Buenos Aires: A Smorgasbord of Whimsical Delights

Every day in Buenos Aires has been completely different than the last!  Below are some of the little things that I loved about this city.

Whimsical Delight #1: Tango Tango

This vibrant city pulsates with the sensual beats of tango and the feeling permeates through the cobblestones right through your swaying body.   There are tango performances on the street, at restaurants, and of course all of the tourist geared tango shows in the evening at various venues across the city.  We went to a show at Tango Porteno in the city center, and it was fantastic!  Many companies will try to sell you on transport + show + dinner but I would avoid those package deals and try to do a show only.  We got a show with no dinner/transport which gave us more flexibility to try out an amazing restaurant and then make our way to the 10:00PM show.   The show we watched had beautiful sets, fabulous dancers, and great music.  All in all it was a great experience that was absolutely scintillating to the senses!  A definite must do in BA if you like theatre and dance.

Whimsical Delight #2: Artsy La Boca

La Boca is a eclectic barrio in BA where the buildings are as colorful as a package of skittles and locals display funky art along the street.  Other than the tourist beat, this area is pretty sketch so best not to wander off the beaten path. They say that you are fine as long as you stick to the few colorful blocks that include the Caminito and brick walls peppered with graffiti art.  I loved the vibrancy of this place, especially the pop up hippie fair that was there the day we went. 

Unfortunately Imran came down with a severe case of CSW while we were in La Boca so we weren't able to stay for lunch.  The symptoms started when he saw the random bursts of color and art, combined with the rough around the edges feel of the place.  We left in search of the only thing that could cure him and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the sun at our packed hotel rooftop pool. 

(NB:  CSW =  Caesar Salad Withdrawal)

Whimsical Delight #3: Antiques Fair in San Telmo

Every Sunday, people flock to the cobblestone streets of San Telmo's Plaza Dorrego to find hidden vintage treasures they can call their own.  San Telmo is a barrio with aging mansions, bustling cafes, romantic tango music in the streets, and of course, a good dose of old world charm.  Perfect place to have an antiques fair!  Now how can I explain this beautiful experience?  Anything you could possibly imagine was at this market, including delicate china teacups, antique coins, beautiful crystal, pocket watches, silver candelabras, vintage dresses, random keys, old school glasses frames that would be oh so hipster right now, and jewelry just oozing with history and character! I found myself a very vintage pocket watch on a necklace thingamabob (not sure what else to call this thing!) that I just adore!  The watch looks almost as old as the man who sold it to me.  The old man was my ally in helping me convince Imran that purchasing this thingamabob was a good idea.  When he sensed Imran's hesitation, he proceeded to try to explain all the merits of why the watch was a practical choice, all in Spanish no less.  From what I gathered, he said that the thingamabob is a good choice because it tells real time, you don't need to buy another watch to wear because it is a necklace and a watch all in one, if you are travelling you can change the time at your leisure, you don't have to lift your wrist to your face to look at the time you can just look down at the watch around your neck, and that it needs only winding and no batteries so it will last forever.  Whatever he said, it seemed to work and I left the antiques market extremely happy with a thingamabob  around my neck that I truly believe is steeped in rich Argentinean history! ;)

Now this next bit doesn't really fit in but this wouldn't be my blog if I did not comment on fashion.  I was really surprised that I didn't see any Argentinean fashion trends worth noting.  Patterned leggings are in (but www.lookbook.nu could have told you that).  The only other thing that I noticed was that palazzo pants are back.  Yes, flowerly, patterned pallazzo pants, circa 1993.  So dig deep in those closets ladies! Fashion always comes full circle!

Tonight we leave for Lima where we rest overnight and then head to Cuzco tomorrow afternoon.  Llamas, Alpacas and Machu Picchu here we come!  

