1.  The mullet is alive and well and featured on the heads of many Russian men (and a few women).

2. Most Russian women wear high heels… even when walking on century-old cobble stone streets.  And they do it flawlessly, I might add.  I think the trick is to concentrate on walking on the balls of your feet and don’t let the heel part hit the ground….but I could be wrong.

3.  Central air conditioning has not been discovered on this side of the planet.  And ice is scarce as well.  I think it might be an over-reaction to their very long, brutally cold winters.

4.  History is everywhere you look… the architecture, the monuments, the statues, the museums.   They take great pride in preserving history and they have been around for way longer than the states.  Way longer…

5.  Communism truly meant communal. Up until about 20 years ago, most families had a room on a floor of an apartment building with shared bathrooms and kitchens…. a lot of people here still live like that, where three to five families share living space.   It’s like living in a dorm way after college.  Arghh…

6.   The mosquito is alive and well and thriving in Russia.   (And so are Britney Spears and Lady GaGa.)

7.   You get about 28 Rubles to the dollar.  Rent is expensive but other things like food are fairly reasonable.   We haven’t found the 99 Rubles store yet though.

8.  Of all the places we could have found to stay in Moscow, how is it possible that we found a place right across the street from The Moscow Arts Theater and the home of Stanislavski.  There are no mistakes in the universe!  (And a 1/2 block away from the only Starbuck’s I’ve ever seen in all of Russia… truly no mistakes in the universe!)

9.  I miss our dogs… and they would love it here.  Dogs are not required to have leashes and they are super well trained.  I may have to ship Woody and Jessie to Moscow Dog Camp.   Just a side note… dogs bark in the same language worldwide.  They’ve worked it out.

10.  The Metro rocks!  Getting around is easy and the trains are spotless here in Russia.  Of course, it’s summer and it is a little bit like riding in an Easy Bake Oven, but convenient.

11.  Did I mention that no one speaks English?  But then I put it into prospective.  If I were in K-Mart in the states, how many people would I find that spoke Russian.

12.  St. Basil’s Cathedral on Red Square is just awesome… No other words to describe it.  And it’s right next to Gum… the most rockin’ mall with an Apple Store, Dyson’s High Tech Fan and Vacuum store, Levi store, and more!