l'Ambassade Russe à Paris: take two

Today I had the oh-so-wonderful pleasure of going to the Russian Embassy in Paris for the second time. On Monday, after gathering all my documents and filling out forms, I took the metro to the 16è. I took a short walk to the embassy, getting lost a little on the way. It wasn't that hard to figure out that the ass-ugly cement building complete with 2 security guards with machine guns was the Russian embassy. It was just a little bit out of place in the very wealthy 16è. After nervously eying the security guards and their arms, I approached the gate to find the lovely sign photographed on the left. It says a bunch of stuff in Russian that I don't understand, and at the bottom: "Visa. Horaires: 9h-12h." Seeing as it was 2 o'clock by then, also known as 14h, I had no choice but to walk away disappointed. Since I had class all day Tuesday, I had to return this morning. This time, I arrived just before 10h so I'd be sure to get things taken care of. The consular services department is one big chaotic room with several windows and lines, none of which are clearly labeled. I looked for a line with the least Russian-looking people, and was relieved to find a window that said "visa-touriste" in very tiny font. The wait was actually quite quick- about 20 minutes. I was veryyyy nervous- I wasn't sure if my passport photos would be acceptable since I accidentally pressed the button for black&white when I took the pics in a booth at the Bastille metro station (oops), I also wasn't sure if my proof of insurance papers were sufficient. I didn't have a hotel confirmation either, since I'm staying with Megan, and I didn't have proof of airline tickets, since I wanted to wait until I was sure I could get a visa before making the purchase. I was also worried about my ability to understand the French of someone with a Russian accent. None of those things turned out to be an issue. The man behind the window was SOOO much nicer than the French visa-issuer in Los Angeles. Upon seeing my American passport he said he would speak English since his English is better than his French anyways. I'm all for language immersion, I'm very good about speaking French most of the time, but I have to say I was relieved. According to the rules of Russian tourist visas (which I have been researching on the internetz for the last week), you must apply for the visa in the country of your citizenship. However, they make an exception for people who have official residence permission in another country for at least 3 months. I assumed my 6month French visa would be sufficient, but it turns out I was supposed to actually have a residence card, which is something I don't have (and don't think I'm going to get). I explained that I was in the process of registering for my residence card, which apparently was an acceptable excuse. He then said that it generally takes 3 months for American citizens, but that they could do it for me there in France in 2 weeks. I later found out that this meant for a price- 98€ that is, or $140- which is damn fucking expensive, but hey, what can you do? Finally, I had to fill out a separate application form- because the form I had found on the internetz was apparently for everybody except American nationals. The American form was about 63 times more extensive and included questions about military service, scientific background, etc... understandable, of course. It also asked for names and addresses of the two most recent employers, parents, educational institutes. I didn't know any of these phone numbers, of course, but the boxes were too small for all of that information anyways, and the official didn't seem to mind that I left it out. After I paid my fee and signed over the rights to my first born child, I was told to come back in exactly 2 weeks to get my passport back, which should then be complete with my Russian tourist visa. Success!! I was out of the embassy by 11h, which makes 1 hour that I was there, also know as 33% of the time I spent at the French consulate in Los Angeles. Not to mention that the Russian man I dealt with was much more friendly and helpful than the French guy who works in LA (yeah, I think everyone studying in France who got their visa in LA knows who I'm talking about. Such a bitch!!)

As soon as I got home I bought my airline tickets to Saint Petersburg. My fall break plans are nice and finalized, and look like this:

Paris-> Helsinki-> Saint Petersburg-> Helsinki->Tallinn->Helsinki->Paris

In Helsinki I'll be visiting and staying with Barrett and his partner JN. Then to Petersburg for a few days to see Megan. When I get back to Helsinki Barrett, JN, one of their friends, and I are going on a short cruise to Tallinn, which is a port town in Estonia where we will stay overnight before going back to Helsinki. I'm leaving paris oct 23 and coming back nov 1. I know, I know - I'm going to freeze my ass off, seeing as how I'm California born-n-raised. Luckily, I bought a coat: