Long Time No See

So about a year ago when I found out we were going to Moscow for our first assignment, I posted on Facebook that fact and put out an invitation for anyone to come visit.  We had some half hearted interest by some, but one said she would definately be here.  Well Connie was true to her word and came out last week.
We started with a bang on the 4th of July.  After a bite to eat and a walk down the pedesterian Old Arbat Street.  From there we met up with Jolene and wound up at an after party at some cafe and from there we took a cab to some other bar that was decorated in Red, White and Blue for our Independence day.  Needless to say it was a VERY long day for Connie, but she hung in there.  We also met another American visiting from Turkey (I think).  He tagged along and came out with us.

We were up the next morning (not to early) site-seeing over the next couple of days, taking in all the touristy sites and some off the beating path.  I took her to see the Changing of the Guard at the Eternal Flame, Red Square area, the Armoury and the GYM (pronounced GOOM) mall.  We also made it out to Gorky Park and the nearby Statue Park.  The embassy community had an Independence Day picnic and I think Connie had fun there too, as you can see.

Unfortunately the first couple of days, Jolene had to work, but on Friday night, she was able to head out with us.  We made it to one of our favorite cafes SIM-SIM, for dinner.  

All in all, I think Connie had a good time and it was nice to see her again after 21 years... yeah we hadn't seen each other since high school.  It was nice to catch up and hear about everyone.  And thanks again to Jolene for being such a good sport too!

So hopefully in the next week or two we will be finding out what our next posting will be and the offer will be out there again, anyone wanting to visit and see the country we are in, just let us know!