Greetings from Moscow!
I have to say that I have enjoyed my time in Moscow so far. Here is a brief recap since I was not able to have good email access until now due to computer problems...
My first flight on Aeroflot was fine. The plane was nice and new so I hope the other Aeroflot flights I will be taking will be just as nice. There were some kids on the flight that started running up and down the aisles though. First one little girl in her mom's shoes (very loud clunky shoes) started running, then another joined her, then another, and then another...so 5 kids were running back and forth on the plane. When they started getting excited about hiding behind the curtain separating buisness class from the rest of us, the flight attendant from the more exclusive area stepped in to try to figure out where all the kids came from. They still kept running, but anytime they made it past that barrier, the lady (with her best Russian-behave-yourself-look) would poke her head back into our cabin to try to figure out where they came from.
The customs process in Moscow was not as bad as I thought it would be (makes me wonder if I missed a step or something...if I am late getting back to the states, you'll know why.) I made it out to the main lobby and saw the taxi stand which I had read would give better deals than the massive amounts of taxis awaiting tourists outside. I heard one person in front of me quoted 2,200 Rubles for her ride to city center and also heard her get them down to 2,000 R. So, when they quoted me 2,200 (at least they were consistent), I was also able to get them to reduce it to 2,000 R. (Yes, I realize that I am not the best negotiator so any of you who have been to Russia will probably tell me that I easily paid twice as much...but I don't necessarily expect to bargain with official looking businesses. Reread my India part of my blog if you want to see how far I've come.)
My hotel, Marriott Aurora, was beautiful. The best hotel of the trip so far (yes, even nicer than the "cool" London hotel...except I missed all the free stuff from that hotel.) I used my Marriott points and it was well worth it! For the same amount of points that it cost me to stay at a Courtyard by Marriott in NYC, I was able to stay in a very impressive hotel (complete with speakers in the delux bathroom so I wouldn't have to miss out listening to my shows or music.) Other Marriott Moscow hotels cost more points per night but I can't imagine them being a more convenient hotel. I was in easy walking distance of Red Square and around the corner from a cute side street that was only for pedestrians and lined with little cafes. I was also down the street from the Bolshoi (sp?) Theater. Assuming I was looking at the right building, it looked like they were doing some work on the outside of it. It was cute though because the tarp that covered the construction site looked like an elegant building...perhaps the theater itself?
Moscow is a unique looking city. Parts of it looking like Paris, London, NYC, etc but then other parts of it remind me more of Mumbai or Dehli (but very clean). Even in the tourist-y areas of the city, I really only saw Cyrlic letters. As I mentioned in my short post, I was chicken to use the little Russian I know. Marriott really caters to an international hotel so many of them spoke English. When I went over to Red Square, I was impressed with how many of the vendors spoke English (or enough to sell items to tourists). They often just started rattling off prices in English when people walked up. I decided to take my time looking at the items while I was there since my tour group will be heading there on Monday and I can looks at the sites at that time. As far as other things I did, I went into a book store (I recognized the word for "books" on the outside - woohoo!) but it appeared to be one that focused on school books and supplies. If this was part of my Fulbright trip from last summer, I would have exited the shop with tons of books but alas, this trip is out of my own pocket and I didn't want to use up all my money before the tour starts. I also was brave and order some sort of sandwich thing at a vending cart. I am still not sure what I had because it didn't look like the picture. I tried to order it in Russian but I obviously miss pronouced whatever the word was and just nodded my head when the person said something (most likely) along the lines of "oh, you want a strange sandwich thing" (no idea what she said but I am sure that is pretty close to it.) I tried to go into the McDonalds in Red Square but the lines were HUGE!!!! I did take a picture of the name on one of the umbrellas and will hopefully be able to post it.
There was a different total solar eclipse tour staying at the Marriott so I introduced myself to their leader. She was very nice and able to figure out which tour group I was on (I am sure all those "totalies" who lead groups are familiar with each other. This morning, I packed my bags and arranged for a taxi to take me to my new hotel to meet up with the tour group. I have met a couple of the other group members already but we don't officially meet until tonight. One of the guys told me that he had to pay 2,200 R since he came on his own. (Ha! I at least beat him in the bargaining for an airport ride!) ;) The room is nice and simple but pales in comparison to my room at the Marriott. Oh, Marriott Aurora - How I miss you!) It was funny that in the brochure in this new hotel that there was information on the shortage of toilet paper in Russia. I brought my own with me from REI and Target (yes, Target now sells travel toilet paper) so hopefully I am all set for the trip.
Well, that about catches you up on the latest of my journey. By the way, I just ate a Salmon sandwich with fresh fruit and veges on it. I hope it does not cause a replay of the time in India when I got sick in my first meal outside the protection of the fancy hotels. Yikes! (I'll let you know.)
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