"Lady, lady, I make you good deal!"

While in Moscow, Cam and I would pick up an item and ask Jana "will this be less expensive at Izmaylovsky park? Yes? Well, how about this one? Wait, are you sure they'll even have this there?" Obviously we were looking forward to our day of Russian souvenir shopping.

We got to the park a little after lunchtime, on empty stomaches. The first thing I wanted to do was eat since I was famished. But as soon as we paid our 5 Rubles and entered the gates of the park, the sites and sounds enveloped me and my one track mind immediately shifted. Before me was a veritable smorgasbord of souvenirs! Stand after stand of nesting dolls, ornaments, pens, hand carved chess sets, music boxes, mirrors, hats, magnets, and so on.

At that precise moment it was as though the haggler I never knew I had inside me was released and came out in full force. 1200 Ruble items were knocked down to 800. 'Lowest priced' items became even lower. So-called good deals were made even better. At one point, one of the guys I was buying a souvenir from even said I was (and I quote) "a really good sales lady". My head got bigger as my pride swelled. I was on a roll. I shoveled out money here and there; I bought this and that - all because it became a game to me. At the end of the day my wallet was nearly empty, but my hands were full of bags I could barely manage to carry.
It wasn't until we stepped out of the gates, 3 hours after we entered, that it occurred to me: I was still hungry! Then and only then, even with the bags of overflowing goods in my hands, I recognized how much fun I truly had. After all, nothing else could have overruled my grumbling stomach other than that.