We must catch Moose and Squirrel! AKA The Trip to Russia

We flew directly from New York to Moscow, a nine and a half hour flight.  Bob was awesome and got us business class so we had sexy reclining seats.  That doesn't mean we got any sleep, but they were sexy and they did recline.  We arrived at the Moscow airport at about 10am (to be honest I'm not positive, but it was mid morning).  The airport is pretty, not amazingly so but still nice.

Our friend Dmitry was awesome and surprised us at the airport with his beautiful wife Angeli!  We were so relieved to see them, not that we couldn't get around on our own but it made things so much easier.  We took the ArrowExpress from the airport directly to Moscow station.  We were staying at the Sheraton near that stop which was perfect, and that station also had a metro stop on a couple of different lines.  

Our friend Jameson was also traveling to Russia on this trip with us, but was flying in from Poland, so we met up at the Sheraton.  Dmitry was adamant that we all stay awake in order to help adjust us to the time zone.  It was difficult to say the least as Bob and I had had a hard time sleeping on the flight.  We ended up eating at a place near by the hotel, and it was swelteringly hot.  

After lunch we took the metro to Kolomenskoye Park .  KP is a well known park to the South East of the center of Moscow.  While wandering through the park I spent a lot of time sitting on benches.  

 That night we ended up eating dinner just around the corner from the hotel at a place called Ragout.  The wait staff barely spoke English, but I'm pleased to say that my hand gestures and smile got us seated, and fairly well taken care of.

The next morning we met up with Dmitry and Angeli at Red Square so we could wander about and then go inside the Kremlin.  Red Square is gigantic, it's everything you think it will be after seeing it in the movies.  Vast and impressive.  The square is made up of St. Basil's Cathedral on one end, the History Museum on the other, with the Kremlin on one side, and the massive factory turned shopping mall GUM on the other side.  We walked all the way around the Kremlin only to discover that we'd chosen the wrong day to go….it seems the Kremlin is closed on Thursdays.  We had a soda while hanging out by the outside gardens of the Kremilin and came up with a new plan.  We would visit Old Arbat.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Old Arbat is a large pedestrian walking street to the West of the Kremlin/Moscow Center.  It's one of the oldest streets in Moscow.  It's also pretty touristy.  There are lots of shops selling the Russian nesting dolls, fur hats and other kitschy items.  You can also find various American fast food chains along Old Arbat, but with their names written in Cyrillic.  Sbarro, Wendy's, Cinnabon, but all in Russian.  (We of course got a kick out of Wendy's because it would be pronounced Vendy's.)  After walking the length of Arbat we stopped for Georgian food.  (Not like Georgia the state, but like Georgia the country.)  We've decided we like Georgian food very much, especially what we now call "Georgian Cheesy Bread." It's like naan stuffed with cottage cheese and cooked to deliciousness.  We felt like the Georgian food had a lot of Middle Eastern influences, very kebab-y, and curry-esque.  If you ever have the chance you should definitely have some Georgian food.

That evening we went out to dinner with Kirill and Jameson to celebrate Bob's and my 2nd Anniversary.  We ate at a place that touted itself as authentic Lousiana Cajun food.    It wasn't, but it was delicious.  All the steaks were priced per 100mg, and then you just picked the weight you wanted.  Weird!  But also kind of nice because it means you can order exactly the amount you'd like.  

Our happy anniversary - longest anniversary ever - we partied from our time through Russia time.   After dinner we went out on the town.  First we hit up a place that was kind of swanky/fancy called Kalina.  Half of the establishment is a restaurant and the other half is a Karaoke place, where you can rent your own rooms for parties. The final stop of the night, and by far my favorite was a club called Propaganda.  If you've ever seen "XXX" with Vin Diesel, this place will immediately make you think of the opening scene at the concert.  Loud music, huge crowd, sort of under ground, and very Eastern European.  It was awesome.  We stayed out until 3am, it was that awesome.  The best part of all is that when we left the club at 3am, it was still light out.

