so much to do, so little time
The business of renting a car in Moscow is not for the faint at heart. Last night, we tried so many different places, even Charlotte without much Russian found a few numbers to call. It seemed like car rental offices in Moscow did not have …
When someone asks me about my roots, it feels odd to say I am from Russia. I am Russian but from the Soviet Union. To me, Russia before the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union, and Russia after the Soviet Union are three completely different countries. …
“If you want to see a city like a local and understand it, visit a market, a train station, and a cemetery.” …
“In Moscow, you’d sit in an enormous parlor of a restaurant where you don’t know anybody and nobody knows you and you don’t feel that you’re a stranger. And here, you know everybody and everybody knows you, and you’re a stranger, a stranger… and a …
Our firm plan was to fly a red-eye. Direct. JFK to Moscow. Nine hours and some. We did get a few sympathetic words from friends about night flight hardships. The plane was scheduled to take off after midnight NY time and land in Sheremetyevo early evening. The …
— Did you tell her she can eat!?!? It was a little after 8 AM on a sunny April Sunday of 2009. I was upstairs in the bathroom getting ready. Downstairs, Tom caught our nine-year-old Lizzie sneaking cereal in the pantry. No, I didn’t tell …
Tom and I are adjusting to our newly acquired freedom. It feels like when you get used to carrying a bag on your shoulder and suddenly there’s no need for a bag — something’s missing, forgotten, lost. Such became our Sundays. Still on my autopilot, …
The original plan for the weekend was Jersey Shore but the weather was not cooperating. Over Central Jersey, the radar loop was showing solid green band with occasional yellow-red spots. Since the skies up north looked better, we decided to cross another trip off our …
It is said that the residents of City Island refer to the visitors as “mussel suckers” while calling themselves “clam diggers,” maybe going back to the days when clam digging was in abundance. Clam digging stopped but the name remained. Until 1896, City Island was …
Most people from my neck of the woods prefer driving to the city. I love the bus. What’s not to love: it stops a block away from my house and in 45 minutes it brings me to Times Square. And so much can be accomplished …