I'm writing again!!
I'm still going to go back to Latvia and catch you all up from where I stopped there...and much of that is for my own benefit as much as it is for yours. But so so much happened and we saw and did so many things, I just couldn't let it not get on paper...or wait, digital? It's hard to believe we've been home three weeks and I'm going to write about things nearly a month ago! Anyway...let's go back to Sunday, September 11.
I was determined to have my family in church and they obliged. We were up on time if not early and got ready for what we thought was a 10:30am service at the Dom Cathedral. We wanted to start the day together because J was going to go and spend the day with a friend and their family and say goodbye to all of them. We weren't too thrilled about it but at the same time we've learned that there are many things that are unique about our entire experience and we've respected the things that have sometimes felt like a complete departure of "normal" for us. Orphan Court had said when he needed to return but it was up to us as to when he went. We agreed he could be on the mid day train that he could make after church.
We set out from our apartment on what was promising to be a beautiful day and rushed along down through Old Town to the Dom. There was very little foot traffic out...a quiet Sunday morning. If I didn't feel so uneasy about the day, I would have enjoyed our walk. But regardless, our whole family was together and we were headed to church! The Cathedral is under renovation but still open so we rushed in running right on schedule...to find out there is no more service in English there. One more minor set back in this long journey for which we have learned to take in stride.
As we stepped back out into the sunshine and onto the cobblestone streets we debated about what to do next. We decided to make the most of the morning and walk through Old Town back towards the park. With little to no company there, we were able to see even more of the old buildings in Old Town including the Cat House and the Big and Little Guild. There was no rush, and we were able to just wander.
We headed back to the park and held our own little church of seven right in the park. Sitting on a park bench, we read scripture and talked about how to apply it to ourselves and then prayed together. We took a quick walk to the train station and put J on the train to head to his friend's for the day. It was really an awful feeling letting him go away again and just resolved to have a good time together in spite of his going. We stood there til the train left and watched him go and then the six of us headed back out into Riga.
We were starving and the weirdness we were all feeling was soothed with a burger from McDonald's! After lunch we went back to the apartment to change clothes and rest for a bit. I had the same problem in Latvia that I've had at home in that I can't seem to just relax...I felt we needed to be out seeing something or going somewhere. Gary was pretty tired though so we sat and rested for about an hour and then struck out walking again. We had plans to meet our friend around 4:30pm or so for dinner...so what to do with our day?
We found ourselves back by Freedom Monument and the canal with the boats. We remembered that they weren't very expensive so we decided to splurge and do the 45 minute canal ride. What a wonderful experience! The ride took us down the canal and out onto the Daugava and all the way across so we had amazing views of Riga, the bridges and the boats. We went all the way down and got very good views of the big ferry we can take from Stockholm sometime. E had to wear a life jacket and had his cute hat on...we called him Gilligan!
After a relaxing ride we got back and it was just in time for a wonderful September 11 ceremony Latvia was hosting at Freedom Monument in honor of America and the people we lost that day. There was speaking, beautiful singing, dancing and PRAYER. Such a nice way to spend our Sunday. Our sweet friend Ines and her two foster children arrived right on time and we met by Cili Pica to spend the afternoon together.
A few days earlier we had gotten coupons for a place called Charlie's Pizza and thought that would be a good place to head. Ines' little ones had NEVER had pizza! Can you imagine! How fun to share this first experience with them. We walked down through Old Town and found Charllie's. Walking in, it's a really cool place! I wasn't sure it would be good for kids but they welcomed us in! The decor was plush purple and red banquettes that had huge high backs. It reminded me of that cool place on Central Avenue in Charlotte that many of my NACE friends would remember...wonder if its still there ;-)
We settled into a large red banquette and took over the back of the restaurant and proceeded to check out the menu. There was a "discount" section in the back of the menu where cheese pizzas were 1,40 lats! And fully loaded ones were only 2-3 lats...we had struck gold! We were able to feed 9 people for about half of what we paid to eat at TGIFriday's! And we had salads, pizzas, drinks AND desserts. Best apple crumb with vanilla ice cream! Oh, writing this now really makes me miss all of our experiences.
We cozied up in the restaurant and visited and ate and just relaxed...it was such a nice afternoon! Ines needed to get back to the tram so we headed out and stopped in the square there to take some photos. Then we walked her back to the tram and continued exploring until it was time to go meet J at the train station. It had been a busy day and we met him and leisurely walked back to the apartment hearing about his day. It was good and he felt good about saying goodbye.
It had been a long day...a good day for all of us. And while it had been hard to be apart, it gave us time to enjoy different things and at the end of the day, we were all back together. The next day was second court...and I'll write about that very soon.
I guess this gives you a glimpse of what my life is like now...it has taken me four days and about seven different tries to get this one entry written. Life is busy with work, school, kids and remembering that gorgeous guy I married almost 17 years ago. But it's wonderful and I love it...didn't say it wasn't hard!...but I love it.
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