Porteno Gastranoma

Peruvian Japanese Fusion Tiraditos 

Of all of the cities in all the countries in all the world, Buenos Aires has by far the best food I have ever tasted.  This place is a foodie's fantasy!  Yesterday we wanted to eat something other than the scrumptious steaks offered all over the city, so we made our way to an amazing restaurant called Osaka.  Osaka is Peruvian/Thai/Japanese fusion and it has the most interesting menu and most amazing seafood that I have ever tasted!  We ordered the Lemon Grass Tiradito (White fish, aji amarillo and lemon grass aroma), Carpassion Tiradito (Passion fruit honey and lemon. Served with watercress), and Tai Ebi (Prawns in watercress and red curry sauce served with tempura and fresh watercress) to name a few of the dishes.  This place would do so well in NYC or TO -- currently their only locations are in Lima, Santiago, Sao Paulo and Mexico.  If you are visiting BA, make the trek to Osaka!  Their first dinner sitting is at 8:00 PM, and they have locations in Puerto Madero (not on the main docklands) and in Palermo (a bit away from the main square). 

Some other places that we tried here that I would highly recommend are:

• La Cabrera (Palermo): Huge portions, amazing food, and your meal comes with a selection of random yumminess like sundried tomatoes and other antipasto like offerings.  After you are done your meal, they bring a lollipop stand to your table!  This place gets really full so expect a bit of a wait, but there is a lot around there to see and do as you wait for your table!  We hopped to the nearby Plaza and listened to some live music while people watching.
• Cabana Las Islas (Puerto Madero): Wooden rustic decor, great patio with misters to beat the heat, and amazing service. The food was fantastic.  They charge a 39 peso cover charge but that includes a variety of offerings that can best be described as Argentinian Antipasto.  For example: olives & eggplant tapenade, cheeses, a piece of sesame seed salmon, selection of yummy artisan breads, grilled tomatoes with boccacini, and  roasted red peppers.
• Happening (Puerto Madero): Amazing steak and seafood with romantic ambiance.  Inside the restaurant is an antipasto type buffet where you can get a plate and load it up with different cheeses, meats, olives, avacado and tomato, and anything else your heart desires.  

Don't Cry for Me Argentina!

Famous words by passionate Evita Peron, whose tomb we stumbled upon while exploring sarcophagi at La Recoleta Cemetery in the upper crust Recoleta Barrio in Buenos Aires.  This was an experience not to be missed - Recoleta Cemetary is a final resting place for Argentina's elite, and can best be described as a maze of beautiful marble mausoleums in a variety of architectural styles (Baroque, Art Deco, Gothic).  It was an eerie feeling reminiscent of watching Double Jeopardy, but it was so morbidly fascinating to walk around and peek in through the various tombs and soak in the history.

We stopped in the Museo Nacional de las Bellas Artes which hosts a collection of art from around the world, including Argentinian art and impressionist art (my favorite).  After wandering through the cemetery, we made our way to Av. Alvear which has a number of high end stores.  We walked all the way to Av. Florida, which is the main pedestrian shopping area.  It was just packed with tourists and bustling with the Christmas rush. When you are here, stop in Galleria Pacifico - a very nice mall with great stores. Estee Lauder has clearly penetrated here as I saw a La Mer store, a Bobbi Brown store, and a MAC store!  As we were walking, we spotted a random tango performance in the street - these performances pop up sporadically everywhere! 

Buenos Aires has much more of a European flair than Rio, and seems to have a higher degree of penetration by large commercial chains.  As we were walking around the city, it was hard not to notice similarities between 5th Ave in New York and the streets of Buenos Aires. The biggest difference that we notice here versus Rio is the number of young people!  There are young people everywhere, all the time!  

Another BA idiosyncrasy is that things get started quite late.  It is not uncommon for people to have dinner at 11:00...in fact, thats the time we have been eating dinners every night here! Last night we ventured to Palermo which is a hip area with funky shops and great night life.  We stopped off in a random cafe iin Plaza Cortazar with live music and then went to an amazing restaurant call La Cabrera - would highly recommend it.  Amazing food! We finished dinner at 2:00 AM and woke up this morning still full!  We were trying to go to a place by our hotel in Puerto Madero called Asia da Cuba which is supposed to be a super fun place (but doesn't get started until 2:00 AM) but we were just tooo tired!  Who knows, maybe tonight!  Today we are venturing to a few different barrios - San Telmo and La Boca.  Can't wait!  Lots of love from Boo en Os - Eye Reez!

