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rushin conlins rushin conlins sunday november 21 2010 winter has arrived in moscow it has been a very busy time since the last blog entry i have traveled to rostov russia istanbul turkey sofia bulgaria layton utah and minsk belarus i have had so many wonderful experiences it will be hard to catch up as of today sunday november 21 we only have 25 days left until we leave russia to go back home and start a new adventure there so with that background i will try to do some catch up since the last time sometime back in september i invited the senior missionary couples in moscow to our apartment for a saturday morning breakfast of russian pancakes fresh fruit croissants juice eggs etc etc we had a great time this was another saturday adventure i went with my boss david stapley and his wife lisa and elder and sister holmes to sergei posad a city about 2 hours outside of moscow it was fun to get outside of moscow and see the beautiful forests and scenery sergei posad is actually a large monastery and outside of the compound there was an open air market where people were selling their crafts this good woman a babushka was painting beatiful pictures on these wooden eggs they were absolutely beautiful but too expensive for me she did allow me to take her picture this is the main cathedral in the monastery elder and sister holmes and i went to the military band concert at red square they had military bands from many countries around the world this is sister holmes and me in our seats with st basil s cathedral in the backgound i thought this was a stunning picture this is when the band from the united states of america came marching onto red square st basil s cathedral in the background and the american flag inside the big ball it was an electrifying feeling this is our favorite souvenir shopping place ismaylova this is just one of the 100 s of booths where they sell the russian stacking dolls and other crafts i m sure we will be making more trips there this is looking down one of the lanes at izmaylova with the many varied booths and shops some cathedrals in moscow have been around for a long time and they just build large and more modern apartments and office building around them this one reminded me of a gingerbread house i finally had some company this is one of the resusci annie dolls used for the humanitarian project to train doctors and nurses to take care of newborns with problems i was asked to bring her back to moscow after we left rostov where we did the training so she spent the night here and she didn t even cry during the night of course another picture of our favorite site in moscow novodeviechy convent this is a beatiful night shot on a saturday in october we visited yasnaya polyana the birthplace and estate of leo tolstoy the famous russian author this little village is about 3 hours south of moscow the countryside is beautiful this is one of the lakes on the estate these next 3 pictures are just a few of the many i captured that made me think of my favorite poem the road not taken by robert frost we spent a couple of hours just walking around the estate on this beautiful fall day it gave me lost of time to reflect on the paths i have taken in my life some good and some bad the choice of which paths in life to take is very significant may all of our paths lead us all back together see ya soon posted by g and s at 12 51 pm 2 comments wednesday october 13 2010 just beginning 35 on saturday august 28 2010 geri and i celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary i had to travel for work that weekend and was in kyiv ukraine for the temple dedication i worked all day in the temple clothing store at the temple site when i arrived home the next day i found a note in the apartment that led me on a two day hunt in closets books pictures etc in an attempt to find my anniversary gift what a surprise when i did find it geri knows that i cannot live or breathe without putting on my watch first this watch is a real treasure but not as much as the one i found when i convinced her to marry me that is a treasure of infinite worth and she is right 35 years is just the beginning it has been wonderful but the best is yet to come madrid spain i arrived in spain and took a taxi from the airport to the church s missionary training center where i would get the information needed to renew my russian visa with the russian embassy the mtc processes hundreds of missionaries so that is why they know how to get visas thus my visit there the taxi drove thru the streets of madrid until we turned a corner and i nearly shouted there it is the temples are such a wonderful comforting familiar landmark i met manuel the director of the mtc and had lunch with him and some of the missionaries at the mtc i gathered the requred information and headed for the russian embassy when i arrived i was told to go accorss the street and get some more passport pictures the woman in the photo store only spoke spanish and i only spoke english but somehow we were able to communicate she was so friendly and helpful and kind i have found that no matter where we go in this great world there are wonderful beautiful people who like to help this was a great introduction to madrid while i was waiting for the pictures to be processed i sat outside on a bench on the walkway between the two streets as i was sitting there watching spain go by a man came walking by carrying this hind quarter of beef my first introduction to spain i was able to go back to the temple and spend more time there and do some temple work i always love the flowers at the temples so this is one of the beauties at the madrid temple when i fi nished my work in the temple i met garry moore the temple president i knew garry from church headquarters in slc he was kind enough to give me a tour of the inside of the temple when i finished i went back to the mtc next door and went to the 6th floor where i took the next picture i was there i asked the receptionist where i could find a restroom she gave me a puzzled look and said we only have the staff offices on this floor let me check around she hurried about going into several offices talking to some of the teachers and some of the missionaries after about 5 minutes she came back with one of the young elders and said this elder said you could rest in his room now i understood what she thought i meant she was trying to find me a rest room then i remembered i was in spanish speaking territory i then asked for a banjo not the guitar like instrument and she laughed and led me down the hallway to the men s banjo this is the grand via one of the main streets in the busy city of madrid the people at the mtc told me about this little restaurant in madrid that has been operting since 1897 and they have been serving the same thing hot chocolate and churros other than a few other cake like things that is all they serve of course i was not going to pass this up it was in a tiny alley street and i went in