July 2000 (part 5)
After I had (a little) thrown up on my neighbour in the plane, we finally arrived in Moscow. The first night we stayed at a host family. They were living in a flat
in the suburbs of Moscow and the lady, whose name was Natacha, was very nice. But the apartment was very far from the center of Moscow and the room was so tiny that Sophie and Mommy thought that we were going to become completely crazy 
if we were to stay there for several days... That's why, they asked to
move after the first night and to go to a hotel in the centre of Moscow...
The next day, I stayed with Natacha and Sophie and Mommy started the paperchase (or more accurately the 'visachase'). There was only Sasha-the-driver and Dimitri, a young student who was supposed to act as an interpreter. To start with, Sophie and Mommy thought that Dimitri was going to be as useful as Ella to get all the required documents (Ella is my best friend...) But, at the end of the day, Dimitri had done a very good job indeed... Well, nothing had really been performed but Sophie and Mommy had found a very nice translator, Margarita Nisanova who knew everything we needed to do and who helped Mommy tremendously...
In the evening, we had to search Moscow for a suitable hotel... or at least a hotel which would accept us for the night... Mommy thought that the coordinator (Olga) had understood that she had to find us a hotel room, but actually she had understood that we didn't want to stay at Natacha's (who had very friendly mosquitoes at her place!) but she hadn't not realized that it meant that she had to book us a room in a hotel... Grrrr, Grrrr and triple Grrrr said Mommy who is not very good at swearing ! And that night we stayed at the Marriott on Tverskaļa avenue. It was very beautiful, there was a big marble bathroom, two king size beds for Sophie and Mommy and a lovely little cot for me with a nice soft blanket.... AAAAHHHH... That was plain luxury......
On the following days, it was the same routine. I would stay with Sophie and Mommy would run 
with Sasha and Olga to do some for-ma-li-ties... Sometimes Olga
would put on her wisest air and say to Mommy 'Don't worry...' and Mommy would worry even more because Olga and Alla
didn't seem to have figured out that France is no part of the USA but is a different
country with different laws...
And, at the French consulate, they were not terribly helpful either... They would constantly ask for more apostilles or stamps that couldn't be obtained and then they would say: 'Oh, OK, never mind, bring your document as it is...' Mommy had imagined that those people were there to help French citizens who could be in trouble in Russia but she realized that she was completely wrong!
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Of course, we didn't have time to visit Moscow... One day, maybe we could have visited the Kremlin but I decided I needed a nap... |
| OK, OK, I suppose it is a pity but babies need their rest... Yes, Dr Spock is positive about that question, you know ! |
The only place we saw and which was well worth the visit was 'Dietski Mir'. In Russian, it means 'The Child's World' it is a big commercial center entirely dedicated to children, with all you could dream of: clothes, toys, furniture, toys, baby baths, toys, baby food, toys... Guess what I liked best ! Yes, I know, it may seem strange but at the hotel Belgrade, they had no cots for babies, and I could climb over the two armchairs that Sophie and Mommy had arranged to make a bed for me... So Mommy decided to buy a foldable bed for me but then she realized that the playpens were cheaper so... she bought me a playpen! Sophie and Mommy put a fluffy blanket and some sheets as a mattress, so that it was nice, comfy... and safe !!!
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