Day 4

We spent the morning visit, today, outside. Despite the cool weather, it was sunny, and they take every opportunity to get the kids outside. Unfortunately, he was still feeling a little under the weather.

We did some walking and took turns carrying him around the outside of the building. When we put him down on the ground to walk, he holds each hand up in the air, and opens and closes his hands as to ask, "grab my hands." This must be the way he learned to walk with his caretakers.

We each grab a hand, and off we go. We only made it a few hundred meters (can you tell we've been here too long? Now I'm using the metric system!), and we would feel is grip lessen. That was our cue to pick him up as he was exhuasted from the walk. We knew that the tears were only seconds away. As soon as we picked him up, his fingers went in the mouth, and he was ready for quick nap.

During our break between visits, we took the subway into the city centre, where we had lunch, did some shopping in the open air market, and toured the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. This is a church with an amazing history.

It was commissioned by Russian Czar, Alexander III to memorialize the death of his father, Alexander II, who was killed on site in 1881 by a terrorist's bomb. It took 26 years to complete and was closed in the 1930's by Stalin's communist government, as many churches were during Soviet times.

It sustained damage over time, especially during WWII , including bomb attacks that left holes in the beautiful domes. During it's time of closure, it was used as a warehouse to store potatoes.

The church underwent many years of reconstruction to return it to it's original glory. The interior of the church is floor-to-ceiling mosaic tiled scenes, and contains detailed alters made of marble, jasper, gold leaf and semi-precious stones. Pictures can't do it justice.

There is a particular alter in the church that holds a section of rail that is said to be the actual rail at which Alexander II died.

Our afternoon visit was back inside the orphanage. It is much easier to play with the toys, and him, when indoors. Just the fact that he is not bundled up in a snowsuit, must be a relief for him.

His demeanor was much like the morning visit. He had fun while he was playing or walking about, but when he was done, he was ready to be held. We took turns walking him around, and rocking in the rocking chair. He loves to cuddle, and tries hard not to fall asleep, but tends to loose the battle.

Before we knew it, it was time to go. His caretaker came to pick him up. "Packa Packa" and off he went. We think that means "bye-bye."

It's an early morning for us tomorrow. We have to go to the medical clinic for our physical exams. Not sure what to expect, but there's no turning back now!