Moscow, Russia - Lovely weather in Moscow now. The Moscow Times yesterday reported its now the most expensive city in the world. Yay. Honestly, if you *only* eat off the seemingly millions of street vendors, you'd be O.K. Nevermind the numerous bread, meat, cheese, and fried anything-you-want vendors don't carry a license on hand -- or gloves. Nevertheless, the tasty bread and meats are cheap and filling. I prefer the sushi to be honest-- and it's plentiful. I've found a restaurant quite compareable with Chicago. And good sushi! Russians love sushi. But I did make the mistake of going to the Red Square Food Court and getting a baked chicken with cheese and cabbage, a mushroom salad, and a hot eggplant salad. To my dismay, the bill came to -- $21. No water, no soda. Just lunch. $21. And at that point, I hadn't gone shopping -- seeing the $200-$5,000 pairs of shoes. And I love shoes; it was frightening. I saw a walking sign for a Second Hand Shop (many people walk around with signs on their front and back, it actually seems like the main way to advertise -- and just outside their shops, too). Anyway, I went to a thrift store and sighed. Finally -- a store with decent prices. A small shop, about half the size of my bedroom (maybe 12'x15'). I also wanted a pedicure. I saw one for 1,300 rubles and thought, oh... about $20, that's an O.K. price. Try around $50. It's kill'n me! I can't wait to go to Southeast Asia; I've heard such wonderful things about Thailand and China (cheap, wonderful food, shopping not to mention the rich history, attractions, beaches, weather, and bartering! [In China, you can eat dinner for $.50, in Thailand $.45]). While the grass *is* always greener, the train is already closer in Moscow. The Trans-Siberian express goes from Moscow-Beijing in 7 days flat. Anyway, I'd really love to visit this old monestary near Moscow, which I'll probably do just before my train trip this Friday, 1 July, at 00.44. I'm taking an overnight train to St. Petersburg in 4th class. No bed, just a seat - for 8 hours. It could be worse, but how? :) My heat rash is gone, yay! And I'm feeling soo much less queezy! My health is good, so I'm good. Life is good. :)