Moscow city associated with the chaos, messy pavements, dirty minds...there is nothing else to say. I had 12 hours to waste there and 10 of them were wasted indeed. I went to the bookshop, browsed Russian books, that was not for the need, but for the sake of spending time really. I did buy a few though. Afterwards walked to the Red Square. Not because I wanted to see Red Square, just because 
there was nothing else to do...but I did enjoyed this walk, didn't expected to, but I did enjoy. There were few nice surprises along the way.
I accidentally managed to get inside of the St Basil Cathedral. I never been there before; it was always closed for restoration or else. This time it was opened and I visited. St Basil inside was just the same beautiful as on the outside. Like a treasure box decorated from within&...A very fine art of the ancient Russia.Inspiring...
They have a skating ring in the middle of a Red Square. Amusing. Later a fellow passenger on my train, the muscovite, mentioned he feels the skating ring on Red Square to be a disgrace to the great significance of soviet history, but I liked it anyway. It made the Red Square somewhat cozy...it also reminded me of the New York...the Rockefeller Centre skating ring.
Two hours before my train I spent in a nice company of the two of my ex-classmates; they live in Moscow. It never seizes to amaze me how almost 30 years later we still keep in touch and even in such a short notice, and despite of this being a working day, my friends did managed to re-arrange their day to fit me in...I have to say, no one else does this for me...true friends do...the understanding we might never meet again, makes you appreciate every moment. I did met them again on my way back - I had only three hours between the train and the plane and yet they still managed to come to the station and join me for coffee. Such moments make me very sentimental indeed.
I arrived to the Ostrogozhsk - the town where my parents live promptly, the train was on time and so was the local train for the last leg of my long long journey home...it was cold there. Up to minus 15. But the sun was so bright, reflected from the white white snow, it was a pain to the eyes. 
Not once I thought I should've brought sunglasses - my eyes get watery every time I'm out of the apartment and they take 15 min to adjust to the brightness...It was also slippery in this place. Very slippery. They had rain few days before the frost came in. So you can imagine the pedestrian paths were turned into the skating lanes overnight. Especially near the buildings, where the raindrops were captured half-way from the roofs, making for the huge icicles...
I've been thinking about how easy it would've been to slip through the hostile borders of motherland and disappear forever from everyone's radars...how painfully simple it would've been to leave that world and become belonged to the another...white white snows could cover the trace and hide you within the light so bright, it blinds&...
Friends and distant relatives...they're noisy. I wanted to plug my ears and run away...how are you? How is your ex? Is he married? Do you know?...silently I screamed shut the fuck up! All good intentions, of course...I smiled and I was calm...yes, I'm fine, yes, he is married, yes, I know, no I haven't seen, haven't talk since...shut the fuck up!...in a little town like that one doesn't have to tell the story over and over; say it once and the whole village will know without you making an effort...thanks god for that...thanks god I only needed to say it once *sigh*
I've missed the birthday of my "little boy", while I've been away. He is not really little. He's 25 now. Gee, just saying it aloud makes me feel old. I wish to be able to spend with him as much time as I can, as there will come time for him to have his own family and go his own way and that will be the time for me to set him free; but for now...I wish I can spend as much time with him as I possibly can.
My dad is like an unruly child. I had much less trouble with my own son in his sweet teens. As soon as dad discharged from the hospital, he considered himself in perfect health again...the doctors said be careful...the doctors said no heavy lifting...the doctors said no long walks...the doctors said no stress...and dad is running around the little town like mad hatter, fighting windmills of political corruption, writing lousy letters and complains; I can hardly hold him still, he is so impossible. I'm tired...and I said to my dad: if you won't learn to change your lifestyle, I will have to change mine...you will leave me no other choice, but to abandon England and to move back to live with you to take care of you and mom...he listened...it lasted only for a day; then he became him old self again *sigh*
I happened to be in Russia when they celebrated Maslenitsa - the Pancake Week. It is a sun festival, celebrating the end of the winter. Traditions have it so that people gather together, eat pancakes and at the end they burn the dressed up straw scarecrow Lady Maslenitsa. And they dance and have fun around it. So I managed to get to the local celebration of this pagan holiday. I went to the town square, where they were having a town party...wandered around, got pulled into some folk round dance...it was fun. In a good sense. Interesting, in the beginning of the street party there was the snow falling down and magically as soon as the Lady Maslenitsa burned out, the snowfall stopped...they do call it "welcome Spring" for a reason.
Apart from daily chores related to my parents, I did manage to get out few times and take a moment to enjoy the real winter...just as I remember her. Peaceful and beautiful. Blinding white and crispy chill. A small peace of season to add to my collection of travels 