You have all been bugging me to upload my photos... Finally I did it! There is a short waiting period before they can be uploaded to the blog. You can access them using the link to Picasa.
I will probably also upload them to Facebook.
It was a great trip. I am really glad I went. And now I am looking forward to getting to Mexico again! In the meantime I am training for my next 1/2 marathon (San Francisco) and planning a bunch of camping trips.
Have a great summer!
Mexican Sunset
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Home Sweet Home
I arrived home on Thursday afternoon after some 48 hours of traveling. I pretty much lost track after the first 24, crossing time zones screwed me up. Sleeping in the Heathrow Airport didn't help. I was finally upgraded to business class on my flight to SFO. It took me to the last minute and lots of tears. I didn't mean to cry actually, and I wasn't doing it for pity, but I guess that was the effect. I was just beyond sanity at that point. I really just wanted to be home and I felt what they had put me through was completely unjust. I have more details of course, but will leave them for another time.
It is great to be home. Cuddles with Pearl and Ruby has been awesome.
So happy to be home!
It is great to be home. Cuddles with Pearl and Ruby has been awesome.
So happy to be home!
Eating In Russia
I can’t speak for the rest of the country. I guess MacDonald’s, though they do have a presence, hasn’t really taken over the country with fast food. There are lines for MacDonald’s, especially in the center of town by the Kremlin. I can’t speak for the rest of the country. I guess MacDonald’s, though they do have a presence, hasn’t really taken over the country with fast food. There are lines for MacDonald’s, especially in the center of town by the Kremlin. Kentucky Fried Chicken has also made the trek here from the USA.
I don’t know how the prices compare because I tried to steer clear of the evils of fast food.
And why would you want to eat BAD American fast food when you can get delicious Russian fast food for less than half the price? Go figure. Russian fast food is bliny (thin crepes with different fillings), pelmeny (dumplings like wontons –also usually with meat filling), ice cream of all kinds (mostly the American Nestle sort, not like the delicious paletas in Mexico made from fresh fruit and cream), and various other finger foods. I guess hot dogs are pretty popular too, with ketchup of all things. The best way to ruin a hot dog is to put ketchup on it, in my opinion. Only mustard belongs on the dog. Oh, and sauerkraut if you are lucky enough to have it.
Russian food in restaurants… if you land in a good restaurant (don’t ever go to Yolkie Palkie) you are going to find the most amazing fish dishes, bliny, and the soup is to die for! I had fish soup on at least two occasions, both with sour cream, and what a treat. Even the soup at a bad restaurant is fairly decent. Mark had a disgusting cold soup at a café we went to a couple of times. It literally made me gag. He liked it. It was a beef broth that was really sour, and additionally so due to the sour cream in it, with green onions, slices of mystery meat, and maybe hard boiled egg? I had a delicious cream of mushroom soup.
At home – dinner with the family – was simple but good. Aunt Zhenya does very good appetizer things: Syrian marinated eggplant with cloves and vinegar and who knows what, a red sauce with garlic and red peppers to eat with bread or crackers, an amazing egg salad with a green onion like thing. Her main courses were much more simple (fish, chicken, turkey, green veggie, potatoes) and not how I would cook things (a little too cooked for me), but tasty none-the-less. And then dessert: home made cherry jam, different kinds of cookies, cream puffs, and tea of course.
I thought I could lose a little weight by walking all over hell and back and not eating too much junk. Wrong! The sweets were too enticing. Oh, not to mention the cheese with bread or crackers at every meal just about. I just couldn’t resist. Now when I get home I am going to have to cut out sugar altogether. I forgot my stevia and as a result had sugar with my tea every morning, afternoon and evening. I am also going to go through serious caffeine withdrawal. Hmm. Fun. Although I am looking forward to eating fruit and veggies at every meal with little else. There isn’t the same kind of variety as we have in California unless you want to pay out the nose.
