Blue Monday

Typical boring Monday for me; laundry, cleaning and shopping.  Got Cindy off at 7am with a nice breakfast and lunch to go.  After ten days of being together it seemed rather quiet and empty without her.  It was cruel to get a sense of what a real retirement would be like for the two of us and then be forced back to the reality of Cindy needing to work.

I set up a filing system in my office and got rid of lots of junk that has been accumulating. Finally found hanging folders that fit my desk so everything is looking a lot more organized. Took a long walk through some back streets that I’ve been meaning to explore and then the rain started.  It turned to sleet for a while but I was prepared and had a rain hood attached to the jacket so I stayed dry and warm.

Did a bit of shopping to fill out our larder and will do more tomorrow when I go to the Embassy. I’ve a meeting with the head of the FAA in the afternoon so it should be a fun day.

Dinner last night was a traditional Sunday chicken, roasted with lots of veggies.  I made gravy from the juices and red wine that I added to a garlic roux. It made a very nice addition to the dinner and made it seem that much more special.

I miss the good old days when the USA used to be able to handle problems like this with a simple straightforward hit team.  Where are the Sopranos when you really need them? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11709999

Speaking of the Sopranos, we were looking for something in English on the TV this weekend, since BBC was on strike and was running silly programming.  We came across a program called Cake Boss, which we found to be very amusing, if a bit staged.  What is it with New Jersey and reality TV??  Certainly couldn’t make it regular viewing, but it did have its moments.

http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/cake-boss/

So, not much to report today that is of any real interest, except that Cindy is now home and the cocktail party can begin!!   Ciao, Cindy and Wm

Moscow Morning and Antalya Photos

What a lazy, lovely day we had, with only one exception.  We slept until about nine this morning, a record for us and much appreciated. After a run for Cindy and a walk for me, we had coffee and got cleaned up to do some much needed shopping. We decided to go to a new Auchan, one that is supposed to be much closer.  We got there with little trouble - some creative driving required - and very little traffic. It is a huge shopping center and the Auchan is on two levels.  It was very crowded, much to our dismay, but we were able to get everything we needed and then made a break for it.  Getting home proved to be a directional challenge.  Somehow we couldn’t find the right exit from the ring road and we ended up sneaking up on our apartment from side roads and many U-Turns. Took us about twenty minutes longer to get home but we made it.

We celebrated our triumphant return by walking over to Le Pain Quotidienne, on the other side of the main drag from here. We had to walk by the Metro and noticed that they are ripping down all of the little shops that were on the side of the street leading to the Metro. We think it has to do with the new shopping center they are building under the Metro stop, which has been marred by construction since our arrival.

The restaurant was like stepping into a little bistro in France.  Great food, with homemade soups and breads, and best of all, really good French wines by the glass that are affordable.  I had a wonderful omelet while Cindy opted for an open-faced sandwich of fresh mushrooms and cheese with condiments.  We had a lovely time and got home in time for a quick nap, just to end the vacation with style.

Last night I used up most of what we had left in the house, starting with what I call an inventory salad: I took stock of what we had and created something new.  I first diced up our one potato and boiled it until tender. I added it to a bowl that had a finely minced clove of garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, tarragon and hot chili flakes.  I mixed that up until the potatoes were coated nicely.  I grated a carrot and diced a tomato and added them with some more herbs and let it all sit for a while before finishing it with lemon juice and a touch of balsamic.  It was really very good.

We had a chunk of salmon left as well as some frozen peas so I sautéed an onion and lots of garlic with olive oil and added the diced salmon and tossed for a little bit.  I turned off the heat, added the peas and some curry, turmeric, pepper and tarragon and let it all sit a while.  I boiled the water for the pasta and when we were done with the salad I added some of the spiral pasta I got in Zagreb. While that cooked I heated the salmon stuff, added some butter and cream and one big ladle of the pasta water and let that cook a bit.  I drained the pasta, added the sauce, tossed with Parmesan and bam, dinner was ready and it was swell.

