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I have been reading this forum now for over a year and have found it to be most helpful.  Thank you all.
This is my first attempt at a trip report so please excuse any violations of form.

Background.  I am 60 years old, retired and divorced after 27 years of marriage and with two grown sons.  I started dating FSU ladies three years ago.  My first encounter was in Cyprus, next in Ireland, than Spain and finally in Russia. (Strongly recommend Cyprus.)  I have visited Moscow three times.  I have dated three Russian ladies.  Two of whom have gotten married, one to an American and the other to an Englisman.  I feel like a cupid.  I am rather proud of the fact that these two ladies have wished to remain friends and that we correspond regularly.
The third lady, actually the first one I met, is a mature lady who I am very fond of.  At first we contemplated marriage.  I tried to get her a tourist visa so that she could experience life in America.  Even though I accompanied her to the US Embassy in Moscow, was willing to sponsor her and even offered to post a bond, the visa was denied.  She almost panicked when the officer was about to stamp her passport with the visa denial.  I managed to convince him to allow us to withdraw the application, no stamp.  The officer suggested a K1 just so she could visit.  He assured me that it could be used more than once if the first 90 days was not an adequate amount of time.  I wonder!
We then tried to get married in Moscow.  We went through all the Russian bureaucratic hoops, actually not too difficult.  Then we both realized that at our ages and with our commitments to family and friends, it was probably not going to work.  Together we came to the decision that we would rather remain close friends, lovers actually, and see each other as often as possible but retain our separate lives in our own countries.

With that introduction the story of my recent trip begins:

I flew direct from JFK to Moscow on Delta.  Previous flights had been from Newark on British Airways with a nice layover in London.  I always extended my stay in London with no difficulty on the same ticket.  I much prefer the BA arrangement, if you can afford the time and London prices.
I arrived on Saturday the 27th of April and returned on the 12th of May.  I was in Moscow for May Day, Orthodox Easter and Victory Day.  All very impressive.  The city was clean and the weather fantastic.  Probably because of the holiday and the lovely weather, many Muscovites had left town to go to their dachas.  Consequently there was very little traffic and the air was clear, no noticeable pollution.  I staid at the Moscow Marriot Royal on Petrovka Street, near the Kremlin.  I used Marriott points earned while I was a business traveler.  The hotel is excellent and the staff outstanding.  I had a little difficulty with my visa and the staff held my hand and dealt with the bureacracy for me all the way.  No I am not a shill for Marriott, just a very satisfied customer.  We went to a ballet at the Bolshoi, uncrowded museums and some lovely parks.  As a cold war veteran I was very interested in the military museums.  I was pleased to see reasonable recognition of the Lend Lease Aid and the effort of our and the British Navies and Air Corps to get supplies and equipment to the Soviet Forces.
Each time I visit Moscow I see tremendous improvement.
I will spare you too many details.
I do not want to overstay my time on the forum so I will close now, but if anyone would like more info. I will be happy to respond.

... in response to Trip Report, posted by wilmc on May 25, 2002

Thanks for your report.  And I want to thank you for your earlier input a few months ago when I was asking questions about the Mediterranean area.  Even though I did not take the Russian Women to Cyprus, your comments were helpful.  Perhaps Cyprus on another trip.

I went to Turkey instead.

JR

... in response to Re: Trip Report, posted by juio99 on May 26, 2002

JR   Happy to be of help.

Please tell me about you experience in Turkey.
I am very interested in visiting the Med. coast resorts and Istanbul.
I here it is great. Any negatives?

... in response to Re: Turkey, posted by wilmc on May 26, 2002

I am going to be finishing up part one of my Turkey trip report, hopefully within the next week.  I will post it here then.

JR

... in response to Trip Report, posted by wilmc on May 25, 2002

Wil,
I too stayed at the Marriott and left impressed.  Thank you for sharing your trip report with us, but I think most would want to hear more details.  Why did you go?  Who did you meet?  How did you meet?  How did things go between the two of you?  How did it end?  Are you going back?  Please do not think you are overstaying your welcome.  You have valuable information that could help others in their pursuit of RW.  There are "regulars" here that write constantly about nothing, you DO have something to say that should be heard.
KenC

... in response to Re: Trip Report more details please, posted by KenC on May 25, 2002

Reply to KenC:  Thank you for your kind words.
Why did I go:  After spending two holidays, Cyprus and Spain with "G," I decided to visit her and my other two lady friends, "T" and "S" in Moscow.  My intent was to get to know them each better, on their home ground" and to meet their families.  I was also very curious about Russia since I had never been there before.

