August 12, 2008 - Leaving for Trip 2 to Russia

well - our departure date has finally arrived! we are due to leave for russia this afternoon...our flight leaves at 4:10pm. we arrive in frankfurt at 9:05am and then leave for st petersburg at 2pm...i just love long layovers! we get into peter at 6:40pm and we are staying at our friend's apartment in the city. so nice to actually have someone to stay with and be able to save some $! plus - they can help us get around a bit. we will get to see Nicky on thursday some time...not sure the exact schedule of everything - it's all off-the-cuff! that's been one of the biggest challenges for me...makes it hard to plan for things! i think it's actually been good for me - kinda gives me a glimpse at parenthood! our court date is on friday - not sure what time - and when we're done with that we're free to leave the country. the ministry of education imposes a 10 day wait after court, which is actually 11 days (starting from the day of court) which could turn into 15 days. we'll not know how long our wait is until friday - keep your fingers crossed for 10 days! but - oh darn - if we have to stay in peter a few extra days, then i guess we'll just have to go and look at a beautiful museum...darn! :) anyway - it cost way too much to fly home during the 10 day wait as most people do, so we are spending the time in basel & locarno switzerland! darn - a forced vacation! we'll stay with my friend Rachel & her family and then take a trip to locarno - beautiful town in the south of swiss sitting on a pristine lake...once again - darn! we return to peter on the 24th and if the wait is not extended, we should get Nicky some time on the 26th!!! crazy!!! we're gonna be parents! :) we will then get his passport, etc & travel to moscow on the 27th and spend 2 days there at the US embassy. if all goes well, we'll be back in the US on the 30th! we are so excited and ready to get this trip started! we'll email and send pics along the way...i figured that would be a good way for me to "journal" too. don't worry - i won't test anyone on what i've written...it's just easier to email everyone at once.