It was really good to have some decent food since the food in Antalya was really average. They say there are three great cuisines in the world, French, Chinese and Turkish, and all of our experiences in Turkey before this trip bore this out. I’m not sure if it is too touristy or they just don’t care, but it wasn’t a good eating trip.

Extra blog entry – background on the photos

http://gallery.me.com/wbyxbee#100120

Most of the photos we took in Antalya are self-explanatory, especially with the captions.  However, the context on some of them might be helpful. 

One morning in the park we happened upon a photo shoot for all branches of the police department.  It took some doing before they had everyone in place AND the helicopter ready to fly over, but they succeeded.

As you can see Antalya is rife with cool statues.  We didn’t take photos of the usual variety, e.g., men on horseback, but we loved the birds in the fountain, the many examples of musicians, and the froggy band.

The menu shots are some of the funniest translations we’ve ever seen anywhere.  We asked about a few and discovered that “chicken airfoils” are chicken wings, and “swellings” are shish kabobs.  We never did figure out “hot searches,” however.  We ate at a normal table, but off to the side was a covered area where people could sit cross-legged while enjoying their meal – hence the final shot of the 3 graces.

Best wishes to all, Cindy and Wm

Moscow and Aeroflot

We returned late last night quite tired but very happy to be home.  The airport in Antalya is, shall we say, a work in progress.  Weekends are perhaps not the best time to judge an airport, but this one was clogged with German tour groups arriving by the busload at two-minute intervals.  Truly chaotic and if you know anything about German tour groups, you know that they are not as civil as, say, a mad dog with rabies and worms.

Once past all the formalities, there is precious little space to sit since almost the entire departure area has been turned over to duty free shopping.  I have no idea what duty these goods are free of, but they are among the most overpriced items I’ve ever encountered.   A bottle of the local raki is about three times as much in duty free as it is in a convenience store in town.  Scotches, brandies and gin are untouchable.  Perhaps it is the Muslim mindset that tries to make purchasing alcohol as difficult and costly as possible. (Fact: Turkey has 85,000 mosques, 270 churches and 19 synagogues.)

Our flight was flawless, departing on time, arriving on time and the service was very nice. It was a full flight, not an empty seat in the plane, but they managed to provide a beverage service in economy, no booze but lots of juices and water, and they served an excellent meal.  Our dinner tray had an appetizer of salmon done two ways, served with lemon, tomato and olives.  There was a choice of two hot main courses, fish or chicken. The fish was a good-sized fillet of white fish with a shrimp garnish, served with hot boiled potatoes, carrots and broccoli.  The chicken was a casserole type of thing with red peppers, big chunks of chicken in a tangy cream/lemon sauce served with saffron rice.  There was a warm dinner roll as well as a little slice of brown bread and butter and a small pastry for dessert.  Tell me about your last three-hour flight and what they served you to eat in coach.  Kudos to Aeroflot who operate clean, modern planes with excellent on time service in the air and on the ground. Our baggage, which was very heavy, was waiting for us upon clearing immigration and our beautiful Turkish carpets were intact!

The Old Cabins (Note the Dog)

The Old Antonov and Tupolev Planes

The New Hip Aeroflot

Modern Airbus Aircraft

Cindy’s driver was there waiting for us and there was very little traffic at that time of night so the trip home was under thirty minutes, a new land record.  It was a balmy 75 degrees in the apartment when we entered!  There are no thermostats here and as I think I’ve mentioned, you control the temperature by opening windows in various rooms to try and get some airflow and bring the temp down to a reasonable level.  We unpacked and got organized before we realized we were both a bit peckish.  I made a quick pan-fried potato, garlic and herb omelet, which we had with some cold white wine and then we were ready for bed.  It was a luxury to be able to sleep late this morning in our own bed and we were happy that Cindy is so committed to her job that she decided to come home two days early, just in case something came up preventing her from getting here for the start of school on Monday.  We haven’t had a two-day weekend together here in Moscow for a very long time and we plan to make the most of it.