and filled up the hot chocolate was very thick and dark and just right for dipping the churros this is a must visit for any trip to madrid below is the inside of the restaurant it s always packed with people dipping churros into the hot chocolate mmmmmm yummmmy this was the center of the city and a very happening place i listened to this very lively and entertaining band they were extremely good matt maybe you could get a gig over here i traveled to segovia which was a 2 hour train ride outside of madrid the highlight of this city is the aqauduct seen in the pictures below the aquaduct is 500 600 years old and was made with granite blocks without any mortar there is a canal that runs along the top that carries water to other parts of the city fascinating architecture and engineering notice the arches that are held together without any mortar ponder the significance of the keystone in the arch below is an interesting castle on the outskirts of segovia city another day i traveled to another city outside of madrid called toledo i think this might be where the saying holy toledo originated below is small train station on the way to the city and a view from the road leading up to the city this is a view of the city from across the river the roads are small and winding and just looking at the city you can maybe imagine why i got lost wandering around the small streets that are only wide enough for one car to pass there is a story about this nice grandpa i met in a small shop in toledo we had a great conversation and had something in common that was very important to us you can see some of his trades in the window on the right geri will be especially interested in learning about this kind man i passed this one of many stores in toledo where they are famous for swords and knives toledo is a very famous steel that is still used in making these swords and knives a connoisseur of swords would recognize the toledo brand of steel i thought of matt when i passed this store below are two of the many streets in toledo i really did get lost in this maze when i was wandering around i felt like a mouse looking for cheese except i was looking for marzipan toledo is also famous for marzipan the grandkids are probably going to be able to taste it this the lonely zombie tourist on plaza mayor the main central plaza in madrid the perimeter is surrounded with shops and restaurants and always something going on and what big city would be complete with a mcdonald s and kfc adios madrid hope to see you again posted by g and s at 1 15 pm 2 comments sunday september 26 2010 september update from moscow now that the blogger tools are working better for me and i am somewhat recovered from my sad state of sending away my best friend it is time to put up more images from moscow and other places in eastern europe so stay tuned and look at all the postings not just the current one i will also be doing alot of travel in the next while so there will be lots to see i will start with this update from moscow for those who are wondering if the smoke and fires are gone especially my mother i hope to show you the truth the fall season is beginning to settle in as you can see in this first picture this is the pathway outside our apartment that i follow every day to go to work i took this picture today a beautiful sunday afternoon as i was on the way to the park for a relaxing walk yes i have learned to relax a little in the pictures below the ones on the left side are images during the heat and fires and smoke it truly was a challenging time unfortunately geri s mother and brother todd were here on their one week vacation during the worst time it really is beautiful over here but it wasn t very beautiful during the record breaking heat in july and august and the terrible smoke from the fires this picture on the right is taken from the same location as the one above on the left but after the smoke was gone this is another picture taken during the smoke time this picture on the right is taken from the same location as the one above on the left but after the smoke we were wondering if we would have to get nicotene patches to help us with the withdrawal in the picture on the left mom and todd are on red square looking towards st basil s cathedral one of the most beautiful images in moscow it can barely be seen in the distance in the picture on the right you can see the beautiful st basil s cathedral without the smoke the picture on the left was taken while mom and todd were here on our visit to izmaylova the great souvenir shopping open air market the open air wasn t very inviting that day the picture on the right is one i took yesterday saturday september 25 2010 at the same location as the one above on the left at izmaylova it s almost disneyland like we have really been blessed to be able to associate with the senior missionary couples here in moscow on a saturday morning two weeks ago i invited them all over to our apartment and fixed a wonderful breakfast for all of them then we all went down to the park to do some sightseeing the time goes by fast during the week while i am working but the weekends seem to go by slowly and it is very lonely i have given my tourist trips a new name i call it zombie tourism it s because i walk around like a zombie because i don t have anyone to talk to sometimes i point to something really cool and talk to myself and say wow look at that then i step to the side and respond wow that is cool i cannot figure out why people think i am so strange yesterday saturday september 25 i went zombie touring again i wanted to see red square at night the pictures below are at night on red square the picture below is of the famous clock tower on the wall of the kremlin this is the large shopping mall gum it looks like a christmas scene this is looking back to st basil s cathedral i guess my hand was a bit shaky so it is somewhat blurry this is st basil s cathedral at night this picture does not do justice to what it really looks like in real life a professional photographer might give you a better idea or you could come over for a visit and i will take you there to see for yourself today sunday september 26 2010 was a beautiful fall day in moscow i think it may be one of the last of the season i decided to take a walk to our favorite park novodeviechy convent the park was full of people walking and taking in the beautiful scenery wish you were here to see it i can only imagine how fun this will be in the winter with the frozen lake this is the post card view of the convent with its many domed cathedrals i love the reflection on the lake of the convent and the fall colors we love this park since it is only a 10 minute walk from our apartment come on over and i will take you for a walk get ready for the next posts on the blog we will be seeing scenes from sergiev posad madrid spain istanbul turkey and sofia bulgaria to name a few i miss all of you zombie tourist posted by g and s at 12 16 pm 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