Our first day of Adventure (?) in Buenos Aires

These Toms were made for walking
And thats just what they'll do
Cuz one of these days these Toms are going to
Walk from the airport all the way to our hotel.

No...I am absolutely serious.  So let me tell you about our wonderful day yesterday...

Woke up at 7:30 AM (wayyy too early) to get to the airport for our flight to BA.  After hours if inefficiency (inefficiency = = arch nemesis), we realize that our flight is cancelled.  We are rebooked on a flight for 3:30.  There are no announcements anywhere in the terminal.  The flight doesnt leave until 5ish.  We get into BA and all of the taxi stands have hours of delays...we are not quite sure why.  So we venture out and get another random taxi and start making our way to the hotel which is in Puerto Madero.  We learn pretty quickly that we are not getting very far as traffic is NOT MOVING!! I'm talking trucks upon trucks stopped on the road, people wandering out and about around the cars, no one has any idea why there is so much chaos.  We try to understand what our taxi driver is saying but he doesn't speak or understand a speck of English.  We lounge in the cab for about an hour (we had moved about 3 km by that point) and then Imran gets out of the car and uses his go go gadget long legs to run into the distance to figure out where the traffic backup is.  All he sees are trucks and cars stopped everywhere with NO DRIVERS (they all abandoned ship!!) and he comes back to the cab to let me know there is no hope.  So we decide to get out, with our four suitcases, and WALK!!  We were hoping that we could get past the traffic and find another cab, but no luck.  So we literally walked in the heat, for 90 minutes (Soph/Sahra: that's an hour and a half!), while getting eaten alive by bugs until we saw the shining beacon that was our hotel!  Along the way, we saw sooo many people doing the same thing, just tons of people everywhere dragging luggage over the unforgiving cobblestone. 

We met a few locals who spoke English and asked what the problem was and if this was normal.  These were the responses:

- Everyone got an extra paycheck today so they are all doing Christmas shopping
- Everyone is crazy
- This is sometimes normal
- We have no idea why it's so bad this is not normal
- There are protests because today is an important political day

We still have no idea what happened (Morning update: militant protest caused mass chaos, read more here) but we walked into our hotel completely bedraggled, dragging in our luggage. Good times!  We got to our hotel around 11:00PM and ventured out for a wonderful meal in Peurto Madero at a place called "Happening".  And it was quite happening!!  The Argentinian steak lives up to its reputation, and almost, ALMOST rivals good 'ol Alberta beef. We had the most amazing seafood platter with octopus, fish, prawns and grilled veggies and a fabulous antipasto assortment.

All in all, we got to soak in a bit of BA as we trudged over the city and we are excited to explore today without the added weight of luggage!!!

The adventures continue...

Living life like a Carioca




View of Rio de Janiero from Sugar Loaf

If Rio were a drink, it would be 1 part South Beach, 2 parts Madrid and zest of tropical lime, caipirinha style. This town has amazing culture, beautiful landscapes, and colorful graffiti artwork everywhere you turn. We got into this stunning town on Monday afternoon, and spent the day exploring Ipanema beach and the shops near Ipanema on R. Visc. De Piraja. After a Rio style siesta, we spent the evening at our hotel restaurant overlooking beautiful Copacabana and sipping caipirinhas.

