Trevor in Moscow with TOYHOP!

Recently we had some very exciting news: a Toy Tourist from USA visited us in Moscow! Say “hi” to Trevor! He is from New Jersey (east coast of the US) and he’s never been to Russia before. So I became his best friend and tour guide in Moscow. On the first day we visited Red Square, took pictures in front of the main sights that all the tourists always desire to see: the Square itself, St. Basil’s Cathedral, The State Historical Museum, Kremlin walls, mausoleum of Lenin etc. We also saw a big skating rink right in the middle of Red Square – it’s a special attraction here from November till March. It was a pretty cold day but at the same time it was bright and mostly sunny. I gave Trevor my favorite knitted hat to make sure he’s warm and is enjoying our walks. For lunch we stopped in a sushi café and enjoyed hot soup with shark meat!

That's all for today, more photos can be found on Facebook!
Stay warm!
Michael TheMonkey

St. Patrick's Day in Moscow

This is what St. Patrick's Day Parade in Moscow looks like! It was held on Arbat street on the 17th of March. It was the first St. Patrick's  parade I took part in, so I decided to learn more about the holiday.

Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. Saint Patrick is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland who is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. One traditional icon of the day is the shamrock. And this stems from a more bona fide Irish tale that tells how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day. 

Now people in many countries around the world celebrate this day by wearing green, meeting up with the friends and going to pubs. I made a list of the best known Moscow Irish pubs, here they are:

The Shamrock Pub - Moscow’s first Irish pub founded way back in 1991: good Irish food, nice atmosphere and beer on Novy Arbat street in the center of the city.

Molly Gwynn's Pub is also on Novy Arbat so if you are done with the Shamrock you can continue the adventures :-)

John Bull Pub (metro Barrikadnaya/Ulitsa 1905 Goda and Smolenskaya) - there are two of them in Moscow - it's an English-style pub with a nice interior, good food but very high prices on beers.

Rosie O'Grady's by metro Park Kultury is part of a restaurant chain offering European and Asian food as well as Guinness, Harp and other Irish beers.

Katie O'Shea's at Grigolsky pereulok near Prospect Mira (the same street as the Irish Embassy) - serves excellent Guinness and Sunday lunch.

Silver's Irish Pub (metro Okhotny Ryad) is a little too small and too smoky but fun.

So this is it with my little research, I hope you had a very nice and green 17th of March!

Yours,
Michael TheMonkey

Lost in the (American) 50's in Moscow

Hi Everybody, I had breakfast yesterday at the awesome-looking 1950's Beverly Hills Diner! The interior is filled with neon lights, checkered tiles, jukeboxes, puffy vinyl bar-stools and even some booths shaped like old Cadillacs! The waitresses wear polka-dot dresses with white collars and tall stockings, the busboys have red and white striped shirts, bow-ties and neatly parted hair, and the speakers play wonderful doo-wop songs and other music from the past -- the atmosphere is very complete!

I ordered Eggs Benedict with hashbrowns, pancakes with strawberry syrup, and American drip coffee :-) The Eggs Benedict was great: the Hollandaise sauce was creamy and fresh, the egg was cooked perfectly to be just a little runny, and the toasted English muffin was very tasty. One complaint I had was that (unlike a real diner in the US) when you order Eggs Benedict, you only get one muffin and egg set on a tiny bed of hashbrowns in the middle of an otherwise large, empty plate. All sides are extra, even toast. The hashbrowns were not the best, either. They were a bit soggy and gray. They didn't really detract, but they didn't add anything, either. The pancakes, however, were fluffy and excellent, and they came with both strawberry and maple syrup, so I could try both. :-)

Compared to the "Starlite" Diner, another old-time-American themed joint here in Moscow, Beverly Hills is relatively unknown, but it shouldn't be! Beverly Hills is at least as good or better than Starlite.

And here are some facts:
The Website with cool music, menus and other info.

There are two Beverly Hills diners in Moscow:
м. Chistye prudy, Sretenka 1: +7(495) 625 42 21  
м. Lubyanka, Nikol'skaya 10: +7(495)221 78 01 (I visited this one!)

There is also a kid's room! With Spider Man and other famous American idols :-)

It is open 24h!

