Introducing Arfur Ferrari...

Day 85 Saturday 25^th June 2011  

We had to get some more toiletries today so we went out into the Russian summer day in Vladivostok to the Gum (pronounced Goom) department store and went in search of all manner of washing aids to ensure that we don’t fester and become smelly. The added bonus was that being a hot summers day and a Saturday as well it had fed the shopping desires of all the pretty young things who all seemed eager to come out dressed in as little as they possibly could get away with. This was not good for my blood pressure and I soon found that it pointless just looking somewhere else because the city centre had become infested with this plague of under-dressed vestal virgins so I had to grin and bear it I’m afraid.

To try and get some normality back into our lives we headed away from the shopping area and went to the port. We saw cars that had been cut in half then imported as spare parts to avoid the large duty payable on whole cars that has been imposed in recent years on cars coming from Japan. Rather bizarrely we found ourselves looking down upon a black Ferrari body shell and a large crate of bits that were waiting to be collected. This collection of nuts, bolts and engine parts would soon be put together by a “Ferrari” technician and would become someone’s (expensive) pride & joy.

This is my mate ARTHUR - ARFUR FERRAI (do you get it half a ferari ha ha)

 

The walk back to the hotel has been getting progressively more difficult for me as my foot tendons seem to be injured in some way. I am experiencing a lot of pain on the bridge of my foot (not underneath on the arch) and it seems to be tendon/ligament related but has now started to make walking painful and has removed a lot of the joy of just having a look around. Any podiatrists out there ? I would welcome diagnosis and treatment plan.

The day finished with a big firework display at the hotel. This week all venues large enough are catering to the school prom nights which have engulfed the city this week – the Russians, like the Brits, have adopted the American style prom nights but the Russian ones seem to start around 9pm and finish sometime in the wee small hours – some as late as 4am.