Thurs., Feb. 24th - Eat fresh! And, what's that sign say?

My first big adventure in St. Petersburg - we used public transportation! That may no sound like much, but I'm a country girl. My idea of public transportation is walking on the same path with someone I don't know! Anyway, Annie and I took the bus to the orphanage today. We waited at the bus stop, saw the bus, I held out my hand, and he stopped. Of course when I turned around, there was Annie jumping up and down waving her arms like she was being attacked by bees - the driver would have had to have been blind to miss her. We got on, I showed him my paper that said where we needed to get off, and he took us right there! Then, I got to see my boy! He was so happy and giggly, and snugly and cuddly today! It was just nice! The pictures don't do him justice. Annie had a blast playing with him! Then came the real challenge - getting back. Umm, I was only worried about getting there to see him - it never occurred to me that I'd have to find my way back to the hotel! lol Well, we retraced our steps, which worked right up to the point that we didn't get off the bus when we were supposed to. We rode to the end of the route, which was on the complete opposite side of the city. So, we did what every female who is lost in a city does - we ate and we shopped! First we went to Subway - hey, we may have been lost, but we could still "eat fresh!" And then, we shopped. There was a really cool Lego store on the corner, why not?! The people in the store were very helpful at giving us directions back to the hotel. We took the metro back. So, we took two buses, ate out, shopped, rode the metro, and despite the language barrier didn't have any problems. There was only one sign that I really wish I had been able to read - it was on the door of the metro station and said "door swings both ways!" Yeah - I don't know which lasted longer - the bump on my head or Annie laughing! This evening my friend from the university showed up at my hotel room door with a cell phone and checked everything out at the hotel to make sure it is safe for us. How sweet! We are getting together tomorrow to plan out the rest of the week! HOORAY! His wife is so sweet and the kids are great - I can't wait to see them! I love it here!!!