New to the board, but sort of an "old salt" to this endeavor TR

[Doll]

(I'm guessing a lot of people are reading and not commenting.)

As I know all this didn't work out for OP- I am just wondering....)))))
Also there has been 8 years since then and Chris is still searching. Is it "guys  don't do what I did"  story?

[Simoni]

During the course of the dinner, I took the opportunity to present to Julia a Swarovski crystal & gold heart brooch, with an arrow through it. It looked far more elegant & expensive than it really was, and Julia seemed to like it very much.

And I thought Swarovski was "my little secret!"

I gave many away to girls back in my dating days :-)

[Chris59]

And I thought Swarovski was "my little secret!"

I gave many away to girls back in my dating days :-)

It was a very attractive brooch. It was only like $50, but easily looked like it was worth 10X that.

As I know all this didn't work out for OP- I am just wondering....)))))
Also there has been 8 years since then and Chris is still searching. Is it "guys  don't do what I did"  story?

Doll,....Actually, NO! This story is anything but a "don't do what I did" story. It's just the opposite. I won't spoil the ending, but I will refer you to my very first post at the top of this thread, where I said:

"The point I'd like to make is,.....to those of you who may be newer to this, and are considering whether or not a relationship with a lady from the FSU is for you,.....take it from me,.....even when a relationship with a good woman from Russia (Ukraine, Belarus, or whereever) doesn't completely work out,....it can still be one of the most satisfying relationships that you'll ever have (my opinion, anyway) in your life."

Every bit as good as the first time I read it!
Damn, I remember being able to get a satisfying meal for two in those little cafe's for around $5.00 U.S.

Ahh, I see we have a very special guest to this thread. I honestly didn't know if you were interested in re-reading this little tale. Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to have you recognize the man who helped me make all this possible. The man who without the assistance from him and his girl Nina R., this trip would never have gone over as well as it did. A man that for most of you, needs no further introduction,.....one of the original pioneers to boldly go where few American men had gone before. A man who not only went to Russia, but LIVED there for 7 years. Ladies and Gentlemen,....I give you a man that I greatly respect and admire for his achievments and accomplishments while living in Russia,.....I give you,.....Mr. Phil dAmore !!!  Let's hear it for Mr. dAmore !!!!

 

[Chris59]

Now, I'm almost certain that after that little introduction, Phil will have a lot less respect for me! My apologies to Phil, if that little piece was slightly over the top.

[Chris59]

   The rest of this evening would consist of an uneventful train ride back to St. Petersburg. Nina R. had invited me to visit her in her home if & when I was able to find time. I told her that if Julia was willing, maybe tomorrow evening after we had dinner. This would help facilitate any conversation between Julia & me. After bidding Nina R. farewell for the evening, I was left to fend for myself on the Metro after 11:00pm in the evening. I made my way down the deep escalator, and was fairly certain I had boarded the right train, and only had to go 2 stops to station Ploschad Vosstanya. I emerged from the Metro and assumed walking in the direction that I “sensed” was my apartment, down Ligovsky Prospekt. I found my way back to the apartment, and telephoned both Nina R. (as instructed), and Nina S. (as requested). Nina S. inquired about what time we could get together the next morning, and I told her that about 10:00am would be fine.


--- Friday 8/24/01 ---

   I had told Nina S. that weather permitting, I wanted to spend the early part of the day out with her taking photos of various parts of the city. Prior to departing in the morning for the city, I presented to Nina S. a beautiful 14kt gold & diamond heart pendant on a chain. I had brought this & the Swarovski crystal brooch for each of the ladies I was to meet. Prior to my arrival, I wasn’t sure who would get the pendant (the better of the two items), and who would get the brooch. After about 2 days, it became obvious to me who was going to get which. I had intended to give Nina S. hers prior to my departure, but during morning coffee on Friday seemed like an ideal time to present it to her. Nina S. seemed to like it very much, and wasn’t without it from around her neck for the rest of the time I would see her.

 For the most part of this day, we would spend strolling along Nevsky Prospekt souvenir shopping, down along the Neva River, sitting near the fountain close to the Hermitage watching boys stripped to their skivvies wading through what must’ve been freezing cold water in search of change from the bottom of the fountain. We also went to the statue of Peter the Great where several couples were there getting married, an ascent of the St. Isaac’s Cathedral, and browsing through Gostinyy Dvor. During the course of this day, Nina S. kept jokingly reminding me how lucky I was to be in her company during the day, and have a dinner date with another woman that evening. I had explained to her, that I honestly felt much closer to her, than to Julia to this point, and I was only making good on a promise to Julia to take her to dinner. I had scheduled my date with Julia at 7:00pm to give me the maximum amount of time with Nina S. prior to Julia arriving.

