Today is The Day of Russia, a national holiday to celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty. There most likely are speeches, parades and other festive things but mostly it is a three day weekend and Muscovites are off to their dachas, bars - or if you are a member of The 54 Club - sitting in the clubhouse with extra rations of vodka and beer.
Last night we returned to Ragout for dinner with our friends that recently moved here from Costa Rica, Katy and Craig. Dinner was wonderful as were the stories of getting acclimated to Moscow. Craig has already made great strides in becoming accepted in his company. As the only American it has been rather difficult but he seems to have proven himself to the extent that he now gets invited to birthday celebrations, a real sign that you have made it. Katy has been involved with the International Women’s Club and recently went to one of their events which featured a luncheon cruise on the Moscow River. With her permission, I’m sharing her summary of the event. As you read this remember that this is not an el cheapo cruise but rather it is on one of the best boats in Moscow.
I attended the International Women's Club end-of-year outing which was a cruise on the Moscow River. It was quite funny because some ladies received salmon for the main course, others beef with a few meager potatoes, some ladies received the beef and salmon, and some only received vegetables! I was one of the ones who received the beef and I am accustomed to small portions here, but this was really small. The woman next to me was sure we were going be served salmon after the beef, but that was not the case. Then, one woman from Hong Kong said that at her table they received only vegetables and no one was vegetarian. I talked to another woman later who said they had first been served the beef and then later waiters appeared and served them all salmon. For dessert they served vanilla cream to some tables. Our table was not served, but there was a tray of ice cream near us, so the woman next to me went to help herself and was told that she couldn't take a dish of ice cream. They did come by later with ice cream for our table. Oh, one other little tidbit: there was a small plate of Russian mushroom salad on the table between me and the Russian woman next to me. Well, she assumed it was her salad and put the whole plate on her plate. It was a small serving and I guess by placing it between us, she did not think it was for the table. The other ladies and I realized it was meant for the table because there was another SMALL cabbage salad in the middle of the table. The Russian lady's friend later realized that the mushroom salad was for the table and asked them to bring another serving.
Well at least what the Russians lack in service they make up for with toilets. Here are some lovely photos of Frick and Frack at play! The Russians eat this stuff up.
We have had a lovely and quiet Sunday, which started late since we were up much later than normal. We had breakfast at a local café with excellent espresso and pastries. Cindy, at my insistence, brought her iPad so that we could look like natives. We would have fit in perfectly except we were talking with one another, which is a sure sign that we are not serious techies. It is a beautiful day and we have taken several walks in between getting organized for the move at the end of the week. We really don’t have much stuff to move so you would think that this would be easy, but somehow it is a bit more complicated than we anticipated. In the end we are told that anything that we don’t move or don’t sell will disappear in minutes if we place it outside near the garbage containers - or as I like to call them now, the Goodwill Boxes.
Hope you have a wonderful Sunday, Cindy and Wm.
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