Who did I meet.  I met G's daughter and her boy friend, sister and brother in law and momma. S's daughter and mother.  S did not want me to meet her father who was only a little older than myself.  I took this as a problem sign. Finally, I met T's son and his family.  They are all warm and friendly people who made me feel very welcome.

Things went extremely well in all my meetings on the first trip.  The second trip was to see G alone.  This was after a second trip to Spain together.  This was when we went to the embassy.  We were "hot" to get married.  We spent most of the time with the bureacracy and her family.  I relized how strong G's ties were to her family and friends and began to realize that perhaps we were rushing too fast to get married. 3rd trip, this last one, was strictly to spend the Russian holidays with G. The celebrations in Moscow were terrific and I danced in the streets.

I met all tyhree ladies through "Brides From Russia" a free agency,  http://www.orc.ru/~brides/index.htm
They have established a fee based service and the "free" service now seems to be neglected.  I only selected 3 ladies but they were all top notch.

How did things go:  Great! All of the ladies were reasonably qualified English speakers.  Good thing, I know hardly any Russian.  We were able to communicate fairly well with each other.  It was necessary to be sensitive to the fact that they needed time to translate in their minds.  One of my missions has become to teach Russia English!  Occasionally I could see the eyes gaze over.  I have spent most of my working life, as a salesman, in and around the NY Metropolitan area and have extensive experience communicating with persons from foreign lands.  G's brother in law, knows very little English.  One evening we took a walk together.  G asked me how we could talk to each other.  I explained that it was a "male" thing.  Honestly, I don't know how we did it but "good will" overcame the difficulties.
 I am also a very eclectic gourmet.  To the detrement of my waistline I enjoy all cuisines.  I do not recall anytime when I was uncomfortable.  Correction, sometimes when riding in a car I thought I was in a carnival bumber car because of the bad pavement and the wild lane changing.  One night after an extensive Russian banquet I thought I was really very intoxicated.  So much so that I could not walk straight.  Until I realized that the pavement was very uneven.  My vodka sipping technique had not failed me after all.
I choose not to go into any intimate details of my relationships but I am a mature adult as are the ladies and we fully and completely enjoyed each other's company.
In my opinion, with admittedly a small sample, Russian woman are terrific!

How did it end:  Two ladies married other fellows but remain my good friends.  G and I have decided to cool it  for awhile.  We are very close, and we will holiday together 2 or 3 more times this year.  I was very "burned" by my divorced.  I want to be sure.  I am very concerned about a mature FSU with strong family concerns being homesick in America.

Am I going back.  Definitely!  I believe there is a great future for America's new friendship with Russia.  I hope to in some small way assist.  GW Bush and Putin are on the right track.

... in response to Re: Re: Trip Report more details please, posted by wilmc on May 25, 2002

Wil,
Thank you for sharing your experiences with us.  You seem like a class guy!  Best of luck to you.
KenC

... in response to Trip Report, posted by wilmc on May 25, 2002

wilmc, please tell more!  What else did you do on this trip? I am sure you have taken the river cruise on one of your earlier trips (seems this is done on everyone's first trip) but you probably did something for the very first time on this trip, what was it? Did you visit old and new Arbat, the Space or KGB museum, the resturant in the TV tower (has it re-opened?)  Would love to hear more about your trip.

... in response to Trip Report, posted by Jack on May 25, 2002

Reply to Jack:

On my three visits I spent most of my time with my friends' families.  I wanted to establish a relationship with all of them.  A lot of time was invested with the US Embassy and Russian bureacracy pursuing the visa and marriage process.