   About 6:00pm we arrived back to my apartment for some hot tea and a little quiet time. About 6:40pm Nina S. left for home, and I hurriedly showered and changed clothes into my best suit, brushed my teeth, and exited down  to the street, which by now it was exactly 7:00pm. An immediate check of the street nearby did not reveal that Julia was standing anywhere near here. Immediately to my left though Julia was down the street about 50 meters or so waving from the driver side of her car. Upon entering the car, Julia was in full facial make-up, unlike yesterday, where she was unmade, & in jeans & an “Alaska” T-shirt. Tonight Julia would be dressed in all black, with leather pants, and a nice black top. It was a HUGE difference in appearance from the previous day. I would even say that she looked HOT! I had inquired as to how long she had been waiting there for me, to which she responded “about 20 minutes”. My first thought was if she had seen Nina S. leaving, and if she did, did she suspect that she might be the other lady I was seeing in St. Petersburg? Anyhow, I had previously told Julia to choose any restaurant to her liking, and she drove us about 1 block directly around the corner from my apartment. This restaurant named “Ott Pina” (in English) at 33 Marata Ulitza was apparently a new restaurant, and for a Friday evening wasn’t very busy at all. I told Julia that Nina R. had invited us to her apartment afterwards, if we’d care to go. Julia then told me that she hadn’t felt well that day, and would really prefer to just head back home to Dibuny after dinner. During the course of dinner, Julia & I passed my electronic translator back & forth, as verbal dialogue did not flow very smoothly between us. Much of the time, there was awkward silence between us. I told Julia to just order whatever she wanted for each of us, and I would just rely on her, as I couldn’t understand squat on the menu. She made a great choice. She ordered an appetizer plate consisting of prosciutto, fresh mozzarella cheese, and other assorted cold cuts. Entrees consisted of poached salmon for me, served in a bed of thick white cream sauce, and Julia opted for a generous portion of veal scaloppini served with a light tomato sauce. We had wine, beer, & ice cream for dessert. Total bill came to 1040 rubles (about $35.00). Considering that this restaurant was clean, the service good & the food excellent, I considered this a HUGE bargain by St. Petersburg standards. This is definitely a place to dine in St. Petersburg without spending a fortune. I’ll surely look for it again next time I visit.

   After dinner, Julia decided to walk me home, as it was just on the next block around the corner. I gave her a big hug, a couple pecks on the cheek, and before 9:00pm she was headed back home. Now, back in my apartment I immediately called Nina S. to inform her that my obligatory date with Julia was now over, and I was alone for the rest of the evening. I couldn’t stand the probability of her thinking that I’m out having a good time with Julia, while she’s home alone. Thus far, at least for this trip, my heart belonged to Nina S., and after we agreed on her coming over tomorrow morning about 8:00am, I grew somewhat solemn again, as this was to be my last evening in St. Petersburg, and all I had planned for the rest of this evening, was to pack my luggage in anticipation of tomorrow’s departure from St. Petersburg. Gee, it seemed like I was just getting warmed-up to the city, and it’s already time to depart. Bummer!

--- To be continued ---

[Chris59]

--- Sat. 8/25/01  Departure day ---


   Nina S. arrived at my apartment at 8:00am as agreed upon. The previous night on the phone, I had jokingly asked her to come over at 4:00am or 5:00am. She stated that she gladly would’ve, but that the Metro didn’t run that early. We finally settled on a more reasonable hour of 8:00am.

   Nina R., Slava (the driver) who is Nina R’s son in law, and Nadya (the apartment owner) were due at my apartment at 12:30pm. This gave Nina S. and I several hours of time alone before we could expect company. It didn’t take very long after our morning coffee quiet time, to turn into more intimate time. Probably the funniest thing I remember about Nina S. during these times, was how she upon removing her stockings, would laughingly toss them into the air, in hopes of entangling them on the chandelier-like light fixture hanging from the ceiling. She would then say in a very jokingly tone of voice,…”Oh, Nadyaaaa!”, as if to be teasing the apartment owner, if she ever came into the apartment at such a moment, and caught us in such a compromising position. Fortunately, on both counts, her stockings never stuck to the chandelier, and Nadya never did come in!


   Later, we took a stroll to Ligovsky Prospekt towards Ploschad Vosstanya and back again towards my apartment. A quick stop at the 1-hour photo mat revealed that the film I left the day before did not turn out. I had brought a nice 35mm camera that apparently I’m a bit challenged on, for proper operation. Nina S. and I had lunch at our same café across the street at about 12:00pm. My flight didn’t leave until 3:30pm, so we both thought it best to grab a quick bite.

   During the course of this entire morning, it was bitter-sweet indeed. I did my best successfully to hold back any tears of sorrow regarding my impending departure. These past 5 days had been almost like a fairytale. Everything went far, far better than I could’ve expected, and I was sorry to have to leave after just a very short time in St. Petersburg. About 12:30pm everyone began to arrive, and we spent the next 45 minutes or so, chatting over hot tea. They inquired as to when my next visit would be, but I couldn’t give them a definite answer, except to say “soon”.

   The ride to the airport was a bit on the gloomy side for me. Fortunately, Nina S. was allowed to accompany me and we sat alone in the back seat with both of our hands lovingly wrapped in each of the others’. It was rather difficult to make eye contact with Nina S. as I didn’t want her to know how miserable I felt. I could see that she felt somewhat the same. Along the way, they pointed out new landmarks (parks, statues, & hotels, etc.) that I had not seen on my brief 5 day visit.