We had a lot of work to do this morning that we couldn’t do while we were in Turkey. It seems that someone managed to get access to my debit card information while we were in Antalya, most likely someone who works in one of the banks where I used an ATM to get cash. I received an email from our bank in West Virginia telling me that their fraud department had noticed some unusual activity and could I confirm that these were legitimate charges.  There were eight charges, all on the 30^th of October, the first day I used the card for cash.  The first charge was only for $2.31; I’m told they always start with a small charge to see if the bank will accept the charge. From there they escalated the charges, always keeping them just under $1000 so as not to set off alerts. At the end of the day they made two more charges for $3900 each, I suppose hoping to cash in before the bank placed a hold on my card.  Two things helped us avoid more charges and troubles.  The first is that I went to the bank before we left and told them I would be in Moscow and Europe and most if not all of my charges would be from there. These thieves were charging in Pennsylvania and Maryland, perhaps thinking that if they were closer to Charles Town, they would avoid detection. The other saving grace was that we took the computer with us to Turkey and had access to get the email. We called the bank right away and they were very professional and handled things with grace and courtesy. We hope we have averted problems; I filled out oodles of forms this morning and had to scan them into the computer and email them back to the bank.  It makes you feel all icky inside when you realize how easy it is for someone to take over your identity and account, even for just two days. This link suggests how this might have happened: http://www.northeastfraudforum.co.uk/atmfraud

I’ll have more time tomorrow to summarize Antalya but for now, I need to focus on drinks. Cindy and I have decided that since we live in Russia we should learn to drink vodka, so I’m about to make vodka martinis, stirred, not shaken. 

Da Svidanya, Cindy and Wm

Antalya, October 30th-November 2nd

Antalya Quick and Clipped

Departed Moscow on time … Moscow Schools on vacation and therefore the airport was clogged and the planes to the sun all filled.  We had a little kid placed between us, his parent behind us.  He had a DVD but no headphones and the noise was horrible until a flight attendant told him to turn it off.  He slept for the rest of the flight.

There was a mass rush to get visas at airport.  I was in a line and another one opened and I was between the visa agent and a hundred Muscovites!  I was almost trampled to death in their effort to get into another chaotic line.  Finally got the visas and made it through immigration and left the airport and entered into a perfumed sunshine in 75 degree weather.

It is a beautiful city.  We are in the old city, which was walled in the old days and is now a tourist paradise.  Lots of Greek, Roman, and Ottoman influence and monuments, all within a short walk of our hotel.  The hotel is comfortable and the rooms small; nothing seem to work but we really don’t care.  Internet access is difficult and I’m typing on the computer, which is balanced on a small mini-bar since there is no desk in the room.  Our first room had the bed on a type of pedestal, which was very difficult to navigate at night.  The new room is smaller, but better laid out and we are happy campers.

The first night we went to a restaurant recommended by a rug merchant who told us it had the best seafood at good prices.  It turned out to have very average tourist grub but the wine was cold and plentiful.  Dinner came with a free dessert that was like eating erasers covered with powdered sugar.  A Turkish delight!

The rug merchant told us the next morning that he doesn’t eat meat or fish!  So why would we buy rugs from him?  I guess because he knows rugs better than food.  We spent ninety minutes and two cups of teatime while he gave us lots of information on rugs and unfurled a few dozen for our viewing.  Ended up with $1400 worth of carpets which is a lot but is a whole lot less than where we started in terms of price.  We’ve made little effort to adorn our Moscow apartment so putting more rugs on the floor should dress it up a bit.

We take long walks along the corniche before reading menus for dinner.  This is not a cheap town but we are here and we are not looking at prices.  Old Town is very lovely but filled with aggressive salesmen pushing everything in five languages.  It has great architecture, a beautiful harbor and lots and lots of sunshine and blue sky.  We run - well Cindy runs - every morning and then we have a relaxed breakfast before heading out on excursions.  We have so far managed to have a light lunch every day someplace special.  We nap in the afternoon, eat dinner at 8, and sleep for at least eight hours a night.  What a vacation!!

