a fun afternoon in Astana

Hi, everyone.

We've made it to Astana! We were pretty tired and actually slept in till 1:30 (p.m.). Daylight savings time is not observed here, so we are actually 10 hours ahead We headed out to the Mega Center which has a fun amusement park very similar to the one we had gone to with our New Brunswick friends this past summer. We weren't disappointed. We had a lovely lunch... including a treat: Movenpick ice cream - something we won't access to in Petro! Hmmm, one of each, Sven? Yannik also had great fun and yes, once again, made friends!

We are staying at the same hotel as last time. Everything feels strangely familiar and comfortable. We leave for Petro tomorrow morning. Xhanara is coming to pick us up very early, so we are trying to get organized tonight. Ah... a nice shower is that super duper shower...so fancy!
Speaking of fancy...interesting decor in this hotel... We'll post a few pictures.

People here are so friendly. Some girls came up to Yannik and me asking if we spoke English. When I told them Canadian, they said . Oh...Brrrr (funny...it's pretty cold here too!)

PS - BIG star sitings at Toronto Airport...(that is, apart from spending the afternoon with Sven's parents!) No, not Brangelina or even David Beckam...but in true canadian spirit...two of the biggest: Anne Murray...and Rick Mercer. (no, not together... now that could have been interesting!) We were still pretty impressed to be bumping into these two unique canadian icons...