   Upon arrival at Pulkovo Int’l. Airport, we had time to pose for a few photos. I wanted to expend the final photos on the roll that was still in my camera. While inside the terminal, Slava was willingly toting my luggage. This gave me the opportunity to pull Nina R. aside and thank her very much for everything she had done for me. I inquired if there was anyplace in the airport to purchase roses to present to Nina S. She told me that she believed they were available in the arrivals terminal. I gave her some cash and told her to buy about 7 or 9 nice red roses for Nina S. Nina R. then disappeared and I said my final farewell to Nina S. & Slava. Nina R. had been gone about 10 or 15 minutes, and when inquired about by the others, I innocently told them that maybe she had to find the ladies room. Nina R. then returned with a beautiful bouquet of red roses which she handed to me, which I immediately gave to Nina S. Nina S. had previously told me that red roses were her favorite, and I could easily see she was delighted to receive them. I gave Nina S. my remaining Russian rubles. I was not going to need them for a while. We exchanged one last big hug, kisses, and I went through the customs gate to initiate my final departure procedures. All three were still at the customs door waving me farewell, as I went through customs & onto the LOT Polish Airlines check-in counter. This was truly one of the saddest days in recent memory. My trip to St. Petersburg for 5 days was now officially over! All that was left was to board the plane for departure. However, prior to my departure, I had come to realize that something truly special had transpired in my life during my brief time in St. Petersburg. Something I hope to experience again, and will certainly bring me back to St. Petersburg in the very near future!

[Phil dAmore]

Now, I'm almost certain that after that little introduction, Phil will have a lot less respect for me! My apologies to Phil, if that little piece was slightly over the top.

Not a problem Chris... I will keep you in mind when I need someone to introduce me on my upcoming world tour! 

[Chris59]

Not a problem Chris... I will keep you in mind when I need someone to introduce me on my upcoming world tour! 

Thanks Phil! I'm relieved that my little intro gig didn't seem to bother you too much.

Honestly, for a newbie traveling to St. Petersburg for the first time, it was a huge comfort to know that you and/or Nina were closeby. Not only did you folks provide any assistance needed, you were our close friends while in St. Petersburg.

You're a gentleman, a scholar, and a fine judge of vodka!

[Chris59]

So, no one has asked yet,...but for anyone that finished my little novel is probably wondering, "What happened to Chris and Nina S."?

Well, we all lived happily ever after, of course! The End.

Ok, not exactly,....and I'll try to give you nice folks some sort of closure, on what became of the relationship between Nina S. and myself. Before I do that, which I'll probably post on Friday, or by this weekend, I'd like to mention:

.... On my return flights on LOT Polish Airlines from St. Petersburg, Russia to Warsaw, Poland, I had no indication there was still an itinerary problem on the first leg. When I arrived into Warsaw, they informed me that I was actually flying stand-by on my return flights. STAND-BY, I thought!? What's the problem, my return itinerary had not changed,...it was only my flight schedule TO Russia that I thought I had a problem. To make a long story short, (yeahhhh,... ), i was eventually allowed to board my originally scheduled flight to JFK, after being told that I was being put on another flight via Amsterdam several hours later. The best news was, they put me in Business Class, where they wined and fed me non-stop all the way back to New York.

LOT Polish Airlines really is a nice airline. I wouldn't hesitate to fly them again. I believe they only have a few cities in the U.S. that they fly to, JFK in New York and Chicago,.....there may be others too, I don't know without checking.

Some travel points I'd like to make about going to the FSU are:

1. -- Guys, if you’re traveling to Europe, bring your cell phone! I spent countless hours on mine while awaiting resolution of my crisis in New York. You never know what problems are going to arise at your domestic transfer points. Having my cell phone with me proved worth its weight in gold! This should be obvious. Many GSM cell phones can be made to work on the local FSU networks by simply purchasing a SIM card for that network. Buy it here, or buy it there, but don't leave home without your cell phone.

2. -- Don’t book separate flight plans like I did. While LOT Polish Airlines had an irresistible fare offer over the internet, attempt to get that fare in conjunction with your domestic carrier. A lousy 3 hour delay can screw-up your whole vacation. Believe me, if you read my story in its entirety, you know that they don’t give a damn what happens to you afterwards, even if it’s their own fault, if you’ve booked separate contracts.

3.- - Travel light, or at least lighter than I did! Don’t try to be the Goodwill Gift Ambassador upon your arrival to Europe. Had my luggage not been checked in Sarasota, Florida all the way through to St. Petersburg, I would’ve been lugging around those 2 anvils all over JFK on Saturday the 18th. Inside my luggage, I had 3 bottles of wine, peanut butter, jam, coffee, teddy bears for 3 ladies, 2 hard cover pictorial books about America, and enough personal toiletries to open a drug store. I weighed each piece on my bathroom scale, and was astonished to find that I was going to lug 80 pounds total of luggage with me to St. Petersburg, Russia.

4. -- Guys, this should be obvious, but I stupidly overlooked it. Pack some fresh underwear, socks & a couple shirts in your carry-on bag. Don’t forget your shaving equipment, toothpaste, underarm deodorant, etc. I had packed all mine in my hard luggage, thus had to purchase some at the hotel shop in Poland. I've flown domestically many times for years, and it never occured to me that I would encounter a flight problem that would push back my itinerary 3 days.

