From Russia with Love! (Final Part)

So, I accepted. We went to the GUM. He was there also due work, already for 4 weeks, wondering, also giving training! He asked me about my plans for that night (remember, night there starts at 16.00 at that period of time) and I told him that nothing special, but I was willing to go to a disco (I love to dance, I usually go to meet at least one disco everywhere I go, believe me, it´s not a problem to go alone if you ask the right people that usually is the hotel staff, about a place that would be ok to do so). He asked me if I would like to walk a bit.


Was wondering that having been there for 4 weeks and staying in a hotel so close to the Red Square, he hasn´t gone to any touristic place till then… he said it was due he´s a bit shy…. (!!!???). So, I took him to the places I liked more, Alexander Garden, Manezhnaya Square and some metro stations. Watching that he was wondered about those places, I asked him again why he didn´t went to meet something… and then he answered “due I was waiting the Guatemalan girl to come to show me Moscow!” :D I think that was the greatest joke of the day! (Maybe even of the week!) We were laughing a lot the rest of the night reminding that phrase!


He invited me to din at the Pushkin Restaurant at Cafe Pushkin that btw I haven´t heard about in my whole life… so, as far as none of us were dressed as for going to a fancy place, I didn´t thought it could be one… and it was! I felt a bit embarrassed when I saw how the people going there were dressed… but well, Louis was also with jeans, so, at least I wasn´t the only one! ; )



A video of Café Pushkin food: (this one isn´t mine!).



The place was great, just so expensive… but… I wasn´t paying! ;)

I also drunk a cup of chocolate, the way the waiter did it was like they in Russia use to do some centuries ago, was a small show at all! : )





Louis asked me if I would allow him to go with me to dance, of course that was better for me than going alone, so we went to a place someone told him about. The disco was with a private party, so was no possible to enter. None of us had an idea about where else we could go, but there were 2 Italian guys also at the entrance, Louis asked them if they knew another place to go, so they said they were planning to go to a place inside the Gorky Park, that would be nice if we go with them, so we did. Was amazing for me that we took a taxi at the street, as everybody told me not to… the taxi left us in front of the place´s door, they didn´t let me pay my part, I have no idea if it was more expensive or as it should be, but they didn´t complain. The place wasn´t a disco, but a restaurant. We were drinking, talking and laughing. One of the Italians was a Chef, living in Moscow for 8 years. The other one was a friend that went to visit him but was thinking about staying there some years. Was amazing for me to hear him telling that! Would be great to have that freedom!

We went out more or less at 1.00 hrs. Surprise! Wasn´t possible for taxis to go inside the park at that time! That meant that we should go out walking on a road that was with a thin but slippery layer of ice. Of course I had buy special cloth and boots for snow… but using them doesn´t mean to know how to handle them and I felt down… So! There I was! At 1.00 of the night, in the middle of the Gorky Park, with aprox -30 C degrees, completely spread-eagled at the floor!… Immediately they 3 came to help me, asking me if I was sure I was ok… my body was but I´m not so sure about my Ego! :S From then on I had one Italian and the French guys at each of my sides, holding on me and the other Italian at my back, more or less holding on me as well, till we finally went out of the park! They 3 were taking good care of me as great gentlemen! (Yeap, again was nice to be the only one female of the group!). :D.

We took a taxi again… at the middle of the street! Exactly how everybody told me not ever to do so! But well, we didn´t have more options actually and none of them show any sign of preoccupation… so…We went then to the Chesterfield Café. Finally a disco! :D (That now is another place, not very recommendable as the guides say…). We had a great time there, it´s always interesting to watch out how people around the world behave in a disco, just not always you really can identify what´s going on. At 3.30 I remind that I had book a taxi at my hotel at 4.30 for going to the airport… and I still didn´t have my bag ready! As good gentlemen, they 3 went to leave me at my hotel… again taking a taxi at the middle of the street! Of course I had no time to rest a bit before taking my taxi to the airport… but! I´ll do at the plane! :D




For me Moscow is a total eyesight delicatessen! Would love to go back some day and then to include St. Petesburg... Sponsors are vey wellcome!! ;P

A web with 360o views of Moscow:

http://www.moscow.info/qtvr/index.aspx

Live webcams:

http://www.earthcam.com/russia/moscow/

From Russia with Love! (First Part)

Due my work I went to Moscow on November 2005. Was my first time in Russia and I should be there from Sunday 20th. (arriving almost at midnight), to Sunday 26th. (the departure was at 8.00 hrs.). As far as it was a business travel, I went alone and my time for doing tourism was so short and during night… because I had to work from Monday to Friday till 18.00 and Saturday´s morning! :( and as far as it was winter there, the sun light was over at 16.00… and the temperatures were lower than -15 C degrees… :( Even the landing was while snowing! (In Madrid they close the airport for few snow flakes...) And I´m afraid they lost my luggage! So, my first contact with Russians was trying to rescue my bag… not really nice story! I had to be very rude to finally make someone to attend me… and I had my bag with me just 2 days later gggggggrrrrr!





