There are many reasons for making a big trip like this one. Leyla had
not seen so many friends and family for eleven years. I, Joel, had
never met these people either. I also had been wanting to be immersed
in Russian language and culture to jump-start my language skills, ever
since we got married. After much work, we finally settled on an
itinerary like this:
fly out July 5 from Chicago to Paris, stay through Saturday night.
On Sunday, fly to Baku through Moscow.
Stay two weeks with Leyla's Aunt Fira and Uncle Eyyub in Baku
Fly back to Moscow for a week, staying with Totya Asia's family,
who were neighbors in Baku.
Take a train north to St.Petersburg, stay ten days with Leyla's
good friend Sveta and family.
So now, pretend we've applied for and received visas, shopped for
luggage, shopped for gifts, finished up at my job of six years, packed
our bags. Allez! On to Paris.
On the right, our guide to the Louvre, Leyla Klein, expert on medieval
French history, says "Let's go!". The Richelieu wing of the Louvre is
behind her.
So now, pretend we've applied for and received visas, shopped for
luggage, shopped for gifts, finished up at my job of six years, packed
our bags. Allez! On to Paris.
Prev
[Home] [Map]
Next