Russian Rumors 4 - Max!!!

I don't know if I've mentioned it here before, but I'm a huge fan of the Max & Ruby show on TV. That Max is such a clever little bunny! Handsome too, as you can see in the picture to the right.

So you can guess how excited I was when it turned out that Dad has a friend living in St. Petersburg, and his name is Max!!! Wow! Who knew that Dad was so cool? (Max writes some of the software that Dad uses at work, in case you're curious.)

Max has a wife named Lena, and she was really nice too. For some reason that I'm not telling anyone, I re-named her "Money". That's just going to be my secret for now. But whatever I was calling them (I got Max's name right of course), they helped us be tourists for our last two days in St. Petersburg. Here's a picture of Max and Lena and Mom (and I think I'm in the stroller, but I'm sleeping, so it's not worth mentioning). They all have cups of hot wine that Lena made, which was good because it was a cold day. I only got a little taste of the hot wine, but it was really good, and Lena promised to send Dad the recipe, so hopefully I'll get to try it again soon.


It was a lot of fun! We went to the House of some guy named Peter, which was out in the country, I think because that's the only place that it was safe to build so many fountains. You wouldn't believe how many there were! It was really cool - don't get me wrong, but I think there are something like 20 different fountains in this guy's yard, and that's not counting the big one that's built into the house. That fountain is pretty neat too, though I'm a little bit worried about what the golden man at the bottom is doing to the lion - I think he might be hurting it!! You must get funny ideas when you live in a house that big.


Max said that when he was little, he lived near this Peter House [Peterhof] and that it was closed in the winter time, but there were gaps in the fence where he and his friends could sneak through and play in the fountains. He said he even got to go behind the fountains and look at all the fancy pipes that brought the water from a nearby lake. Just like something Max the bunny would do! I wonder if I change my name to Max if I'd be that cool too? It wouldn't be a big change - I've already got two of the letters!

It was a good thing we had Max & Lena with us, because once we got back to the city from the fountain guy's house, they took us to get some Russian donuts at a special shop that's famous for making the best ones in town. They were sooooo good! I think Dad ate more than his share - maybe six or so. I only got two, so I'm feeling kind of left out.

Then, the next day, we all went to the Peter & Paul Fortress, which was a kind of on an island by itself. What is it with naming things Peter in this city? Is that the only name that people use around here? Other than MAX, of course! We also went for what Max called a "student lunch" which was some blinis, and Mom got a baked potato. That was really good! And I got to sit on my own stool like a big boy.


Dad says that Max comes to our country every now and then, so hopefully I'll get to see him again

Russian Rumors 3 - I'm Very Concerned about Cats

So we're touring St. Petersburg, Russia now, and it's a very beautiful city - lots of canals and really cool architecture. Dad says it looks a bit like Paris, with Amsterdam's canals thrown in. I guess that's what happens when you build a city in a swamp!

But enough about the city - I'm worried about the cats! And dogs to some extent, but I know from Itchy [Ed: Josie's current mis-pronounced name] at home that they can take care of themselves. Cats, I'm not so sure about. And I keep seeing them everywhere here in Russia - don't they have homes? I guess they're probably doing okay here - we actually got to see a kitty cat catch it's lunch one day back in Moscow which was a lot of fun, though I kind of felt bad for the little bird that turned into the lunch. And in a convent no less? Aren't those supposed to be safe havens or something. Maybe that's just from vampires.

Anyway. We were walking down the street here in St. Petersburg this afternoon and I saw a cat walking around, which is pretty much normal, but then I saw it go under some parked cars like it was going to walk out into the street! And EVERYBODY knows that you don't walk out into the street without holding Mom or Dad's hand, so I started calling to the cat "Watch out! Watch Out! Safe safe safe Oh no oh no oh no oh no!!!" [Ed: yes, really]

I don't know if the cat didn't speak English or what, but it just ignored me, and to make matters worse, Dad started pushing the stroller the other direction down the sidewalk and so I don't know what happened to the kitty.

I hope they're okay.

Russian Rumors 1 - I Love Choo-Choos!!!

Quick note to start off my blogging from Russia (on my birthday, no less!).

I LOVE CHOO CHOOS!!!!!!

And by extension, I love Moscow. It seems like everywhere we go, we're taking a choo-choo, and on the really good trips, TWO choo-choos! (And on the really bad trips that leave Dad in a bad mood and staring at his map a lot, three or four choo-choos...) The best part is when they pull into the station. First there's the big wind coming, and then I can hear it, then the headlights, and then the actual train! That's when I start bouncing out of my stroller, yelling "'nother one! 'nother choo-choo!" just in case anybody on the platform missed the train's arrival (and speaks English).

Other than the choo-choos, Moscow seems like any other big city, with lots of flowers. I'm in my stroller a lot of the time, but when I get out and run around, I always make sure to stop and smell them. And chase the pigieons, of course.

I should be back with more soon - need to tell you about my birthday, assuming Mom & Dad have something good up their sleeves. And we fly to St. Petersburg tomorrow evening, so if nothing else, I'll have another airplane ride to talk about! Maybe I'll try to figure out which I like better - airplanes or choo-choos?

Dad says this reminds him of college

I'm not exactly sure what that means. Or maybe I don't understand college? I thought it was kind of like my school, only with more learning, less snacking, and less playground time?

It any case, this picture makes Dad laugh, so I guess I can put it on my blog. I'm learning it pays to keep him happy!