I posted some other travel-related pointers in my very first introduction post. I will now conclude my travel-related posts, unless anyone has any specific comments or questions. Again, these flights happened pre- 9/11, so there may be many new policies and procedures implemented.

I will give you an account of what happened between Nina S., Julia  and me in subsequent postings in the next day or so.

Thanks to everyone who has followed along!
 

[BrightDawn]

Thanks Chris. I'm a newbie and I really enjoyed reading this.

[Chris59]

Thanks Chris. I'm a newbie and I really enjoyed reading this.

Thank you, BrightDawn! I read your comment in the "Avatar" thread, and that the woman in your avatar inspired you to begin this search. I too was greatly inspired by the certain photograph of a lovely blonde Ukrainian woman, "Irina".

[groovlstk]

Great TR Chris, you bought back a lot of fond memories from my days of searching.

I've flown a number of times on LOT, as they are a partner in the FF program I favor, and it's always an adventure. Once I was served an in-flight dinner that consisted of a single slice of lettuce between two freezing, mayo-soaked slices of bread. I was years ragging on my Polish friends about this 

[Chris59]

To give everyone a bit of closure on what became of the relationships between Nina S., Julia and me, I would like to reiterate a comment that I made in my first post. This was my first trip to Russia, and for the most part, I treated it as an exploratory trip to meet some people of another culture, in their own country, and allow them to show me their city. For the most part, I don't think things on this trip could've gone any better, except for the airline hassles, which cost me 3 days of my trip. Thus, I really only got to spend 5 days in St. Petersburg, and as most of you know, that's not nearly enough face-time with somebody to get an accurate impression of who they really are.

After I returned, I exchanged several e-mails with Julia, although mostly just on a friendly basis. After several months, she did not respond to one of my e-mails, so I never bothered to follow-up with her to continue our correspondence. She spoke almost no English, and between us, I just didn't have the same chemistry that I had had for Nina S.,...so, that was that with Julia.

Now, there are some traits about Nina S. that I did not mention in my trip report. One of my biggest peeves is smoking. Nina S. smokes, and in her defense, she did mention it in one of her initial e-mails to me. She downplayed it a bit, but in reality, she's a regular smoker, and I had told her on several occasions, that is something I just cannot live with.

Nina S. also had an 18-year old son, who was still living with her. Yes, of course I knew about him too prior to my arrival, and even spoke with him on the phone a couple times when I called. I tried to make small talk with him occasionally in Russian, but we never really had time to get acquainted. I never did meet him in person either, and if Nina S. wanted to be protective of him, while she was figuring me out, I'm ok with that. I know that a woman will never love anyone more than they love their own children.

(Good news for my readers,....I wrote another trip report about the next trip I made that following April,  , but fortunately for you guys, I cannot locate it on any of my computers. I recently trashed an old computer too. so, I'm just going give a less detailed account of what happened on that trip.)

Nina S. and I would continue to exchange e-mail, but not daily as before, but maybe 2-3 times per week. It would be 8 long months before I could get back to Russia again. I'm certain that many of you veterans here, will probably say, that is too long to wait before returning to St. Petersburg. That may be so! Those 8 months gave me time to step back and reflect on everything that had transpired. Was Nina S. really the right girl for me? What about those mood swings she seemed to have? What if she didn't want to quit smoking? What if her son didn't approve of me? A lot of "what if's"? Also, what are the chances of a 42 year old guy, who's never married, going to Russia, and finding the ideal wife, with the very first woman he meets? Probably pretty slim, I'd think.

Several months had passed, and I had already targeted late April as a return date to St. Petersburg. I was still in college, and Spring Break seemed like a logical time to go back over. I suppose I could've gone back for New Years, but I didn't. I continued to read the discussion boards, and the trip reports from other guys that were traveling to the FSU. Most guys' stories that I read, they were writing to and visiting more than 1 girl at a time. One of the big discussion topics was the WOVO (write one visit one) theory.

[Chris59]

Great TR Chris, you bought back a lot of fond memories from my days of searching.

I've flown a number of times on LOT, as they are a partner in the FF program I favor, and it's always an adventure. Once I was served an in-flight dinner that consisted of a single slice of lettuce between two freezing, mayo-soaked slices of bread. I was years ragging on my Polish friends about this  

Wow! That's awful,...when I flew over in coach, they fed us a choice of entrees, of which I chose the roast pork, which I thought was excellent, by airline food standards.

I guess in your case, when it comes to Polish, the joke was on you.  

[Chris59]

 ------------Continued ---------------


So, despite the fact that things had seemed like a fairytale for 5 days while in Russia, there were still just too many "what if's", and some slight doubt that the very first Russian woman I would meet would turn out to be the one. To be honest, during my search, I've determined that a woman preferrably never married, and with no children, or at least grown children, and living on their own would better suit my personal comfort zone.

