One more day in Moscow, 4 nights on train to Irkutsk and 2 days here: 8/24-29

Steven asked me to start with the following: "I am starting this blog with a quote from Steven."  

        I am ONE with my fanny pack!!!

(This b/c he was NOT a happy camper with the prospect for months before the trip taking the fanny pack; he has since obviously changed his mind!  Suellen, share this with Ron please!

Sorry folks for not writing for so long if you've been waiting to hear from me/us.  Since writing last, we've been incommunicado b/c no wifi since leaving Moscow late on 8/24 and arriving here in Irkutsk, Siberia y'day morning, 8/28.  So many thoughts running through my mind about what to include on tonight's post as I sit in our private room in Trans Sib Hostel.  Luckily, for me, I've been keeping just a few notes so I would remember things you may want to read and hear about.

• Last day in Moscow: returned by metro to the huge Izmaylovo Market on the outskirts of town for second day in a row b/c we thought it'd be much busier on Saturday than it was the day before.  It was, so we were happy as clams walking around mostly in the pouring rain and trying to get shelter where we could; military medals and pins by the bushel; icons galore - new or old, we know not; paintings; jewelry, second hand junk, big Russian fur hats and of course stand after stand of souvenirs. I think I don't EVER want to see another matrushka doll set in my life after seeing still more at this market!
• After drying off and getting a much needed cup of tea back at the hostel, we trudged out again by metro to go to the Novodeichy Convent/Cemetery and Gardens thinking it was open til 7; got there too late to go inside but we loved walking around the huge "complex" for lack of a better word, even in, or perhaps b/c, of the rain.  Saw B. Bush's gift to Moscow there: a sculpture based on the book "Make Way for Ducklings."
• On the way back to hostel to get another grilled cheese sandwich (that and various type of omelets are our nightly staples!), stopped at a mini grocery store to get provisions for our train trip; wanted more of the delicious Russian dates and raisins which have been great to snack on while out for the day; no way we could attempt to say those words in Russian so I had my empty package of dates to show several clerks in the store to see if they sold them, all to no avail; the last one accused me, in Russian, of getting the package off the shelf and eating them in the store, i.e. shoplifting - no mistaking HIS accusations; luckily, 2 shoppers came to my defense, again in Russian, telling him I was showing it to everyone to see if it were available and that I had not stolen them; was I glad to leave that store!
• Random recollections about Moscow: there are attendants in miniscule glass cubicles at the bottom of 90% of the escalators keeping track of everyone going up and down via 4 video screens; a tad creepy; we have gotten used to our every movement being on video, not just here in Russia but all over Iceland and EVERY country we've been to so far; we did not expect that before coming to Russia.
• No litter, graffiti, no "bills" advertising upcoming events tacked up anywhere in Moscow.
• Russian women in SPB and Moscow dress beautifully, in very stylish outfits right down to their very high heels, certainly way way more so than any US city we've been to; they wouldn't be out of place in Paris; that was very surprising to us.
• Shoe stores seemingly on every corner: Imelda Marcos would have been proud!
• No tokens used in Moscow's metro: you have to buy either a pass for multiple use or a card, the size of a driver's license, which is used once and then discarded; being such big recyclers ourselves that appalling waste of paper was tough to see.
• NOW onto Trans Siberian train: first people we saw at the Moscow station were Dale and Debbie whom we had met on the M. walking tour a few days previously!  They were in our same carriage all the way to Irkutsk (I. from now on) travelling with their friend, Elaine; they're all from Clearwater area of Florida and had made their train reservations also with Real Russia UK; it made the long journey to I., where they also got off, so much more pleasant for both of us being able to chat with them along the way; we're pretty sure we'll see them on the Ulan Ude train to Beijing too as we think we're on the same carriage again!
• First night out, there were three others in the 4 berth compartment with us: Valentina traveling with her 2 yr. old g'son, Mattvee who was a sweetie pie after he had put down his telephone that made ungodly noises til 1 am; and Ilya, a 30 yr. old architect, whom we grew very fond of and who spoke English well; he was returning to Perm for his g'mother's 90th b'day; his father is a jazz musician who now also plays country music and has played in Chicago; Ilya's favorite singer is Marvin Gaye if you please! 
• Met 2 Dutch ob/gyn nurses, Wilhelmina and Lydva, in our only foray to the dining car; the latter had us in stitches regaling us with some of her adventures traveling around the world!
• Had the compartment for a night to ourselves, then met Anna, who's on her way to Shenyang, not too far from Beijing, to teach Russian to Chinese university students for a year; she spoke very limited English but we were still able to communicate OK; she was just a sweetheart.
• The days went by surprisingly quickly with lots of time spent gazing out the windows, chatting with our new friends, reading books on the kindle drinking bottomless cups of tea courtesy of the samovar in each carriage, snacking way too much and getting somewhat discombobulated by the 5 hour time change from Moscow to I; there were about 2 stops a day so enough time to scamper off the train and see what more food we could buy on the platforms from the local citizens selling their wares: everything from massive stuffed animals to fruits, pastries of every size, shape and description, a huge variety of homemade "delicacies" etc.
• Life on the train is governed by the "provodnitsa" aka the carriage attendant; sometimes you may get one who is very cheerful and seems happy doing her job; ours, as you may have guessed, was decidedly NOT of that ilk and made people's lives on our carriage as unpleasant as she could by never putting soap in the soap dispenser in the pretty grotty bathroom, locking it up indiscriminately, and not just 30 minutes before and after any train stop, etc; we whiled a lot of time outside of our compartment looking to see if the red light was on indicating the bathroom light was occupied.  But having said that, we had a fun time and I, for one, would do it again in a heartbeat because of the people we met and being able to see a whole new world for us.
• After 4 nights though on the train, we felt quite dizzy being on terra firma again for more than just a few minutes at a time.
• Have loved our 2 days in I. and nearby Listvyanka on Lake Baikal so far - yet more beautiful churches and amazing wooden homes the city is so well known for - more next time about that as I need my beauty sleep. 
• Now, about 9:30 am on the 30th as I wasn't able to load pictures last night as planned so here goes again: 

