Moscow, I Love You, Pt. 3

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

A had been telling me about a cafe by a design studio, so we went there for breakfast/lunch. It was called Большое Кафе, and their food was so good! Anton got chicken and it was the most tender chicken I have ever eaten. I just got some potato mushroom mixture, but it was really good as well. I loved the interior of the restaurant and their menus had a surrealist look, which is my favorite kind of art. There was also a gift shop in the basement that had all sorts of interesting things for sale.

I can't remember a time when I finished eating and didn't have a sweet tooth. Asuggested that we get donuts so we went to Dunkin Donuts near Red Square. I FINALLY got an iced coffee too! I was addicted to Dunkin Donuts iced coffee in the US, but I haven't had it since I moved to Russia because there isn't one in Ufa. It was so hard trying to order though because A had to translate for me, and he had no idea what I wanted. When we were leaving we noticed the square was blocked off again and people were gathering. After some time a bunch of motorcyclists joined in the square and there were performers singing about how Ukraine is a traitor (Russia...). It was the weirdest thing, but also kind of boring so I asked if we could go.

A suggested that we go to the Moscow Zoo so we hopped on the metro to the zoo. Like everything in Moscow the zoo was really cool. It's right in the middle of a residential area and there are windows on the wall so that you can see into the zoo if you are walking down the street. I would definitely recommend going to the zoo, but there are a ton of birds. I don't know what it is with Russia and birds, but I was kind of bored with them. I think I said, "More birds?" about five times. Honestly, the design of the zoo was worth the money.

Our last destination for the day was Ostankino Tower. Ostankino Tower is the center of television and radio stations in Russia and is also the tallest point in Europe. I didn't find out until after we went up to the top that the tower caught on fire in 2007. I also learned that it caught fire in 2000; a fire which killed 4 people. It's probably a good thing I didn't know about these incidents, though, because I don't think I would have wanted to go up. The interior is all remodeled, of course, and looks beautiful, but I have a fear of being trapped inside a burning building. We didn't arrive until it was dark, but it was really cool to see Moscow lit up. I think I would have preferred to go during the day because it would have made for better pictures and you can see more details of the city.