Several months had passed since my trip to St. Petersburg, when I was browsing a Russian agency site http://www.ikarinter.com. There I noticed another very appealing blonde woman from St. Petersburg. Her name was "Elena",  she was 39, never married, and had no children. She was very attractive, elegantly dressed, and had a "reserved" sort of beauty, that I look for in a woman. Something about her face just really appealed to me. Her e-mail address was publicly listed in her profile, so I sent her an introduction letter. To my surprise, about a week or so later, I got a nice response from her. In a subsequent letter to her, I told her that I had recently visited her city, and that I hoped to return sometime in the coming months. I was also very honest with her, I explained that I went to visit 2 ladies that I had previously written to, one of them recovering from cancer, and one of them with whom I had spent most of my time. I told Elena that if I returned to St. Petersburg, I could not promise that I would be available to meet her. Believe it or not, Elena seemed to be ok with this. We only wrote to each other about twice per month. She even later included her phone number, and I gave her a call one day, when spring was approaching, you know, just to make certain I wasn't really writing to "Fat Yuri". Elena had a wonderful soft, feminine voice, but spoke absolutely no English. Fortunately, thanks to Dr. Pimsleur, I could utter a few sentences that she understood. I remember she asked me when I was going to come to St. Petersburg ("Kak-da"?, she would ask). I told her it would probably be April or May.

When I finally went to St. Petersburg again in April 2002, Nina S. was there with Slava to pick me up at the airport. Nina had cut her hair a bit shorter, but it was still very attractive. Nina had rather long below shoulder length blonde hair back in August. Nina was wearing a full length beige rain coat. She told me that today was the first day that there was no snow on the ground. I jokingly told them that I brought some Florida sunshine with me. I spotted a cigarette burn hole in her coat, which reminded me that she is a regular smoker.

The very first day back was fine. Nina S. and I walked down Nevsky Prospekt, where we had dinner in a restaurant right across the street from Gostiny Dvor. We had a window booth right by the sidewalk window, which I will admit, I couldn't help glancing out of every so often. We both had the pan-fried pork chops for dinner.

The next day was Sunday, and Phil was now back in St. Petersburg, and living with Nina R. in her apartment in a slightly distant part of town. We were expecting them and Nadya ,the apartment owner, who is actually a good friend of Nina R's, for dinner that night. I believe they were scheduled to arrive by about 5:30pm. Nina S. said that we had to go shopping at the Kuznechny Rynok, which was just a few short blocks away.

Guys, this place is supposedly the largest produce and meat market in all of St. Petersburg. It takes up an entire city block near the center of St. Petersburg. I remember going there on our first visit. Basically, it's just a large produce and meat bazaar, or like a big indoor food flea market, like something you'd see on National Geographic television in India or Pakistan someplace. When we last visited in August, I was a bit shocked to see various cuts of meat, pork and lamb mostly, just laying out on long paper-lined waist-high tables. The meat was not wrapped, it was not covered, and it definately was not refrigerated. It was literally just laying out in the heat, and every little kid passing by, could just poke it with his booger-nosed fingers if they wanted to. I didn't specifically see anything like that, but the meat was laying there, waiting for whatever happens to it in 80 degree weather all day long. We visited once about 4:00pm, and I wondered what they do with the meat that doesn't sell that day. Do they THEN refrigerate it, to try and sell the next day? I'll admit, I was a bit concerned buying meat like that, but then again, I hadn't read any articles about masses of people getting sick in Russia from eating bad meat. So, I trusted Nina S. that what we were buying was ok. In her opinion, it was situation normal,...nothing to be concerned about.

Nina S. surveyed the pork tables, and found a big chunk to her liking that looked like it weighed 4-5 lbs. She negotiated a price with the uh, "butcher", I assumed, because of his blood-covered white smocks. Nina S. also bought many other produce and spice items from several different produce vendors. I noticed that each "vendor" sort of heckles you as you pass by. They must be trying to gain your business, or something, but if you made any eye contact with them, they'd be verbally hawking their wares until you were out of earshot. I almost never understood a word any of them said, but they were appreciative if you did business with them.

Ok guys, this is where I "suspect" that my downfall in Nina's eyes began to happen. Earlier, I had exchanged some dollars into rubles, and I had nothing smaller than 500 ruble notes. Many of the vendors struggled to make change. Most of Nina's purchases came to 30 rubles here, 40 rubles there, so I let her pay for the little items. In retrospect, I was not thinking, and forgot to offer her money to cover the grocery bill. We had quite a lot of food in a typical shopping bag, which I carried home. For whatever reason, Nina S. criticized the way I was holding the bag. I had the bag sort of gripped around the top of the plastic, wrapped around my wrist, instead of carrying it by the handle. If I carried it by the handle, then it was quite close to the ground, and I didn't want to accidently bump it on the ground, thus risking spilling everything out of the bottom. The bag really was quite fragile. I was really curious as to why this seemed to bother Nina S. Walking home, she was kind of silent again, as she had exhibited on my first visit. We stopped at a small market a couple blocks from the apartment to get some beer, and a few other small items not found at the rynok. This time, with (6) .5 litre bottles of beer added to the bag, it was now really heavy, and I then carried it like a fullback carries a football. I cannot say if this is what bothered Nina so much, but she didn't say a word all the way back to the apartment, and something by now was clearly bothering her.