The next day, we took the two stage cable car up to Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pao de Acucar), which is 394 m high and showcases stunning views of the sand and sea over the Guanara Bay. From there we soaked in the stunning green vistas with Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) overlooking the beautiful city. Then we made our way to Corcovado to view Cristo Redentor up close. The Corcovado towers 710 m above the city, and it offers a 360 degree panorama of Rio. Standing under Christ the Redeemer was an unforgettable experience – he seems to not just overlook the city, but protect it as well. There was a rainbow behind him in the clouds, which added to the breathtaking beauty of the experience. We ventured into the Tijuca Forest and had a yummy plate of overpriced batata fritters in a little cafe. After our site seeing, we spent some time reading at the beach and then went for a late dinner at a local restaurant called Normangue, known for their yummy seafood.



Sugar Loaf



Cristo Redentor



View from Corcovado

The weather has been absolutely beautiful since we’ve been here – about 32 degrees every day. We woke up today to beautiful sunlight, and took a walk through Ipanema for a little bit of shopping and a very Americano dose of Starbucks (and air con). We spent the day soaking in the rays on Copacabana. We highly recommend our hotel as it is right on Copacabana and a stone’s throw away from Ipanema, so you have the best of both worlds. We walked the 4.5 km stretch of Copacabana and took in all the sights and sounds of wonderful Brazil. The beach has miles and miles of beautiful white sparkly sand, and you see tanned, lithe, buff bodies playing soccer everywhere you turn. I’ve never seen so many girls with curly hair, which goes nicely with the curly black and white tendril pattern of the pebblework along the Copacabana boardwalk.






Copacabana



Copacabana boardwalk with squiggly squiggles

 But the proverbial cherry on top of our Rio experience? Rio Scenarium in Lapa! Lapa is an area of Rio that is the birthplace of Carioca bohemia, and it has intense night life almost every day of the week. This was one of the most amazing experiences of my life!! This place is like what my dreams are made of (and Imran’s nightmares I think...). It can be best described as an eclectic mix of kitschy crazyness all with a backdrop of live Portuguese music. I’m talking walls of clocks that all tell the wrong time, cases full of random china and antique cups that don’t match, random spiraling staircases that lead nowhere, ceilings full of dazzelingly mismatched chandeliers, cases full of dolls and aged trophies, vintage mirrors and artwork on every surface, clusters of colorful umbrellas, and old school bikes hanging from the ceiling for no reason what so ever. It was like I fell down the rabbit hole and ended up in my own little wonderland. The music was intoxicating and the food was amazing – we were probably the only non-locals in there which is what I loved best. The dessert not to be missed is the Chocolate Passion fruit Pie with nuts...and the carpaccio has been amazing all over Rio. The Portuguese jazz was incredible, and as the night progressed the music got crazier and crazier until you couldn’t help but dance your heart out. We even met some locals that invited us back next year to stay with them during Carnival. Who knows where life will lead us, but hopefully one day we can come back and experience it!


Rio is a city that leaves me wanting more...but I guess that’s a good way to leave a city. Tomorrow we head to Buenos Aires! Ciao ciao!



Random street in Lapa - Home of Rio Scenarium

Wall of random clocks



Perfect Positano

After a 600 km drive, we finally reached the winding roads of the Amalfi Coast.  This was an absolutely breathtaking drive, full of twists and turns and roads that hang precariously on cliffs edge.  Would highly reccommend driving standard! We finally got to Positano and made our way up the twisting one way main road Vialle Pasitea to our hotel.  Positano is absolutely beautiful, and feels like the elegant, older, more refined sister of Cinque Terre.  Lots of colorful houses, pretty purple flowers everywhere you turn, and little restaurants and patios scattered along the winding roads.  Positano is known for its gingantic, fragrant lemons (and lemoncello!) and the scent is intoxicating.  You feel out of place here if you don't have gauzy white linen dresses, pants, and fabulously large hats!  We met a family that returns year after year and they gave us a little tip about the beach: if you go past the main public beach (red umbrellas), you will find little private section with blue umbrellas.  You have to pay for this section, but it is well worth it for the privacy! You can decend down the cliff to practically your own little private cove with glimmering sapphire water and the most amazing view.  We spent days in Positano just sipping persecco and eating caprese in our little perfect posi cliffside heaven. 

