John Malkovich, Blue sky, and vodka

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Ok, so I got to Red Square early in the morning and was expecting a line to see Lenin since it is his birthday and all. But there was none to be found, i checked in my bag and was on my way to his mausoleum. I get in, and it looks just like John Malkovich!!! I was waiting for him to talk w/ that terrible accent like he had in the movie Rounders. "Mike, you have come here to pay me your money?" or "Don't splash the pot". Well, for those who have seen it will get the references. For those who didn't... well, check it out.

After that I walked to a place called Sword & Shield for lunch which is a total niche Russian restuarant that has references to Russia's WWII past with old uniforms hanging, as well as the old communist flag. I'm getting addicted to pancakes as an appetizer so I had to order some w/ honey. Then for lunch I had the "Artery Stopper" Chicken Kiev. It is chicken basically rolled up w/ a stick of butter in the middle and breaded on the outside. Man, when I cut it open, I heard it scream, and then just profusely bled butter for like 2 minutes straight. I tried to use the napkin as a turniket but to no avail... Johnson... we lost him. When death was certain, I enjoyed my chicken and left w/ my breathing slowed to a crawl while my body acclimated to a gallon of butter going through the system.

Got back to the hotel, my driver showed up and no problems to St. Petersberg where the weather was sunny blue skies and not a single cloud, a warm welcome indeed. I got to the hotel, setup shop and headed to a local pub and had some vodka and talked to some Russians where on guy in the group spoke some english so we can translate back and forth... good times.

Now I'm off to a walking tour and more vodka...

Mike

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