You'll forgive me if I have a "grumpy" day now and again. I often tell people that Moscow is a great place for 99 days out of every 100 but on the 100th day our cultures clash and everything goes wrong for me. Today was such a day.
Dashing between lessons one and two I sometimes have time to buy and eat a quick sandwich, depending on how many minutes I've had to wait for the metro out to the part of town called "Moscow City". I've mentioned this before in a blog that the infrastructure is not quite up to scratch. Everywhere else has metro trains every 2-3 minutes but on this particular spur the wait can be 10 minutes or more. So, I missed my lunch.
After the lesson, at a little after 2 p.m., I had a look around the fast food outlets in Afi Moll. There are lots of them but there were queues at every one. I always find this strange because all my Russian students like to point out that they don't like fast food as it is not healthy.
I took the decision to go to Novoslobodskaya as it was on the way home and there was another McDonalds there, and a TGI Friday. The McDonalds was full to bursting and the TGI Friday had no beer - by this time I was gagging for a beer.
So back on to the metro to catch my 9th train of the day and go to Dmitrovskaya. I knew there was a KFC there but again the queues were phenomenal so I called in at a sit-down restaurant called Pancho Pizza - a Mexican-Italian place! The business lunch menu was Rs 295 for soup and main - which was OK and it was tasty too. I ordered a draught beer to go with it and he reeled off a list of (probably) available beers. I heard the word нефилтрованное (unfiltered) and went for that. A nice beer - until I got the bill. In excess of £6 for a half-litre (slightly less than a pint). Scandalous Moscow prices.
When I got home I found the following note pinned to the door:
which, when translated, means "Respected residents, we wish to report that on 26th April from 0900-1300 the hot and cold water will be turned off in connection with repair works. We ask your forgiveness for this temporary inconvenience". Perhaps I won't go for a run tomorrow morning then (and turn up for lessons not having had a shower).
All of which reminds me I must look up the dates when the hot water will be turned off for 7-10 days for the annual maintenance.
To counter all these negative vibes I was amused to see a skip lorry with it's front wheels in the air. No further comment needed.
If you look carefully you will see we are in the middle of the monsoon season - at least that's what it feels like at the moment.
Must have a video clip to finish - what would be suitable? Let me think..... Of course, it has to be Tina. What energy she has.
Dashing between lessons one and two I sometimes have time to buy and eat a quick sandwich, depending on how many minutes I've had to wait for the metro out to the part of town called "Moscow City". I've mentioned this before in a blog that the infrastructure is not quite up to scratch. Everywhere else has metro trains every 2-3 minutes but on this particular spur the wait can be 10 minutes or more. So, I missed my lunch.
After the lesson, at a little after 2 p.m., I had a look around the fast food outlets in Afi Moll. There are lots of them but there were queues at every one. I always find this strange because all my Russian students like to point out that they don't like fast food as it is not healthy.
I took the decision to go to Novoslobodskaya as it was on the way home and there was another McDonalds there, and a TGI Friday. The McDonalds was full to bursting and the TGI Friday had no beer - by this time I was gagging for a beer.
So back on to the metro to catch my 9th train of the day and go to Dmitrovskaya. I knew there was a KFC there but again the queues were phenomenal so I called in at a sit-down restaurant called Pancho Pizza - a Mexican-Italian place! The business lunch menu was Rs 295 for soup and main - which was OK and it was tasty too. I ordered a draught beer to go with it and he reeled off a list of (probably) available beers. I heard the word нефилтрованное (unfiltered) and went for that. A nice beer - until I got the bill. In excess of £6 for a half-litre (slightly less than a pint). Scandalous Moscow prices.
When I got home I found the following note pinned to the door:
All of which reminds me I must look up the dates when the hot water will be turned off for 7-10 days for the annual maintenance.
To counter all these negative vibes I was amused to see a skip lorry with it's front wheels in the air. No further comment needed.
Must have a video clip to finish - what would be suitable? Let me think..... Of course, it has to be Tina. What energy she has.
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