Day 23 – Kernave

Today we were planning to go to Sasha’s dacha. So while waiting for them to wake up we went to our bandeles place for breakfast. Unfortunately they were closed on account of the holidays. Dan specifically went there on Saturday morning to confirm that they would be open. They must have put that piece of paper up late last night. I guess it is a learning experience to warn a week in advance your loyal language challenged customers who don’t watch local television.

But enough ranting. We relocated to the comfortable couches in the Coffee Inn next door and had coffees with coffee flavored cheesecake. Georgia had a chocolate chocolate-chip cookie. We convinced her to try the cheesecake and she liked it. So she continued by holding a cookie in one hand and a fork with cheesecake in the other. Finally, after we spread some cheesecakes on the cookie (I can feel certain grandparents grumbling), she seemed the happiest.

The city decorated the sides of the river with two signs made up of flowers. Danik said the one of the left says "I love you," and the one on the right says "I love you, too"

Then we went to Europe mall. We stopped on the way near the opera house to play in its many water fountains.

At the mall we rode escalators up and down again at first and then got Dan some jeans – one of his went bad.

After that we went to Tzarskoje Selo for lunch. This place never disappoints – great service, environment, and food. Interestingly they are not listed in the guide and I could not find any references to them online. They’ve brought a basket of Legos for Georgia to play with. And she also played by the little fountain near the stage.

When we got home Sasha called and we decided to go to Kernave instead of dacha on account of the day being a bit on a cool side. The best time to go really would be on June 23 because they will be having the continuation of the solstice celebrations. But we hope to back again on July 6-7 when they will be having the Archeology Day with something similar to Trakai but more scientific and in-depth.

We met up with Lazutka’s on the gas station and followed their car.

Here is some info about Kernave: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernav%C4%97 & http://www.mjr.lt/arc/mjr2004/htm/e_kernava.htm (this looks informative but LT only: http://muziejai.mch.mii.lt/Sirvintos/kernaves_archist_muziejus.htm). We picked up Alicia and went. It is only 35km from Vilnius – about the same as Trakai.

When we got a little further into the town – a village really we saw a bunch of parked cars and a crowd of bikers. So we realized it must have been the place and parked ourselves near the cemetery. They Then we walked down a wide alley to the beautiful Kernave church. The people must have been hanging out somewhere else because we saw really few visitors.
There are lots of old crosses around that look different than crosses everywhere in Europe. One website said the design is due to the combination with pagan symbol.

There is an interesting statue of Moses and ten commandments in directly front of the church. I’ve never seen arrangement quite like this before. On the left of the church there is a museum with more similar crosses, smelly pond with beautiful water lilies, some beautiful little trees, and a weird little garden / pet cemetery with little stone houses. Underneath the bench there is a bunch of the wild strawberries gone wild. I guess no one wants to pick near the sacred place.

There is a beautiful viewpoint behind the church. We walked down and climbed some of the mounds (except Alicia). They are pretty tall and have neat little stairs going to the top. Then we all walked to the river and picked wild strawberries in the forest along the river. Georgia really enjoyed that. She and I learned to string the berries on a blade of grass.

On the road to Kernave Sasha noticed an Dukstos oak park sign so we’ve stopped there on the way back. It was really beautiful little oak and birch park with wood carvings of what looked like pagan gods. There were stories about this area in Lithuanian on the story boards around.

It was a great trip. Back in the city Dan dropped off the car and got a bunch of delicious dishes from Hyper Maxima for dinner.

Day 22 – Green Turgus and Dacha

In the morning we went to the Green Market on the Gediminas prospectas. It was just a small

portion of what the market usually is during the Kazukas holiday. There was a lot of booths selling herbs and herbal products and some food and beer/kvas booths. We walked around, got Georgia a mushroom and then a chestnut and went home for a nap.
In the afternoon we went to Vitalik’s parents dacha for Diana’s and Ilyusha’s b-days. Diana sent us maps so we had some idea where to do. We knew they are about 25km from Vilnius so happily drove that much before panicking and calling Vitalik. He told us to turn around, get to 17th km mark, locate the clearing, the bus stop of the clearing and make a right there, since there is no sign. We drove through the dilapidated village where holes in the rode were complimented by the speed bumps. Then we got to the no entry sign on the side road and went up that way. Inside the development there was a neat gravel road.

Dacha is very nice and has beautiful grounds. There were lots of enjoyable features to keep Georgia busy through the evening: pool (too cold to swim, but OK to dip hands into), rocking horse, flower garden, dog, cartoons, and a pleasant company. There was an 8 year old boy who helped entertain the little ones.

