Photos from behind the scenes in Sochi - The hotel and the Main Press Center (MPC)

OK. Let me say this right off the bat. This is the last post I am going to write about the poor housing. I think the word has gotten out, and I really don't think that much will change. My only hope is that we will get Internet soon. That is killing me!

But, I am a big boy and I am going to make the best of this challenge. I figure that this is a good challenge to build my character a little. And thank you to everyone who has expressed concern and sent kind thoughts. As long as my gear stays put, I will be just fine. :)

Here is the view from my room. From the outside, these places look pretty nice. We are right on the edge of the Black Sea and I have a view outside my window. There are numerous complexes like this one, with approximately 15-20 buildings per cluster.

In the last blog post, I promised a couple of photos from inside the hotel. Here is what I saw when I first arrived at my room. It was a sign of things to come inside. The word here is that they are scrambling so fast to try and get rooms ready for us, that they are not cleaning anything. I even found screws and paint in my room.

This photo is for my wife, knowing that she would cringe at my nice clean tub.  I even washed some of my clothes in my bathtub (once I cleaned it) this morning. My wife would be proud of me.

There are even pieces of half eaten candy (or something like that) in my bathroom. Needless to say, I am not drinking the water or putting my toothbrush on the sink or ledge.

As I was leaving the "hotel" this morning, I saw this group of workers with brooms. I am not sure what they were planning on doing. Maybe they double as IT workers and they are going to install Internet in the hotel.

In stark contrast to my living quarters, the Main Press Center is really nice! This is a view of the MPC just after crossing through security.

The first view inside the MPC. The photo editing room is upstairs and to the left. This is where I am now, enjoying the digs and the Internet.

They spared no expense on this building.

This is a view of the food court.

I am not sure what this area is, maybe just a place to hang out?

Downstairs is where all the services are located. They have a Sochi store for Olympic goodies, but it is very expensive. I looked at a T-shirt earlier and it was $60. Yikes! They also have a postal service, a pharmacy, a laundry service (which is also very expensive), a massage area, a medical services desk...

And, of course, you can't have an Olympic press center without the obligatory McDonalds. :)

Note: I just returned from walking the Olympic Park, and it is really beautiful. Look for those photos soon.