After a few minutes of the silent treatment in the apartment, I finally confronted her, and asked what was the matter. She did mention something about having to pay for the produce back at the market. I said,...."Oh, no problem", I pulled out a 500 ruble note and put it in her back pocket. That was way more than she spent at the market. It's just that she had smaller bills at that time and I didn't. It was never my intention to have her pay for the food, but I probably should've given it to her back at the market. In my mind, regardless of where I reimbursed her, it shouldn't have continued to be a problem. I gave her back much more than she had spent later, so in my mind, it shouldn't have remained a big deal.

I helped Nina S. prepare dinner, by cutting all the "salat" items. She cut the pork into chops, and marinated them with some packet seasoning, and pan fried them. They were delicious! Phil arrived with Nina R., and Nadya arrived a few minutes later. Even though Phil and I had exchanged e-mails for many months, and even spoke on the phone several times, I had not yet met him in person. I was very much looking forward to meeting him. We seemingly had a "normal" evening, where we enjoyed dinner, dessert, wine, beer, good company and conversation. Later in the evening, I gave to Nina S. a 14k gold and diamond bracelet. I thought for certain that if she still had any ill feelings toward me,....this might help smooth things over. However, all during the evening, I still sensed that something was bothering Nina S.

At 11:00pm, Phil and Nina R. left for home, and I thought this would give Nina S. and I some quiet time, as we went about cleaning up the kitchen after our dinner party. Within 10 minutes of Phil and Nina R. leaving, Nina S. was putting on her coat by the front door. The apartment and kitchen were still a huge mess, and I assumed that Nina S. would help me clean the place up. I never said anything about the mess, but I just assumed that we would share the duty of cleaning up. However, Nina S. appeared intent on leaving. When I asked why she was wanting to leave in such a hurry, she said she didn't want to talk about it. Ok, I was starting to get a bit aggravated at this situation myself. I can be a bit stubborn too,....I asked if she wanted me to walk her to the Metro, she said, no. So, I just let her go!


 ----------- Still More to Come --------------

[Chris59]

The following day was Monday, and when I got up, I called Phil and Nina R., to see if Nina S. might have said anything to Nina R the previous night. Turns out that Nina S., did mention something about the having to pay for the produce over at the rynok. In my opinion, since I had reimbursed her in the apartment thereafter, that should not have been a huge issue to drag on throughout that night.

I had time to ponder the situation for a couple hours that day. Nina S. did not call me, and I did not call her. Even had she called me that day, I was not going to request to see her that day. I wanted her to think about the situation too, and when we eventually get back together, we'd have something to talk about.

When I came back to St. Petersburg for the second time, my intention was to spend time with Nina S., and only Nina S. Even though I had introduced myself to yet another woman, "Elena", I had not originally contemplated actually contacting her in St. Petersburg. Well, about half the afternoon had gone by, and since Nina S. did not call that day, I thought I had nothing to lose now, by calling Elena and at least asking her to dinner. I got her on the phone, and she was quite receptive to having dinner that night. Since Nina R. had delivered flowers for me to Elena also, the 2 ladies were already somewhat acquainted with each other. I called Nina R. and asked her if she would accompany Elena and me to dinner, to facilitate translation. Remember, Elena speaks no English. Nina R. called me later after calling Elena to figure out when and where to meet. Nina R. said that Elena would meet us at the small park on Pushkinskaya Street, a couple blocks from Metro Mayakovskaya, which was convenient for Elena.

The day was kind of dreary and drizzling, to match my mood I guess, and one thing I forgot to pack in my luggage was an umbrella. I wanted to at least appear prepared, so I took a walk down Nevsky Prospekt to "Passage", which is a small, expensive shopping mall in the heart of St. Petersburg. Nina R. had told me the pronunciation "zont" for the word umbrella. I remember wandering into a fashion store, where there were 5-6 young female clerks all gathered around the register. When I asked them in my best Russian if I could buy a "zont" there, they kind of giggled at my Russian, but they pointed me to a store down the hall. With an umbrella secured, I headed back to the apartment, as I had only about an hour before I was to meet Nina R. and Elena.

I changed into a suit and arrived at the park on Pushkinskaya Street, and being my usual punctual self, nobody else had arrived yet. Since I had never met Elena face-to-face, I had to make sure that there were no blondes loitering in the area. It was still kind of raining, so I waited in the front entrance of an adjacent apartment building. Nina R. was the first to arrive, and she said that Elena had called to let us know that she was running a few minutes late. Nina R. gave me a visual impression of Elena, by stating that Elena was not as tall and slim as Nina S., and her figure was "a little bigger". That's ok I thought, as I tend to prefer my women with a little bit of meat on their bones,....you know, a slightly fuller, more curvacious figure. Within a couple minutes, a blonde woman appeared from around the corner from Nevsky Prospekt, and I finally caught my first glimpse of Elena.


 ---------------- To Be Continued --------------

[JR]

I enjoy this "full measure" of your account. It has flavor and that is what will most likely get a few butts moving. Thanks for all the effort you are putting into this.

