Taking a break in the Stray Dog Cafe after having visited the Russian Museum. I was going to do that tomorrow. But the Hermitage was closed for awhile today because of troops preparing for the parade for Victory Day, like Veterans' Day. Things are going pretty well. Everyone seems pretty friendly, though the police, the militsia, last night didn't want me to take their picture. I liked the look of their uniforms. But maybe it's a state secret. Halfway thro...

The nearest trader joes is 4 miles away. Let's see, it's 10:30 now. My flight leaves at 4 something. And I don't feel like trying to sightsee something between now and then. So it's a day of loafing. Yesterday I traipsed through Central Park, went to Little Italy for pasta and then to the 9/11 Memorial. My camera takes great panoramic shots. Not sure how well they'll upload here though. Then, the mother of the woman whose flat I'm staying at in St. Peters...

Brooklyn baby. Got lost on the subway on the way here. Don't think the champagne and vodka/Baileys I had on the flight had anything to do with that. Then off the Village. Wandered around. Had an excellent Indian style burrito around midnight. Back at the pad, 2 am and the guys I'm staying with are watching music videos on their laptops. City that never sleeps. And it's starting to rain, with lightning!

In about a week and a half I'll be on my way, business class, to New York. There for a couple nights. First night I'm going to try to go to Smalls, a jazz club in the Village. Then I'm going to explore central park, never having been there. I'm looking forward to it. But I think I'm going to have to pack for possible cold and wet during the first few weeks, turning into summer for the rest of the trip. Traveling to Russia and the Ukraine is a bit scary sinc...