Trippin in St Pete

[KenInUtah]

I hope you started thinking with the big head and not the little one!

[2tallbill]

I hope you started thinking with the big head and not the little one!

Don't think for a second that I wasn't seriously tempted to do the wrong thing.

[2tallbill]

My locked smarter than me phone with a Russian sim card in it
makes this whistle sound whenever I get an sms. I have been
getting a series of whistles from GEG now.

Sally looks at me with eyebrows raised and Angel Eyes looks at me expectantly
awaiting my answer about the evenings activities. I explain that GEG is supposed
to meet me regarding the apartment so that she could translate for me with the
apartment manager. I explain that GEG is not the most patient girl in the world
hence the sms barrage.

Sally looks at me like I just lost my mind.

Sally volunteers to do the translating for me, great idea I say. I better call GEG
to tell her that it's not necessary to meet. Once again Sally gives me the look
that told me that she thinks I have emptied my gun shooting myself in the foot
and have decided to reload.

I step outside and make the call. Before I can say a single word GEG says "I am
waiting outside the apartment door! Come down and let me in! I AM READY!"
(very briefly I imagine what she is ready for) then I explain that I am not in the
apartment building. "WHAT!" she says........"WHY!?!" I try to explain that I am meeting
with Sally and only get a few words out before GEG starts on a screaming diatribe
about her views of my various, assorted (and numerous)  shortcomings in a way that
causes the hair on the inside of my ear to catch fire.

I am beginning to realize that this very tall beautiful girl has probably told some
lucky men besides myself that she was going to F#ck him, but it was quite possible
that I was the first to not readily agree. Not long after that thought occurred to me
GEG said F#CK YOU! and hung up.

I started to go inside but got another sms from GEG. I looked at the time
(nearly 10:00 pm) quickly turned off my phone and walked inside.

Sally and said "Beel, Angel Eyes wants to know if you will go to the water blessing
ceremony and I really think you should go" I read Sally loud and clear, so I said it
will begin in only two hours. It makes no sense for me to go to my apartment,
maybe Angel Eyes and I can walk  around talking then go to the Church
(the Church was a couple hundred meters from the Sushi Place)

Relieved, Sally said that this was an excellent idea. That she would go home and
that Angel Eyes and myself would continue the evening without her.

We walk around arm in arm, chatting. I try to tell joke or two sometimes with
success. Right next to the church was an internet cafe where I had found Angel
Eyes profile. There is a young Russian kid there maybe 20 years old who after
finding out I was an American became the founding member of the 2tallbill fan
club. He knew I had come to Voronezh to meet a girl and that things didn't
work out so I was trying to find another.

He is friendly nearly to the point of being a pest, but I can't help but like him.
When he sees me with Angel Eyes he gives me the thumbs up (he approves
of her too)

I explain that I want two computers side by side with the internet so that we
could chat together on them using google translate. Angel Eyes knows a bit
of English but is very shy when she can't think of a word.

We chat back and forth. I tell jokes and stories and only seconds later the
two hours is gone and it's time to go to the church. We go inside, purchase
some candles and go over to a large stainless steal container with water in
it a tin cup beside it. She drinks several cups of the water and hands the
cup to me.

I NEVER drink water in Russia that doesn't come out of a plastic bottle. However
this evening I decide to give it a whirl. I start to drink it and she stops me. She
shows me how to drink from the cup. You don't touch the cup to your lips. You
touch the cup to the skin about a 1/4 inch below your lips. Then lift the cup, the
water pours onto your skin, over your lip and into your mouth. I drink most of the
water in the cup and she finishes the rest.

There are a number of priests walking around giving blessings, waving incense
over the alter, and to the general congregation. There are many statues and
paintings of various saints. With numerous candles burning around them.

They had a babushka brigade at least one in charge of each saint who kept the
candles burning, monitored the excess wax, would move the candles about and
generally keep the area tidy. They had no compunction about snatching the candle
out of your hand and from that time on it was her candle and NOT yours.

Angel Eyes went to several different saints offered candles and prayers and I kept
quiet and hoped that I didn't do anything to draw the ire from any of the babushkas.
Finally we made our way to to the where Angel Eyes collected a couple gallons of
water which she was going to take home with her.

