From Moscow with Love

Cindy’s turn

William has done a fine job of keeping you informed but I figured it was time for you to read something about Moscow.   It was my turn to do a little walking today and see the sights, and I also went to a concert.

The Moscow Conservatory is about a 40-minute walk from our house on a very nice street.  It goes right past the ITAR-TASS news agency and I don’t remember Wm mentioning that but I think I ventured a few blocks beyond where he’s been (in this particular direction) so he probably hasn’t seen it yet.  Imagine that, I’ve seen something in Moscow that will be new to him.  Then again the sculptured metal sign out front looks like is says HTAP TACC so who would notice?

As for the concert, a little ad was in the newspaper and I had decided to go even though I couldn’t find anyone who wanted to go along. At the very last minute as I was putting on my shoes, our upstairs neighbor (Jane) called and said she wanted to go, so off we went. The notice named a violinist, a cellist, and a pianist and I thought there would be trios – alas, there were actually two pianists and the first half we heard two violin and piano sonatas, and the second half two cello and piano sonatas.  The concert was free (what a treat) and the artists were fairly young, maybe graduate students.  They were EXCELLENT and it was such fun to hear them in a beautiful old ornate hall that looked like something you’d find in Salzburg or Vienna – or come to think of it, in the pages of a Russian novel!  The violin/piano duo played Schumann and Poulenc, and the cello/piano duo played Brahms and Shostakovich.

On the way back Jane and I stopped at the exquisite French bakery that has been mentioned in this blog and I bought some rolls and a croissant, and on the way out we splurged on ice cream cones.  They were VERY small but delicious.  We’d been told that Russian ice cream is very good and now I can vouch for that fact.

Last night I – along with 3 others - was invited to dinner at the apartment of a teacher at AAS.   The food was delicious – grilled salmon (they break the rules and grill on their balcony quite often), broccoli, home-made cornbread, and a wild mushroom/ wild rice dish that was fabulous.  Two of them had been with Russians the weekend before and had been hunting these very mushrooms.  I asked if they were able to tell the good ones from the poisonous ones and they said they deferred to their Russian host who is an expert.  Then they told me that the Russians have a saying to the effect that “you can eat any mushroom; it’s just that some you can only eat once.”

‘bye for now … Cindy