Saturday, June 14, 2014
Barnaul is twined with Flagstaff in the United States. And Flagstaff hosts overland expo each year.
We don’t often pre-book accommodation, but we did for Barnaul. It is a bigger city and we didn’t want to have to run around looking for a place to stay. The “Junior Suite” we booked was a little smaller than we expected, in fact it was tiny. But it was clean and it was in the heart of the city.
It was not long before we were pounding the pavement and taking in the local sights. including the War World II war memorial. We did a little shopping and found some pants for Caroline to replace the ones lost in Khovd. We day a good and long walk, but it was hot out and we struggled a little with the heat. So we made a beeping back to the hotel only to find a Subway restaurant along the way and stopped for for a late lunch. We had forgotten how nice a simple sandwich can taste.
In the same building complex as our hotel was a wine bar called “In Vino” with a good write-up in trip advisor. We had a delightful evening there talking Russian to the sommelier while polishing off a a bottle of Bordeaux Sauvignon and some fine food.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Up a little late with the first order of the day to seek and consume a latte. We found the “Coffee Club” which served a mighty fine coffee. And right next door was the mother of all super-markets. The sort of super market that would rival a Whole Foods in the United States. We wandered around in amazement at all of the goods and produce available for sale.
In the afternoon we went for another extended walking tour, and like the previous day, finished the walk off with a visit to Subway. It was another hot day. Dinner was at the restaurant attached to the coffee club.
