to leave the video camcorder behind!
After this we decided to pick up something to eat and head back to the apartment (it was already 7:00 p.m.).
Sam has been eating almost nothing all day, and holding out for junk food and juices (sigh). Dinner was another struggle, but after considerable effort we got him to eat something with protein in it. Then it was the usual: baths, a story, and bedtime (with Ingrid again holding out until Monica and I, in a fit of sense, simply stuck her in her crib and told her to go to sleep: she did!).
Nothing on TV so Monica and Mom went to their respective bedrooms to read a bit while I finish today's blog. We have one interview tomorrow afternoon (tomorrow night Monica and Mom are going to the Bolshoi Theater to watch Madam Butterfly), so probably in the morning we can walk to Tsum and get my razor.
Good night.
Eventually I got her back to sleep again in our bed, and moved back out to the couch where I slept soundly until 6:00 a.m. when Sam stomped in to ask if he could watch cartoons.
After everyone else woke up we improvised a breakfast and started talking about what we'd do today. The Kremlin? Mom said she didn't feel up to any walking today so we nixed that idea. Still we wanted to get out of the house to do something.
A first task for both Mom and Monica and me was to pick up a few more rubles. I walked Mom downstairs to the nearest exchange bank, where I traded five twenties for about 2800 rubles. Mom tried using her debit card at the ATM machine, but the machine kept saying she had insufficient funds. It wouldn't give her a balance check so after she converted a couple hundred dollars into rubles, we left a bit worried about her Apple Bank account's security. We'll work this out later.
After we returned we turned to the job of thinking about what to do with our day. The kids started to get sleepy and by noon they were both out. I had the idea of going to a big bookstore we'd seen on Tverskaya in our walks to Yeliseev's (something of a cross between a Barnes & Noble and Cody's in Berkeley); and since Mom agreed to watch the kids while they slept, I had an hour or so to browse the store and pick up a few supplies at Yeliseev's.
I love bookstores. This one had sections laid out nicely with the contents of each isle listed in both Russian and English. My focus was on a copy of Lermontov's Hero of Our Time, which features Russia's greatest male role model (Pechorin) set in against the backdrop of Russia's long war in the Caucuses. I also wanted to pick up Russian copies of some of my favorite science fiction, the Lord of the Rings, and Anna Karenina, The Brothers Karamazov, and War and Peace. The cost for once was low, but the bulk and weight are intimidating (adds a lot of sweat tax to one's suitcases on the way home). I also found a memoir written by a late Army captain serving in the Chechen war (something of a Robert Graves for Chechnya). There was a fantastic children's section, including a Russian version (Disney/Pixar-authorized) of The Incredibles.
Time ran short so I only bought a few of these treasures (Monica and I will decide later on the children's books and two-volume sets). I then happily marched up to Yeliseev's for milk (the stuff Monica bought last night, bless her, was Russian and smelled, well, "farty"), bread, cheese, and above all more instant coffee. When I returned we were all so hungry we devoured the bread in about ten minutes with butter and goat cheese.
Ingrid was already awake, and after our snack we woke Sam and girded ourselves for a lunch trip. I wanted to get a "bizness" lunch at Akademia so we reserved a table and wandered up Komergerski street to kill time.
Sam ran into a young boy blowing soap bubbles and when Ingrid caught up they both amused themselves running and trying to catch the bubbles.
After that we settled down to wait.
Our table was soon ready and we enjoyed another fantastic meal before heading back to the apartment to clean up and regroup for a late-afternoon outing of some sort.
But it never materialized. Mom went into her room and soon fell asleep; as did Monica (briefly) after sitting to browse one of the new books on Chechnya. I tried to drop off but the kids were still bouncing around the rooms so it was impossible. Monica roused us all: let's go get Ivan an electric razor so he can shave his now-excessively wooly face (Monica was a bit put out that I'd left mine home).
The idea was to head to Okhotny Ryad Mall (it's an underground mall built into Moscow's central Metro station), which is literally right across the street. Mom didn't feel up to it so Monica and I got the kids ready and we headed out.
Except for the airport metal detector security the place is much like 900 North Michigan in Chicago. It's got lots of expensive shops ranging from Mont Blanc, and Tiffany's to Adidas, Reebok, Ecco and a fast food court on the lower level. All in all it was a pleasant walk but no sign of anything like an electric razor. Still, Ivan also needed new brown shoes, so we stopped in an Ecco store to look at some promising possibilities.
We found them right away. While I waited to try on shoes, Sam and Ingrid found a cool kid's toy in one corner of the shop where, together with an obnoxious Russian boy (armed with a realistic-looking toy six-shooter) they amused themselves.
Eventually the Russian boy forcibly took Sam's red car and Sam cried out for justice. When I arrived to find out why he was crying I spied the Russian boy with the car, clearly using it and his gun to tease my son, all the while his mother looked blithely on (very likely amused at the wimpiness of foreign children, but I was proud of Sam for not caving in to his natural inclination to haul off and smack the kid). He left before we did so Sam got his car back anyway, and the only problem that followed was him screaming his head off as I forced him to leave the store (I'm sure he wanted to hang onto that red car in case the Russian boy happened to walk by the shop window so Sam could lord it over him that he'd got the car back).
His cries of frustration were stilled at once, however, not by my stern warnings (which were on the way), but by the unlikely arrival of help in the form of two Russians dressed up in red monkey outfits. Sam's delight at encountering these fake furry primates paled in comparison to Ingrid's. She alternated between terror and extreme delight as she howled her way toward and away from the monkey men. Too bad I chose this trip to leave the video camcorder behind!
After this we decided to pick up something to eat and head back to the apartment (it was already 7:00 p.m.).
Sam has been eating almost nothing all day, and holding out for junk food and juices (sigh). Dinner was another struggle, but after considerable effort we got him to eat something with protein in it. Then it was the usual: baths, a story, and bedtime (with Ingrid again holding out until Monica and I, in a fit of sense, simply stuck her in her crib and told her to go to sleep: she did!).
Nothing on TV so Monica and Mom went to their respective bedrooms to read a bit while I finish today's blog. We have one interview tomorrow afternoon (tomorrow night Monica and Mom are going to the Bolshoi Theater to watch Madam Butterfly), so probably in the morning we can walk to Tsum and get my razor.
Good night.
Posted: Mon - June 13, 2005 at 10:47 PM
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Published On: Jun 14, 2005 10:53 AM
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Published On: Jun 14, 2005 10:53 AM