А дело бывало -- и коза волка съедала.

Pigs might fly. "It was happening -- a goat was eating up a wolf."

And Pigs did fly! After four fun days in NYC, we finally traveled to Russia. I have been wanting to see the Russian countryside ever since I saw the movie Dr. Zhivago in the 60s. However, being a child of the 50s and 60s, I watched Russian tanks roll into Budapest and Mr. Khruschev pound his shoe on the table and threaten us with "We will bury you!" I held my breath until the Soviets blinked during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and I practiced getting underneath my desk in grade school.

The Soviets were the first in space with Sputnik and that freaked us out! But that of course, has all changed, starting with the Berlin Wall coming down.

The two weeks we spent here exceeded all expectations. The countryside during autumn was unforgettable. Saint Petersburg and Moscow were magnificent. The Hermitage, indescribable! The people were helpful, warm and friendly. We tasted the arts and the culture with many visits to Russian Orthodox churches, a Russian ballet and several classical concerts. We walked around Red Square and saw Putin's helicopter touch down. We saw the the KGB building where he worked. We took a couple of short Russian language classes and rode the beautifully decorated Moscow Metro.

And................shamelessly we went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Moscow where Gerry posed as a drummer and ELG scored several souvenirs, including a guitar bottle opener magnet to add to his collection.