There was a salad at every meal, which was very good. And I had bananas at breakfast with my oatmeal (what Aunt Rita calls “flakes.”) Rita also introduced me to what she called “curds.” I would say it is a cross between cottage cheese and ricotta with a bit of a yogurt sourness. I loved it. We ate it with flavored yogurt, the applesauce I made, and jam.
I don’t know how the prices compare because I tried to steer clear of the evils of fast food.
And why would you want to eat BAD American fast food when you can get delicious Russian fast food for less than half the price? Go figure. Russian fast food is bliny (thin crepes with different fillings), pelmeny (dumplings like wontons –also usually with meat filling), ice cream of all kinds (mostly the American Nestle sort, not like the delicious paletas in Mexico made from fresh fruit and cream), and various other finger foods. I guess hot dogs are pretty popular too, with ketchup of all things. The best way to ruin a hot dog is to put ketchup on it, in my opinion. Only mustard belongs on the dog. Oh, and sauerkraut if you are lucky enough to have it.
Russian food in restaurants… if you land in a good restaurant (don’t ever go to Yolkie Palkie) you are going to find the most amazing fish dishes, bliny, and the soup is to die for! I had fish soup on at least two occasions, both with sour cream, and what a treat. Even the soup at a bad restaurant is fairly decent. Mark had a disgusting cold soup at a café we went to a couple of times. It literally made me gag. He liked it. It was a beef broth that was really sour, and additionally so due to the sour cream in it, with green onions, slices of mystery meat, and maybe hard boiled egg? I had a delicious cream of mushroom soup.
At home – dinner with the family – was simple but good. Aunt Zhenya does very good appetizer things: Syrian marinated eggplant with cloves and vinegar and who knows what, a red sauce with garlic and red peppers to eat with bread or crackers, an amazing egg salad with a green onion like thing. Her main courses were much more simple (fish, chicken, turkey, green veggie, potatoes) and not how I would cook things (a little too cooked for me), but tasty none-the-less. And then dessert: home made cherry jam, different kinds of cookies, cream puffs, and tea of course.
I thought I could lose a little weight by walking all over hell and back and not eating too much junk. Wrong! The sweets were too enticing. Oh, not to mention the cheese with bread or crackers at every meal just about. I just couldn’t resist. Now when I get home I am going to have to cut out sugar altogether. I forgot my stevia and as a result had sugar with my tea every morning, afternoon and evening. I am also going to go through serious caffeine withdrawal. Hmm. Fun. Although I am looking forward to eating fruit and veggies at every meal with little else. There isn’t the same kind of variety as we have in California unless you want to pay out the nose.
There was a salad at every meal, which was very good. And I had bananas at breakfast with my oatmeal (what Aunt Rita calls “flakes.”) Rita also introduced me to what she called “curds.” I would say it is a cross between cottage cheese and ricotta with a bit of a yogurt sourness. I loved it. We ate it with flavored yogurt, the applesauce I made, and jam.
Moscow Style
Moscow women don’t eat, walk a lot and wear impossibly high heels. Actually, it is true, there are very few over weight people in general in Moscow & St. Petersburg. The women are fashionistas for the most part. They are skinny and have great style. I think they probably spend a ton of money on fashion. There are designer stores everywhere and they aren’t for the tourists for the most part. When I first arrived it was quite cold in Moscow and the uniform for most women was black shirt & jeans tucked into tall black, spiked heeled boots. Often the boots were platform with stiletto heels. I tried to imagine wearing something like that and got a foot ache just thinking about it. Then I pondered the idea of walking around in those on snow, ice and slush. Not my idea of a good time.
The other thing I saw a lot of is the recently deemed stylish shoe boot. A stiletto heeled shoe with a short boot-like upper bit. I know my friend Maeve hates that style, so every time I saw a pair I thought of her. I didn’t see one pair that would have been acceptable. As soon as the weather started getting warm (which was pretty much by the second or third day) people shed their boots for more comfortable walking wear, like stiletto (fuck me) pumps. It was particularly funny to see girls trying to walk on the cobblestone at the Red Square with those things on. Actually, many also opted for flats, fancy loafers, and even some sandals. It seemed that people were having a hard time believing that it was going to stay warm. Even when it was in the high 70s I saw lots of coats, scarves, and sweaters.