We walked outside, arranged to meet the next morning (it was probably around
3:00 am) so it wouldn't be too far in the distant future. I tried to get a kiss before
she left but I got the cheek.

Off to bed I go alone, with thoughts of the dazzling girl with Angelic eyes.

[jone]

Beel,

I'll bet that shower was cold when you fired up the water weasel. 

[southernX]

WHAT!" she says........"WHY!?!" I try to explain that I am meeting
with Sally and only get a few words out before GEG starts on a screaming diatribe
about her views of my various, assorted (and numerous)  shortcomings in a way that
causes the hair on the inside of my ear to catch fire.

bill , absolute gold humour above,

im sure all of us married guys have experienced some of that ear catching fire at odd times 

SX

[2tallbill]

bill , absolute gold humour above,

im sure all of us married guys have experienced some of that ear catching fire at odd times 

SX

The temptation to see her was suddenly not so hard to resist 

[jone]

Hey, Bill,

Can you get me GEG's full name and phone number?   


Just in the off chance I am ever in Voronezh.   

[2tallbill]

Hey, Bill,

Can you get me GEG's full name and phone number?   


Just in the off chance I am ever in Voronezh.   

She's married to somebody else now. Hopefully they are happy

[2tallbill]

I spent the next evening and all day Saturday with Angel Eyes. The more
time I spent with her the more I convinced that this is the girl I have been
looking for all these years.

Saturday evening Angel Eyes and Sally take me to the airport. I get on a plane
to Moscow DME. I take a taxi to SVO (I forget which one) and stay up all night
in the airport waiting for my early morning flight.

I am cautiously optimistic that Angel Eyes is the one.

I fly 20+ hours and arrive in Bismarck North Freaking colder than a witches
tit Dekody. It's -14F (-25C) with wind and freezing fog. I haven't slept in a
very long time. My son arrives with some of his buddies to pick me up. They
all complain about the bad fog and icy roads. So I buy 3 Rock Star energy
drinks and back to the oil patch we go.

My son and his buddies say not a word as they play their various games and
electronic gadgets. This gets on my nerves as I am dead dog tires, so I tell
them I haven't slept in days and if they all want to end up dead in the ditch
then by all means be a quiet as possible because I could really use the sleep.

So they keep me awake with their stories, questions and antics. Finally somewhere
in the Bad lands the 3 rockstar energy drinks work through my system and I need to pull over to pee.

If anyone wants to know, I can confirm that -14F is not the best temperature in
which to expose Willy. The wind was howling and so was I. I can tell you
Mr Happy wasn't.

More to follow

[jone]

She's married to somebody else now. Hopefully they are happy

If it is an American guy, she'll fit right in.  In three years they will probably think she's a native.

[2tallbill]

So, I arrived home and started the process of getting to know Angel Eyes
and winning her heart. I told her my life story, she told me hers. We exchanged
emails, sms, phone conversation and she starts studying English.

I had a single visit visa so I sent off my passport for a 1 year multi-entry
visa to gotoRussia.com . I don't have enough time left on my passport
before it expires for a 3 year multi entry visa.

I bought tickets for April to Voronezh. This time landing at DME, which has
direct flights from there to Voronezh. Angel Eyes finds a different apartment
with wifi in it (fifth floor no elevator I find out later).

[2tallbill]

April comes and I had put off getting a plane ticket to Voronezh and
I start looking for a ticket and none are to be found  they are sold
out

I ask angel eyes and she finds one of her friends to drive from Voronezh
(6 hours each way) to pick me up and drop me in Voronezh for approximately
$250 (I forget how much exactly) which after a few calculations is just a few
dollars more than the gas will cost. 

I arrive in the airport and a big guy holding a sign with my name on it is standing
at the arrivals. I say hi, he doesn't speak English and neither does the cute girl
who arrived with him.

I put my bags in his well used but clean Mercedes van he hands me a pillow and a
tells me spat' (sleep) which sounds like a good idea to me. He drives off like a 
madman weaving in and out of traffic, and slowing down when his radar detector
goes off.

