One of the highlights of my recent (and last!) visit to Moscow was a visit to Gorky Park. I’ve written about this wonderful, vaste expanse of greenery before here so I wont bore you again with background details, but I will just mention that everytime we go, I find myself humming the Scorpions’ ‘Wind of Change.’ Anyhoo….
When we left home, it was a beautiful sunny day. After a week of rain, we were excited to get out and enjoy some sunshine. We hopped on the metro and a short ride and walk later, we reached our destination. By this time, the sun had disappeared, replaced by some very ominous-looking dark clouds.
Check out this photo that Charlotte (budding photographer/iphone stealer) took of J. and I, you can see the storm brewing in the background:
Soon after, the wind picked up and the first few drops started to fall. Having spent six years in Vancouver, I have no fear of rain, so we kept on playing. When Charlotte caught sight on a car amusement ride and insisted that yes, she was big enough to go on it, we didn’t let a little rain keep her from her first amusement park ride. Which she LOVED!
We also managed to fit in a quick swing ride at the playground before the rain really started coming down. We watched as people screamed and ran for cover (some in really crazy spots- who hides underneath a metal airplane sculpture when there’s lightning?) as we slowly strolled toward the park exit, laughing at all the fools afraid of a little (ok, a lot) of summer rain.
And then it really started coming down, and I realized I needed to swallow my Vancouver pride and get my poor kiddo out of the rain. We found a small dry spot under a big tree, and huddled together to keep dry. Very quickly, our dry oasis flooded with water as the rain beat down and the wind whipped it in every direction. We knew we had no choice but to make a run for the metro station, which we reached after a 10 minute dash through puddles the size of swimming pools.
Needless to say, we were all drenched. Luckily I had a spare (and still dry!) change of clothes for Charlotte. With all of Moscow to see, I stripped her down in the middle of the station and changed her clothes. She thought it was hilarious, and she now loves telling the story about how she was naked at the train station.