Men’s fashion was nothing to get excited about. Mostly men were non-descript and could have been from any country. There were lots of pointy-ish black dress shoes. I even saw one guy with white shoes. My mother always told me not to trust a man in white shoes. Take her advice. Gym shoes don’t count.
The other thing I saw a lot of is the recently deemed stylish shoe boot. A stiletto heeled shoe with a short boot-like upper bit. I know my friend Maeve hates that style, so every time I saw a pair I thought of her. I didn’t see one pair that would have been acceptable. As soon as the weather started getting warm (which was pretty much by the second or third day) people shed their boots for more comfortable walking wear, like stiletto (fuck me) pumps. It was particularly funny to see girls trying to walk on the cobblestone at the Red Square with those things on. Actually, many also opted for flats, fancy loafers, and even some sandals. It seemed that people were having a hard time believing that it was going to stay warm. Even when it was in the high 70s I saw lots of coats, scarves, and sweaters.
Men’s fashion was nothing to get excited about. Mostly men were non-descript and could have been from any country. There were lots of pointy-ish black dress shoes. I even saw one guy with white shoes. My mother always told me not to trust a man in white shoes. Take her advice. Gym shoes don’t count.
DIRT Russian Style
I have never experienced dirt like the dirt in Moscow and St. Petersburg. When I first arrived my Aunt Zhenya told me (translated by Mark), “We wash our hands before dinner here.” So, dutifully, I washed my hands. I didn’t really think much of it. I try to remember to do the same at home. But, as the days went by, I realized the washing the hands thing is no joke. Every time I washed my hands, especially after coming in from walking around town, taking the Metro, etc. I would have gray suds. To get clean would take a good 30 seconds of washing. I wonder if they get sick less there due to washing their hands more often? The benefit of dirt?
I started to see that my hands weren’t the only thing getting dirty. My clothes, my shoes, my purse (pretty much destroyed – I am hoping it can be washed, but with pink leather I have my doubts), my hair, my face. You get the idea.
This is part of why people take off their shoes when they come in the door. Every home has a collection of slippers for guests to wear when they come over. I really get it. Most days my shoes were covered in dirt and dust when I came home from sight-seeing. I was giving Galia a hard time in St. Petersburg because each time before leaving the apartment she would brush her shoes off. I would joke with her that they would just get dirty again. I couldn’t persuade her, so eventually I started doing it as well. It seemed like a good idea to maybe make my shoes last a little longer?
During the day my hair would eventually begin to feel like it was plastered with dirt. Nothing was clean on my body except maybe my feet, because they had been covered with socks and shoes most of the day. Every night when I showered, I could feel the dirt and grime slowly washing off me, layer by layer.
How is it that it is so dirty there? Why have I never noticed anything like it in Mexico or other places I have traveled? Having pondered this I came up with a couple of hypotheses… In Mexico I am usually not wearing nearly as many clothes. And the clothes that I am wearing are smaller, less fabric. The shoes I wear are mostly flip-flops and don’t collect as much dust and dirt. Most of the places I have visited have less industrial made filth as well as dirt created by autos. Room service can do wonders for dirt! Maybe it isn’t as dirty?
I started to see that my hands weren’t the only thing getting dirty. My clothes, my shoes, my purse (pretty much destroyed – I am hoping it can be washed, but with pink leather I have my doubts), my hair, my face. You get the idea.
This is part of why people take off their shoes when they come in the door. Every home has a collection of slippers for guests to wear when they come over. I really get it. Most days my shoes were covered in dirt and dust when I came home from sight-seeing. I was giving Galia a hard time in St. Petersburg because each time before leaving the apartment she would brush her shoes off. I would joke with her that they would just get dirty again. I couldn’t persuade her, so eventually I started doing it as well. It seemed like a good idea to maybe make my shoes last a little longer?