The next day was very exciting because Bob gave a talk at the Erlang Factory Lite Conference in Moscow at the Russian Google campus!  Yandex!  It was a nice intimate affair and we met up with some friends.  Bob's talk was of course wonderful.  The Russian word on the bottom of the sign in the picture with Bob is Yandex.  

Another exciting thing that we did that day was visit Kiril's office.  Kiril is a founder of Octpobok, a Russian travel booking site, similar to Expedia.  It's pronounced "ostrobok."

Octpobok was having an all night hack-a-thon and Bob and Jameson did a little inspirational speech for everyone.  The highlight of the evening was when I discovered the most amazing dessert bar in the freezer.  It was like cream cheese ice cream covered in a hard chocolate shell, it was delicious.  (After some more research on my part it appears it's actually cottage cheese, and they're called "Tvorozhnie Syrki." I read more about them here.) If you ever see these things, you should immediately eat one.

The next day we left for St. Petersberg….stay tuned for our crazy adventures… there's food, tonsillitis and churches… you won't want to miss it.

:)M

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York - Again!

Bob and I visited NYC again in June and had a wonderful time, per usual.  We also had an unforgettable time because we got to meet the President!  That's right, yours truly shook hands with Obama AND his awesome wife, Michelle. (That's right, I'm using her first name like we're BFFs.)  It was surreal to say the least, and something I will never ever forget. 

We only found out we were going to be hanging out with the President a couple of days before we left for New York, so of course we had to have a shopping day as soon as we arrived.  We obviously couldn't meet the President in our jeans, although I'm sure Bob wishes he could have.  We hit Lord and Taylor and for the first time in my life I used a Personal Shopper - it was awesome!  And I ended up with the best dress and sexiest shoes ever.  Needless to say, I felt super glamorous and cool.  I feel like it's important that I share that I specifically said that I didn't want a black dress.  (If I'd wanted a black dress I wouldn't have bought a new dress.)  Anyway, check us out in our sexy attire.

I even had my hair and make-up done for our dinner with the President.  We figured we might as well go all-out because this was such an awesome event.  Our friend Holly hooked us up at VMV for my make-up, and I had my hair done at Platinum, the salon at the Hotel On Rivington.  Sadly the humidity killed my awesome wavy curls that I had.  I will admit that as awesome as my shoes look I probably should have gone with something easier to walk in.  I felt like Barbie in those shoes, I was practically on point.

Other than meeting the President, which was definitely one of the most amazing things ever, we pretty much just hung out in NYC and enjoyed friends and food.  We do love our friends and food.  We stayed in the Lower East Side, where we always like to stay.  Lots of little cafes, bars and places to eat plus super close to a bunch of different subway lines.  We stayed at the Hotel On Rivington, and it was great.  Very similar to a W Hotel, but the color scheme is red and black.  The decor is spartan, but comfortable and we ended up with a great room on the 19th floor with a huge balcony and gorgeous view of the city.  (Plus a gigantic soaking tub!)  We really liked this place, if you're heading to New York and you need a place to stay I would highly recommend this place.  Everyone was friendly, and the bed was really comfy.

The amazing view from our balcony.

We had dinner at the hotel restaurant on our first night, just because we were starving when we got in and didn't have to go searching for food.  The place is called Co-op and it was pretty good.  We hadn't expected a lot, and were pleasantly surprised with how much we enjoyed the food and cocktails.  It's Asian Fusion?  I have a question mark there because to be honest I'm not positive what that term even means.  All I know is that we had sushi, and sliders with fries, a hearts of palm salad, and Peking duck steamed buns.  I know, weird combination but we liked it.  The sushi we had was good, the sliders were yummy, but what really stood out was the hearts of palm salad.  The salad had: hearts of palm, asparagus, salsify, and jalapeño dressing, it was really really good.  Co-op also had a great cocktail list, we each tried a couple and were not disappointed.

I think my favorite day in this NY excision was the day we went to Williamsburg in Brooklyn to hang out with some of Bob's old friends.  We went to the Brooklyn Flea Market.  On Sundays they sell antiques and crafty things but on Saturday, the day we went, it was a food truck/stall gathering.  I ate so much food!  We spent the entire day lounging around at a little park near the river and eating food.  

