Airfare, podcasts and wishlist

I confess. I have a somewhat bizarre interest in tracking airfares. I have set airfare trackers on multiple sites, I receive alerts in my emails for places I'm planning to go to, even if I've already purchased the airfare, as well as places I have no intention of traveling to in the near future. I'm curious. I like to know my options. You know, just in case. I also like to help other people find airfare, use my tricks of the trade and pull a great fare out of thin air. These skills matter! So now comes the dilemma. I've found the airfare my Russian travel consultant has quoted me, only my quote is lower. Saving $200 in the grand scheme of this trip is small potatoes, but small potatoes in my pocket rather than the airline's pocket. I've asked if I can purchase this on my own. What the heck, it's worth a shot. In the meantime, I've been keeping up on the Russian language podcasts, learning what I can. This morning's lesson covered "can you show me that?" which I guess will be handy in the event I get around to shopping. But damned if I can remember now how to say it. My Amazon wishlist continues to grow. I was reading the New York Times over someone's shoulder on the train this morning, and saw there is a new book out on Lenin in exile. As if I have eons of time to get to everything on my list. I'll have to prioritize at some point. I want to start with the Revolution though, it's interesting and bizarre all at once. Congratulations to Evgeny Plushneko on his silver. I thought gold too, Plushy. Your talents won't be seen again for a while, I suppose. Wouldn't mind seeing you again in Sochi!

The Deed is Done

Yesterday the requisite paperwork arrived that I had to read before I could sign all the paperwork and fax it to the travel agent. It was pretty standard, nothing to get worked up over. So this morning I faxed back the 6 pages needed to kick this trip off. And as I stood at the fax machine, and even more so as I walked back to my desk, I realized, "Holy crap, I'm going to Russia." What a reality check! I mean it's one thing to think about it for a few years and keep it in the back of your mind as someday going to happen. It's another to get the itinerary on paper and start reading the guidebooks and looking at pictures and starting the language lessons. It's a whole 'nother thing to put money down and say "I'm going." I'm going! Good thing I learned how to ask where the bathroom is yesterday!

While Waiting....

As I sit here whiling away another New England winter, I'm also waiting the arrival of some legal paperwork that I need to sign before I can put a deposit on my trip. So while it's not signed, sealed and delivered just yet, I'm close. But man, I just want to get that deposit down so I know I have it officially in the works. Meanwhile, I downloaded some "Learn Russian" podcasts from iTunes. I've been listening pretty regularly and I think I'm picking things up. Of course I can say what's in the podcasts, but if someone replies to me, I'm screwed. But there's still time to remedy that. And anyway, a certain Irishman I know said he survived in Russia knowing only "yes", "no" and "goodbye". Sweet. I have those nailed. So far I know (with pronounciations): Hello - Zdrastvooyte Goodbye - Da sveedaneeya Please - Spaseeba My name is - Meenya zavoot Sorry - eezveeneete Please / you're welcome - pazhalooysta I don't understand - Ya nee paneemayoo I speak a little Russian - Ya nemnogo govorju po-russki Good luck! - Udachi! Good morning - Dobroe utro Good day - Dobryy den Good evening - Dobryy vecher Yeah, so you can see it's a little slow going. My problem, aside from not being able to see/read this since I haven't yet learned the Cyrillic alphabet, is that these words are a mouthful. I mean, really, I speak Spanish, Italian and French, and even a little German without a problem. But with Russian I feel myself stumbling all over the words. Hopefully I just need more practice. We'll see...

Second itinerary in...

Last night I received the skeletal itinerary from the "other" travel specialists for Russia. The specialist warned me that my budget (which is hefty) may not be hefty enough for their line of travel. She "downgraded" the hotels to still pretty expensive options, only gave me 4 days of private guide and driver and didn't include airfare, visa or insurance costs, and still came in about $2000 over my budget. Sheesh! The more I mull over my first option, which provides private guide and driver every day, covers exactly the sites I want, and puts me up in more reasonably priced but still centrally located hotels, the more I like it. I'm still awaiting Olga's revision to get me an extra day in Moscow. Once I receive that, I'm pouncing on it. It is sort of depressing thought that this trip would be about 7 1/2 months away! A whole spring and summer away!

Revising itinerary

Today saw some action. Olga is revising my itinerary not only to add a day in Moscow to accommodate the Tretyakov and the Pushkin Museums but also get me a guide for them. Man, this is service. I also heard from the more expensive agency which is going to put a less detailed proposal together for me as a courtesy before I decide whether I want to work with them or not. Both are due back to me early next week. I'm reading Fodor's Moscow and St. Petersburg and actually figuring out the Cyrillic alphabet a bit (B is R, P is B, etc.) and am getting really latched on to this whole idea. My Amazon Wish List also erupted with a whole list of required reading; good thing I have 8 months to get through it! And this is my new desktop. Sigh.

First Itinerary in...

Today I received the first customized itinerary. I have to say I'm impressed. It covers just about everything I want and for about $600 less than I'd estimated. What surprises me is that they have me in St. Petersburg first, which I sort of always expected to be where the trip would end, but in reality I'll be flying home from Moscow. I don't know if that should matter to me or not. I have heard St.P is "my kind of city" and Moscow not so much. The other thing that is interesting is I only have 2 full days in Moscow. I am going to ask and see if I can get one more, since the Pushkin Museum and Tretyakov Museum, both "must sees" in my mind, have not been included and there is no "free" time in Moscow. Hmmmm. I suspect that is because hotels are dirt cheap in Moscow on weekends, and this itinerary has me landing in Moscow, not surprisingly on Friday night and departing Monday morning. I think I can squeak one more day out of this. I also asked for a proposed itinerary from another Russian travel company, just for the purposes of comparison shopping. This one though is looking for $220 just to put the proposal together, and their chosen hotels are the Ritz or Savoy. Methinks that's an indication that they're just a smidge out of my league. We'll see...

Wheels to Russia in motion

So I took the leap. Yesterday while working at home, I took a break and called a travel agency that specializes in travel to Russia. I spoke with Olga, a very nice agent from St. Petersburg who asked me the length of my trip, when I want to go, what I want to see, what kind of accommodations I want, how long in each city and how independent I feel. We agreed that I'd go with a partially guided / partially independent trip. She's putting a customized itinerary together now, including flights and visas. I anxiously await both the itinerary and the bottom line. Fingers crossed that Olga pulls something together that I'll just love!