We waited quite a while in the morning for Anna to call with news. She had been trying to get through to the head doctor at the orphanage all morning and finally got an ok to show up. A new driver once again as yesterday's car was vandalized overnight and all the windows were smashed. We arrived at the orphanage and saw the quarantined sign out front. The head doctor was less than cordial but relented to let us visit for 15 minutes.
Tasha, as expected, didn't remember us at all, and with our surgical masks we had to wear, was instantly in tears. A couple of minutes and some hugs from Jacki and she was fine, but she still needs to reacquaint herself with us. We had a toy with us that she wanted right away, and we played with stacking cups, but fifteen minutes was just not enough time. We did notice that she had definitely grown since October. She has gained some weight, her hair is thicker, and her walking has really improved. Her caretaker said that she is very active and wants to be the first to get into something, so we will wait to experience all that first hand soon. We will see if we can persuade the head doctor to let us in again tomorrow. Here's a picture of Tasha with her favorite caretaker Yulia (Julia) and her new toy. She seems to love anything that she can carry around, just like her favorite toy on our first visit.
Tasha, as expected, didn't remember us at all, and with our surgical masks we had to wear, was instantly in tears. A couple of minutes and some hugs from Jacki and she was fine, but she still needs to reacquaint herself with us. We had a toy with us that she wanted right away, and we played with stacking cups, but fifteen minutes was just not enough time. We did notice that she had definitely grown since October. She has gained some weight, her hair is thicker, and her walking has really improved. Her caretaker said that she is very active and wants to be the first to get into something, so we will wait to experience all that first hand soon. We will see if we can persuade the head doctor to let us in again tomorrow. Here's a picture of Tasha with her favorite caretaker Yulia (Julia) and her new toy. She seems to love anything that she can carry around, just like her favorite toy on our first visit.
After our quick visit, Anna asked where to drop us off. We hadn't really planned on any sightseeing because weren't really expecting such a short trip, and while Anna asked us what we have seen already decided to take us to one of her favorite quiet spots, the Novodevichy Convent and cemetery. The convent was up above a snow covered frozen pond and all around the pond kids were sledding down. So, with all the schools closed, the kids are all playing together out in the snow.
Inside the convent grounds, Anna got some lessons in camera work and after several attempts got a nice picture, minus the top of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Smolensk. :)
In this picture you can see the same cathedral with the bell-tower in the background to the left.
Inside the cemetery we saw the memorials of various figures from Russian history, such as Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol, and Boris Yeltsin.
We finished our afternoon with a trip to the Yalki Palki restaurant, serving traditional style Russian foods, the one we couldn't find from last trip mentioned in yesterday's post. Anna had to take us. It was camouflaged because they also serve Sushi and the name on the front of the door says New Japan restaurant. You just have to know that Yalki Palki is inside. :-/
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