Markets in Moscow

October 10-16, 2016

Monday morning Linda and I head to the airport in Barcelona and after an uneventful travel day, I'm back in Moscow. It's Thanksgiving Day but no turkey on the flights so I will have to wait for American Thanksgiving to buy a bird and have folks over for dinner. 

After a great vacation, it's back to work and business as usual; meetings, Russian lessons, discussions of Russian history and heritage. The week rushed by and before I know it Friday is here. It's time for a couple of drinks with colleagues at Canada Club with a great dinner afterwards at the local Georgian restaurant. Shashlik, salads and lemonade.

Saturday morning and there's a Metro run with Cat. Four women manage to overfill an SUV in just over an hour with groceries, alcohol and sundries. A lazy day but it's past time to finally get my apartment straightened away so I work diligently for a couple hours Saturday unpacking boxes and finding spots for my too numerous treasures. The guys from the Embassy are coming next week to hang my artwork and pictures so I need to get things ready. 

Sunday, Eva and I head over to Cat's place for brunch; a 45 minute walk to stretch our legs. The sun is out for a change so it's a bright crisp day for a walk. Cat had prepared mimosas and lots of great food (grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken sate, omelet muffins and prosciutto-wrapped pickles). The latter was amazingly tasty! 

Sated, we piled in Cat's SUV for our expedition to Ismailovo Market to do some shopping for stuff we don't need and to have a few things framed. The market is massive and the morning sun has been covered by clouds so we explore for a couple of hours and leave laden with our purchases. I will definitely need to come back to really explore the stalls where everything is on offer from gas masks to fur hats, Matryoshka dolls in all shapes and sizes, jewelry, handcrafts and food; you can buy it here. The search for my fur hat will also require a return journey as there are hundreds here. Stephanie and I likely tried on at least 100 but I need to have a better idea of what I am looking for!

Leaving Ismailovo, we are headed to another market closer to Cat's SQ - Dorogomilovsky Market. This market has row after row of butchers with hanging carcasses and pile of cuts. Worth a return trip as well.  This time we grab some pho for dinner and check out the meat and cheese stalls before heading home for a quiet evening.

An Epic Cruise of the Mediterranean

October 3 - 9, 2016

Monday,  the first full day of our cruise, was a sea day (my favourite). Nothing to do but lounge around in Posh quaffing cocktails and reading while soaking up some sun. I could do this for weeks as people that have done Transatlantic cruises with me can attest! But, this cruise has a number of stops most of which Linda and I have plans to explore or at least grab a few local delicacies.

Tuesday we docked at Cittivecchia and decided to stay on board to enjoy another day of sun and lounging. It can be addictive ...

Wednesday morning we arrived in Naples and wandered around town on and off the beaten track. 

Our first attempt at getting pre-lunch drinks was scuppered by an extremely rude Irish couple that "stole" our table and stubbornly failed to yield it to us even when the waiter intervened. My illusion that all Irish were happy go lucky was shattered but eventually we found a nice table on the opposite side of the restaurant and ordered a couple of glasses of Prosecco. 
 

Apparently it is the custom in Italy to provide a bite (mini pizzas, peanuts and potato chips) whenever alcohol is served to make sure people don't feel the drink so quickly. Our appetites primed and our whistles wet, we headed to a restaurant that Linda had picked out for pizza - da Attilio. I picked out the star-shaped fungi/buffalo mozzarella pie with 8 points in the crust stuffed with pillows of fresh ricotta while Linda selected a pie with prosciutto topped with arugula. We shared both the pizzas and I can honestly say it was the best pizza that I have ever eaten (or likely ever will).

Heavenly pies

What we didn't have for lunch!

After lunch we popped back to the cafe to pick up some sfogliatella, a shell-shaped filled pastry to have as a snack later and then headed back to the Epic.

 

Thursday we docked in Livorno and decided to head to Pisa rather than Florence as it was closer and I'd never been there. We finally found a taxi to take us to town for 25 Euros to catch a train.  We asked about the cost to go to Pisa and since it was "only" 55 Euros we decided on the convenience of door to door service. After a quick stop to take the typical tourist shot of holding up the leaning tower, we toured the surprisingly beautiful city before heading off in search of lunch.

I can't stop it falling ...

Baptistry

Fallen Angel

It's Friday and are off to France.  First stop Cannes, playground of the rich and famous. The day we were there was a port cleanup underway. Apparently the rich and the famous just dump their trash off the sides of their yachts. Lots of folks were taking photos of the tires, batteries, furniture and other junk that had been thrown overboard but I opted not to!

A seat with a view!

