- The architecture of the city is very unusual. Much of the time here I feel like I could be in France or Italy (or at least the Venetian in Vegas!). There also seems to be an inordinate amount of Greek influence in the buildings. I must remember to do a history review to see if the Greek empire extended this far. What we think of as traditional Russian architecture is all but missing in St. Petersburg, but even that seems to have Indian influence (or perhaps East Asian). Moscow, on the other hand, looks much more like a big city. It's still beautiful and has old buildings and cobblestones, but it also has new constructions, plenty of glass facades, and skyscrapers.
- Beer and vodka are cheaper than water.
- Russian women need to lay off the mullet bowl cut hairdos.
- Russian women also need to learn not to wear heels everywhere.
- Russians must learn proper standing-in-line etiquette.
- Russians are apparently confused about the origins of homosexuality, as evidenced by a rather hilarious sign, witnessed by Jon, that read "Where did all the lesbians come from?"
On Sunday, Jon and I made our very best attempt to wake up in time to visit the Hermitage Museum, but weren't successful. Instead we worked diligently during the day (ok, by "we" I mostly mean Jon, who's been working hard all trip long...I was reading), grabbed sushi one last time, had a quick drink at a disco, then headed home for more work. We stayed up until breakfast, then packed up and began the journey to Moscow. It all went smoothly until we were on the tarmac walking to the plane when -
Jon realized he'd left a suitcase at security. He handed me his jacket and sent me to board the plane, then dashed back into the airport. I spent several nerve-wracking minutes...biting my nails and squirming in my seat...worrying that I might just have to fly, stretched out asleep across an empty neighboring seat, again... ;)
He made it back just in time, and we landed in Moscow without any further intrigue. Finding a cab that wasn't asking for an obscene amount of money proved challenging, but it was all worth it - our hotel was spectacular. Jon had earned enough credits from using Hotels.com to book a free room, so we were treated to a night at the Savoy, an ancient five star hotel in the center of the city. Our room made me feel like we were 18th century aristocracy. High ceilings, inlaid floors, classical art, wall sconces, golden chandeliers, white moldings, flat screen tv...ok, so maybe that's not very 18th century, but it was still amazing.
After dropping our bags at the hotel, we went in search of a cafe with wi-fi, and ended up in a delightfully tacky cafe called "Look In" (yes, in English): concert posters on the wall, star designs everywhere, disco-esque music coupled with indie rock and house, snakeskin fabric on the walls, black feather boas wrapped around the lights and a vaguely western-themed bar. I fell in love with it. :) Not to mention the fabulous cappuccino, and salmon and caviar blinis...I could get used to this...
It would be quite easy to develop expensive tastes here. "I suppose I shall have to die beyond my means," as Oscar Wilde said. The food is, of course, delicious, and our walk to find the cafe revealed an obscene number of designer stores...Louis Vuitton, Versace, Lanvin...it's no surprise that everyone has become so fashion-obsessed here!
The other great discovery of the walk was the ice cream. Certain street vendors keep it in the little freezers you see in gas stations and convenience stores, but the cones are already made, sitting in rows in cardboard boxes so that all you can see are the tops. They look like highly organized armies of snowballs, performing drills in sprinkle execution. The ice cream and cone are so solidly welded together that the vendor picks the dessert up by the ice cream part with a pair of tongs and offers you the cone half. The consistency is strange, too. It barely melts, and has a texture that almost makes me think of licking Styrofoam, if it was soft and tasty. If you are of the amusement and water park going set, it seems much like Dots, only a giant mutant relation of the tiny carnival treat.
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