[Chris59]

Elena and I exchanged hugs and a handshake, and together with Nina R., we walked in the direction of Nevsky Prospekt to look for a quiet restaurant. Elena is about 5'6", blonde, had her hair nicely tied back, and her face was in near full make-up mode. She had on light pink lipstick, and no overpowering mascara around her eyes. I could easily see that she was very attractive. At that time, she was 39, never married, had no children, and had moved to St. Petersburg from a small town in Belarus.

The first restaurant we chose was a bit crowded, and had a rather funny smell, which Nina R. mentioned that Elena did not care for. We stopped a passer-by and asked for any recommendations on a quiet restaurant in the area. We found ourselves at a rather small restaurant around the corner from Nevsky, but I wasn't certain what street we were on. We had walked no more than a few blocks in a small drizzle of rain. We were given a booth next to the window, where I sat directly next to Elena, and Nina R. sat across the table from the both of us.

Earlier that very day, Nina R. had spent the entire previous night at the hospital accompanying her daughter, who delivered Nina R.'s first granddaughter, "Vera". Nina R. had mentioned that she did not get any sleep the previous night, but she was kind enough to accompany Elena and me to dinner that evening. We started the evening with an appetizer salad, of which Elena and I both had the shrimp salad, and Nina had a tuna salad platter. Considering that the restaurant only had a few tables occupied, I would've expected the service to be a bit more attentive, but like most Russian restaurants, our dishes arrived at a snails pace. After an hour or so's conversation, I sensed that Elena is starting to warm up to me. When we first met out on the street, I didn't sense that she was immediately that interested. With the help of Nina R. translating, there was nothing that we couldn't discuss. I cannot remember exactly every topic we discussed, but we must've discussed quite a bit, as by the time our main dishes had arrived, it was probably about 8:00pm, and we had already been there for about 2 hours. As the conversation flowed, I could see Elena was growing even more interested in me, as she would make direct eye contact as I answered in English, and give me a big smile. Elena would then ask Nina R., "что" ("what"?), as if anxious to hear the translation of what I had just said. The booth we were sitting at was not all that big, so Elena and I were sitting quite close. I noticed many times that our legs would bump under the table, or come together, and she never once jerked her legs away, like you might expect someone to do, if you had only just met several hours previously. That gave me the impression that Elena was growing more interested, and by this time, her beauty was growing on me immensely, and I was growing quite interested in her.

Now, not to sound too superficial, but Elena is almost "model beautiful", but in a reserved sort of way. I could not believe that a woman this gorgeous had never been married before. I remember asking her how many e-mails she received from her profile, as her e-mail address was publicly listed on her main page. She told me she literally received about 1,000 responses. I was blown away by that number, and I asked if she was joking about that. She claimed that she wasn't, and when I asked her what made me so special,...she responded by saying that she appreciated receiving a "normal e-mail" from me. She said that many guys were too old, ugly, or just sent naked pictures of themselves. She detested that!

Guys,...in case many of you are wondering, that is not all that unusual in the FSU, for a gorgeous woman to have never married by the time she reaches 40. Even when that is the case, I have found that many of those women have been able to have a child, but somehow, both of those feats had eluded Elena, and personally, for my own situation, that would be my ideal preference in a woman, as I have never married either. I had to wonder though, if maybe that meant that the lady was some kind of psychopath or something, but if such was the case, Elena had not exhibited any of such traits.

By the time we were finishing the main course, conversation was going extremely well, Elena and I often made direct eye contact, and by now, she must've been quite comfortable with me, as she would often touch my hand, or slightly pat my leg during the course of the evening. Nina R. must've sensed the connection that Elena and I had made over the last few hours, as she excused herself, making reference to the fact that she had not had any sleep the previous night, and upon exiting, she told us, "you two don't need me anymore". We thanked Nina R., and she was headed for home. Remember, Elena speaks no English, and I know just enough Russian, thanks to Dr. Pimsleur, and however much I might've learned through about the first 20 lessons of that course. I did bring my Ectaco electronic translator, which Elena and I enjoyed passing back and forth to translate a major word to get the full meaning of something across. I asked Elena if she would care for some "мороженое" (ice cream), to which she obliged. We both had vanilla which was quite delicious. Speaking of delicious, I was amazed that I had hooked up with such a beautiful woman.  Now, I don't consider myself some kind of a "Casanova" or womanizer by any stretch, but I've had my share of attractive women in my day, but Elena just may top them all. I'm not a player, or even much of an outgoing personality. I'm a fairly reserved kinda guy, and I want my lady to be the same.

As we finished our ice cream, we were laughing, snuggling slightly, but not overly, and just having a good time with each other. I was mindful of my manners too, as I don't want to impose on a woman's space too much for a first evening.
For whatever reason, I don't think we saw our waitress more than 3 times during the entire 5+ hours that we sat there. Unlike most American restaurants, where the waitstaff will pester you at almost every mouthful, we hardly ever saw our waitress, and I was perfectly fine with that! By now, it was almost 11:00pm, and the lights were dimming in the restaurant, as I guess that's the staffs' way of letting us know it's time to get out. The Metro closes at 11:30pm, so it's a good thing they sort of kicked us out, or Elena and I might've been content spending the night sitting in our booth. I had just enough time to escort Elena to the Mayakovskaya Metro station, which was only a short 2-3 blocks away. It was here that I wanted to teach Elena an English word. We exchanged a very warm, long, close embrace, to which I repeatedly said to her "hug",..."hug". She entered the doors of the metro station, and I stood there and watched her disappear, as she waved goodnight to me.