We had a great time and got home after 9pm. By the time we were done with cartoons it was too late to ask Alicia to stay over so we stayed at home. There was some singing outside at night but not too much – most of the restaurants around were closed.

Day 21 – 3rd Week Anniversary

Can’t believe we had been here for three weeks already. Georgia got a runny nose so we kept her at home to reduce further exposure. We got up late, hanged out, did some drawing, and went to Hyper Maxima for some research. Dan not included in any of the above.

Here is a list of things we found missing:
· Life-sized plastic cutlery – that they have are dessert-sized spoons and forks, and there are some normal sized single use wood cutlery (what a waste to use these).
· Normal dispensers for sanitizing kitchen wipes – they are sold in a plastic bag that cannot be resealed.
· Mesh scrub covered in the cleaning solution
· Zip lock bags
· Buckthorn juice – used to be my favorite. Even though there are lots of juices, variety has down and most have sugar added
· Thicker aluminum foil – the type that is here is candy wrapper thin and rips up easily.

Wading through the things they did have I forgot to ask about the meatballs. Will be back soon enough.

For lunch we went to the recommended Bistro 18 and recommend it further down. Incidentally it is our 21 eatery. Magnificent environment, service, food, and prices are reasonable too. They have extensive bar menu and Tuscan wine they served for lunch would probably satisfy even a wine-tasting nut. We left the same amount for our dinner meal in Double Coffee and it does not even compare.

There was a thunderstorm in the afternoon. We opened all the windows. It was very pleasant and with wet foliage swaying all around felt like we were in the rainforest, at least from the side of the backyard.

We came out for dinner at 7 and it was over already. There were groups of people standing on the streets by the looks of them deciding where to go – most of the outdoor eating options are shot – everything is still wet.

They were playing a music clip in Double Coffee, which provided the pagan perspective on the solstice celebrations. Great amounts of women’s nudity and some sparkle covered men’s. I bet this one will not be playing at home.

Here is another question to all the readers. There is this metal contraption on the Novotel hotel right on the central Gedomino prospect. Looks like a very sturdy metal box with some stair access. Any ideas of what this thing is for?

They are putting up stages around the city for tomorrow’s events.

In the evening we got another breakthrough. Georgia discovered that she is free to move around her room when we are not there. So we were listening to her go through the drawers in her wall cabinet, throw her pillow on the floor and come down to try to get it. She even got out of her room but stayed in the hallway. Probably she was not sure on the reception she will get if she keeps going into the living room. Dan said in a very stern voice: “Mom and Dad are unhappy with your behavior. Please go back to your bed.” It was very difficult to keep a straight face. We sat there with sheepish smiles until this repeated ten more times.

On the subject of breakthrough, we went to the pharmacy yesterday looking for something to make Georgia give her special gift more often (through from re-reading the blogs this would not look like something one would want any more often than it is :)). Georgia was hanging around with me. I had explained that we would like to see a bit more regularity. The pharmacist suggested a little enema with a low dose of medicinal solution. Just as she said it, Georgia chimed in to inform us both that enema will not be necessary tonight.

Here is a picture of the abominable Woo. Don't get deceived by the comfy look of blankets.

Day 20 – Planning the next move

Thanks to uncle Isaac for his comment about syomga – it is a noble kind of salmon, so the small print was not lying.

Not too many interesting things today. Here is a beautiful top of the university chapel.

After several “so so” restaurants we needed to regroup, rethink our strategy, and consume perishables in our and Alicia’s fridges. The next move will be according to the recommendations of the Vilnius in your pocket guide. They agree with us on a very important point: they too said woe to Woo.

So I’ve spent some time planning activities for the next few weeks. On the solstice night there would be many different events in the city throughout the night, anyone want to join? http://www.culturelive.lt/en/events2008/events2008-7/. Alicia will stay over. We will also try to go to Kaunas, weather permitting, on Saturday.

Then Len and Susan are coming on the 24th and we will go on the tour of Jewish Vilnius with a rep from the Jewish museum. 2 official companies offer the tour: http://www.city-discovery.com/lithuania/tour.php?id=311 (102€ for 1) http://www.holidayguide.lt/id-jewish_life_in_vilnius.html (72€ for 2)
We called the first one having found it first. The director said yes, we offer the tour plus for another 100LT per person we can take you to Paneriai where “a lot of… hmm, Lithuanians died, some of whom were of.. hmm.. Jewish origin.” So we tried the museum next to see if they can suggest anything. Will see how it goes.

