The Bolshoi

In the foyer

Looking at the set of the new production of Sleeping Beauty

Vodka, Wolves, Russian Men and The Bolshoi

When I go to L's apartment I am now known by the security men so they let me in to the lift with their card so that I can get up to the apartment.  Normally L or the housekeeper O answers the door and I give a chirpy 'hi' but not this time, oh no, this time A opens the door and while I am saying my chirpy 'hi' I stop mid way through as A is not wearing a top. So there I am sputtering, trying to keep cool and carry on but I swear he must have thought I was an idiot.  I didn't know where to look. I doubt he was trying to emulate Putin and his bare chested publicity stunt but you never know.

I purchased my first bottle of Vodka this week.  Now going shopping for Vodka is not like in Sainsburys where there is one slim shelf of vodka and not much choice but also very expensive. Here in Moscow you have shelves of Vodka as far as the eye can see, and with prices ranging from 90RUB upwards it catered for every Russian.  I was spoilt for choice and didn't know what to choose but the kitsch inside me decided for me and I purchased a bottle which as you see in the picture explains it. All I needed now was this ridiculously good looking buff guy (topless of course and I wouldn't splutter, I tell you that much !) from True Blood to make it perfect.

It was mid priced when it comes to Vodka and tasted just fine. D's landlord who used to live in her apartment left no proper cups but plenty of shot glasses.   

On Friday one of my dreams while I am in Russia came true, Through the BWC (British Women's Club) a tour was put on and I got to look around the newly renovated Bolshoi Theatre.  It did not disappoint! The guide was a Russian lady and she was very scary, and we felt like a group of school girls who had been naughty.  We got to go into the auditorium and look at the stage and it is massive!! and the rake on the stage is quite steep.  It wasn't as good as the ROH tour as you didn't get to see any workshops or dancers around but we did get to see some vintage opera costumes on display from the 1970s. I will put some photos on my blog tomorrow as my internet is so slow at the moment but I do have a dongle so not too surprising. Hopefully going to see a ballet at The Bolshoi in February or March.  

I think this is due to the wild and windy weather we are having at the moment but snow is in the forecast for the next few days.  Bring it on!!!! I am prepared with my new down filled knee length coat with a detachable fur collar, and yes before you ask the fur is real but it keeps me nice and warm and isn't a fashion accessory.  

You do find yourself with a lot of fur envy and I had to stop myself this week buying the softest fur hat ever but it was 18,000 RUB which immediately put me off.  Fur is everywhere in Moscow and onetime I had to travel by metro at rush hour and I somehow managed to get squished between 3 ladies, all wearing fur coats. I tried to stop myself from stroking the coats and found out I was doing it without thinking. Luckily the metro train was quite bumpy so had an excuse if I was caught.   

Off to choir in the morning at the apartment block for retired KGB agents.  

Pushkin and Chasniks

  Last Thursday I went out to Booze Bub with friends and after we went on to another bar called Bourbon Street. It all started off well, our drinks were served quickly and we sat at the bar but it all went to hell in a hand-basket after that, but to cut a long story short, even I who has never worked in a bar before knows that you always serve someone their drink first before you present the bill, this did not happen. D got the bill and no drink and the staff played the 'we speak no Anglessski' card, so we left pretty quickly after that as the bouncer had come over, but don't get me wrong, I have mainly had nothing but good service in shops and restaurants and friendly staff who help you. I stayed over at D's apartment that night as we were after the last metro. D lives in the centre so it was only a short taxi ride.  Can you find an official taxi at two in the morning, hell no! so we got one of the chasnik 'gypsy' taxis which is a non metered taxi but D had been in one before and assured me we would be alright.  After a few taxi stopping and confusing us with being ladies of the night we got in one and he was really sweet and kissed our hands at the end. The Russian authorities have apparently banned these 'gypsy' taxis but with only 9000 licensed cabs in the whole city I think it will be a while yet before people stop using them.

Yesterday I went to the Cafe Pushkin where the Russians come to be seen with a friend, we went in the cafe next door though, which was a little less formal and did nice lunches. The decor was beautiful, French Rococo style, lots of gold gilt and pale blue walls and chandeliers but this paled into insignificance with the heavenly cakes and pastries displayed. Luckily this time I took some pictures:

 My dessert was shaped like a rose, with a chocolate and blackberry mousse inside and jasmine jelly on the top. Divine!!!

 More yummy goodness!

This is the dessert I am going to have next time. It is a combination of meringue, berry mousse and nuts. Truly scrumptious!

The only sour note of our experience dining here was that a glass of wine was horrendously expensive and it was a very small glass.

I managed to get a good amount of exercise this afternoon which thinking about it now was a good thing when I looked at the photos from yesterday! as the lift broke down in the apartment block, so a walk up twelve flights of stairs was required which soon warmed me up. I now add ten minutes onto my getting ready as takes time to put boots, hat, scarf and gloves on but also remembering which coat I left my gloves/metro card/phone in.  

Musings on the metro, spooks and weather

Travelling by Metro is the only way I can get round Moscow and you get to see some sights.  Normally its either drunk people sat next to you at 11am or commuters at rush hour. This week I felt I had to comment on it as this woman was a sight to behold and if I had had a phone with a camera on it I would have put the picture of her on the blog and words would be superfluous.  She was in her 30s I would say, and first of all I thought she was wearing a fur cropped jacket over her top but taking a closer look it turned out it was a coat, the top half and sleeves fur and the bottom half and arms were like a thick chain mail.  I thought she may have been a Xena Princess Warrior fan but the pointy toed, patent knee high boots dispelled this notion straight away.

As you know I am a member of a choir and the rehearsals are held round different choir members apartments so  for me it has been great to see different areas of Moscow and how the trailing spouses live. The most interesting so far has been S.  She and her family live in 'building 28'.  What makes building 28 special?  Well for a start the actual building does not have any numbers on the outside of the front door so you need to know the number of the apartment to ring.  Was this an oversight? No it wasn't. It dates back to the cold war and the KGB.  It  was built for returning KGB couples who had been spying overseas (their children were put into orphanages while they were overseas). All the apartments are 2 bed but it is probably in the safest building in Moscow!

On Friday it was Unity day and the day before they had shut down the whole of the Red Square and surrounding areas.  There were lots of tanks and even 'ello, ello' mini tanks.  Will post some pictures tomorrow when my internet connection is a bit faster so that I can download them.

Had a Lost In Translation  moment with L this week in my lesson.  We had just finished doing Relative Clauses when she asked if we could play a game.  I thought I had misheard her and that she was swearing at me.  It kind of came out like 'bashiiits' you could hardly hear the 'battle', then she started to explain and it twigged. 'Battleships' I said and she was looking at me as if that was what she had been saying all the time.  We did have a good laugh about it when I explained it to her.  I didn't want A to think I had been teaching her daughter swearwords.

The temperature is dropping in Moscow.  Today it was 0 deg C and in this evening -3 deg C and typically I would end up losing a glove.  Normally I have a habit of losing umbrellas but this time it is gloves, so going to have to stock up on them.