A Video Tour of Our Apartment....

Breakfast with Gio

Our first houseguests!

This was an exciting weekend, but now I am sitting here on the couch with Zeus awaiting the end of Gio's nap feeling a bit sad.  For the last 3 days our cozy little apartment has been filled with laughter and good friends.  We had three visitors from Italy: Paolo's very good friends Angelo & Sandro and Sandro's son Andrea.  It was a tight squeeze, especially since we also had to include Zeus in the bed count! We showed them all around Kiev, and they spent two very late nights out dining and dancing.  Right now Paolo is driving them to the airport, and I am waiting to take dear Zeus home as his family has returned from vacation.  The apartment is going to seem so empty tonight.  I suppose I should get started on packing (we leave at 3:30 AM Friday!!), but I don't expect too much of myself this evening... 

Snack time usually happens at the top of the slide.  Gio likes to spend a few minutes with the bulb we planted last month.  It is finally sprouting!

Yesterday we all went to a giant indoor amusement park near our home. The guys played foosball (there is also a movie theater, bowling alley, hundreds of video games, bars and restaurants) while I hung out with Gio at the kid area.  Here he is on his way up to the top of this 3 story play structure. No body does indoor playgrounds like the Ukrainians!

At the end of our playtime. No, Gio is actually NOT sucking his thumb for once... it is an ice cream cone!

Brunch at Cafe Wolynsky... Gio is at the play area while we enjoy some adult conversation.  From left: Ina (our landlord's daughter), Andrea, Sandro, Gennady (world's greatest landlord!), Angelo & Paolo. Having not showered in 2 days, I refused to be in the photo myself.

It is a cold cold time of year here in Kiev.  Not expected to be about 10 degrees all week. I am looking forward to the "warmth" of DC.  Seeing that it is expected to be 44 on the day we arrive, I am going to break out my flip-flops.  Anything above freezing sounds heavenly.

Brrrrr

It has been a brutally cold week here.  I should not complain as this winter has been mild in comparison with what Kiev lived through last year.  We have had only a few small snow storms and mostly bearable temperatures.  At least this week the skies have been brilliantly blue.  So what to do when the weather is so cold?  Sometimes the time stuck in the apartment gets rather tedious, but Gio is quite good at finding new ways to entertain himself....

Inspired by his current favorite book "Where the Wild Things Are," Gio builds a sail boat...

We bundle ourselves up to take Zeus out to "make yellow snow."

Zeus is particularly fond of our neglected garbage dumpsters.  Fortunately they were finally emptied an hour after this photo was taken!

They look thrilled to be out in 4 degree weather, don't they?

Zeus would really prefer to be couch surfing.

Yes, Gio is investigating some frozen dog poop.  Luckily the same command I use for Zeus works for Gio: "Leave it!"

On a stick collecting mission.  At least one of us seems not to be bothered by the temperature!  In fact, he spent an hour on this collection effort until his shivering mama dragged him back inside!

Stick number 24 and counting....

Zeus waits patiently. 

Back inside waiting for hot cocoa.

Lego towers are a new obsession.

Tomorrow two of Paolo's best friends from Italy are arriving for the weekend.  We are looking forward to the house party! We are curious who Zeus will choose to sleep with.  It will be an empty house on Sunday when everyone goes home, including our sweet dog guest. I hope to take pictures of the fun, but currently I cannot find my camera charger.  Off to continue the search....

Zeus!

Today we welcomed our very first houseguest.  Zeus is a 9-year-old Black Lab whose family traveled back to the US for 10 days.  We are thrilled to have him and, as you can see from the pictures, he already seems feel right at home.  On this stormy, cold weekend, we are enjoying our new snuggling partner.  Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!

On Our Own....

Gio and I have been on our own this week as Paolo is in Maldova.  We have been keeping busy going to toddler playgroups, swimming and riding the Metro.  With Gio's current obsession with "choo choo trains," I suppose it is understandable that he would also love riding around underground.  The Metro here is truly impressive: dirt cheap, efficient and easy to navigate, even for someone like me.  The stations are very deep (one on the red line is supposedly the deepest in the world) and quite spacious.  Apparently they were built as nuclear bomb shelters- perhaps smart at the time they were constructed with "big bad Russia" so nearby.  Now the endless escalator rides are at least a fun chance to people watch, and the spaciousness helps me with my claustrophobic tendencies.  I do find it funny to think about how so many things here would NEVER pass the "safety test" in the US.  For instance, these escalators go at least twice as fast as any I have ever ridden at home.  Sort of fun, actually, though in the beginning I was quite scared of getting on and off, especially when I was holding Gio. 
Here are some photos I was able to take of the Metro, even though it is technically illegal to photograph there.  It seems to be illegal to take pictures everywhere here.  I try my best to share my new world with you, my few devoted readers, but it is not always easy to sneak in a shot or two. 

Going down... it seems that half of Kiev's commercial business is down here....and that I spend most of my time climbing up and down stairs. At least it's a cheaper workout than joining the $6000/year gyms!

You can buy virtually anything you want down here: flowers, coffee, pastries, underwear, catcti (yes, there is a cactus vendor right at our very own Metro stop), dog food, beer, beer, beer....

The entrance to the Metro station.  Watch out for these doors- they are heavy and swing back and forth on their own whims.

And then through the turnstiles.  The plastic tokens cost about 25 cents and allow you to ride as far as you want, including transferring to other lines.

And then the rapid descent.  Very orderly.  If I am not distracted watching the people riding the other way then I pass the time reading.  The ride can be that long!

The very wide passageways.  Quite elegant and sparkling clean.

As for our apartment, we are nearly done moving in.  We still have some pictures to hang and the guest room/office still needs work, but we finally do feel like we have a true home.  We had two terrific carpenters here building bookshelves and closets, and I was actually able to talk them into building Gio's slide, which is now his favorite spot in the house.  Here are some shots of the THREE boys at work...

And finally, a few shots from our trip to the pool this afternoon....

Looks a bit tight, no?  This cap is meant for 8-10 year olds, but it still seemed small.  Gio did not complain and actually insisted on wearing it for the entire hour.

Practicing for his giant leaps into the pool.

There are 55 steps up to our apartment.  Tonight I insisted that Gio walk them all (I am still recovering from throwing my back out two weeks ago).  Here he is with only 6 to go... taking a thumb break.