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

Tanya's trip

Hello friends! This is Tanya! I'm in Russia while Michael is in the States! Let me tell you what i do here! Last weekend i took a trip to an old Russian town - Kostroma. It took me an overnight train ride to get there from Moscow. The weekend was sunny and just perfect for exploring the town. There is a huge river going through the town - Volga river - so you can find nice beaches not too far from the center. Also i ate some traditional food like pirogi which are little pies, blini -- flat pancakes; and drank kompot - Russian summer drink made with fruit and berries.

What i like about small Russian towns is that they don't have much traffic, glass and concrete... there are many trees, parks, wooden houses, little old churches, tiny unique museums everywhere around! I visited a folk open-air museum, a museum of flax and linen, famous Ipatiev Monastery on Kostroma river.

I really enjoyed my weekend but i do miss my cousin Michael and can't wait to him arriving back to Moscow so we could travel together!

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

my summer moscow weekends

 

This Saturday i spent on Arbat street! With so many souvenir stalls and shopping malls, Arbat is the most touristic area in Moscow. However, together with Ostozhenka, it is also the most expensive residential area in Moscow, where flats can cost as much as $1,000,000.

Arbat is one of the oldest areas in Moscow and it's the name of the most touristic street in the city. There are always many people wandering around, there are many cafes, restaurants, antiques and souvenir shops.

I didn't buy any suvenirs (there were too many to choose) but i ate at Wendy's (the first one in Russia!) and listened to some music on the street.

For the food lovers

Hello, friends! I’m back! I’ve been pretty busy lately as I moved back to Moscow after my almost 6 month travels around South Korea, Spain, France, Norway and Sweden!

It’s summer time here now which I enjoy a lot. I’ve been going on different little trip around the city and spending nice time in the parks having picnics! Last weekend I visited Hermitage Park in the center of Moscow and took part in a big FOOD event! Yes I love food! It was World Food Festival and I got to visit different continents and countries and even take some shots of me in front of the famous sights!

  Guess who?!?

 

Among the tasty treats there I saw and smelled roasted chestnuts, hotdogs, Thai chili shrimp... nothing sounds good enough for a monkey though. All that inspired me to have a quick run to a store and get some bananas! Planning on baking some banana bread and having my friends over! ;-)

Have a great week!

Michael TheMonkey

I want to see the zoo, he said, I want to see the zoo!

Hi everybody!!! For my second day back in Moscow, I went to the zoo!!! (Зоопарк - "Zoopark") The Moscow zoo has almost 6,000 animals!

Of course I had to meet all of the monkeys! One baby mandrill was very eager to meet me.

So cute!

The mandrill family

I could hang out with apes and monkeys all day, they're so much fun to watch.

An orangutan family

Then I went to find some four-legged friends.

A giant, dirty camel

The zebra wasn't interested in meeting me

A reindeer!!

A yak

What a tongue!

I also went to say hi to the birds and bugs!

An angry pelican

Привет, toucan!

Pretty birds

Katydids

And now, as a big surprise, I'd like to introduce my cousin, Tanya TheMonkey!!! She is very nice and will be joining me on some of my adventures. Here we are in front of a large animal sculpture at the zoo by the same sculpter who designed Moscow's large Christopher Columbus monument.

We had a great time at the zoo together and we're getting ready for another surprise adventure, but we'll keep that secret for another couple of days ;-)

Yours,
Michael and Tanya