After a leisurely stroll along the boardwalk, I convinced Linda that we needed to head back to the ferris wheel set up on the Esplanade Pantiero in front of the Old Port. For a few euros we hopped into a basket to get a bird's eye view of Cannes. While the big wheel is "only 40 meters high", it was high enough to remind me of my fear of heights. We were treated to three turns around (two too many for me, lol!).

 

 A look of sheer terror!

 Views from the wheel

 Back on terra firma safely!

 

Back on the ground we headed to a cafe and had a great lunch - wine, prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella and some great bread. After a bit more exploring, we headed off to find our daily gelato. Today's cone was presented as a beautiful flower with petals of luscious chocolate, pistachio and refreshing raspberry.

Sated, we headed back to the ship for another evening on the EPIC. 

Saturday and we are docked in Marseilles. After a walk around town and some shopping window and actual, we headed to a small cafe off the beaten track that Linda had selected for lunch. Pur first course was a savoury creme brule with fois gras and a succulent fig. After that we shared a charcuterie platter all washed down with vin rouge. Yum ...

Sunday and we are back in Barcelona checking out some of Gaudi's masterpieces before our flights home. Thanks Linda for being such a great travel companion.

 

 

Party Time

September 26 - October 2, 2016

The work week was pretty uneventful both in the office and out other than a trip to the US Embassy for lunch with a colleague and a quick tour of their vendor day buying some souvenirs for me and gifts for friends and family. The highlight of the week came late Friday afternoon when the Canada Club hosted a Welcome BBQ (for new Embassy staff).  

After a dreary rainy week, Friday afternoon was cool and the sun made an appearance while Galena had three BBQs fired up and was cooking pork, chicken and lamb shaslik to be served with lovely salads she had made early and fabulous cookies and squares made by Melissa. The Embassy staff (Russians and Canadians) came out for the celebration in full force and the wine and conversation flowed late into the evening. I really like my new colleagues!

Saturday morning and I am finishing up the packing for my flight to Barcelona to meet Linda Quarin for a Mediterranean Cruise. The airport is only 50 km or so from my apartment but Moscow traffic never fails to disappoint and it takes us almost 2.5 hours to get to the airport (with four accidents en route) barely in time for my flight. 

That seemed to be the theme for the day as I needed a "fast pass" to make the connection in Brussels. Miraculously, both my luggage and I arrived in Barcelona more or less on time. A quick cab ride to the hotel to meet Linda who had been in town for a day and a half exploring and had identified a great place to have tapas for dinner.

Linda set our course through the winding course to a small and very busy tapas bar; Re-Pla. This lively, hip restaurant serves delicious Spanish and Catalan style tapas in a rustic setting in the Born. Our 10:30 reservation scores us a table around 11:00 pm (the Spanish really do love eating late!). 

We had a lovely bottle of Galician wine served by the vintner to wash down our tapas. My favourite dish was a mushroom carpaccio served with a wasabi vinaigrette and a few pieces of manchego cheese. Who knew thinly sliced mushrooms could be so tasty! The tomato bread (Spain's rendition of bruschetta) was also very fine.

Sunday morning, after a quick light breakfast (our last small meal for a while), we hailed a cab and headed to the cruise port to board the Epic for Linda's first cruise and my inaugural cruise on the Mediterranean. After securing Beach Club passes, we headed up to Posh for a cocktail and sail away before changing for dinner in my favourite specialty restaurant - Le Bistro.

After a lovely dinner, we headed to the casino so I could make my nightly donation and ran into Ewe and Silvia at the UTH table (my home away from home for the week!). Tomorrow is a sea day so nothing planned except a day lounging in Posh.  Can't wait!

Posh Beach Club

 

 

Stuff Stuff Stuff

September 19-25, 2016

Monday morning bright and early my sea shipment arrived; all 80 boxes or so of it. Not wanting to have stuff scattered all over the apartment, I had the movers open the boxes, put together the few things that I knew had been dismantled and they were gone before noon. I wasn’t so lucky as I was left to unload box after box of treasures including unmanageable quantities of dry goods from Costco. What was I thinking?!

The dishwasher and washing machine were working as hard as I was for two days and then I was back at the office Wednesday and the appliances were given a bit of a break. I am not quite sure where all my Xmas decorations are going to end up but for now they are in storage in the guest room along with a lot of other stuff that has yet to be unpacked. I promise to have it cleaned up before the first guest arrives!

One thing I know for sure that where ever I end up after this posting will not be as big a space as my apartment here so I have two years to downsize! Back at work, I am starting Wednesday afternoon Russian classes to help improve my language skills. The class is a group of eight and includes Embassy staff as well as some of the spouses. I’ll have to see whether the group class works for me or if I should also have some one-on- one training.

