Shopping in Almaty

Today was a really nice day out. It was so warm, we did not need coats, but wore them anyway. All the snow is melting and there are a lot of big puddles and mud. Almaty is soo different from Uralsk. Since Almaty is the former capital, it is now in Astana, it is very Metropolitan. It is nice to see a little hustle and bustle.

We went to the Green Market to buy a stroller. The Green market is like the Bazaar in Uralsk but a lot bigger. A huge outdoor flea market. We bought the stroller to wheel Liam around town but also to have for the airport layover. We have a 6 1/2 hour layover in Frankfurt and think it will come in handy. The area around the green market reminded a little of NYC. Alot of people, traffic and no parking. Next, we went to the Tsum. This is a large indoor mall. We went to the third floor where you can buy souvenirs and all the chandliers you could possibly want. Liam was soo good. He flirted with everyone and loved looking up at all the chandliers. We bought a lot of nice things. We were in there for about 2 hours. Sasha and Dima were funny. They think I shop too much.

We came home only to find that we could not get into our apartment. The door would not open. Both, Keith and I, tried to open it but could not. Now picture this. We are standing in the hall, with a sleeping child, all our packages and no phone. We had a phone in Uralsk that we borrowed from Olga, but they did not have a phone here we could borrow. We decided to go to the Ram Store. The Ram Store is an all purpose Mall. They have a grocery store, shops, a food court, restaurants, and yes an ice rink. We went to the Italian restaurant we ate in last night looking for the waitress that spoke english. We asked to use their phone and tried to call Ian and Janera(girl from Gulbanu's office). No one answered. We decided to eat since we had no where else to go. A very nice Russian girl let us use her cell phone and we were finally able to get Janera. She got in touch with the landlady and she met us at the apartment. Of course, you all know what happens next. The land lady takes the keys, puts them in the door and it opens first try. We could not believe it. We explained that we both tried and it really did not open. She was really nice and we were really embarrassed.

Needless to say, I did not get to upload any pictures at the Ram store. I will try again tomorrow.