On Tuesday, we went to the Государственная Третьяковская Галерея (State Tretyakovskaya Gallery) which is one of the most highly regarded collections of Russian artwork in the world. The paintings were incredible and included dozens of artists, spanning over centuries. Many of the famous Russian paintings that may come to mind (such as Ivan and His Son) are housed in this gallery. We wandered through the building for 4 hours and still did not come close to seeing it all. Pictures were technically not allowed but many people were taking advantage of the lack of security to snap a few. I did take a couple but they don't really look that great so I wound up buying a book that showcased many of the famous works. Should be a good souvenir to bring home!
Yesterday we had the day off until class at 1 so we took the opportunity to sleep in a bit. That evening, we went to a small cafe near the dorm which was pretty good. We had thought that it would have some Russian food (considering we were in Moscow...) but it was apparently American themed so all we ordered were overpriced cheeseburgers. Definitely a disappointment. Afterwards, we went to a cigar shop on the other side of town to see what the selection was like. The cigars were significantly more expensive than in the states and most of them were the exact same manufacturers. There were, however, a number of true Cuban cigars since they are legal for purchase here, unlike in the US. We did not buy anything simply because they were so expensive but it was interesting to look.
We took the metro back to Парк Културы and went into the huge viewing area for the EuroCup match (Portugal-Spain). They had a massive screen set up and huge speakers which was pretty great. Tons of people were there and it was a great place to sit and watch. We met a few Russians who spoke a little English and we could use our small Russian knowledge to fill in the gaps. We left just after the second half started because we had a long metro ride back and it was getting close to 1AM. All in all, it was a great time and we'll be back there tonight for the Germany game!
Yesterday we had the day off until class at 1 so we took the opportunity to sleep in a bit. That evening, we went to a small cafe near the dorm which was pretty good. We had thought that it would have some Russian food (considering we were in Moscow...) but it was apparently American themed so all we ordered were overpriced cheeseburgers. Definitely a disappointment. Afterwards, we went to a cigar shop on the other side of town to see what the selection was like. The cigars were significantly more expensive than in the states and most of them were the exact same manufacturers. There were, however, a number of true Cuban cigars since they are legal for purchase here, unlike in the US. We did not buy anything simply because they were so expensive but it was interesting to look.
We took the metro back to Парк Културы and went into the huge viewing area for the EuroCup match (Portugal-Spain). They had a massive screen set up and huge speakers which was pretty great. Tons of people were there and it was a great place to sit and watch. We met a few Russians who spoke a little English and we could use our small Russian knowledge to fill in the gaps. We left just after the second half started because we had a long metro ride back and it was getting close to 1AM. All in all, it was a great time and we'll be back there tonight for the Germany game!
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