We decided to take a day trip to Amalfi town one of the days...we were there for an hour before we turned right back and assumed our regular spot in Positano! Not that Amalfi wasn't pretty...it just wasn't Posi! ;)  I have heard, though, that if you can pull yourself away, Ravello is a short trip from Amalfi and is breathtaking.

We also took a wonderful day trip to Capri through Lucibello boat tours.  On the way to Capri, we stopped in a few different grottos.  We wanted to visit the infamous Blue Grotto, but unfortunately the water was too choppy so they would not allow any tourists to enter the grotto.  Capri town wasn't very impressive - lots of tourists, lots of high end shops, and not much else.  Our main reason for going to Capri was to do the chair lift (Seggiovia) in Ana Capri.  We took a bus from Capri town to Ana Capri and took a rickety chair lift to the highest point. What an amazing view of the Amalfi Coast!

Well, the end of our road trip honeymoon is near.  Positano has probably been our favorite place so far, maybe in all of Italy.  Definitely somewhere I can see myself returning one day!  Final leg of our journey starts tomorrow - we are heading to Roma and then back home to Canada! Ciao guidos and guidettes!

Driving in Italia

Note to self: do not speed while driving in Italy!  Driving is awesome - the signage is clear, the toll highways feel like you are driving on 407, and the Ristops boast amazing expresso bars and gelato...but if the Polizia don't get you for speeding, the traffic cameras will!! 

Sunflower Fields Forever

Driving through Tuscany has been such an amazing experience...I wouldn't want to see it any other way!

We started off in Firenze, which was exactly the way I remembered it - terracotta roofs and dusty dry heat. I love that city. Our hotel was steps from the Duomo, and we felt like we were in a Jason Bourne movie trying to drive through the crazy Firenze streets. One evening, we walked to Piazza Michelangelo to catch the sunset. We were pleasantly surprised to find that a street busker had set up shop at the base of the piazza, singing folksy Damien Rice type songs (only my FAVORITE artist!). Piazza Michelangelo also has the best gelato place in all of Italy in my opinion - theres a little shop just to the left of the Piazza that everyone visiting Florence must try!


Another place of gastronomical euphoria - La Giostra.  We were guided to this place by some friends, and it was likely the best restaurant I have been to in all of Italy, with the most amazing service.  It has a Sotto Sotto feel, with pictures of celebrities from all over the world posing with the owner, who looks like he escaped off of a ship from Pirates of the Carribean.  Even Sharukh Khan has dined there! If you do go to this place, make reservations at least 3 days in advance as they having limited seatings. We spent the rest of our time in Firenze eating at a little restaurant called Donninis in Piazza della Repubblica - great staff and great wine!

Our next stop in Tuscany was driving through the province of Sienna to see the city of Sienna and San Gimignano.  Sienna is known for the Palio, which is a horse race that is held twice a year.  We weren't there during the race, but still enjoyed the town.  No cars are allowed in the main portion of Sienna, so we parked somewhere randomly and set off on foot in that little maze of a town.  Thankfully we entered our car's location into GPS which helped us find our car once we were ready to leave Sienna!   

The real gem of Tuscany though was San Gimignano.  We climbed up to the top of the main tower to take in the views of the rolling chianti hills...it was incredible.   The province of Sienna looks literally how it sounds; a palette of burnt sienna combined with lush green rolling hills with a rich undertone of sangiovese grapes...well at least thats what I picture in my mind's eye.  ;)

Everywhere you go in Italy you are inundated with the yumminess of gelato stores in every nook and cranny. So naturally, I have to try the gelato in every single town that I stop in! I learned a pretty neat little trick to finding the best gelato shop from one of my guide books! So here it is: take a look at the pistachio flavour. If it is a bright green, its probably not a very good gelato place. It should be a murky dusky light green... a pistachio green if you will ;) Hope that helps my fellow gelato lovers!