As we sat at home sipping coke from our paper cups and I noticed that they smell like coffee – maybe at the factory they make coffee too. Dan had a brilliant idea to put a bag with coffee, sugar and creamer on the bottom of the cup so that the only thing that needs to be added as hot water and sell to offices as a pack.

Here is a pic of another bachelorette. She chose a different alternative to the angel consume. There was a small group people around and we did not figure out what she needs help with.

Day 19 – Back in Business With Loaner Camera (updated with pics)

Hurray!! Dan’s parents friends loaned us the camera – not a little soap dish we had but an SLR no less. So we are back in business. Incidentally we got it at night on 18 - which is what this blog entry covers so we have just a 2 pictures on that day.

The morning started as usual. Then Georgia had lunch at the kindergarten again. It tastes good and is a balanced 3-course meal. The teachers were playing train around the tables to keep the kids away while the food is being distributed. All the kids were together still but in one of the main kiddy rooms. Tomorrow they are said to be splitting. One of the teachers (maybe she is the nanny), elderly lady, seems very kind and attentive. Everyone calls her grandma. Georgia has already monopolized her and gets uncomfortable when she gets out of the room. Teachers are supposed to have their meal with the kids but they down their food in minutes and spend their time walking around and keeping the peace.

We met up with Dan and went to Woo restaurant for lunch. Quick preview: Woo restaurant in Vilnius SUCKS!! Read further only if you have eaten very recently…

It is supposed to be casual Asian-fusion. In the basement there are 2 waitresses and a waiter. We waited for 10 minutes. Finally I approached one of the waitresses and startled her because she was on a programmed cycle to set the table: “Bring one fork, think, stare, bring one knife, think, stare, bring one table mat, think, stare, find a second placement on the same table, think, stare, bring one fork… She called the second waitress apparently assigned to our table. We asked “English or Russian.” She said confidently “English,” then looked at us and said “Russian.” She hardly knew either. We pointed to the items we wanted on the menu and waited for 15 minutes. During that time she and the first waitress went through the table setting cycle and completed one table. There were two more tables to clear so they had their afternoon full. Our waitress brought us coffee and cider. We waited for another 20 minutes, watched another table being set, paid for our drinks, and left. She caught us on the street and said that our food was ready. A little too late.

So, once again, for spidering purposes: Woo restaurant in Vilnius SUCKS! Yes, indeed: Woo restaurant in Vilnius SUCKS.

We walked around old town in the evening waiting for Dan’s parents friends to come. Tried to go to Medinikai but they were full serving a group of German tourists. So we went across the street to the Chinese restaurant set in the old building. The room was very nice and comfortable with red velvety tablecloths and Chinese knickknacks. The waitress set our expectations low early on – they only have 1 cook, so dishes will be sequential and the wait time is 30 minutes. But they overdelivered on the time. The food looked Chinese but was a bit bland. Having read the latest copy of Vilnius in your pocket (VIYP), I tend to agree with authors that service is a great part of the experience and it is OK to come back to a place with great service and “so so” food for a possibly better chance than to come back to a joint with shitty service (does not hold true when the food is truly exceptional like in Csarda).

To be fair, there is little in a way of a culture of tipping here. People leave insultingly low tips like a few cents after a meal worth $40-50. So hardly anyone wants to do this job and they either recruit people from villages and don't train them or keep the same perpetually disgruntled staff. I agree with VIYP guide that the culture has to be developed by the customers who should appropriately tip when the service is good and leave nothing when it is not.

Quick note on piles of bottles and trash in the backyards and on grass and just about everywhere. These may look bad to visitor, but they have a pretty dynamic character. For example, almost every morning I pass by the big white building on top of Tauro hill. The piles of trash behind the cars on the parking lot are different every time.

There are street sweepers responsible for most of the areas in the city and they take care of the desolation from a day before. I think the fact that someone exists to clean up the trash develops mentality that it is OK to not take care of your crap because someone else will. It also would not hurt to charge extra for plastic (beer) bottles used mainly by kids and alcoholics so that they could be returned to the store. On a positive note there are far more paper/bottle recycling containers than at home.

A question for fish experts out there. I bought this thing that in big letters said Syomga and did not notice the small print "made from salmon." It looks like salmon, tastes like salmon. I am feeling it is salmon, but I am not completely sure.

