Sakalin
The Volga in Samara
Modest wooden houses
... and fancy Orthodox churches!
The farmer's market in Samara
Note the bird picking fruits!
A super charming Uzbek, who wanted to train for engineering but could not after the collapse of the USSR. His tomatoes were incredibly tasty, and he was so proud of them
Watch-out for your shirt, Philippe!
Honey from a variety of flowers !
Thao was fascinated by the old scales
Stavropol: the monument to the victims of the Great Patriotic War (Second World War)
A monument to human follies ! This guy wanted to make a bridge over this puny little river and wanted to emulate Roman aqueducts ... well funding ran out and the bridge was never connected to the banks. And the bridge was designed to... carry bread to a neighboring village !
Yulia who now works with Mishi
... and Natalia!
20 years of friendship. Yes I always call him "Mishi" with an "i" at the end, the usual nickname for Michael in Russian is "Misha" but I always associate name ending in "-a" as feminine which doesn't fit him !!
Olga sweetly home-baked cookies !
