Date: November 2021
Weather: -1 to 1C, mostly dry, clear, with occasional sleet.
I travelled by: Plane. Lufthansa. Standard class. Fine.
I stayed at: An apartment via AirBnb, well-located, nearest metro: Belorusskaya. Actually, I think the whole city is pretty well-connected thanks to a lot of investment into public transport (correct me if I'm wrong, Muscovites).
I ate: I mainly ate. I tried to eat every possible Russian food I could find. I'm not kidding. The YandexGo - Eat feature helped a lot in this mission.
This was one order, from Odessa Mama. My favourite dish was their Krasny Borscht.
And my most decadent meal was at a restaurant called White Rabbit. I impressed (read: shocked) the waiter with my pre-made, rather lengthy, order list, but I'd decided that this trip, and perhaps my entire life moving forward, was going to be about ENJOYMENT. So, here is that list, as well as accompanying photos on this theme.
Sea urchins and sea buckthorn
Sweet shrimps, guacamole and berries /120 g
Amber persimmon, rose, caramel and lavender honey /170 g
Squid with fried artichokes, Yalta onions and purple radish /200 g
Okroshka on brine with milky mushroom /175 g
Roast goose with black currant and black truffle /160 g
Dessert
"Baba of King Stanislav" soaked in champagne, apricots and baked milk ice cream /250
Tea rabbit /1 pcs /28 g
Sea buckthorn éclair /2 pcs
I drank: Not one drop of vodka :( This was probably why they held me back at Moscow Airport passport check for 20 minutes as I was leaving. (No, that was the three different hairstyles between my passport, my visa, and myself on the day. Really took them by surprise :/). Really, I drank nothing remarkable.
I saw: Red Square, Kremlin, GUM, of course, of course, but also the beauty of the Moscow Metro! I booked this tour, and my guide that day was a lady named Daya, who was just brilliant. (Special mention to my fellow Londoner and tour-mate, whose name I cannot remember).
I heard: Mostly, the sweet sounds of 10 lanes of traffic. ASMR?
I walked: Around 45,000 steps in 3 days. Moscow is a huge, sprawling city, greatly accessible by metro, bus and tram, but I like walking. I can't say I made any groundbreaking discoveries on foot, it was more just general marvelling and awe. It's a beautiful city to see.
Worth getting out of bed? DA, DA DA! (yes, yes, yes!)
Spasibo for writing this up…wanna visit Moscow now!