During the day my hair would eventually begin to feel like it was plastered with dirt. Nothing was clean on my body except maybe my feet, because they had been covered with socks and shoes most of the day. Every night when I showered, I could feel the dirt and grime slowly washing off me, layer by layer.
How is it that it is so dirty there? Why have I never noticed anything like it in Mexico or other places I have traveled? Having pondered this I came up with a couple of hypotheses… In Mexico I am usually not wearing nearly as many clothes. And the clothes that I am wearing are smaller, less fabric. The shoes I wear are mostly flip-flops and don’t collect as much dust and dirt. Most of the places I have visited have less industrial made filth as well as dirt created by autos. Room service can do wonders for dirt! Maybe it isn’t as dirty?
Russian Water
No, I am not talking about vodka. That is a whole different story.
The water in Moscow & St. Petersburg is incredibly “hard. ” I guess it is filled with minerals as well as chlorine and whatever else they add to it to make it potable. Still, people usually drink bottled water. We used a filter and it was fine, although bottled was definitely better. Never mind drinking the water, it’s the bathing and washing your hands constantly (see DIRT) that takes a toll. I have never used so much lotion and cream ever. I had no idea that I would need it as much as I did, so it’s a good thing I packed so much. I used it ALL. Literally I would wash my hands and once they were dry, I could feel them cracking. Drives me crazy. My hair felt coarse no matter how much conditioner I used. My legs would feel tight and itchy if I forgot the lotion after a shower. And my arms were pretty much constantly itchy – this is already an issue for me, so it was just exacerbated by the hard water.
The water in Moscow & St. Petersburg is incredibly “hard. ” I guess it is filled with minerals as well as chlorine and whatever else they add to it to make it potable. Still, people usually drink bottled water. We used a filter and it was fine, although bottled was definitely better. Never mind drinking the water, it’s the bathing and washing your hands constantly (see DIRT) that takes a toll. I have never used so much lotion and cream ever. I had no idea that I would need it as much as I did, so it’s a good thing I packed so much. I used it ALL. Literally I would wash my hands and once they were dry, I could feel them cracking. Drives me crazy. My hair felt coarse no matter how much conditioner I used. My legs would feel tight and itchy if I forgot the lotion after a shower. And my arms were pretty much constantly itchy – this is already an issue for me, so it was just exacerbated by the hard water.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Getting to Know Moscow Airport
Well, I only have a few minutes for this post. I am finally (after almost 12 hours in the airport) about to board a flight to Heathrow, London on British Airways. I was on United, leaving at 12:35pm. I got through all the hoops you have to go through to get out of here. Boarded the plane. We were all set and ready to go at least 1/2 an hour before take-off. Actually had two seats to myself. Then we sat and sat. Finally, after almost an hour, the captain came on the loudspeaker and told us they were fixing a fuel leak in the engine of the plane. We sat another hour. Then we taxied to the area where planes seem to go to die. Or be fixed, sometimes. We sat there for another hour. They finally started coming out with drinks and lunch bags. I looked out the window and could see the buses that were waiting to take us back to the terminal.
It is too long to go into now, but suffice to say that we waited and waited for about another 3 hours. I was admitted back into Russia (my visa expired today), and was supposedly re-ticketed to go on Luftansa to Frankfurt, which I wasn't looking forward to. Well that flight was leaving in 1/2 an hour and they decided they couldn't get me on it. Now I am on a flight to London. This is much better than spending the night here or spending the night in Frankfurt. But I would prefer to be home of course!
Gotta go. I will be back online in a few hours. With 12 hours to pass in the Heathrow airport!
It is too long to go into now, but suffice to say that we waited and waited for about another 3 hours. I was admitted back into Russia (my visa expired today), and was supposedly re-ticketed to go on Luftansa to Frankfurt, which I wasn't looking forward to. Well that flight was leaving in 1/2 an hour and they decided they couldn't get me on it. Now I am on a flight to London. This is much better than spending the night here or spending the night in Frankfurt. But I would prefer to be home of course!
