So yes, I seem to have skipped right over summer, during which I had managed to pop by London (and Windsor), Paris (first time in 13 years!), Brussels and the Alsace region of France. But most of my free time was spent hopping across the beautiful countryside around Moscow. Please enjoy my IG illustration of those weekend getaways, along with…
If you are ever in Russia, for however long, for whatever reason and in whichever corner of the country, you must do anything and everything you can to experience a Russian barbecue. A Russian barbecue is not your average cookout. It is a microcosm of Russia as a concept, where food, nature, and ages-old traditions…
Moscow is an incredibly green city. It has 120 parks in total – 120!!! – and the whole 20% of the Central district is taken up by park spaces. A week doesn’t pass without me taking a walk in a park, no matter the time of year. With so many to choose from, there is…
Have you ever wondered how people in the USSR REALLY lived? The daily reality of an average Soviet person was equally removed from the extremes of the ebullient propaganda posters and grim tales of totalitarian oppression. And you can take a trip back in time and into the homes of “ordinary Soviet people” thanks to…
If you have been losing sleep over how to get your hands on all those amazing Russian crafts I wrote about last week, fret no more. Izmaylovo Vernisazh to the rescue! Vernisazh (derived from French “Vernissage” or a preview for an art show) is Moscow’s, if not Russia’s, biggest and best known market for all…
What kind of souvenir would you want from Russia? If your preference runs more toward traditional crafts than Soviet paraphernalia, you will probably go for one of those wooden nesting dolls, or a bright babushka scarf. Almost anyone can conjure up the images of those two objects in their mind – that’s how strongly they’ve…
I told you Moscow had Easter Eggs galore this year. Can you pick just one? (Each egg has a name when you click on it and view as slideshow)
Moscow REALLY turned up Easter this year. Word on the street was, city officials have decided that with all the #sanctions, ruble woes, Ukraine and endless winter the people needed some extra cheering up this year. And so, Christmas decorations stayed up all the way through March, only to be immediately replaced by Easter decorations…
For many Moscovites the Old Arbat street is imbued with an almost mythical aura and a heavy dose of nostalgia. One of the most famed Russian bards, Bulat Okudzhava, even sang “oh Arbat, my Arbat, you are my Fatherland…” It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact source of this reverence. Arbat’s history is very layered. In the…
What? Maslenitsa (“butter week”) is a half-Christian, half-Slavic pagan celebration of the soon-to-come end of winter that takes place for a week before Lent. Think Mardi Gras, or carnivals of Rio de Janeiro and Venice, but instead of ball gowns, beads and nudity you get traditional Russian games, folk music and dance concerts, a lot…
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