Day 18 – (6/17/2008) - Acne Jeans & Lost Camera

Sad update. While we were walking around with Georgia waiting for our dessert in Cancan Pizza (food again, crappy BTW) in Hyper Maxima, we had to go to the special place to leave Georgia’s special gift (special gifts again :) ), and I left our camera in that place. And so it is lost forever and ever. We are trying to borrow one from Dan’s parents’ friend, to hold us over until Dan’s mom comes. So will have to ration the remaining pictures (2, below).

Back to the start of the day. It was raining today. Georgia said on the way to the kindergarten that she would not cry. And she sat sullenly in the stroller but really did not cry. But when we got to there she did start to cry. Kids came over to say hello and asked for her name. Between the cries she managed that. During a short break I slipped out. The pic is the view from Tauro Hill in the rain.

Even though restored buildings look great, some old buildings that had not been restored have some kind of charm that disappears (see the old missionary church pick from the day ago). Exterior restoration seems to happen at incredible pace. There was a scaffolded building on Basanavicaus that got plastered and painted and done in the two weeks we were here. Now the batch of buildings next to it just got plastered up.

Just-in-Time operations would be really helpful to the crew that is responsible for removing pavement stones – they are removed in large portions of the city and are lying around in piles especially around intersections. There is work going on in two or three places tops. Maybe there are two teams competing – one that removes the stones and the other that puts them back, and the former one is winning.

I saw a wonderful name of the store that either went out of business or is just starting up. In case it is unclear from the picture, it is ACNE, not ACME. Would explain why they went out of business if that is the case.

They served lunch early and Georgia was eating when I came in. When one eats, one does not cry :). The food was really good. Tomorrow they would be separating into their groups and moving to their rooms and there will be about 6 kids, all girls, in Georgia’s and two teachers. There are two older Asian kids (one half-Japanese) and many have really interesting names for the place, like Edwin.

Alicia came in the afternoon and we went to Maxima. The end is in the beginning.

Day 17 – Secrets of the city

To take the focus off much criticized food coverage and make you jealous types happy out there, I will look for the interesting tidbits about the city every day. And then will hide them in the text.

Back to food for the moment. In the morning we went to the bakery and got some stuffed buns for the teachers and nannies – we were feeling bad for last week. On the way Georgia realized where we are going and started to cry. We agreed that we will still go because we have to give the give the teachers the sweets – there is no way we could have finished 20 of them by ourselves. So she was pretty content and allowed to be dropped off. When I picked her up, teachers said Georgia did not cry. She said she did. Will see.

We went to the Zemaiciu Smukle for lunch. It is a two-part restaurant separated by the French restaurant in the middle. Georgia and I went inside the main building to the bathroom and mistakenly went down to the cellar via the original stairs you have to bend in half to go though. There was a labyrinth of rooms with tables and chairs. One room had some people inside, the rest were empty. We stayed in the outdoor part. The service was good, the food was nothing spectacular. Forto Dvaros is still the winner.

Tried to get the tickets to Israel at the agency downstairs. They said no problem. Charged the card. Afterwards they’ve called and said it turns out there are no tickets for the dates we wanted, how about a different set of dates. Will ask Olga to move the wedding.

In the evening we walked around Subaciaus gate area. Based on the explanation board Subaciaus gate was facing Moscow. It was supposed to be threatening looking but of little military use. Now it is practically in ruins but is being reconstructed. No one knows the exact origin of the name. One theory is that “subaciaus” has a root “dog” is the name if you read it in Russian. Main executioner’s assistants used to live in the area and they were responsible for taking care of stray dogs.
There are amazing views of the city from there. This site has the panoramic views but it is too slow to view from here: www.panoramas.lt/m_katalog.php?p_id=243&lg=4. There are groups of students gathered on the grass – some drawing, other drinking, still others both.

We passed by Saviour Hill where beautiful Church of the Assumption and the Missionaries’ Monastery built in mid-16 hundreds is waiting for its turn for renovation. We are getting lost in the church names.

Next we walked past Uzupis along Vilnyale brook. And then we walked into a little park café Green Duck. It had inviting menu of Turkish dishes. We happily ordered our favorites. Dan got Iskender kebob, I got chicken on skewers, salad, and yogurt dip.