Gotta go. I will be back online in a few hours. With 12 hours to pass in the Heathrow airport!
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Moscow & St. Petersburg
Well, I can't believe it, but it has already been almost 2 weeks! I would have liked to do many more posts but the internet thing wasn't as easy as I anticipated. I will posting a ton of photos when I get home. It is too slow and cumbersome on Rita's 4 year old computer. That is a dinosaur in computer years. In the meantime, I did just post a new slideshow.
St. Petersburg was really pretty - in Russian terms. It is a very European looking city, built by Italians and other Europeans. It was supposed to be the Venice of the North. There is a big river and lots of small canals running through the city. There are a couple of different islands as well. I gather the whole place was a marsh before Peter The Great arrived there. He had it filled in with stone and made into liveable space. Imagine what the environmentalists would have to say about something like that now! At a certain point, anyone entering the city had to pay a tax in stones.
Probably the most famous landmark in St. Petersburg is the Hermitage. It seems to be the Louvre of Russia. The art collections are located in the Winter Palace which is on the edge of the Neva River. It has 3 floors filled with art from all over the world. My personal favorites were the early 20th century artists - Gauguin, Matisse, Picasso, etc. I actually missed some of the pieces because we went one direction and didn't end up circuling back to the rooms we missed.
The other fascinating part of the Hermitage is that it is filled with rooms that are decked out just like they were when the palace was being used by the royalty who lived there. There was one room that was entirely made of wood with glass enclosed cases of books. It was done in a beautiful gothic style architecture, probably with mohagany. The room wasn't easy to find and I joked that if you lived there you would need a map to find your way around. "I would love to go to the library, but I can't remember where it is!"
It is a damn good thing we went to the Hermitage on Thursday because I went back on Saturday to go see a special exhibit on gold and there was a line a mile long and another mile wide. They weren't letting anyone in at the time we arrived. I guess they were already at capacity and needed people to leave before they could let others in. The thing about Russia is that it can be difficult to find/figure out exactly what is going on for sure. Mark went to the front of the line to see what was happening and was told that they weren't letting anyone in right now. He asked when they would be, but was directed to read a sign posted on the door which actually told him nothing. The "guard" was too busy talking on her cell phone to bother answering his questions. We ended up leaving as I had no desire to spend my time waiting in a long line. I may have felt differently if I hadn't already been inside, but I had, so, no line for me!
Outside in the Palace Square (about the size of 4 city blocks with a statue in the center), we saw two big events, one on Thursday afternoon and one on Saturday morning. Thursday afternoon when we were leaving the Hermitage we walked out of the palace into the square and there were military men everywhere. Upon getting a closer look, it appeared they were doing a practice drill for celebrating Victory Day (the end of WWII) on May 9th. There were groups of military men from what we would call the Army, Navy, Marines, etc. all grouped around the square. In the center was a huge military band. There were a few different podiums set up facing the band at varying distances, as well as a truck parked with speakers set up in the truck bed. The officials were standing there yelling into the microphone, booming voice coming out to be heard on every corner of the square. He sounded so serious it was funny. At one point a group of soldiers marched, with legs straight out, across the square. Shortly after that two trucks, one on each side of the square, drove toward each other, stopped in the middle in front of the truck parked with the officials in it, listened to the band and some more banter and then circled the entire square one after the other, stopping in front of each group of soldiers. It all seemed so old fashioned and silly. And everyone was taking it so seriously.
On Saturday when we went back to the museum, there were throngs of people outside in the square again, only this time they were mostly wearing spandex and either running gear, rollerblades or on a bike. A relay race just started as we were leaving so we stayed to spectate. It was a funny sight to see masses of rollerbladers with the palace in the background. The military presence for the race was also quite serious. I have a photo in which a bunch of young men in uniform are standing around smoking cigarettes with their automatic rifles hanging down to one side. I guess you can't be too safe in a group of health nuts on their rollerblades.