 ............. To Be Continued .......................

[Zmejka]

It's a pleasure for me to read your trip report Chris. I have some suspects that Nina S could have met someone local or another foreigner who visited her during these 8 months and who could take things with her further than she had them with you - that would be at least some explanation of her behavor, i don't believe she could get really upset about you not paying at that market, that's too unimportant to be a real reason. But i'm only suggesting because in real life it could be more complicated. I'm waiting for the next updates to find out how it progressed (if it did) with Nina S or Elena (or may be other women you also met during your stay). By the way me and my Dutch bf just returned from our trip to Saint Petersburg where we've been both for the first time. And it's interesting to read about places that we've just recently seen and visited in real life.

[Doll]

Well, I do understand why Nina S gave up on OP. I would too.

[Chris59]

It's a pleasure for me to read your trip report Chris. I have some suspects that Nina S could have met someone local or another foreigner who visited her during these 8 months and who could take things with her further than she had them with you - that would be at least some explanation of her behavor, i don't believe she could get really upset about you not paying at that market, that's too unimportant to be a real reason. But i'm only suggesting because in real life it could be more complicated.

Zmejka,...Thanks for your interest! At this point in my story, I can understand how you would think that Nina S. might have met someone else. If such was the case, then I don't think she would've greeted me as warmly as she did at the airport upon my return. It was during the course of my second visit that things began to go sour between Nina S. and me. I don't wish to spoil the rest of this story, but at this juncture, Nina S. is not out of the picture.

I apologize to my readers that my recent episodes are taking longer to get posted. I will continue posting within the next couple days.

Well, I do understand why Nina S gave up on OP. I would too.

Dear Doll, Thank you for your opinion. As a Russian female, maybe something that I have written about my meetings with several women, is obvious to you, about why Nina S. would act the way she did. Of course, every story has two sides, and I'm sure that Nina S. had her reasons. However, whatever those reasons were, I still do not know. As Zmejka stated, not paying at the market is too small of a reason. If you'd care to share your opinion, you are most welcome to share,...as maybe I can learn something from it. You may share here, share via PM, or you don't have to share anything at all. I will respect your opinion whatever you choose.

[Doll]

Sure. The woman placed herself on a marriage market, met a WM (you), had a date, corresponded for 8 months, met again. Finally she understood you were not moving on after all these months and gave up. This produce shopping was just the last drop in her cup of patience. After all she had a son and she didn't want him to watch his mother dating somebody forever.
It is about pride and not wanting to waste time any more.
IMHO
(She was right because you haven't moved since then (2001)- it is 2009 now.)
 

[Chris59]

Sure. The woman placed herself on a marriage market, met a WM (you), had a date, corresponded for 8 months, met again. Finally she understood you were not moving on after all these months and gave up. This produce shopping was just the last drop in her cup of patience.
It is about pride and not wanting to waste time any more.
IMHO
(She was right because you haven't moved since then (2001)- it is 2009 now.)
 

Thank you for that! I appreciate and respect your opinion. However, when things began to go sour between Nina S. and me, it was ONLY day #2 of my second visit. You state that I was not "moving on". What am I suppposed to do, propose to the woman on my very first day back to St. Petersburg!? The least we both could've done is let the rest of my visit play out, and then either discuss where we stand, or then, start acting up. Again, I respect your opinion, but I can not think to "move on" after only having spent 7 days total with her at that point. I really think it's got to be something more than that.

==================================================================================================

Note to everyone: Ok, I will admit that I am not the fastest guy when it comes to proposing marriage to a lady. If they expect me to propose marriage after only 7 days, then I am not the guy for them. No one will ever accuse me of being a "1 week wonder". Even when it comes to dating across the Atlantic Ocean, I still believe that the 2 people need to take the time and get to know each other. Otherwise, why are there so many people my age (40's) that have been divorced 2 and 3 times already? Either it's financial reasons, or compatibility issues. I will only get married when I am absolutely certain that I have found the most ideal woman for me. "Ideal" may be unrealistic,....but it will have to be someone as close to that as possible. Marriage is not a union to be taken lightly. It is probably the most important decision a person will ever make in their lifetime. It shouldn't be taken lightly. I will admit that 8 months is a long time to string somebody along, without returning to Russia to carry-on the relationship. When it comes to considering marriage, I am very cautious, maybe too cautious.

If I could interject a bit of advice to guys considering this venture,....it is probably advisable that you make trips to the FSU more frequent than I was able to. Only going to Russia once or twice per year, could eventually prove frustrating for your lady, if she has hopes of making a life with you.

[Doll]

I really think it's got to be something more than that.

Something else too, I agree.

[Doll]

If they expect me to propose marriage after only 7 days,

Why "after 7 days"? We are talking about 8+ months