I visited most of the most popular museums and theatres.  Went to two performances at the Bolshoi, the opera Aida and the ballet La Fille Du Pharon. Coincidently both plots take place in Egypt, fabulous costumes, great performances.  If you have not experienced the Boshoi go quickly.  It will soon be closed for at least three years.  It was built on a wet spot and it is settling.  Have your Russian friend buy the tickets, also for museum admission.  The Russians charge foreigners more, lots more.  For Russian art the Tretyakov gallery is the best.

I got my fill of cathedrals and icons.  Too much idoltry for this protestant.  My favorite was the rebuilt Christ the Savior, near the Kremlin.  Most likely because of its history.  One caution, if you attend Orthodox services as I did on Easter, the churches have no pews.  You stand throughout the whole service, ouch.

As a cold war veteran I was most interested in the Armed Forces Museum near the Dosteyevsky Museum and the Central Army Theatre.  Unfortunately the Gary Powers, U2 exhibit was closed for remodeling.  Historic revision?  I must admit one of my most memorial moments was standing in the middle of Red Square and looking at the platform where Stalin and Khrushev stood.  When I served on an ASW Destroyer in the Med. trying to track the Ruskie subs who were shadowing the 6th fleet I never imagined I would make it to that spot.  "Bury us" will you!   If you share my interest do not miss the Victory Park and the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War, impressive and moving.  We in the west have little appreciation for the tremendous suffering Russia endured from Hitler's invasion.  D' Day and the Bulge were side shows compared to Stalingrad and Kursk.

One of my favorite adventures is to wander about the old city, in the day time!, to discover interesting places.  One day I discovered the only Anglican Church in Moscow.  There had just been a wedding and the chuch yard was littered with kopeks.  I retreived them and put them in the box to pay for the refurbishment of the church.  I guess in Russia they throw kopeks instead of rice.
 
I am an eclectic gourmet and love to find new and interesting restaurants.  Moscow has some great ones.  I was amused to find one modelled after an American speakeasy named The Real McCoy, my name.  It is located near the US Embassy, across from the Barrikadnaya Metro Station.  One of the best Russian meals I had was at the Kitezh-Town Restaurant on Petrovka Street.  I missed taking the river cruise.  Next time!  Hope this helps.

... in response to Re: Trip Report, posted by wilmc on May 25, 2002

Reading your report brings back many old memories. I cut my teeth in Moscow, it was a real learning ground.
You know I did try, on at least three occassions to have my Russian lady friends to buy my tickets to several events, at the Bolshoi, Moscow museums, The Hermitage and every time but one I was told I had to buy a foreigners ticket. The only time I was able to get a Russian priced ticket was at the Moscow circus. Although I tried to dress the part and to look Russian, I always had my camera with me and this just had to be a dead give away.

I was able to watch the Christ of the Savior being built over about a three-year period. One the spot where the cathedral is built today was a large swimming pool. Did you know that, there was a large, popular swimming pool there!
Towards the end of the construction things came to a stand still. There was no money to continue the project. Do you know where the money came from to finish the construction for the Christ of the Savior cathedral,....the very popular mayor (still mayor today) went to the heads of the local mafia groups and started asking, taking donations. He was able to get enough money from the mafia groups in Moscow to finish the construction.

I was able to take a private tour of the KGB. When we got to the area where they housed all the information about Gary Powers the KGB man giving me the tour stopped here and talked about the incident and details surronding Gary Powers. This guy had meet Gary Powers when he was a young KGB guy. About two years earlier to our conversation this man had told me he met Gary Powers son and they showed Gary's son many of the same things on display. One thing I thought was interesting was something he said he told Gary Powers son. He told him, "We knew Gary Powers. We know what kind of pilot he was and we (the Russians) do not believe your father ran out of gas (the 'official' explanation as to what caused Gary Powers crash in Southern california).

Standing in the middle of Red Square I got the same feelings you did. As I child I remember seeing the many May Day parades and the old war film of Stalin watching over the military parades.

I really feel every guy involved in this wonderful pursuit should try to take the time to visit Moscow at least one time.

... in response to Re: Re: Trip Report, posted by Jack on May 27, 2002

Jack, my experience has been mixed.  My Russian ladies always first bought me a Russian ticket to events, boat rides, etc.  About half of the time it worked and half the time they were sent back to get me a foreign ticket.  It seemed to depend on how busy the lines were and perhaps just on how 'hard assed' the ticket taker wanted to be.