I decide to give sleep a try and shortly later I am off to dreamland.

[2tallbill]

My Auntie had a birthday so I took this video of myself in Balmy Norf Dekody
before leaving on my trip to wish her happy birthday.

[2tallbill]

I wake up in a haze while we barrel down the highway my bladder
needs relief and if we don't hit any of the cars that we are narrowly
missing then I am going to eventually need to find a toilet/tree/bush. 

I definitely think the driver Yuri (not his real name) has NASCAR type skills
and his ponytailed navigator Penny (not her real name either) is always
scrutinizing the radar detector for any pip or squeak that it emits. I probably
don't need to state that Russian roads are not the smoothest (insert under-
statement of the year award here) somehow Yuri always misses the huge
potholes and every other hazard that pops up unannounced but Penny's
ponytail hasn't stopped bobbing (nor my bladder) since we left the airport.

I engage them in some conversation with my limited Russian but before
I can bring up the world туалет (toilet) the radar detector starts screaming
Yuri hits the breaks and pulls into a gas station. Penny's ponytail got it's first
break. I jump out, explain that I need the toilet, that I will be back shortly
and to please not leave without me.

I use the toilet, splash some water on my haggard sleep deprived face then
I buy some water, Lipton bottled iced tea (at room temperature) and some gum
(I plan on getting the lips rather than the cheek this time) 

We arrive in Voronezh and Yuri takes us to the apartment my girl arranged for
us. I get out and Angel Eyes wraps here arms around me. Wow she smells great,
she looks divine, her eyes can light up the night sky. I get my kiss and go back
for a second which I get that one returned as well.

We separate, I gather my bags and we make our way to the stairwell and I drag
my bag up to the fifth floor where we arrive to a dinner that Angel Eyes prepared
for us including Yuri and Penny. We eat, the food was amazing, She had obviously
spent significant time putting together this spread.

Eventually Yuri and Penny leave. I find out that Penny is Yuri's mistress  and
that his wife in nothing like the bubbly, bouncy, ponytailed Penny.

I use the bathroom tub with whirly gig water weasel to remove some of the
filth and bilge that one acquires after traveling half way around the world.
I shave, brush my teeth and knock off the barnacles and go back to the
kitchen to find that she has already done the dishes and put everything away.

She is looking at me, her eyes like deep pools of emerald water reflecting
back rays of the sun like little stars blinking back at me. Her smile is like
a warm blanket on a cold night.

to be continued...............

[Noch1]

She is looking at me, her eyes like deep pools of emerald water reflecting
back rays of the sun like little stars blinking back at me. Her smile is like
a warm blanket on a cold night.

to be continued...............

Why don't you tell us, how you really feel

Great storey.

[2tallbill]

Why don't you tell us, how you really feel

Great storey.

I'll try to be more specific next time 

[2tallbill]

AE (Angel Eyes) and I spend the next days together experiencing pure bliss.
We walk around Voronezh looking at the historic parks. We have long talks
late into the evening. I am becoming more and more smitten each day.

AE has a daughter named SG (Smiley Girl) who has been studying English 
as well and comes to see us at lunch time. I make some hot cocoa and show
her how to melt marshmallows in it. The marshmallows are a hit. Lunch is
Borscht, salad, pork fried rice (I made this) some kind of tasty meat that was
cooked with a bell pepper and cheese on the top of it, bread and juice.

SG is a sweet girl, very well mannered and quick with a joke or funny prank.
She's taken on the job as official photographer. On a number of occasions,
I will yell "STOP! it's the paparazzi !" which will make her giggle wildly while
taking many more photos.

[2tallbill]

Voronezh WWII Memorial
January photos

[2tallbill]

January Photos

[2tallbill]

January Photos

[2tallbill]

January Photos

[2tallbill]

January Photos

[2tallbill]

Voronezh in January

[2tallbill]

When I was in Voronezh in January they had two elevators. One elevator had no
lights and I refused to get on it. The second elevator had 1/4" plywood for walls
and they were very flexible. I could imagine falling to my death if I leaned against
them

[2tallbill]

Another shot of the train station