This town is far more Muslim than I thought and the call to prayer has surprised us five times each day.  It is quite loud and very annoying and goes on for many minutes, far longer than the calls to prayer in Bahrain.  You can put any adjective in front of Muslim you want, secular, moderate, European, but they are still Muslims and they want a Muslim Turkey and Europe, and the entire country of Turkey is like this.  It is no wonder that the Europeans do not want to allow them into the EC.

Today’s excursion included the official museum of Antalya – after a little detour to the opposite side of town.  We were told the museum was at the last stop of the tramline but somehow we both missed the information about which end of the line that might be.  The ticket taker saved us from getting off and then collected our money again for the journey back to the other end.  Ah well, we sophisticated travelers enjoyed the ride!  The museum is very well done and contains more huge ancient statues of Greek gods than you can count.  Some are damaged but many look nearly perfect and most have been moved here from the nearby ruins of Perge, which among other reasons is famous because Paul the apostle was there twice.  The excavations are relatively recent, mostly done in the 2^nd half of the 20^th century.

We have taken many photos but have no way of downloading them to the computer. For the time being, you can take a look at these, which give you a nice feel for this town and the immediate area. 

http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=antalya+photos&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=REXQTMWUFcmWOv3mkeQE&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCIQsAQwAA&biw=1155&bih=606

Best to all, Cindy and Wm

I'm Dreaming of a White Halloween

The snow started at about 10:10 this morning. I know because I had been up for ten minutes.  I stupidly forgot to take a sleeping aid last night and at 1:30 am I was wide awake and trying to count slices of bread in Russian because I didn’t know how to say sheep; besides I can only really count up to ten so it was a lot of repetition.  I got back to sleep just as Cindy was getting up to go for a run and she once again took pity on me and let me sleep. It was blissful.

For a while I thought we would have a nice covering but by two this afternoon it was all gone and the snow had turned to a light drizzle.  However, the stage is now set for winter with all the trees bare and the ground getting harder and harder as the temperatures drop.

I took a little walk in the snow to test out my snow jacket and my ‘snow sneakers’ from L.L. Bean. They worked wonderfully.  I took a few pictures of the local farmers’ market before one of the vendors yelled at me for taking photos.  I suppose they thought I would send them to the authorities since I’m sure many of these vendors have no license to sell.  These vendors are so unlike others at other farmers’ markets around the world. They act like the customer is just one big pain in the butt, interrupting their conversations with one another. I’ve yet to see anyone smile, offer a sample and god forbid you should touch a piece of their produce; they will snarl and yell.  Is it any wonder that we haven’t purchased one thing from them in the three months we’ve been here?!

Dinner last night was a rushed affair since we had language lessons at 7:30.  Cocktails were denied, which didn’t make me any better at pronunciation I can assure you.  I made a big veggie omelet and we split a glass of wine and I had just enough time to clean up before we had to head out.  The lesson went well and the teacher is very nice and very patient. We shall break the group into two for the next lesson and the early one at 6:15 will be at our apartment.

I came home from my walk and started to make dinner for tonight, which will be far more relaxed.  I have been marinating two nice fillets of Mahi Mahi in lime juice and garlic for about six hours.  I brought back from WV a grill pan with the raised bumps that keep the fish or veggies from touching the entire pan and leave lovely grill marks. I’ll use that to grill the fish just before sitting down to dinner. My ratatouille is simmering nicely and I have a nice fresh baguette that I picked up at the bakery on my walk.  Might even splurge and open a decent bottle of wine to get our vacation off to a grand start.  I’ve been saving a lovely 2008 Petite Chablis and this seems like the right time to crack it open. I need to make sure that Cindy truly relaxes and enjoys her week off.  I’m hoping she’ll sleep eight or nine hours every night, but that is just me dreaming.