JR

... in response to Russian vs Foreign Prices, posted by juio99 on May 27, 2002

After getting caught most the time, and not wanting to not be in possession of my camera bag, which is where I kept my passport also, I decided to just go ahead and pay the extra $3 or $4 my ticket cost over the ladies ticket prices.

But it was fun trying!

... in response to Trip Report, posted by wilmc on May 25, 2002


Hey there, Welcome to the board...

I have a question for you... you mentioned that at your stage in life that it you weren't looking to get married?

So... what takes you to the FSU then? Are you just looking to date women? Or are you thinking you might find someone that you really do want to marry?

... in response to A Question, posted by MarkInTx on May 25, 2002

My original intention was to find a potential wife.  All three ladies , I believe were excellent candidates.  As I described we remain good friends.  The two who have found husbands: The first was 23 years younger than I am, with an adolescent daughter.  Upon reflection, I felt that it would be irresponsible to try to perform as a father to a young child and an active husband for a younger woman. She must have felt the same because she married an Englishman.   The second was dating me and another American gentleman.  I came out second best.  I have no hard feelings.  It happens when dating women from any land, even AW.  My best girl is only 5 years my junior, with a grown daughter, and we are very compatible.  As we grow closer we may elect to formalize the relationship and she may move to America as my wife.  Who knows?  Currently, we enjoy our holidays together very much.  She is my guest.  
Do I date other women? Occasionally.  Do I expect my RW friend to be loyal to me alone?  Of course not.  I am now a "big boy."
If the "right" lady came along would I consider marriage? Definitely. I still check out the advertisements and I correspond with a couple new ladies.  I try to be honest and not misleading. I specify that I seek traveling companions.  I appreciate the company of attractive, intelligent ladies of about my own age.  I find their is a much better qualified selection in the FSU than I have found in the USA, "vive la difference."  I pay all their expenses as I would those of a wife.  I admit that I imply that the relationship may develop into something more significant, marriage, but I specify that it is not my initial intent.  It may be that because of my maturity and the age group of the ladies I select that there is less pressure to commit.  I do not know.
I hope this addresses your question.
I realize that the primary motive for this Forum is to exchange information between men who seek to marry FSU ladies.  I hope I have not violated any rules.

... in response to Re: A Question, posted by wilmc on May 25, 2002

You think all the guys on here are going to find FSU wives? Hehehe... wherever did you get that idea??? We have several guys on here who have never even gone to the FSU, and have no intention of going...

So don't worry about that! At least you've been there!

There are no rules here except a very few:

1. Don't use this board for blatant self-promotion
2. Don't carry arguments form other boards onto this one
3. Endless Personal attacks will eventually get you banned

I am not aware of any others.

However, I think that Jim Rome's two rules are always good:

1. Have a take
2. Don't suck

Anyway... welcome aboard... feel free to post any time

... in response to Rules? What Rules?, posted by MarkInTx on May 25, 2002

Thank you.  I feel better now.  Hope I can be of some help to anyone contemplating a visit to Moscow.

Also hope that I can encourage some more understanding of the Russian character I have grown to appreciate.  These people have had a real tough time.  We are so very lucky in comparison.  In my experience the Russian people are in general at least as honest and caring as we Americans would like to believe that we are.  I felt more secure on the streets of Moscow than I felt in London or Paris, or some US cities.  Of course I suffered from some frustration, bureacratic methods left over from the "good old days."  Nothing as bad as the rude treatment at the US Embassy.

I am looking forward to my visit to St. Petersburg next.

... in response to Re: Rules? What Rules?, posted by wilmc on May 25, 2002

You will love St. Petersburg.

I only have three regrets about my time there:

1. I should have gone when the weather was warmer, and I could have done more sight-seeing
2. I should have at least learned the alphabet before going!
3. I wish I had made it to Pushkin

But the areas near the Hemritage is everything you have seen in the movies.

Other parts of St. Petersburg were kind of sad, because you saw this historic place kind of crumbling because of neglect and economic down-turns. Some glorious buildings are starting to come apart, and that is sad...