Hi everyone!!! I had a great weekend! We had conferences on Thursday and Friday. On Friday we got out at one and 6 of us went exploring. We went to eat first at the food court at the underground mall. We then to St. Sophia's Church complex. The inside of the church is very interesting. The mosiacs are being restored; most of the church is open to the public. Other parts are in the process of being restored. That areas you can walk around in have the mosiacs partial restored in many areas so you can see how dirty and damaged the mosiacs are. There are a few areas in the floor where they have the original floor exposed (and covered with glass cases) so you can view some of the remnants of the mosiacs that were on the floor. There are many other areas that are exposed to show the foundation, brick laying, and arched door ways that were filled in in thepast centuries. Now the floors are covered in large metal tiles which are interesting in themselves. The ceilings in the stairway to the upstairs and some of the doors are very low. Even I had to watch my head in some of them. I'm not sure if that is due to other flooring being put on top of old floorings.
After we were done there we went to Andreski (not sure that is spelled right) street where artists and other venders set up. I bought great presents for my two boys! We found an art supply store I have to return to. There were many galleries but it was getting dark and we headed off to eat. It started raining on us; we walked all over trying to find a restaraunt and finally decided on a buffet. Then we headed home. It was a great afternoon and evening!
More later about Sautrday and Sunday.