The best part about road tripping around Italy is the random things we see along the way.  Driving back to Firenze, we passed an amazing field of sunflowers! I thought this stuff only existed in my dreams - sunflowers are my favorite flower! We pulled over at a nearby gas station and trekked through the field - what a precious moment that will be engrained in my memories forever!  Starting the 600 km journey to the Amalfi Coast tomorrow - Ciao Tuscany!

Exploring Valpolicella

There are two major wine areas in the Verona region - Valpolicella for red and Soave for white. We were sooo excited to do the Valpolicella wine tour!  We used a company called Verona Around which was fantastic. I would highly recommend booking a tour in advance as sometimes they can get booked up quite quickly.  It was quite quick to get to the wine region around Verona as there are dozens of wineries in the region. Valpolicella actually means "Valley of many Cellers".  The drive was absolutely beautiful with winding roads and picturesque views of villas nestled in lush green hills.  We were able to visit a few wineries, and taste different types of wine from the area like Ripasso and Amarone.  We also had a chance to taste different types of olive oil and vinegar which was divine! Originally we wanted to visit a Masi winery, but then we found out that Masi acutally just buys wine from the smaller family owned wineries and then sells them under the Masi brand so we decided to skip it.  If we had more time I would have loved to do a Soave tour as well - maybe next time!    Off to Tuscany tomorrow!



Romeo e Giulietta's Italia

This morning we drove from Venice to Verona - our second stop on our little Italian roadtrip.  This is the city that Shakespeare set his scene between the star crossed lovers Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet.  Casa di Giulietta (Juliet's house) was built in the 14th century, and it is one of the places that we visited today in Verona.  It was once the home of the Cappello family (legend has it that it inspired the Capulet family in the play), and romantics flock from all places to tour this house and leave their letters of love behind.  The fabled balcony over looks a courtyard with a golden statue of Juliet. The grafitti covered courtyard has thousands of colorful hearts drawn with names of lovers that hope to have better luck than the age old tale of Romeo and Juliet.  Of course we had to leave our mark!

We also visited the Roman Arena - this is a pink marble Roman amphitheatre that was built in the 1st century AD and is currently Verona's legendary open air opera house.  Unfortunately we couldn't catch a show as it is a Sunday, but it would have been neat to sit in the restored section of the Roman Arena to witness the grandness and authenticity of it all. 

There are two main wine regions here - the Valpolicella region (Red) and the Soave region (White).  We have arranged a tour through the Valpolicella region tomorrow - pretty excited!

Bonjourno Venezia

First stop on our Italian Roadtrip was Venice.  We stayed at the Hilton Molino Stucky which was a beautiful choice that I would highly recommend   It had an amazing rooftop pool that was perfect at sunset.  Definitely better than travelling as a backpacker!  We did the typical gondola ride (how cliche) but couldn't leave Venezia without it! Loved all the masks in the windows and wish we could have caught a show.

They say this place is enchanting...I didn't see it the first time around, but I felt a dusting of it this time.  The trick is to skip Venice in the day and explore it at night.  Get lost in the canals, and let the city lead you.  Maybe it was the fact that we discovered a little jazz bar with an amazing singer crooning Amy Winehouse.  Maybe it was buying an umbrella from a stranger to shelter us from the light rain.  Or maybe it was the fact that I was back with the love of my life.  For one reason or another, I now realize why they say Venice is amore!

A Vagabond's Inspiration

42 countries and a cast of thousands...one of my favorite videos: Where the hell is Matt?

Learnings from LEADER

[Siberia in the Winter - picture taken by my student, Sofia]

I have been home for a couple of weeks now and still can't stop thinking about Siberia. The places, the faces, the feeling - it was such an incredible, life changing experience.

I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive before I left…for the first time I was going to a place where no one I knew had ever been. Just the sound of "Siberia" invoked the charm of a forgotten land full of desolate, endless snow and stories of romantic exile. How surprised I was to see a place not so different from home. Probably because, as I researched later, Calgary and Irkutsk are around the same latitude (Calgary 51°N & Irkutsk 52°N). Curiouser and curiouser…

So what did I learn from this amazing experience? Not sure if I can clearly articulate the bulk of it, but I'll give it a go...

