we have started a regular weekend brunch at a cute place in the center of town called Schastye in russian. it means happiness. and it is. super-tasty cocktails, fresh juices, brunch-y items, delicious coffee, and MACAROONS. my new favorite food item.
anyway, i'll let the pictures tell the story of today. it was indeed a grand day out.
brunch group! jason (newly arrived, from LA), jess, david, stephanie (also newly arrived), marcia, me. i'm having a "tennessee tini"...jack, rasperries, blackberries, sugar syrup and lime. yummmm.
st basil's! so fun to see it in the summer, not covered in ice and snow.
more st basil's. mom and dad are going to be so excited to see it! it's just gorgeous.
jason and i made an excursion to a big park south of the center of town. it is called Kolomenskoe and it was home to a summer palace of Tsar Alexey Mikaelovich in the 17th century. it also has this gorgeous church, called the Church of the Ascension, built also in the 17th century, and was the first church in russia to have a stone conical roof. it is a unesco world heritage site.
and it is also a popular place for wedding photos.
this is the apple orchard of the tsars. back in the tsar's day it had 400 trees. now it has over 900 apple trees! and a good place for picnicking and relaxing out of the sun.
the pic on the right is the reconstructed tsar's palace. it is made completely out of wood, and kind of looks like a gingerbread house! we got to see the inside of the tsarina's quarters. so ornate! here is also a pic of the ceiling in one of the rooms...totally reconstructed and decorated according to the original architect's plans.
looking up into a very ornate glass chandelier. gaudy, but still very impressive and beautiful.
back to town for food and drinks at the rooftop bar on the left...strelka. it is the expat's dream. they practice hard-core "face control" here. you gotta look good, or be "someone". or, speak english. :) you sit and eat uber-expensive food and watch the boats pass. easy way to while away the late afternoon.
THEN, i met my friend campbell for dinner at the Time Out bar, another rooftop restaurant with huge windows overlooking the city. this is a sweet couple enjoying their view of the city.
menus. they are old TimeOut Moscow magazine covers.
campbell drinking a very fruity drink...pomelo (like a HUGE grapefruit) juice, passion fruit juice, and coconut milk. served out of half of a pomelo. very refreshing!!
my carrot/mandarin concoction, and my "new york" burger. it had pepperoni on it, as well as beet and orange salsa. i guess that is very "new york"?!? regardless, it was really good. i lapped it up.
another pic of the bar.
so now i'm back home, and ready to crash. and here is what it looks like at 11pm in moscow now from my bedroom window:
i will never get tired of the sun setting at 11pm. i will miss that when i go back home.
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