Who said I was dead?

Alright, so, it's been a bit busy this past week or so, but I'm back with another update from the Motherland. Here goes...

Me and a couple of others decided to go check out the Hard Rock cafe downtown. It was a nice break from soup, bread, meat and cheese diet we've been subjected to for the past few weeks, and as a plus, the menus were in English and the staff spoke English. It was a little pricey, but was worth it for a nice, big meal that lasted throughout the rest of the day. The Hard Rock was also located on Ulitsa Arbat in the center of Moscow. This street is definitely a tourist hot-spot, and I can see why. It's pretty long and there are a lot of cool looking shops along the way (expensive stuff, but cool). Mostly though, it's just a nice place to take a walk through. The street venders are everywhere, and even though it was cold and rainy that day, some musicians stuck it out and played anyway--including the gypsy guitarist (see below).

On another day, all of us went out to a restaurant and bar called the 'Boarhouse'. Basically, from what I know, it was originally a place for expatriots, but then got taken over by Russians. Still, a lot of foreigners (like us) go there. And no, I did not get wasted! How else would I have been able to remember the sketchy Iranians, or the older music they were playing on the dance floor (remixes of 80s/90s stuff mostly; though, that's pretty common everywhere, whether it's supermarkets or restaurants...I think Russians are just trying to catch up). Speaking of which, I've never seen so many men with mullets in my entire life. In fact, a few of the guys were getting a haircut a little while back, and one was asking what a popular style would be. The woman responded with saying that she'd take a little off the front and sides and leave the back. One of the other guys replied: "Dude, she's trying to give you a mullet!" Needless to say, none of them got the "popular" haircut.

Also, on another day, we stopped by the American Embassy, and got to go inside because the parents of one of our group members works there. It was nice, but not as impressive as I thought it would be. Maybe that's because we weren't allowed on any of the other floors. Hmmm... They did have a small grocery store, though, with American products in it. Oh, it was so nice to see Pop-tarts again.

Afterwards, most of the people went to go buy bootleg DVDs, CDs, etc. in a kindof market place area adjacent to one of the Metro stops. I went there eventually (and got two DVDs for 40 rubles a piece; that's less two bucks for each), but at that time decided to go with Felix and Laura in search of a nice cafe. We did some sightseeing first, visiting the GUM (goom), and the area around the Kremlin. Somehow we ended up in cute little cafe under ground that had a tea and coffee shop up above when you first walk in. The people there were really nice and even let us stay half an hour after they were closed. We gave them a good tip and hit the Metro back. On our way underground, we stopped to enjoy three violinists playing in the center of a long hallway, and man, they were pretty good. Felix got some video, which I'll have to get from him later. Once we finally got off at our stop, we ended up wandering into another little cafe for some drinks. (I had an Irish coffee.) We met a nice guy there who used to live in New York City for seven years before coming back to Moscow. He recognized our "American accents" and seemed excited to meet us. After talking for a while, they too were closing, and instead of going back to our rooms, we went to the park right around the corner. It was snowing and really a pretty night. Laura and I threw snow balls Felix, but would always miss due to his cat-like reflexes (he isn't named Felix for nothing!).

And of course, I can't forget International Women's Day! (Yeah, it says 'international' but it's really just a Russian holiday). March 8th marks the day when women get flowers and street vendors who sell them make a ton of money because the jack up the prices 2-3 times the normal amount. Despite that, the guys bought all of us girls a rose, and took us out to nice dinner downtown at a place called 'Uncle Vanya' (Dyadya Vanya). We had a bit of an adventure finding the place, but eventually we found it. Basically, it's off the main streets, and back behind some buildings, attached to a chain of other shops/restaurants.

All in all, a pretty good time this past week and a half.

The Hard Rock Cafe.

Ulitsa Arbat.

Lotsa graffitti in some areas around the Arbat street.

Go...Irish?

There were a lot of these on the street. I guess you can buy a small square, but I really don't know. It was cool though, I thought, to see all the different kinds, all the different people who've come from different places...

A statue of... Ok, I don't know, but I'm sure it's something everyone else knows about.

Gypsy guitarist!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSUlBuKVTX4

The Boarhouse. (Note that the guy on the left has a mullet)

Absinth. 180 rubles (about 7 USD) for 50ml, and it was 3 for 1 that night. NO, I DID NOT HAVE ANY! Though, certain unnamed peeps of mine did.... They reported a burning sensation down to their stomachs, slight dizziness, and one sighted late night paranoia.

Laura, David, Celina, and Alex at the Boarhouse.

Ha! Kolya! (Nick)

Sketchy Iranians (two of them not pictured).

The Russian Circus. Well, a smaller version of the Russian Circus at least. It was fun though. I managed to get a few pictures in before I was shot. I'm convinced that wasn't just a laser pointer they were shining at me.

Up next: Moving Day.

Lots of love,
Jessica

Edit to add the 9 seconds of the violinist I was talking about before:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58I3TaQwoCc

Here's some better footage someone else took of the same kind of stuff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jHT56Tg-2g