I learned that Siberia is massive and that it's full of universities and research institutions. I learned of the vast opportunity that exists for business leaders in Siberian cities, and that 70-80% of Russia's natural resources are in Siberia. I learned about the extreme differences in climate and topography - to the north, there are large areas of tundra. To the south, there is taiga, or areas of dense forest. To the East and South, the Sayan and Altai mountains dominate. I learned that Lake Baikal, the pearl of Siberia, is the most voluminous fresh water lake in the world. Most of you know that I love the wonder of geology, and the crescent shaped shores of the pristine lake are filled with lapis lazuli, lazurite, charoite, jade, quartz, and much, much more.

However, these facts mean nothing unless I try to describe the real feeling of the place. I constantly think about the people - the students were so bright, hardworking, and determined to succeed - despite institutional barriers. I admire the deep eclectic purple of the Charoite stone (a gem "endemic" to the Baikal area) that I brought home with me, and I liken it to the mystery of the Buriyat people. I remember the legend of the Shaman rock, and I can almost taste the calm, peaceful, Buddhist air of the Baikal area. I wear my traditional Russian rose Pavlo Posadskyi scarf, and I am reminded of a confidant, great conversation, and hopefully a life long friend.
 
But most of all, I learned that no matter how far you are from home, you just have to look inside yourself to realize home was always there in the first place...

Moscow: The other side of Russia

First impression of Moscow? Absolutely beautiful!  It feels very different from Irkutsk though...being here makes me realize how small Irkutsk really was.  Moscow seems a lot more European...probably because it is in Eastern Europe while Irkutsk is in Asia!! 

We got in at around 8:15am yesterday and made our way to Godzillas Hostel.  From what I've seen, this hostel is an excellent choice for the price we are paying.  We have free wi-fi all over the building, free international calls to North America, and very helpful staff.   The facilities are clean, and it is about a 15 minute walk to Red Square. I would definitely recommend it! After our (failed) attempt to check in early, we dropped off our bags and walked to see Red Square, and then took a stroll along Tverskaya Street. Our mission was to find the first McDonalds that opened up in Russia after the fall of communism (also known as the world's busiest McDonalds)...and let me tell you, a happy meal never tasted so good!  The weather is incredible here, and it was nice all evening. We met up with more LEADERites from different sites - Togliatti, Nizhny-Tagil, and Yekaterinburg. In total there are 10 of us, and it has been fun to exchange stories about our respective locations. Talking to others really makes me realize the diversity that exists among the LEADER sites and participants. Some LEADERites taught the case method of learning to entrepreneurs and managers (i.e. in Macedonia, where LEADER has a relationship with the local Chamber of Commerce) and other sites taught students with extremely limited business knowledge and infrastructure (i.e. Moldova).   

We spent today exploring the rest of Moscow.  We went to see Lenin's Mausoleum (which was a little bit eerie as I have never seen an embalmed body on public display!) and also visited the Kremlin.  The G.U.M. Mall is the most beautiful mall ever - couldn't resist, and you shouldn't either.  Then, we took an amazing walk along the river where we found a random statue park and decided to stop in for some bevvies.  Somehow, we ended up in a very "American" diner because we took the advice of an American expat we met while we were stuck under an umbrella in torrential downpour.  He told us it was the "best place to eat in Moscow"...little did we know that its probably only because it reminded him of home...but alas I didn't feel so bad as my experience in Irkutsk was authentically Russian enough.  ;)

Definitely sad to be leaving Moscow so soon and will have to return one day to see St. Petersburg. Who knows, maybe I'll run into Maxim and Dasha again one day...

[cathedral in the Kremlin area]

 [I think St. Basil's Cathedral is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen...it looks like it should belong in Willy Wonka's world!]

[my babuska hat]