Bob's cell is 407-739-4143

March 14 - 26, 2007

Lyuda, Bob and Tonya

Beijing, Shanghai and

The Great Wall, China

This Great Wall trip was our first full day together.

 I was astonished at Lyuda's ability with English...and she got better day by day.

Update written in March, 2013

All the photos on this page were taken in March 2007. Immediately after this trip I filed the paperwork to bring Lyuda and Tonya to America. They arrived at the end of July 2008 and we were married in September. What a great life and adventure we have had. Tonya didn't speak a word of English and yet she now takes Honors English courses. She is graduating from high school in 2013 and will be entering college to pursue a medical degree.

Now for some history. We went to Key West for our honeymoon and later to Cape Hatteras and half a dozen other states. The following summer we went to Hawaii. In the spring of 2010 Lyuda's mother came for a 6-month visit. We picked her up in New York City, stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria for a few days, drove to Washington, DC, and continued south to Florida. In June we flew to Las Vegas and took a rented minivan to Lake Tahoe, the Redwoods, San Francisco, Monterey, Hearst Castle, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Venice Beach, Balboa, San Diego and back to Vegas.

I have never had a happier life! Lyuda has many Russian-speaking friends. We find them everywhere! Tonya is a fantastic teenager with a GPA higher than 4.0 because of her Honors grades. And they both became US citizens in June 2012.

Tonya loves to swim and cold water did not bother her in the least. Both hotels had pools. The Shanghai hotel had a Jacuzzi tub.

The tropical backdrops were wallpaper. Lyuda and Tonya will look great in Florida. A number of other murals allowed us to pose in Moscow, Venice, Japan, Paris and other exotic locales.

Foods ranged from elaborate hotel buffets, to an authentic Chinese lunch with the university professor who taught Chinese to my grandson Cody for one year to good old McDonalds.

The Shanghai Ramada Plaza is in the heart of the tourist part of Shanghai.

My Russian friends enjoyed Madame Tousseau's Wax Museum more than anything!

More than 100 emails and these 12 days in China led to a very romantic engagement.

Proof for the

US Department

of State