Our flight to Antalya is at eleven-tomorrow morning, which means we’ll have to catch the eight-thirty train to the airport.  I have no idea if we’ll have Internet access at our hotel but I’m sure we’ll bring the computer just in case. This is when I would like to have an iPad, which is light and can do most of the things I need to do on the road. 

I’ll post a lot of photos today on the webpage: www.embeesmoscow.blogspot.com

They are mostly of the last days of fall and the first few days of winter, all in October.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend, Cindy and Wm

I love this photo taken at the meeting in Deauville, France.  It is so indicative of what an un-united Europe has become.

Moe, Larry and Merkel

All around Moscow you will seen older women selling little things; homemade jams, lace, mittens, two tomatoes, a bag of potatoes, fresh herbs in season, any odds and ends they have just to get a few Rubles.

Private Enterprise

The last days of Autumn

Snowy Skoda

Fresh Fruits and Veggies

Blood Flavored Carp

Protected from the Elements

Grouchy Lady can be seen on the right

Monument to Georgian Writers, Location of the Market

Red Square in the Rain

Boy Scout In Moscow

I was able to get in a ninety-minute walk today before the weather turned nasty. It was sunny and a brisk 35 degrees, but it was great to get outside and move my body after having been sitting in various modes of transportation for twenty hours yesterday.  Last night Cindy taught me how to say, “May I” in Russian and I repeated it several times and today I couldn’t remember it for the life of me. While I was walking there was a spot were they are doing construction and there was an elderly lady having a lot of difficulty getting up on the ramp to the walkway detour.  Somewhere from out of my brain I came up with ‘May I Please’ in Russian as I offered her my arm. I was rewarded with three wonderful thank yous and a great big smile.  Well worth the effort to learn a few phrases.

Last night we headed out to dinner at about seven and it began to rain so we went to the Georgian restaurant instead of one that is a bit farther away.  We were a bit apprehensive when we walked in but our favorite waitress was there as well as the one we had a ‘discussion’ with over the wine prices on our last visit.  Our favorite came over and Cindy greeted her warmly in Russian and she gave us menus, smiles and walked away. A short time later, the other one came, we assume because she is fluent in English. Well, I don’t know if our favorite waitress told her to be nice or if she had decided that we were OK folks, but she was as friendly and helpful as possible. 

We ordered wine; I very specifically ordered it by name, and two soups and a Georgian cheese dish. The soups, cream of mushroom for Cindy and Borscht for me, were just wonderful.  Both came with sour cream and they were filled with lots of fresh herbs and you knew they had been simmering for a while. The cheese came in a clay bowl and was bubbling hot. We had some local bread with it and I loved it but it was far too salty for Cindy.  We split a plate of roasted veggies, a peeled and grilled tomato, eggplant and pepper.  It was just right for our dinner.  When the bill came, I examined it like a hawk and found that we must qualify for the house discount since she undercharged for our wine.  We gave her a nice tip and left feeling happy that we had recaptured our restaurant.

We got back relatively early and watched a bit of BBC news before we had to crash.  I slept like a baby waking only when I heard Cindy get up. I thought she was getting ready to run, but she had done all of that and was ready to head to school.  I felt terrible that I hadn’t gotten her breakfast but was ever so grateful for the extra sleep.

A Green Guy came today to hang a coat rack that I brought back from WV. We have pitifully little storage here for coats and clothes and now that we need to have heavy coats and things, we needed a remedy. We have already taken all of our summer stuff and stored it in a big suitcase that slides under the storage shelves.  This coat rack will let me hang all of my winter stuff freeing up the space Cindy needs in the closet.  I do hope that we’ll be moved to a larger apartment next year.

All of the leaves have departed for the season and we now have views that I’m not sure I like.  In the summer we couldn’t see anything outside our windows in the kitchen and living room except lovely green leafy trees, and no one could see in. Now we have a front row view of The 54 Club clubhouse. Despite the cold and wind, they seem to meet every morning for their ritual drinking sessions. They huddle closer now, for warmth I’m sure, and drink more, for warmth I’m sure.  I’ve also noted that there are two large apartment buildings that we couldn’t see all summer and fall. We have curtains that we closed for the first time since moving here; we need them for the privacy that the trees had provided.

