Friday, December 17, 2010

Old Arbat!


I have to admit we haven’t felt the complete “crush” of the season - being miles away from all the commercialism of the holiday.  That’s not to say Moscow doesn’t have its share of the same but it has a bit of a different feel over here.  With that said, Steve and I agreed that the time has come to ramp up our Christmas shopping for the family...okay, so perhaps we waited a bit too long to get started - but this girl has been digging a hole to China with the path I’ve beaten to IKEA and OBI, our hardware store.  Side note - also just got turned on to Stockmann’s!!!  Pure heaven as it carries lots of US brands - oreos, ritz crackers, cheetohs (may make a whole dinner out of these little gems as the stove is sill kaput), Old El Paso, cake mixes, Nature Valley granola bars and so much more.  I seriously got a little choked up when I found our long lost friends...it’s the little things that make such a difference over here!
Headed to Old Arbat - a quaint part of town with a pedestrian street full of shops, bars, cafes, pubs, book stalls and galleries.  An artsy area teaming with locals and tourists - lots going on! Here's what I saw:
This is not Big Foot - this gal is uber prepared for the weather - very typical!

"Father Frost" in back of photo on the right and check out all the fur...
Not sure how the street vendors stay outside all day long...it was toe-numbing cold in single digit temps and these hearty souls hang out in this weather without so much as a mini space heater!  Tough as nails!