Wednesday night, I am off to a reception at the US Embassy to welcome their new Health Officer and bid adieu to the Environment Officer who is on his way to Lake Baikal, a UNESCO World Heritage site that contains 20 percent of the world's freshwater. The attendees are from the diplomatic corps and the full range of Russian NGOs involved in health and environmental issues; an interesting mix. After some tasty bites and sips and a bit a chit chat with the folks attending, I am off home for yet another early night (damn jetlag!).

Waking up early does have its advantages as I continue to unpack and put away my stuff. I want to be done before the end of October though my colleagues say it usually takes a couple of months! 

Soon enough it is Friday and I am avoiding my chores and drinking wine and playing cards at the Canada Club with the usual suspects. Not likely going to make much progress on unpacking this weekend as I am doing a bus tour of Moscow on Saturday morning, heading to Oktoberfest at the German Embassy on Saturday night and have a foray to a new Pho place on Sunday at noon.

I contemplated bailing on the bus tour but it’s not raining for the first time in a week so I take that as a sign. The bus takes us around the Moscow Garden Ring which I have explored extensively and then we are off to Sparrow Hill to catch a glimpse of the Moscow skyline and the tallest and smartest of the Seven Sisters. 

The Seven Sisters (also known locally as “Stalinskie Vysotki”– Stalin’s High-rises) are a group of seven skyscrapers in Moscow built on Stalin’s orders in order to compete with the modern cities of the western allies which the USSR had fought alongside in WWII. The Sisters, that define the Moscow skyline, are an elaborate combination of Russian Baroque and Gothic styles. Today we have a chance to see the main building of the Moscow State University up close.

We ran across a bride getting her photos taken and I snapped a few pics myself!
 

One of the interesting tidbits garnered from the tour was that the Church of Christ the Saviour was originally to have been built on the top of the hill but the hill was not stable enough for such a large church. Instead the beautiful but smaller Holy Trinity Church overlooks Moscow.

Holy Trinity Church

Leaving Sparrow Hill, we are off to the site Novodevichy (New Maiden) Convent and Cemetery next to the lake said to have been the inspiration behind Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet. The buildings and grounds are beautiful so a return journey is a must.

Novodevichy Convent and Cemetery on "Swan Lake"

Today there is time to take a few pictures of the lake and the whimsical bronze statues of Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings – Make Way for Ducklings – a replica of the famous Boston landmark that was donated by Mrs. Bush to 
Mrs. Gorbachev.

We opt to jump off the bus at the Bolshoi Theatre and head off to find some lunch. On our way to Stolovaya №57, a Soviet-style restaurant in the GUM Department Store, we walk through an Armenian festival and are tempted off course by the siren’s song of meat being cooked over coals. 

With a generous plate of shashlik and salad, we dine al fresco despite the Fall temperatures. Sated, we continue our way through the festival and are attracted by shiny strings of candied walnuts (though at first we thought they might be sausages or candles!). 
 

Roejeeg

Roejeeg – walnuts covered with an almost rubbery coating of thickened fruit juice. Both the pomegranate and grape varieties are delicious so we picked some up for later. In case you want to make some at home, here’s a recipe that I found http://www.thegutsygourmet.net/roejeeg.html

Time to head home and get cleaned up for Oktoberfest. I am going to be taking the Metro by myself to the apartment building where the bulk of the Embassy folks live for the first time so I need to allot extra time for getting lost! Amazingly, the Metro is easy (it is only one transfer!) but then the wheels fall off as my confidence in my ability to use my cell phone for directions is misplaced. My 500 meter walk turned into a couple of km so I got some exercise and still arrived before we were supposed to head out.

Kat had prepared some food and we had a couple of glasses of wine before heading to the German Embassy. The event was sold out and we were not exactly late but not as early as the rest of the folks but the five of us soon found seats scattered amongst our Canadian colleagues and their spouses. The $40 ticket included food (lots and lots of food), two pints of beer and a great German band.
 

Things started out fairly civilized but then the beer hit and folks were dancing on benches and tables. The whole scene brought back great memories of crazy nights at the Old Munich in Montreal when I was studying at Macdonald College.
The Canadians were among the last to grab cabs and head home so Sunday morning was going to be a wee bit painful at least!

A little worse for the wear, we headed to Danilovsky Market to get some fresh produce and a big bowl of pho at BO. After our disappointment of a couple weeks ago that the great outdoor Pho restaurant in Gorky Park was closed, we were really happy to find it's twin! The Pho was great as were the rice paper wraps and mango lasse! Just what the Doctor ordered. 

Making rice paper

Pho Fixings

Lunch - just what the Doctor ordered!

The market sells all types of local products from great cheese to wild mushrooms, all sorts of meats and several stands selling fresh-pressed pomegranate juice, guaranteed to cure what ails you! 

Dried fruit and nuts

Shrooms

We picked up some of the fresh food and headed home to catch up a bit on sleep. Another great week!!