2nd Annual Russian Thanksgiving

On Saturday, I held my second Thanksgiving dinner in Russia. You can read last year's post here. While it was Elizabeth's and my umpteenth Thanksgiving, it was the first Thanksgiving dinner for all my friends. It was really exciting to be able to share the holiday with them, even though it wasn't much different than inviting them over for dinner. I was definitely pulling dinner vibes from my Grandma Albert. I really wish she was still alive because her dinners were the best! I hope she was proudly looking down on me because I can't cook a Thanksgiving dinner without thinking of her.

I made turkey chili and apple sauce again this year because they are easy to make. I also made a greek salad, so as you can tell there was no theme to this dinner. There are several reasons I went with chili. It is pretty American, and I haven't cooked "American" food for my friends yet. It's incredibly simple to make. All you need to do is throw everything in a pot and add your desired amount of spices. My oven is also old, so I don't trust myself to cook a bird in it. I think chili might be my new Thanksgiving tradition.

Moscow Street Art

This is a short, but sweet, post on some of the street art I saw in Moscow. Unfortunately, we didn't come across much street art in Moscow, and the stuff I did see was on the train going into the city. The metro alone is enough to get your fix of city art, but there were a few other gems hidden around the city. By the way, you should take the suburban train from Vnukovo to the center if you want to see some fantastic graffiti.

I'm a big pop art fan, so the one below reminded me of Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans art piece. Who doesn't like some art of sweetened condensed milk? If you'd like to see more street art from Moscow and other places just click this link.

Where are other great places to see street art in Moscow?

Where We Ate: Moscow

I was searching through old photos on my external hard drive and realized that I have so many pictures from our second trip to Moscow that I haven't edited. Since, I'm not doing this trip chronologically, like my first trip, I kind of forgot about them.

I am not a foodie. When I travel I just do what everyone else wants to do, and it's normally the cheapest or closest thing we can find. With A, it's usually McDonalds. I also don't like those "Best Places to Eat in..." posts because I doubt you've eaten at every single restaurant in (insert city) to make that judgement. I usually take recommendations from people because I trust other people's opinions, and I'm not super picky. So, here is a post of the places A and I ate at on our second trip to Moscow.

My Russian Apartment Tour

I can't believe it has taken me this long to do a post like this. Well, when I first moved in it took me a while to get acclimated to the new place. Then, soon after, I got a roommate. I wanted to respect his privacy and his things, so taking pictures of my apartment was never something on my list. Recently, he moved out, and I'm living here alone. It got me thinking that I really should do an apartment tour, especially since I have my (5) Christmas decorations up!

These first two pictures are my entry way. This apartment is a Stalinka, meaning, you guessed it, it was built during the Stalin era. Characteristics of this home are large windows, thick walls, and high ceilings. It stays pretty warm in the winter and cool in the summer. There is no elevator in this apartment, but there are only 4 floors, and I live on the second so I can't complain.

Mohammedan Muslim Cemetery

I've been wanting to go to this cemetery for months, but it wasn't until last month that I finally did. Cemeteries aren't common in cities in Russia. They are usually on the outskirts, in my opinion, because Russians are extremely superstitious. So, it was surprising to find one right in the center. This is also a Muslim cemetery, which peaked my interest even more because I'm not very educated on the Islamic religion deeper than the basic definition of it. Elizabeth and I made about two or three unsuccessful attempts to visit the cemetery, but eventually everything worked out, minus the fact that it was one of the snowiest days we've had so far.

First Snow of the Year

Last Saturday (October 29) was our first snow of the year. I love snow, but I wasn't prepared for it coming so soon. I remember we got our first snowed in the middle of October last year, but I don't remember when the first BIG snow came. Since Saturday, it's snowed every day! I have a love/relationship with it. I love it because this time of year is my favorite, and it's really putting me in the Christmas mood! On the other hand I don't miss walking over uneven surfaces and risking a slip on ice because they don't remove it from the sidewalk.