The girl at the bar turned out to be the bartender, the waitress, and the cook. We should have gotten suspicious when the dip arrived richly spackled by hot red peppers. Georgia could not eat it. Next arrived Iskender kebob covered by a sauce made from mixing a bottle of hot red pepper with tomato paste. Dan started to eat it and said too spicy. Should have been a clear enough signal but I decided to confirm anyway. When I was able to see again through the tears, I saw Georgia offering some olives. There was a little vermouth in my glass, not to be counted on so I’ve tried to stop the fire by eating salad (why does so little fit on a fork at a time!). Then Georgia announced that she had peed. I grabbed spare clothing and we headed behind the café. With the corner of my eye I saw Dan downing the last remains of Coke and moving on to Georgia’s juice. Behind the café Georgia got a bit more relaxed and decided to go all the way. So we ran to the bathroom to clean up. When we came out, the chicken had arrived. Our taste buds refused to provide any feedback. Now we know why the Duck is green. It was kind of funny.

Here are a few more things about Georgia. After the Duck we went to the youths playground and on the way she peed again. So there she was standing in the stroller naked and we were trying to change her. In the meanwhile she was trying to strike the conversation with passersbys: “Hello, I am Georgia.”

She was clearly in a much better mood than at the beginning of the evening. She picked up a little flat stone stuck it to her stomach and said: “I’ve taken the pill to stop the stomach ache.” For a few minutes she was walking around the lawn healing the other organs very dramatically. If that’s coming from the kindergarten exposure, I wonder what’s next.

Day 16 – The First Beach

The clouds had parted and the sky was bright blue in the morning. We decided to go to the first beach (Valakampiai) in Vilnius. As we passed the Cathedral we saw many worshippers coming out – they were mostly older people, very nicely dressed.

We took trolleybus #3 for about 20-25 minutes to the final stop (2 and 4 also work). It is only 2-3 stops after SPP. Had to ask a nasty looking woman to pick up her handbag so that Georgia could sit down – she enjoyed her first ride. Riding public transport with kid and a stroller is not so bad (when you are not alone).

After we got off we walked further down for another 20 minutes. Pine forest smells great. The only thing that is strange is that the place looks perfect for some animals to be around - a deer, a squirrel, and there did not seem to be any.

A bunch of cars packed haphazardly around the road signaled that we had arrived. We passed some volleyball and soccer fields actively occupied and went to sit by the river. It got pretty chilly when the sun went behind the clouds. But when it came out, it got very pleasant.

Georgia played in the sand for about 45 minutes and we decided to head back and grab some ice-cream on the way. There was just fully dressed woman and a teenage girl sitting on the bench reading. Across the river there is a new abandoned building looking like a small hotel – with all the windows broken and graffiti. There are also some ruins of a coffee shop with metal elevator shaft going to the second floor of nowhere. Dan found some pretty poppy flowers.

Hotel Valakampiai is a pretty new hotel, so we went inside the restaurant and waited for 15 minutes. There was some staff passing by but no one paid any attention. We went down to Villa Valakampiai next door and asked for take out ice-cream. Luckily they had very nice one, on the stick, chocolate covered, and whipped strawberry vanilla inside. We played a little on the dilapidated playground and went home.

On the way back we found closed Keramics gallery at the end of St.Ignoto The place looks very nice, will come back.

In the afternoon Sasha and Vika, Klem, and Lisa came over. We walked around the old town and Gedomino. They did not know about St.George statue. Sasha told us about one of his friends who is processional paintball player. Did not realize it is such a popular sport.

Went to Cili Kaimas for dinner and to Gusto for deserts and some capuchino froth tasting. While we were waiting for our dinner, we went home to grab Georgia’s water bottle and a few toys, to the supermarket downstairs to grab some baby food for Klem, back home to warm it up. Little conveniences of the city living.

Georgia picked up a funky way of walking from Lisa. They’ve played very well together and she was very good at staying nearby on Vokieciu walking way. She was exhausted towards the end and fell asleep without the usual cartoons.

Guess where is the dwarf.

Day 15 – St. Peter & Paul

In the morning we decided to walk around the area where Dan grew up. It was drizzling and the sky was overcast. Everything looked different again. Sharper, darker, and with more details.

On the way we stopped by the main cathedral. It is sad that most of the decorative elements in the main room were not preserved. The architecture of the place shows it must have been mightily impressive but now, the only thing that is left is the religious oil paintings. We went to the side altar in the front on the right and saw the most amazing stuccoes. It looked like the surface of the oil or water. There were angels up and down on it and baby Jesus and Maria on the front. Baby Jesus was looking up to the well lit area supposedly indicative of heaven, Maria was looking down where it was dark at the world. Here is some more detail on the scene: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilnius_Cathedral.

