A Baltic boating adventure TRIP REPORT COMPLETED 11/19 - Page 82 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
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Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
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We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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WOW, what a surprise this was with an update as I wasn't expecting one until the end of the month!
Photos are great from the Radisson and especially of the city and Kremlin as well and nothing can be perfect, even though you had some block out from a building or two, which you mentioned!
You don't think of Moscow with large scyscapers and a financial district as what you're accustomed too, but then again you don't think the same again of Paris, which has its' own and the La Defense district on the eastern side of the city and on the same Metro line as the Champs Elyssees, if I'm correct. I have visited La Defense a couple of times and I think I took the Metro from the L'Etoile station (L'Arc de Triomphe).
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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Boo about the smoking driver! IF he needed a smoke so bad, you walk a distance from the bus where you can see it and smoke away. Although he would still be smelling like smoke, the bus wouldn't be full of it.
And what an update, holy cow!
I am blown away by these views. Both of the diorama indoors and the real views outdoors. I had no idea there were such modern buildings there either! What an awesome hotel to stay at too.
It was very neat to go out there...
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Bummer about that driver, stinks for him! Tips are earned, not expected. I guess he didn't want any!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
WOW, what a surprise this was with an update as I wasn't expecting one until the end of the month!
I like to surprise occasionally!
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Photos are great from the Radisson and especially of the city and Kremlin as well and nothing can be perfect, even though you had some block out from a building or two, which you mentioned!
You don't think of Moscow with large scyscapers and a financial district as what you're accustomed too, but then again you don't think the same again of Paris, which has its' own and the La Defense district on the eastern side of the city and on the same Metro line as the Champs Elyssees, if I'm correct. I have visited La Defense a couple of times and I think I took the Metro from the L'Etoile station (L'Arc de Triomphe).
That's very true - that's certainly not how I thought of Moscow either.
Boo about the smoking driver! IF he needed a smoke so bad, you walk a distance from the bus where you can see it and smoke away. Although he would still be smelling like smoke, the bus wouldn't be full of it.
As we're now back home, the updates are resuming... so here goes... please keep your hands and arms inside the trip report!
Sunday 12 June – part ten: that is a very weird backdrop!
We then headed back down to the lobby of the former Ukraine Hotel, going through the ridiculous pantomime of the various different elevators again. I was quite glad to get back to the lobby. As lovely as this place looked at first glance, it frankly felt a bit pretentious to me, once you got to know it a bit more.
That was emphasised when we were waiting at the door for our minivan, and two black cars drew up. I didn't think anymore of it, except when the two guys in the second one jumped out, and raced to accompany the guy in the first into the hotel. We all looked at each other, wondering if we were supposed to know who he was, but no-one did. It's obviously a regular occurrence here, as trust me, the staff just did not bat an eyelid. For me, it was an interesting glimpse into what life here must be like.
We were heading for lunch next…
On the way, we saw this advert for Finding Dory, which was a bit surreal.
We also found this Metro Station, Arbatskaya, which is in the shape of a five pointed star, which was a symbol of the Communist party. Our guide explained to us that it was designed that way because it's right next door to the military and the Ministry of Defence. Ok, that makes sense then...
As we pulled up, we got some more views of the Kremlin...
However, the rain that had been threatening came to fruition, so we all hustled into our lunch stop. It was in the most bizarre building, as it seemed to be home to various banks and financial institutions with a restaurant on the ground floor. However, if that was weird, we had seen nothing yet. The restaurant did generally look quite normal...
... except if you looked this way, and this is part of the backdrop you were presented with.
Ethan decided to sit with his back to it, and so did I, although entertainingly, it took Jay to halfway through the meal to notice it.
Despite the weird back drop, the meal was a lot better than yesterday. Mind you, it would be hard for it to be any worse really. Today was a buffet, and I was delighted to find they had "steamed fish", which both our guide and I guessed to be mackerel. There was also rice, vegetables, salad and Korean carrots, which tasted remarkably like normal carrots to me.
The rest had a choice of pork with vegetables, chicken cutlets and something else I think, although I forget now. Trust me, I am writing this up on the train back to St. Petersburg and it has been a really long day, so forgive the memory lapse. Anyway, this is what Mark had...
The dessert selection wasn't bad either, and there were only a couple of things I couldn't have. Here, I do have to apologise, as I could’ve sworn I took some photos of the dessert offerings, but there’s no sign of anything. Very unlike me… I guess I must’ve been too busy enjoying my desserts.
We all ordered Diet Cokes as well, although at first we got full fat Coke, which I spotted. You don't need to know any Russian to see this wasn't Diet...
The restaurant with no name – try as I might, I have been unable to find it on any map or find a name for it
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Glad you had a good meal in the restaurant! That has got to be about the oddest backdrop I've ever seen in a restaurant!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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Stunning views from the hotel observation deck. 
I have visited La Defense a couple of times and I think I took the Metro from the L'Etoile station (L'Arc de Triomphe).
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PassPorter Guide Author
cThe diorama is beautiful, the hotel is gorgeous and the views are stunning!!!!!
It's obviously a regular occurrence here, as trust me, the staff just did not bat an eyelid. For me, it was an interesting glimpse into what life here must be like.
Today was a buffet, and I was delighted to find they had "steamed fish", which both our guide and I guessed to be mackerel. There was also rice, vegetables, salad and Korean carrots, which tasted remarkably like normal carrots to me. 
by the way!
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