  

  Izmaylovo Market, Moscow

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  Above:  All market shots again

  
  

  

  Everyone, including me, touched the dog's nose for good luck

  
  
  

  

  Our very fancy grocery store near iVan Hostel, Moscow!

  
  
  

  

  Novodeichy Convent,

  
  
  
  
  

  

  More shots of Convent

  
  

  

  Sculpture of  "Make Way for Ducklings"

  
  
  
  
  

  

  At Yaroslavsky Stn in Moscow ready to board another midnight train

  

  Mattvee

  

  Ilya, Mattvee and Valentina

  
  

  

  Steven and Ilya on Ist day

  

  Same view of birch trees km after km - made me think of my home address in Ottawa:  22 Birch Ave.

  
  

  

  Our trusty samovar full of boiling water all the time just 5 steps from our Compartment One; also note the bag of omnipresent laundry on the floor; in order to get our tickets for all future legs of the trip back from the provodnitsa before leaving the train, we needed to strip the bunks and have her count them and the towels.

  
  

  

  Our very funny server in the dining car; EVERY Russian woman poses very elaborately for photos as if they're on a model shoot - never seen anything like it before.

  
  

  

  Some of the menu options on board

  
  

  

  Wilhelmina and Lydva from Holland

  
  

  

  Anna, our wonderful travel companion for 2 days en route to teach Russian to Chinese university students in Shenyang for a year.

  
  

  

  Sights from the train

  
  

  

  Food options at train stops

  
  

  

  Debbie, Elaine and Dale from left to right: we met Debbie and Dale on the Moscow walking tour, not knowing we'd all be just 2 compartments from each other on train to Irkutsk, and also on next few legs too.  Lucky us.

  
  

  

  i.e. Moscow to Beijing train!

  
  

  

  Always looking for the red light to go off indicating " tyalet" is available!

  
  

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  Another very common sight from the train;  a huge number of the homes just like this had satellite dishes

  
  

  

  A happy camper on day 3!