Well, I am literally falling asleep at the keyboard, so I am going to call it a night. There is definitely more coming....
I have to tell you about the worst canal ride in history and the best French pastries you can find in St. Petersburg.
Sweet dreams.
St. Petersburg was really pretty - in Russian terms. It is a very European looking city, built by Italians and other Europeans. It was supposed to be the Venice of the North. There is a big river and lots of small canals running through the city. There are a couple of different islands as well. I gather the whole place was a marsh before Peter The Great arrived there. He had it filled in with stone and made into liveable space. Imagine what the environmentalists would have to say about something like that now! At a certain point, anyone entering the city had to pay a tax in stones.
Probably the most famous landmark in St. Petersburg is the Hermitage. It seems to be the Louvre of Russia. The art collections are located in the Winter Palace which is on the edge of the Neva River. It has 3 floors filled with art from all over the world. My personal favorites were the early 20th century artists - Gauguin, Matisse, Picasso, etc. I actually missed some of the pieces because we went one direction and didn't end up circuling back to the rooms we missed.
The other fascinating part of the Hermitage is that it is filled with rooms that are decked out just like they were when the palace was being used by the royalty who lived there. There was one room that was entirely made of wood with glass enclosed cases of books. It was done in a beautiful gothic style architecture, probably with mohagany. The room wasn't easy to find and I joked that if you lived there you would need a map to find your way around. "I would love to go to the library, but I can't remember where it is!"
It is a damn good thing we went to the Hermitage on Thursday because I went back on Saturday to go see a special exhibit on gold and there was a line a mile long and another mile wide. They weren't letting anyone in at the time we arrived. I guess they were already at capacity and needed people to leave before they could let others in. The thing about Russia is that it can be difficult to find/figure out exactly what is going on for sure. Mark went to the front of the line to see what was happening and was told that they weren't letting anyone in right now. He asked when they would be, but was directed to read a sign posted on the door which actually told him nothing. The "guard" was too busy talking on her cell phone to bother answering his questions. We ended up leaving as I had no desire to spend my time waiting in a long line. I may have felt differently if I hadn't already been inside, but I had, so, no line for me!
Outside in the Palace Square (about the size of 4 city blocks with a statue in the center), we saw two big events, one on Thursday afternoon and one on Saturday morning. Thursday afternoon when we were leaving the Hermitage we walked out of the palace into the square and there were military men everywhere. Upon getting a closer look, it appeared they were doing a practice drill for celebrating Victory Day (the end of WWII) on May 9th. There were groups of military men from what we would call the Army, Navy, Marines, etc. all grouped around the square. In the center was a huge military band. There were a few different podiums set up facing the band at varying distances, as well as a truck parked with speakers set up in the truck bed. The officials were standing there yelling into the microphone, booming voice coming out to be heard on every corner of the square. He sounded so serious it was funny. At one point a group of soldiers marched, with legs straight out, across the square. Shortly after that two trucks, one on each side of the square, drove toward each other, stopped in the middle in front of the truck parked with the officials in it, listened to the band and some more banter and then circled the entire square one after the other, stopping in front of each group of soldiers. It all seemed so old fashioned and silly. And everyone was taking it so seriously.
On Saturday when we went back to the museum, there were throngs of people outside in the square again, only this time they were mostly wearing spandex and either running gear, rollerblades or on a bike. A relay race just started as we were leaving so we stayed to spectate. It was a funny sight to see masses of rollerbladers with the palace in the background. The military presence for the race was also quite serious. I have a photo in which a bunch of young men in uniform are standing around smoking cigarettes with their automatic rifles hanging down to one side. I guess you can't be too safe in a group of health nuts on their rollerblades.
Well, I am literally falling asleep at the keyboard, so I am going to call it a night. There is definitely more coming....
I have to tell you about the worst canal ride in history and the best French pastries you can find in St. Petersburg.
Sweet dreams.
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