My work was to give training to the new staff of the company in Moscow. I have done things alike during 4 years, usually travelling alone, so, to go by my own to discover the place wasn’t new… but! talking about Moscow everybody that new about my travel was telling me to be careful, to not to go out of the hotel at night, to not to take a taxi by my own, etc., etc, etc. Well. For once in my life I had the chance to visit a bit of Moscow… should I stay inside the hotel the whole week till finally have few hours to watch something on Saturday? So, I´d ask the hotel staff and to my trainees and they all were agree about going by subway and just going to touristic places won´t be a problem at all, just in case I take a taxi, to ask the hotel or the place I would be, to call one for me.

During the weekdays I visited several times the Red Square and it surroundings, which simply captivated me!

















Definitely is no possible to have an idea of how big it is but being there. Was also a shocking experience to see that now it´s actually a so capitalist icon! No matter if there´s still the Zhukov equestrian statue with his horse squashing the Nazi´s eagle and Lenin is still at his mausoleum. Walking from the metro station to the Red Square the first shop you see is a Zara´s one, exactly at the Red Square´s side of the GUM.

In front of the Zhukov´s statue, at Okhotny Ryad shopping mall that is under the Manezhnaya Square (that has a precious glass dome, btw), do you imagine what was there? Come on! Think a bit! What would be the most American´s capitalism symbol that would be the worst nightmare for Lenin? (I can even imagine him convulsing at his mausoleum while it´s opening)… got it? A MCDONALD´S RESTAURANT!!!!



Moscow is a quite expensive city. Shopping there wasn´t an option for me. Even going to eat something was a bit difficult sometimes. I usually try to go to an emblematic place while travelling, to at least drink a coffee there… so, I tried to do that as well at the side that is in front of Red Square, at the GUM, in an Italian cafe: Cafe Bosco well, at the guides, they said it was not really expensive for being a Cafe in Moscow… and maybe they were right, just that sometimes there are prices I wouldn´t ever pay for a coffee or a coke, no matter how emblematic the place could be… but yes, the place seemed to be good.



Some pics of the GUM (from the Red Square):









My very favorite place at the Red Square was the St. Basil´s Cathedral.






Yeap, that one there, under thousands kilos of warm cloth, is me!) ;)

One day my trainees invited me to lunch at an American place, Starlite Diner (no idea why to an American place, but was nice). The nice part about business travelling is that you can learn more about the place you are visiting and it´s people than if you would do just as a normal tourist. (Well, ok, the greatest part is that you are not the one paying the bills!). At that lunch we were talking a lot about Russians. One of my trainees had been living in USA, so she knew what points of Russian culture would wonder me. For example that Russians from other locations need a special authorization (they said it was something alike a visa) for travelling to Moscow. This is due there are already an incredible quantity of people, but the sad part of this, was that then what it means in real life is… more work for the mafia! (Faking documents). I also asked them how Russians living in Moscow can afford the expenses there when for me was so obvious that their salaries didn´t match with the prices I saw. The explanation was that they just don´t spend their money in Moscow, but in their original locations or even they go to other locations around Moscow just for shopping. That means long travels, but also that confirms that for every one terms as “long” or “short” are so subjectives.



I also went to several metro stations, some of them are truly like museums! Just the problem there is all is written in Cyrillic and well, that wouldn´t be a real problem when you know perfectly the name of the places you want to go to (written in Cyrillic, of course), but even then, time to time you discover that it was a word very alike the one you were searching, with just a small change on the direction of one of the lines of one letter… that btw means that´s a completely other name instead the one you were searching… and then try to ask someone where you are or what you should do! Ok, I started it asking to young people the typical “do you speak English?” and when finally someone answered me “yes”, I´d show him the map and the place where I would like to go, asking how to go there… and he gave me the direction, in a pretty kind way, smiling and even gesticulating the directions with his hand… but in a perfect Russian! :S Well, I just went back the whole way and started from the beginning again… (I would lie if I say I´d did it at the second try!).








For that Saturday I booked a City Tour. We were more or less 15 people, I was the only one female of the group! :S We were going by bus to the most important touristic places, but also with time to go down the bus to take pics and even to buy some souvenirs. Was really nice how kind almost all of them were with me. Always allowing me to be the first one to get on the bus, asking me if I would like them to take me the pic… yeap, sometimes is nice to be the only one female of a group! :P








A German guy was the one that more tried to talk to me and even got a sit close to mine at the bus. Once we were at the Red Square, the guide asked us to place in circle for the last explanation, the German guy was at my side. Surprisingly in a moment the Guide said that would be the end of the tour, we shouldn´t go back to the Travel Agency. Due the conversation we had during the tour, I was imaging the German guy would invite me to drink a coffee after the tour, but the point was that in the moment the Guide said bye, a French guy that was at the opposite side of me at the circle (and that I hadn´t noticed about his existence during the tour!), literally jumped immediately in front of me, asking me if I would like a coffee. I was so surprised, and also the German guy. I just wait few seconds before answering, trying to give a chance to the German guy to say something (we could go all together, for example), but he was just watching me without reacting and the French guy insisted… (To be continued on next Saturday)