Eeeny, meeny, miney....surprise!

Grocery shopping continues to be quite the adventure here in Moscow.  It’s the popular  game called “what’s inside the box?”   The primo challenge is the hunt for baking items - sense of humor mandatory!  Sugar?  Nyet, salt.  Baking powder?  Not so much...turned out to be some sort of custard filling.  Major victory in finally finding cornstarch last week.  It only took 8 months to realize Google Translate would become my very best friend.  Popped in “cornstarch” in the translate box and out came “кукурузного крахмала”....then the “match this phrase” game begins at the store.  No surprise, grocery shopping is typically a longer process here in the motherland.

Interesting choices abound...

Plentiful produce, you can find just about anything...

Russians LOVE their cakes...they are beautiful!

Prepared food, haven't ventured here yet...

This is as much of the sausage lane as I could get on my camera....add 10 feet on either side...

Again, add about 10 feet to these bins... (see below)

Found in the refrigerator section, about the length of your index finger...some sort of cake with fruit filling....interesting, sort of.

The yogurt aisle actually goes the length of the entire store - lots of drinkable...

Dairy products come in varying degrees of fat...here you can see 0%, 5% and 9%...the higher the fat, the thicker the product.  I believe this is сottage cheese...

Mayonnaise for days!!!  Add 10 feet in either direction to this aisle - lots 'o flavors that come in stand up pouches...we'll call it interesting...

Available year round - very bitter...

These peaches grow flat - actually very tasty!

I call this the white albino bell pepper - a little light on taste...

Corn is often sold like this (already cooked) or in a jar (also pre-cooked) that looks like some sort of science experiment...

Gave it a try....one and done...

Always SO happy to find items like this...appears to have come from Germany...?

If really in doubt, there's always Wendy's....this just opened!!

Note curly fries, instead of regular fries and an unidentified food item 2nd from the bottom on the right....?

Big day out!

Big, big day for Steve and me this past Saturday.  For the first time in 8 months of living in Moscow, we actually drove ourselves to a grocery store.   Hallelujah!  

I know this sounds strange.  But...when you live in a large European city, can’t read the road signs, traffic signals and rules are different (well, actually non-existent), and everyone on the road is “driving like a maniac!” (as my mother would often say)... then, we’ve leaned to the more rationale side - safety first, of course. Many ex-pats have drivers for this very reason.  Steve and I opted to buy a car - which Steve drives to and from work...a relatively easy drive that doesn’t take him through the  driving abyss through town.  This girl is on foot 100% of the time - thank goodness for the amazing metro!  But this calls for limited grocery buying as I can only buy what I can haul....hence the happiness brought on with the drive on Saturday.  I took Steve to the store that has some US brands - we stocked up on Nabisco, Duncan Hines, Old El Paso and Kraft products ... heaven!

A few people have asked about the process of obtaining a drivers license....quite easy, really.  No driving or written test needed for ex-pats - come one, come all!  Our US licenses were translated into Russian - and we were free to hit the streets!

I witnessed a driver turning right onto a road full of drivers waiting at a traffic light.  Rather than drive down to the end of the waiting drivers, make a U-turn and get in the back of the line, the driver U-turned immediately under the light in the very front of the waiting line of cars.  Now that’s efficiency!

This doesn’t mean people don’t get pulled over for traffic offenses.  This is actually another reason we are careful when we drive.  The scenario:  traffic accident....you don’t speak Russian....the police officer and other driver do....you’re asked to sign off on a police report, written in Russian, of course...any guess who is at fault?  Not typically a winner for the non-Russian.

Garmin is also in Russian...the hunting and pecking through the Cyrillic alphabet is a bonus round for the adventure!

Pomme frites s’il vous plait!

Just back from a wonderful week long vacation in France.  We joined the best man in our wedding, Bruce Lander, and his wife, Lori, after Bruce finished Ironman France in Nice, (and did quite well, I might add!).  The start - south in Marseille then west to Toulouse, Bourdeaux, Alloness and Paris.

Steve and I were fortunate to have dinner with good friends in Moscow a week before our departure who own a home in Toulouse.  We got the insiders scoop on what to see, where to go - merci Joanna and Derek!  My favorite dinner of the trip was at L’Entrecote.  This is a chain of restaurants in France based on a brilliant idea:  Serve one thing...and serve it very very well.......... (drum roll) .........Steak frites!  For those who know me well - this would be my last dinner request, (particularly from One Midtown Kitchen in Atlanta!).  

So glad the French only use a tiiiiny bit of butter....

Heaven!

And my favorite “experiential” touch - the sound of cows mooing, loudly, in the restrooms - loved it!!!!

We also went wine tasting in Bordeaux....Steve even mixed his own award-winning blend, (80% merlot, 20% young cab)....and we watched the racers dancing on the pedals at the “Tour de....”!  One of our favorite things to do...

 

I heart France!!

Beautiful Moscow!

Today's blog is simply beauty...

Istanbul!

I had the joy of tagging along on one of Steve's business trips to Istanbul, Turkey, last month.  Fascinating, crowded, colorful, fast-paced all come to mind.  And,  ohhhh the food!  I didn't meet a dish I didn't like.  Apparently Istanbul is one of the most re-visited tourist cities in the world - we now know why!

When I think of Istanbul....I think of the "chestnuts roasting on an open fire" smell that comes from these street vendors... 

Produce like none other...

The Spice Market!

Thread and fabric that went on for days near the Grand Bazaar....

Inside the immense Hagia Sophia mosque...

Our view of the Blue Mosque at a roof top cafe...

Lovin' Turkey!

Beloved Tchaikovsky

Russians are a very educated people...95% graduate from high school...ask them to recite poetry and most can deliver on the spot.  They are also passionate about the arts... love theater, opera, ballet, (can you say “Bolshoi”?). During Soviet times, artists were driven underground but have since re-emerged with a very high standard of excellence in art, music and literature.  

Over the last 2 weeks I had the honor of volunteering with the International Tchaikovsky Competition...held in Moscow every 4 years, (this year, part of the event was held in St. Petersburg).  Competitors from all over the world compete in piano, cello, voice and violin.  I have been working with the piano and cello juries and have had the pleasure of getting to know some of the most esteemed artists in the business.  Several on each jury have been past winners of this competition, all have extremely extensive resumes....take Sir Clive Gillinson on the cello jury...he was the past Director of the London Symphony Orchestra and is currently the Executive Director of Carnegie Hall.  These jurors are extremely down to earth and quite fascinating to talk to.

Crowds gathering before the competition...

Between performances I’ve wandered down the creaky hallways of the Moscow Conservatory, (built in the 1800’s - Tchaikovsky himself taught in this building).  There are small practice rooms on the top floors and to stand and listen outside the door - it’s actually difficult to describe the heavenly sounds.  There is quite a mystique surrounding the building.

Beautiful sounds coming from these open windows...

The first competition was held in 1958 and a surprise to everyone...a young Texan, Van Cliburn, took first prize.  Here is a brief video of his win:

We are down to the 3rd and final round...5 competitors left (out of 30) in the piano competition.  Tonight, the competitors will play with a full orchestra - exciting!  You can watch via webcast if interested, per the link below, (competition starts at 7 p.m., Moscow time, for the next 2 days and 1 p.m. Wed and Thurs):


http://preview.tchaikovsky-competition.dievision.de/en/press/webcast

I have a new love and appreciation for classical music.  Thank you Moscow!