Russian Shampoo

In St. Louis, were you to stay at, say, the Marriot, you’d be hard pressed to find a bottle of Russian shampoo. Not that it would have to be made in Russia, mind you, but a bottle with all sorts of Cyrillic characters that say things like lather, rinse and repeat and all the same stuff our shampoo bottles say. When I took my first shower at Weardowney Guesthouse, Gail gave me a bottle left over from a previous guest, who just happened to be from Russia. It was a cheap brand, L’Oreal. It wreaked of perfume, but somehow I felt much happier lathering up. That’s one way I knew I wasn’t in Kansas anymore…

Another way is the cars. There is a different sound to European cars, particularly when you’re up a few flights and the window is open. It’s just that sound, that you can’t really explain. European exhaust, European engines revving…the air, the feel of it all.

Other than the shampoo and the cars, and the tons of people in different accents, carrying and eating different food, I wouldn’t know I was abroad.