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The rest of my weekend...
Nov. 7th, 2004 09:06 pmIt was threatening to rain yesterday morning when Alla and I went walking around the neighborhood, and the gray didn't stop in the afternoon when I took off for the downtown area to meet with Irina Y., who works at my former employer's office here in Moscow.
We had a pleasant chat and a snack at a cafe just off of Tverskaya, a few blocks up from the pedestrian mall where Teremok is located. Then we walked down to the Metro at Okhotniy Ryad and went one stop to the Lenin Library, intending to go meet Irina's aunt somewhere along Arbat Street.
When we came up from the Metro, it was out-and-out raining, and it continued to rain as we made our way up what I remember as Kalinin Prospect towards Arbat. Eventually we got to where we were going and met the aunt, a lady of fairly regal carriage, although my time spent with people of royalty has been limited, so I may be mistaken.
Anyway, we walked up the Arbat, which has always had a reputation as an artsy place, featuring several theaters, numerous upscale stores selling mementos (you can't call them souvenirs, not at the prices that are being charged), antique stores (I saw an oil painting on sale for 700,000 rubles, or about US$25,000), clothing stores, etc.
Then there are the street artists of various kinds (jugglers, guitarists, accordion players), portraitists, hawkers of more traditional souvenirs, and artists. I also saw a fellow tending a machine that electronically measures how hard you can smack a target with a rubber sledgehammer, as well as a row of people -- mostly women -- offering passersby the opportunity to get photographed with a cute dog, cat, or bunny rabbit for 10 rubles.
The object of the quest was a produce store that supposedly also sells well-executed and moderately priced primitivist oil paintings. (You heard that right.) We found the place (we think), but despite the sign on the door -- which advertised an 8 pm closing time -- the door was locked at 6:30 pm.
A few yards down the street, we stopped at a McCafe. Think of a Starbucks grafted onto a McDonald's (except it's all the latter, i.e., 100% "McD's"). I had a Viennese coffee and a pastry, which were both quite good, for about US$4.00. The service was pretty good, too. With this kind of service and price, I think the McD people could probably give the Starbucks crowd a good run for their money.
I got home around 9 pm and went to sleep soon after. I again woke up in the middle of the night, but managed to go back to sleep. I must've been pretty tired, because I opened my eyes next at 10:30 am.
Between one thing and another, Alla and I ended up headed toward the Bogrationovskoe Metro station in the mid-afternoon, intending to visit the Gorbushka, which I remember as a large, open-air collection of flea-market like tables offering all sorts of electronic and cyber goodies.
No more. The whole thing has been commercialized and is located in a multistory location not far from the Metro station. Prices for CDs and DVDs remain stable or have gone down (DVD's are still 150 rubles, or around US$5.30; CDs vary from 100 rubles, or about $3.50, and up.) Lots of music is sold in MP3 format.
On the way home, we stopped at a place called Elki-Palki. About the closest thing to it we have back home is the Mongolian BBQ (you choose the raw fixings, which are then cooked on a large, round griddle by a cook, sort of in "stir fry" style, except the food is not stirred). The place was jammed, and besides the main course, offered soup, various appetizers, and drinks (including beer and hard liquor). I had a main course, a serving of mushrooms, and a Pilsner Urquell, which ran me around 475 rubles, or about $16, which is a little more, probably, than what I would expect to pay for the equivalent in the US (though at home, such places are generally all-you-can eat, too).
We got home a short time ago and have arranged for me to be picked up at 9 am for the trip back to the airport. I need to get my stuff in order, and so on. It's going to be a long, long day tomorrow.
Cheers...
We had a pleasant chat and a snack at a cafe just off of Tverskaya, a few blocks up from the pedestrian mall where Teremok is located. Then we walked down to the Metro at Okhotniy Ryad and went one stop to the Lenin Library, intending to go meet Irina's aunt somewhere along Arbat Street.
When we came up from the Metro, it was out-and-out raining, and it continued to rain as we made our way up what I remember as Kalinin Prospect towards Arbat. Eventually we got to where we were going and met the aunt, a lady of fairly regal carriage, although my time spent with people of royalty has been limited, so I may be mistaken.
Anyway, we walked up the Arbat, which has always had a reputation as an artsy place, featuring several theaters, numerous upscale stores selling mementos (you can't call them souvenirs, not at the prices that are being charged), antique stores (I saw an oil painting on sale for 700,000 rubles, or about US$25,000), clothing stores, etc.
Then there are the street artists of various kinds (jugglers, guitarists, accordion players), portraitists, hawkers of more traditional souvenirs, and artists. I also saw a fellow tending a machine that electronically measures how hard you can smack a target with a rubber sledgehammer, as well as a row of people -- mostly women -- offering passersby the opportunity to get photographed with a cute dog, cat, or bunny rabbit for 10 rubles.
The object of the quest was a produce store that supposedly also sells well-executed and moderately priced primitivist oil paintings. (You heard that right.) We found the place (we think), but despite the sign on the door -- which advertised an 8 pm closing time -- the door was locked at 6:30 pm.
A few yards down the street, we stopped at a McCafe. Think of a Starbucks grafted onto a McDonald's (except it's all the latter, i.e., 100% "McD's"). I had a Viennese coffee and a pastry, which were both quite good, for about US$4.00. The service was pretty good, too. With this kind of service and price, I think the McD people could probably give the Starbucks crowd a good run for their money.
I got home around 9 pm and went to sleep soon after. I again woke up in the middle of the night, but managed to go back to sleep. I must've been pretty tired, because I opened my eyes next at 10:30 am.
Between one thing and another, Alla and I ended up headed toward the Bogrationovskoe Metro station in the mid-afternoon, intending to visit the Gorbushka, which I remember as a large, open-air collection of flea-market like tables offering all sorts of electronic and cyber goodies.
No more. The whole thing has been commercialized and is located in a multistory location not far from the Metro station. Prices for CDs and DVDs remain stable or have gone down (DVD's are still 150 rubles, or around US$5.30; CDs vary from 100 rubles, or about $3.50, and up.) Lots of music is sold in MP3 format.
On the way home, we stopped at a place called Elki-Palki. About the closest thing to it we have back home is the Mongolian BBQ (you choose the raw fixings, which are then cooked on a large, round griddle by a cook, sort of in "stir fry" style, except the food is not stirred). The place was jammed, and besides the main course, offered soup, various appetizers, and drinks (including beer and hard liquor). I had a main course, a serving of mushrooms, and a Pilsner Urquell, which ran me around 475 rubles, or about $16, which is a little more, probably, than what I would expect to pay for the equivalent in the US (though at home, such places are generally all-you-can eat, too).
We got home a short time ago and have arranged for me to be picked up at 9 am for the trip back to the airport. I need to get my stuff in order, and so on. It's going to be a long, long day tomorrow.
Cheers...
