Moscow - Day Three

We had breakfast in the apartment.  We all tried what Bear calls Bureve Delight.  It is named after his companion who is from Siberia.  It is some cheese that has the consistency of Feta but is more like cottage cheese, sour cream and milk sprinkled with sugar.  I thought it tasted pretty good.  Owen, not a cheese lover, ate it all; Greg tasted it.

After that, on to the Metro and our trip the to the souvenir rynok.  Wow it was huge and yes we spent most of the day.  We arrived at 10 a.m. and had to drag ourselves away at 3:00 p.m. It was really overwhelming.  On Saturday they also have a full on flea market where individuals bring their things....on two floors!   We made a dent is about all I can say about it. There is one vendor who Barrett arranged to get a nativity set for me so he was our main goal.  He speaks great English and I was ahead of the boys so I got there and was looking; he was starting his sales pitch and then Barrett arrived.  When he realized who I was with then he told me that I had a different price:)  I guess he knew Barrett, who has done his fair share of purchasing. He spent probably two hours with us, while helping everyone else who came by.  He told us the history of the Matryoshka dolls; the difference between traditional styles and the present styles and about his town and the craft industry there. He had me sold, which he knew, but he was awesome.  He talked on and on about how Bear was a man of his word, coming back to get the nativity set that he asked about, etc.  He was great!  While we were there we met two senior couples who knew Elder Hamp...that was fun.  They had great things to say about him :)  One said that he expects to hear that he will have a Nobel Prize one day...wonder what that was about?

Barrett and our  now favorite wheeler dealer

We took the Metro there and that was very fun.  It is so fun to watch Barrett...he knows where he is going and is leading us well.

This late afternoon, we joined the sister missionaries, Sister T and Sister H,  at the Metro stop and then took the Marshrutka, which is a large van transport, for about $1 each, to Sis. R  and her son A, there was also another friend from the ward, A, for dinner.  Elder Hamp served in this area with Elder  R.  They went to her house every week for FHE and now the sisters do.  It was fun to ride over with Sis. T and Sis. H.  They are darling.

A, Bear and Greg on the Marshrutka

At dinner, Sis. R told us about the whole history of the mission here in Moscow.  She had a couple awesome scrapbooks that captured it all. She was so sweet.  I loved meeting her and she clearly is fond of Elder Hamp.

Elder Hamp and Sis. R

A, mom, Sis. R, Elder Hamp, A, dad, Greg