From CC: I am so proud of Wm’s success with Russian!  It is not a language that sticks in your head and when you try to learn a word or phrase it’s more like memorizing nonsense syllables.   Our tutor comes tonight and we’ll get better, I’m sure.

Home At Last

Greetings from a grey, cold and wet Moscow. 

The trip to Dulles airport yesterday was just delightful. The fall colors were brilliant and the temperature in the low 70’s, which meant we could drive with the windows open and enjoy clean, fresh air before I hopped on the plane.  Dulles was deserted when I arrived. I walked right up to the check-in counter and was processed in minutes. No lines at security, really, no lines at all. I thought perhaps there had been a bomb scare and no one told me but I was assured it was just that I had hit things at the right time.

I had a lot of time to kill so rather than go to a lounge I walked around, which turned out to be a dumb idea.  I was wearing new shoes that I thought I had broken in, but the heel on one of them started to give me a blister. I couldn’t find any moleskin in any of the shops, so I had to improvise.  I took one of those brown things that insulates your coffee in a paper cup (I think he means a java jacket). One side is corrugated and the other smooth, so I tore it and made a little patch for my shoe, placing the corrugated side against the leather and the smooth side against my sock. Worked like a charm.

I got to the Red Carpet Club about forty-five minutes before boarding.  I expected them to give me drink coupons but they said that they now offered free standard beverages and you could pay for premium.  I went to the bar and asked if they still accepted drink coupons for premium drinks and the answer was yes, until November 1^st.  I had about twenty-five of these things that I had been saving to use when traveling with Cindy, and now I had to use them or lose them.  I started with a glass of Taittinger, which was ice cold and delicious, and now I only had twenty-three coupons. I could see I wasn’t going to make it so I started buying drinks for everyone at the bar; boy was I popular for the half hour it took to use up my coupons.

The flight was uneventful, which I suppose is the way most flights should be.  The video system on my side of the plane didn’t work so that was incentive enough for me to sleep for five of the nine hours.  We arrived twenty minutes early and I was though immigration and customs in no time.

That is where all speed records ended!  The taxi ride from the airport to the apartment took three hours and twenty minutes.  To suggest that the traffic in Moscow is horrible is an insult to the concept of horrible.  There was one part of the trip where it took us fifteen minutes to get past one building, much more stop than go.  The driver was a young man with great English and four phones.  One he used to stay connected to some Internet site that gives you traffic alerts for Moscow.  That sounds a lot like being a weather forecaster in San Diego, a no brainer.  Two of the phones he used for conversations and the other one just sat on the dashboard.  He seemed to know his way around Moscow pretty well, until we got close to the apartment.  He missed two turns and I had to take over from there. He wasn’t sure he should trust me, but I convinced him and he was surprised that the route I chose was so fast.

Amazing how you can travel 4500 miles in nine hours and then twelve miles in three hours and twenty minutes.  Had I not had so much luggage, I could have taken the train, which would have been just about an hour and fifteen from airport to the apartment.  I’m assuming that this was the last trip I needed to make with lots of stuff.

The good news is that I don’t have to hang around the apartment as long waiting for Cindy to come home.

From CC:  Best-laid plans gone awry – he had to wait for me longer than he should have!  I got up at 5:30 to run in the dark so that I could skip my after-school exercise class and get home early.  The normal 20-minute drive home took me an hour and 10 minutes!  It wasn’t raining and there was absolutely no visible cause for the backup, but we just crawled for miles.  I called Wm when I was getting close to tell him why I was late and to say that I could really relate to his day.  Not a way we particularly wanted to relate, however!  The good news (for me) was that I had offered Erica, a charming young French teacher from Bordeaux, a ride home so I had someone to talk to.  She was probably wishing she’d taken her usual bus/ metro combo instead, but she seemed content chatting with me.