I voyaged out solo this morning to get breakfast for everyone. Usually at Airbnbs we are prepared with some oatmeal or cereal, but we weren’t today. We had a long, lazy morning of drawing, playing cards, and playing hide and seek. Millie was noticeably tired from her late night and curled up on the couch.

At about 11 we ventured out to see all the art we hadn’t seen last night. It was super hot today (98), and the breeze that kept us going yesterday was absent. We walked around to see some of the work but started fading fast. We were either in direct sunlight or in the little, unairconditioned rooms of the madrasas.

We saw as much as we could given the circumstances. Some favorites:

Antony Gormley’s installation. Hard to see in this photo but each one was a human in a different position. I liked that they were made of the same material that so many of the buildings here are made of – mud and straw.

This reminded me of the greenery in the wadis of Oman.

Loved the shadows of the sculptures on the roof reflecting on the wall, and the growing floor. This was part of a larger installation about the patterned fabrics and sewing of Uzbek women.

Millie matched the building.

She whispered to me “is it… real?”

After a couple of hours we were spent. We stopped at a little cafe for cold water and juice and then decided to head back to the apartment for some rest and AC. Nick and Millie watched Paddington and I took an accidental nap. She drew some more.

The books have transformed into complicated comic books. Today was about a little boy who tripped and had to take an ambulance.

Seeing her creativity and skills blossom over the course of this trip has been so special. Seeing how proud she is of the work is even better.

We walked out for an early dinner and ate at the same place we went to last night. It was right in the middle of everything and the food was good and fast. Millie was tired and we had to pull her away from the edge of a meltdown a few times, but luckily we succeeded.

She flew a paper airplane beside us as we finished eating. We had the water with swans in it to our left, and this to our right.

After dinner we took a quick stroll to try to see more art, but it was clear she needed sleep. We came home, FaceTimed grandparents, took a quick shower, and went to bed.

We leave Uzbekistan tomorrow. I didn’t have many expectations for coming here, but it’s blown me away. It’s safe, welcoming, easy (enough) to navigate, has good food, and is culturally and historically fascinating. Definitely on my list of “unexpectedly great travel destinations”.