Back from St Petersburg...

[steve057]

My plane touched down on time at St Petersburg airport and as I went through security I wondered what awaited me on the other side of that wall. To say that I was nervous is an understatement! I walked through to the outside and there was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen waiting for me with a big smile on her face! I walked up to her and gave her a short hug and a kiss on the cheek and we left for the city. I had to check into my hotel first then we were going out to dinner.
 If I may stop here for a moment, I will say that no matter how much you read or how experienced you think you are when you step out into Russia for the first time it is quite a feeling!  I will never forget that  moment as long as I live! Being an American we have been fed a steady diet of crap from our government  about Russia since we were kids and I was about to find out for myself if it was true or not. It was exciting to say the least and I felt I was ready! If I may give one small piece of advice here, please read everything you can get your hands on and read this forum carefully and take notes and keep them with you as you travel. You will need them at one time or another!
 Inna had the agency owner with her to translate for us and her husband was driving. It was very tense even though we had talked through emails for months, Nothing is better than face to face meetings and I soon found that out.  I checked into my hotel and we were off to eat. We went to a very nice restaurant (  I had no idea how nice until later!!) but by the time we got there I was not feeling well as I am not used to riding in the back seat of a car and the drivers there are, well, CRAZY!  Something I got used to and really had fun taking a taxi! We got through dinner with some pleasant conversation and then I got the bill. I just about fell off my chair!!! The most expensive meal I had ever had in my life and to make things worse I had only dollars! The Interpreter told me we could change money in town and we never got to it before we went to the restaurant. So she had to talk them into taking dollars and of course they wanted extra money for that as well. They took be back to the hotel and agreed to pick me up in the morning.
 More to follow.....

[steve057]

Inna & Elena ( interpreter)  picked me up at the hotel and we were off to have lunch together. After lunch and some more pleasant conversation we decided that we would go to the ballet that night. We went to buy tickets and of course there were none together but we did get them one in front of the other which was fine. We did some sight seeing in the Nevsky Prospkt area for a few hours then back to the hotel to get ready for a night out alone with my girl. As Inna left to get ready Elena stayed behind and asked me what I thought of Inna. Granted it had been less than 24 hours since we had met in person but I was a bit confused to be sure and I told Elena that.  I did not understand where that personality was that I loved about her, I also did not understand why all of a sudden she wanted to live in a bigger city than what I live in at home when in her letters she said it didn’t matter? Elena then told me she had more ladies that I could meet if I didn’t think it was going to work out with Inna. To be totally honest that pissed me off right now! I didn’t fly half way around the world to meet someone else, I flew that far to see Inna ! Well Inna showed up with a taxi and we were off to the ballet by ourselves. I speak no Russian and she speaks no English so I was sure this was not going to be good. We enjoyed the ballet ( if you get a chance it is well worth your time to see) and somehow seemed to be able to talk to each other at least a little. She got us a taxi and we were off. I didn’t have a clue as to where we were going! She is talking to someone on the cell phone and from the tone of her voice is not very happy! So we pulled up along some side street and I am looking around to see where we might be going and a woman ran across the street and hopped into the car. I’m thinking “who the heck is this?) and they began to talk very fast and of course I had no idea what was going on. The woman then turns around and tells me in English that she is a friend of Inna’s and will help us talk to each other. She also told me she would not charge me anything to do this, it is a favor to Inna! So we went to another restaurant for a little to eat and a drink. Finally I started to see the personality from her letters coming out and it was a great relief! We decided to meet around 10 the next morning to go somewhere (can’t remember where!) But Inna wanted me to call Elena and tell her we didn’t need her to translate for us. I agreed and called her around 9 to be sure she wouldn’t come to pick us up.  It was then I found out that Inna did not like her very much and she was way to business like for her. So she called Tanya to help us and believe me it was the right choice for us!!!
 If I may stop here and tell you something about Tanya. She had two friends from the USA. One went there to study for a year and another had married an American. So she was very familiar with Americans and the people that live here, their habits and mentality.  I cannot tell you how much that helped Inna and I  to know each other  better! Never underestimate the power of a good interpreter and if your girl has a friend that speaks your language try to get her to help you both! Tanya and I hit it off from the start and she is a very sweet woman and I can never thank her enough for what she did for us!
More to follow…..
 
 

[diverboy70]

Hi Steve, an welcome back!

I hope you had a nice trip.

I know the feeling of walking through the customs in Pulkovo, not knowing what is waiting on the other side

[Shadow]

Interesting report so far. Regarding the first restaurant, I hope it turned out to be Elena's suggestion. While there will be many places in St Petersburg that are high-priced, for those who know the areas there should be equally many places with good food at a relatively low price..

[steve057]

The girls picked me up at the hotel around 1pm and we went out to lunch. This was by far the nicest restaurant and I might add the most reasonable priced we had been to yet. The service was great compared to the rest and the waiter was very friendly and took photos for us and would stop by every once in a while to check on us. The meal was very good and an all around good time to be there. We talked for quite a while there and I could see Inna opening up to me and starting to get more and more comfortable with me, which was a good sign to me anyways! J We then went to the city square for some more photos and down to the river for a boat ride on the Neva river which was very fun. I should say here that we stopped to pick up a bottle of champagne for the boat ride.  After the boat ride we went somewhere for desert and had another bottle of champagne. After that we did some more sight seeing in the area for a few hours then went out for dinner.  Well to make a long story short we ended up at Tanya’s flat after 4 bottles of champagne and of course we bought two more for there so we could watch the bridges open up. Well we never did get to see the bridges open up!! But we all had a good time anyway. It was very interesting to me to see a normal flat in St Petersburg. I must say it was quite nice but very small but she lived by herself so plenty of room for her and she liked it.  Inna and I had a talk in the morning about money and what I could afford and what I couldn’t. She knows I am not a rich man and I have told her that a few times. I know the rest of the world thinks that money grows on trees here in the USA but we have the same problems as everyone else. It may not look like it but we do! I didn’t want to seem greedy or cheap but we needed to slow down on the spending a little. Once I explained it to her she agreed ( which surprised me) and the rest of the trip was fine. We took a taxi to the hotel and decided not to meet that afternoon since the girls didn’t feel well.  I ended up calling her late in the afternoon to find out how she was feeling and she said fine so I invited her back to the hotel and we could watch a movie or just listen to music. She agreed and brought her laptop with her so we could talk. It worked out great and we understood each other well. We went to a corner market and picked up some food to eat in the room then back the hotel. That was the night I think we finally clicked as they say as a couple! We both understood the other and found that we were saying the same things at times which was a little strange. It’s like we had known each other for a long, long time which in fact we had but only through emails. I walked her home early in the morning then it was back to the hotel for some much needed sleep!
More to follow….
 

[steve057]

Thanks Anders! I had a great time while I was there!! Maybe some time we will be there at the same time and we can meet? I think that would be great!!

 To be honest Shadow I don't know whose idea that restaurant was? I mean the food was good but WOW!! It should have been ! yes the bills went down from there and some of the best food was the cheapest! I never had a bad meal when I was there. The food was good everywhere and that is one of the things I worried about the most. Now I know!!