Breakfast prices:
~ Egg Sandwich 270 Rub/ $8.85
~ Steak and Eggs 420 Rub/ $13.70
~ Breakfast Burrito 390 Rub/ $12.80
~ Four Cheese Omelette 250 Rub/ $8.20
~ Pancakes (recommended by Michael) 240 Rub/ $7.80
~ Waffle with Vanila Ice Cream 150 Rub/ $4.90
~ Eggs Benedict 220 Rub/ $7.20
~ Tea 120 Rub/ $3.90
~ Coffee from 100 Rub/ $3.30

Michael's Rating: *****/5

Well, the breakfast was great and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Moscow. I'm looking forward to going back to try Beverly Hills' lunch and dinner menu!

Парк Искусств Музеон - Statues!

Hello Friends and Toys!

Yesterday I took a fantastic trip through Moscow's Парк Искусств Музеон ("Park Iskusstv Museon" - Fallen Monument Park).  The park is very large and stuffed with statues.  It extends along the Moscow river from the bridge near Park Kultury metro station to where the statue of Christopher Columbus stands on its island.

View Larger Map

The sculptures and statues are all unique and span a wide variety of styles, shapes and subjects: There is everything from Soviet and wartime sculptures to folk characters, realistic figures and abstract carvings.

You can view some of the park for free, and entrance to the rest is very cheap, 30-100 rubles ($1-$3) depending on your age, student status and whether or not you are a resident of Moscow.  You can also get in for 30 rubles if you speak some Russian and are extra nice to the lady who sells the tickets ;-)

The ticket makes a great souvenir!

I'll share some of my favorite parts of the park below.  I'd like to recommend the park to anyone with a free afternoon in Moscow!  Even if you are not an art or sculpture lover, the park itself is very quiet, simple and pleasant.  It's a great break from busy downtown Moscow.

Michael's Rating: *****/5

See you next time!

Sincerely,
Michael TheMonkey

What is Russia really like?

There are many stories and stereotypes about Russia.  When someone mentions Russia, certain images come to mind: winter, vodka, communism, bears in the streets, James Bond and the KGB, Cathedrals with bulbs on top, long-bearded Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, etc.

You can find some of those things here, but what is Russia really like?

Here's a glimpse!

Yesterday, I visited a mall called "Metropolis" in the northern part of Moscow. I had lunch at Burger King (Бургер Кинг)!  Malls and shopping are very popular in Moscow, and so is fast food!  (Of course, besides fast food, there are many other great places to eat.)

This week begins my exploration of Russia.  If you've ever been curious or are planning a trip here, I'll try to answer your questions and give you an overview of some great things to do and see in Moscow!

Yours,
Michael TheMonkey

A New Direction

Hi Everybody

I wanted to announce some exciting new changes that I'll be making to my blog in the next couple of weeks!

To this point in my young, toy-monkey life, I've spent most of my time traveling to new places and giving a glimpse of the things I found there. While I've had a great time on all of my adventures, I feel that there's one very interesting place I've often neglected, and now I'd like to spend more time sharing it in more detail: Moscow!

Next week, I'm going to begin posting my in-depth guide to Moscow for the benefit of tourists and Toy Tourists alike!

I'll also be updating my blog's navigation and appearance to reflect the new focus!

Yours,
Michael TheMonkey

Happy Birthday St. Basil's!

Today is the anniversary of St. Basil's Cathedral. It is 450 years old this year!

St. Basil's, Tourists and Construction

I learned something interesting about its name. In English it is usually called "St. Basil's", but in Russian it is called "Собор Василия Блаженного" - "Saint Vasili's Cathedral."

"Василия" is the possessive form of the Russian name "Василий" - "Vasili" (which has a short, informal form "Вася" - "Vasya.") The character "В" in Russian actually sounds like "V" in English, a hard English "B" sound in Russian is made by the character "Б."

So the Cathedral can be called "St. Basil's" or "St. Vasili's." :-)

Red Square

I also couldn't help myself -- I had to take a quick flight around the square.

Meeeeee!

Yours,
Michael TheMonkey

Chinese Box Lunch in Moscow!

I've been dreaming of finding a Chinese restaurant with take-out boxes for a long time, but I was convinced that they couldn't be found in Moscow.  Then, out of the blue last week I happened upon an internet ad for Wokker! Not only did their food look yummy, they also had cool take-out/order-in boxes like I had been dreaming about.

So I went to try it!  I got some Teriyaki turkey noodles and some noodles with shrimp and oyster sauce, it was great! The only sad thing is that Wokker's three locations in Moscow (at Metro stops "Voikovskaya" - where I went, "Rechnoi Vokzal" and "Universitet") aren't that close to where I live, so I might have to order in next time. :-)

Yours,
Michael TheMonkey