hello is not for beginners: stras-vee-chee

MoscowMom took me on a whirlwind tour of Moscow. Wow, is she amazing. There we were in our coats and scarves, standing in front of St. Basil's, the mausoleum with Lenin inside, the Kemlin, we walked through GUM department store, bought tickets for the ballet Gisele at the Bolshoi Theater box office, got drinks to keep our hands warm at Starbucks on the Old Arbat, saw Pushkin's house, bought pastries at a fancier-than-France French bakery, with an Olympic gold-medal-winning tennis player standing in line behind us. Then we had lunch at the fabulous Cafe Pushkin. I want to take you there when you come visit, just look at it!

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At the coat check, you get, not a plastic ticket, not a clothespin with a number on it, but a brass token, beautifully engraved with your number. The dishes are lovely, they give you a footstool for your bag to sit on, they serve twenty-four hour old shechee–although I had borcht, they make it with goose and apple. Then came my huge piece of salmon served on a bed of grilled lemon. The whole thing was dreamy, a perfect setting for Peter's Victorian Russian, must go there with him. The coat check guy holds your coat for you while you put it on, he practically buttons it up for you.

Now I am back to reality, unpacking our airshipment, 700 pounds of the stuff we thought most important. We have a lot of flannel sheets and oatmeal. Four bikes and no garage. Maybe we'll keep them in the car, since I don't think we'll be driving it much. Maybe the car will be our garage.

Comments

8 responses to “hello is not for beginners: stras-vee-chee”

  1. mc Avatar
    mc

    I’m impressed, the bikes made your most improtant shipping box, couldn’t agree with you more.
    I wouldn’t know how to behave in a resturant that fancy. I’d probably keep the token let them have my coat and go have fish on a stick in the park (just kidding). Sounds pretty amazing.

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  2. Jim Madril Avatar
    Jim Madril

    As always Dina, you’re leading the charge out there! It sounds like you guys are doing well but don’t bankrupt Peter by getting all the furs and stuff. We still have boxes here we’re unpacking and I can’t wait till it is all done!

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  3. carolee Avatar
    carolee

    Fabulous Life!!! You’re my weekly soap!

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  4. clay Avatar

    Oh sounds lovely.
    Bikes? hang ’em. I’ve got mine hanging, the ones I don’t use often are hanging higher.
    Love the cafe.
    clay

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  5. Tina Avatar
    Tina

    My daughter called me Thursday night (my time) to tell me about your day and it sounds like you both saw a lot, had a fabulous meal and a good time. The restaurant looks lovely. I’ll have to remember to ask Tamara to take me there next time I visit. A bit fancier than my usual haunt (Panera Bread).

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  6. MoscowMom Avatar

    It was such fun! We sure did accomplish a lot in five hours…!! I love the necklace you brought me from Niger… I got so many compliments on it yesterday at work from both my students and colleagues alike. It’s sooo pretty.
    Look forward to seeing you again soon!

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  7. MoscowMom Avatar

    p.s. I agree about hanging the bikes. If the layout of your apartment is how I remember another friend’s, there might be hallway/spare “office” downstairs; you could hang the bikes from the wall –up high– or from the ceiling. That’s what we’ve done.

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  8. MamaLana Avatar
    MamaLana

    I’ve always thought that while they’ve got Lenin’s mummy on display it’s still the old Soviet Union. Time to bury the old fellow, eh? LOL I’m so enjoying hearing of your adventures. Dosvedaniye.

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