The shot above is us passing the national museum.

After that we went to St.Peter and Paul (SPP). This beautiful cathedral was stuccoes all over the place too. It has interesting history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter_and_St._Paul_Church_(Vilnius). There were crowds of tourists everywhere as usual. The ones who were at SPP were extra impressionable. They all came in and stood in the doorway without moving. We were stuck outside negotiating about the starting rain. Finally they started to move away from the entrance and we could come in. The place has quite a bit of female imagery including four main female saints. Could not find any additional information about it.

Then we went to the small forest around Dan’s former house and spent sometime looking at snails. There were loads of them up there. Georgia has given her standard offerings. We saw a street of houses that were there when Dan was growing up. Some are quite beautiful. And then the drizzle intensified.
We ran past the former military school and town. It is amazing how much of the city was closed off without outsider access. Now there are some old decaying buildings and a few new ones. And some new abandoned ones as well – like a thirteen story decaying hospital with broken windows and crumbling walls.

We ran to Maxima to get some cover and regroup. Here is a picture of cheeseburger we saw in the store.

We waited out the rain at Alicia’s and got out at 6pm. T.Nina walked us to the new memorial park where an old DOSAAF building has been magnificently restored, including the statues at the top, to be possibly a new museum.

More snails on the way – much larger ones. We were picking them up from the sidewalk with a stick and putting them on the grass to prevent squashing.

As we were approaching the new bridge we noticed some guy carrying a girl in white across the bridge. It is a tradition for the new brides to be carried across the bridges like that so at first it did not look any different. Then we noticed that the guy looked like he was in pain, and the bride had wings like an angel. Dan said “How about she carry him on her wings.” And then we saw bridesmaids dressed like devils. Apparently it was bachelorette party. And bridesmaids were asking passing males to carry their angel across the bridge – and some were apparently obliging.

We walked up Gedomino hoping to go to Thai restaurant inside the casino (Forgot the name of the casino – it is across the little flower market and near the opera house). On the way Dan noticed an amazing statue of St. George killing the dragon on top of one of the buildings. It looks very heavy up there. Georgia said the dragon was Zmei Gorynich.

Thai restaurant was closed but very nice inside – seats looked like individual lotuses. The downstairs receptionist said that the restaurant would be open for us or that we could go to Tokyo restaurant across, in the same casino and they would serve based on the Thai menu. But that was kind of wrong. We decided to come back to enjoy the surroundings but with more people.

We ordered 2 pizzas from the Pizza Jazz down the street. Georgia picked peach juice and a baloon. Pizza Jazz is an interesting place. Its customer demographic closely matches that of Ivanovo – for the longest time Dan was the only male among tables and tables of female couples. It is a huge 3-story restaurant in what probably used to be administrative building based on the characterless staircase. Pizza and service were good. St.George statue is above this building. Maybe the demographic is related.

Lots of bubbles at bath time tonight.

Day 14 – Our First Reception

Today started as usual. Tried to print Georgia’s birth certificate at the Internet café below the hill right off the Gedomino. It is a huge place with at least 4 rooms filled with computers. Waited for 25 minutes for the document to go to printer. Never happened.

Georgia’s was crying again. The teacher looked a bit shaky – 2 other kids who were going to the kindergarten for the last 2 weeks started crying too so it was three of them for two hours. Georgia also gets tired and goes to sleep in teacher’s arms every now and then. I’ve asked Georgia if she would like to come back here? She said “Yes.” “Will you cry?” “Yes.”

We met with Dan and went to Maxima Hypermarket off Basanavishas. It is enormous. It was also filled with people doing their Friday shopping. It is tough to pick anything when they have 15 kinds of red caviar alone. They have a special queue for people with children with no line. We got all the looked meats, munchies, and drinks, and only decided to make the salad and boil potatoes. In the evening we walked out to Gusto to grab some freshly made crepes. This paragraph was inspired by: http://alena-summerdays.blogspot.com:80/

Vitalik, Dina, & Ilyusha, and Diana and Alisa came and we hanged around till 1am. Diana and Alisa brought beers and a great array of Lithuanian beer snacks. The new introduction was smoked chicken belly buttons. Ilyusha is less than a year old but is definitely at least as heavy as Georgia and is about ½ head shorter. Georgia was very good and shared all her toys and was rewarded with 4 consecutive cartoons.

We agreed to do the catacomb tour with the girls.

The next day the plan was to go to Kaunas, but the weather did not comply.