Spent my last day in Moscow touring the Kremlin, seeing the inside of St. Basil's, and walking many kilometers around the city to check out big statues and parks. In the evening I joined a couple of great Irishmen at the hostel for a drink. Had some nice dumplings before heading to a night club called Propaganda. After getting kicked out (I have no idea, I think I was a menace to the dance floor), I danced ballet back to the hostel and called it a night (a rough night).
I'll have to reflect on Moscow another day when things aren't so hazy.
Labels: Russia
I've continued to be incredibly lazy in Moscow. I went out for a potato and sandwich for lunch and came back for a long nap. I was feeling a little miserable so I decided to take some dough my Uncle Binh sent me and have a great Birthday dinner... albeit by myself, sadly.
I decided that some comfort food was in order so I tracked down a Vietnamese restaurant nearby called Viet Cafe. It was a hip little place with large photos of scenery from Vietnam on the walls, a huge fish tank, and waitresses in traditional Vietnamese clothing (though everyone there was Russian).
To start I had a fresh glass of orange juice followed by fried spring rolls. They weren't bad. I actually missed the taste of nuoc cham. Then I had a bowl of Pho Ga (nowhere near as big as the bowls in California) which was pretty tasty. Very thin slices of chicken in a good broth of green onion, red onion, and cilantro. No sprouts and peppers here. Also, no 'rooster sauce' at these tables. For dessert, the waitress suggested a banana cake that wasn't too bad. It had sesame seeds sprinkled on top which I thought was a nice contrast with the sweet syrup and fruit on top. I finished my meal with a cup of Vietnamese coffee (not nearly enough condensed milk in it for my taste). Overall, a fantastic birthday meal.
My mood hadn't really improved all that much on the walk back to the hostel but I found out there's free wifi here so I've been distracted with uploading photos and videos. Everyone's gone to bed early. I'm still considering a hunt for some nightlife but we'll see.
(I didn't take any photos of the restaurant or the meal but above, there's a picture I snapped of the first McDonald's in Russia at Pushkin Square. It's been remodeled since it opened in 1990. It's by far the fanciest fast food place I've ever been to. There were hundreds of people eating there, too. Apparently it's the busiest Mickey D's on Earth, serving 40,000 people per day! How these girls stay so fit here, I don't know.)
Yesterday, after recovering from the festival night, I had a nice walk around the city with a couple of locals. We stopped at a cafe and tried to work out what Russians and Americans thought of each other.
I took it easy in the evening until the hostel provided us with snacks and vodka. Oh man. Some of the other hostel peeps were heading over to the Kremlin to see Red Square at night (the sun does not go down here until around midnight and then it rises again, just a few hours later... very different). I decided to roll with them and celebrate number 29 with a view of St. Basil´s, while chucking rubles at a wishing well.
Today, I will look for trouble.
P.S.- To embed or not to embed? If I embed too many YouTube videos in the blog, does it slow down your loading times for this page? I'm thinking it does. But will you then miss the three videos I've uploaded today if they're not embedded for easy viewing right in front of you? Comments, please.
Had a great night attending a screening of the Iranian film, Fireworks Wednesday, with its director, Asghar Farhadi. After hanging out at the film festival party, we went to meet some friends at the Hard Rock Cafe. I´ve said it before and I´ll say it again, Moscow: full of sexy girls. Me: not full of courage.
I ended my night eating McDonalds (´cause it was open) as well as a sandwich and another street potato. (THANKS ANGELA!) So hungry. In fact, I need to eat right now.
My Iranian operative, Azad, was unable to escape Tehran due to Visa complications. So I´m in Moscow. Alone. ::sigh:: But I´ve found the apostrophe key!
Took a walk this morning to find food. I was so hungary I was actually feeling a little spacey. Settled on what I´m calling, street potatoes. Baked potato with three toppings, a panini, and a soda. 112 Rubles (3 bucks?) I think I need a nap. Later, I´ll see about heading to the Red Square.
I´m also searching CouchSurfing.com for some guidance. I´ve got four days here!
Labels: Russia
Okay, first, I saw the most amazing woman ever on my flight. Problem was, she was the flight attendant. Forget 10-minute crush, I was in dream for over an hour. I think she is German (I cannot find the apostrophe on this keyboard by the way). She had fine, golden hair that was pulled back in a pony-tail. The most attractive thing about her was her smile and happy demeanor. Everything about that smile felt so genuine. She had dimples, too. Oh my God. After a half hour of staring at her, she had already been introduced to my mother and I was trying to figure out what kind of wedding band we should have. Seriously. I was under her spell and she had no clue. I am sure she noticed me smiling like a complete idiot right back at her as she handed me sandwiches and water. Even when I left the plane, I could not help but to smile at her and take one last drink of her warmth.
So that was the flight. Then I got to DME airport in Russia. As soon as I got my bag and headed out of customs, a taxi driver followed me around trying to convince me that I should take his ride. There are signs all over the airport that say that you should not take private taxis. I had planned to take the train anyhow. The plan was, shoot over to the hostel, check in, and try to meet the director of a film at the festival so I could catch a movie.
I just missed the train though and had to wait an hour for the next. It is wild navigating around Russia with all of the Cyrillic writing. Outside of the airport, the Roman alphabet pretty much disappears. Fortunately, a woman at the taxi counter kind of mapped out my metro trip for me. I hopped a few trains before arriving to what I thought was the statue of Gogol that is near my hostel. I walked around for over an hour, clueless to where the street was that I was looking for. Everyone I asked was clueless as well. A taxi driver pointed in one direction so I proceeded to head that way, asking people over and over if they knew where, Maly Afanasyevskiy was. At last, three hours after I landed, I found it. Turns out, I had the wrong metro exit. Why I did not look to see if the statue I first saw was Gogol, I do not know.
Shirt drenched in sweat, I checked into the HM Hostel and laid down my stuff. I sprinted down the street to try to catch Mr. Farhadhi but I was an hour late. I hung around the theater for a few hours, hoping to catch him on the way out but no luck. I did do loads of people watching on the Novy Arbat. What I have decided is that Moscow has the highest concentration of pretty girls of any city I have visited. I am going to wash up and sleep now. Tomorrow, I will try to see Red Square. Oh, and find an English menu somewhere.
Labels: Russia
Back in the US... Back in the USSR! That's right, exciting news. I returned to Barcelona this morning, rushed over to the Russian consulate, and there it was waiting for me- A Russian Visa!
Wednesday, I head to Zurich, Switzerland to meet up with a friend I met in Poland. He's graciously offered up a spare bed in the Crowne Plaza. It will be soooo nice to stay in a real hotel with clean towels and free toiletries. Then I'm off to Moscow on Friday! I'm meeting up with Azad who's visiting Russia for a film festival. Perhaps I'll get to see some more films. We'll be celebrating my 29th birthday in Moscow! How wild is that?
Next Wednesday, I'll then fly to Berlin to meet up with another film genius friend, Julian. I'll spend a couple of nights there before returning to Barcelona again on June 29. Finally, it's off to Rome.
Crazy dude!
Labels: Russia