I had an Asia dog, with a strawberry rhubarb lemonade.  I split a passionfruit coco nib donut with Bob - omg delicious!  I had organic chocolate aztec ice cream.  And I got an amazing sun burn.  I stupidly didn't re-apply sunscreen.  Oh well.  Eventually we moved on to Enid's and had frozen harrisons.  I'm not positive of what exactly is in a frozen harrison but I can tell you they're delicious.  We pretty much snacked and drank our way through the day.  We ended up at Caracas Arepa Bar, and had a wonderfully delicious dinner.  It was a nice long day of fun and tom foolery. 

My favorite find of all though, was San Marzano Pizzeria.  Bob and I had visited San Marzano on our last trip to New York, but had only stopped in for a beer.  This time we ended up eating there three times!  It's great thin crust pizza with an excellent selection of toppings, including our new personal favorite - Buffalo Chicken.  And they served you beer with a frosted mug.  (I'm a sucker for a frosted mug.)  You can read more about my love for San Marzano on BiCoastalBites.

And of course no trip would be complete if we didn't eat a lobster!  We met up with Holly and Bernard at Professor Thom's for a lobster feast!  I only needed a little help cracking open the body of my lobster this time around.

Needless to say, we had an awesome time in New York and can't wait to go back again.  I'm thinking next time we need to stay longer.  

Stay tuned, Russia is coming up next!

Love and kisses,

Margaret 

 

The NYC Chronicles AKA Margaret's Birthday Celebration Continued

Bob was awesome, per usual and took me to New York for my birthday this year.  We specifically flew out to see Newsies on broadway, and it was great!  Everything I could hope for and more - go see it now!  We of course did other things, so here, in pictures is our visit to New York.

We arrive!  Driving into the city is so pretty.  (I know it's blurry, we were in a cab, give me a break.)

 We enjoy a drink with Holly and Bernardo at Shervins Cafe.  It's small but cute and the bartender was nice.

 After drinks we got lobster rolls at Luke's Lobster.  Soooo yummy!

 The next day we met up with Rich, at his office downtown.  

We ate at Hill Country BBQ and it was delicious!  How come NYC can managed do to BBQ right but SF is still working on it?

I found a couch I want at an awesome salvage/vintage store.  Bob said I couldn't have it because it's ugly. (Okay, so maybe it was ugly AND it was in NYC.)

 We enjoyed il laboratorio del gelato, they have butternut squash gelato and it is awesome!

 Then we met up with Evan for delicious sushi at Jewel Bako.

Great Jones Cafe, super yummy.  Our friend Evan suggest it.  The sweet potato fries are delish.

 

 A view from the Chelsea High Line.

Spooky experience on the NYC subway, it was totally empty! 

 We rented bikes and rode around Central Park.

 Enjoying a cool beverage at San Marzano.

 Walking across the Williamsburg bridge.

 Beautiful view of the city at sunset from the ferry.  We rode from Brooklyn to Manhattan. 

 We went to see The Black Keys at Madison Square Garden, and there was a giant advertisement with David Beckham on it.  Crazy!

 We celebrated my birthday lunch at Lombardi's.  So delicious.

 We got dressed up all pretty so we could have my birthday dinner at Ma Peche, and then see Newsies!

 We took the train to upstate New York to visit Rich and Viv's awesome home.

 Bob and Rich bonding.

 We felt like the Kennedy's at this amazing home out in the country.

 Delicious french toast from Frankie's.

 We went to the Momofuku Noodle Bar and I had the Kimchi Noodles.  They were absolutely amazing.  Really great flavor and a huge portion.

 They dip the cones in different sprinkles and other toppings at the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop.

 I was so confused! As the Clash would say, "should I stay or should I go!?"

Overall it was a great trip.  We rented an AirBnB in Lower East Side and were able to really easily walk everywhere.  We had fun with awesome friends, and most importantly, I had a great 29th birthday.

Love and kisses,

Margaret

 

 

 

 

 

A love letter to WestJet Airlines

I recently spent some time in Vancouver, Canada with the simplehoney team.  We had a lovely time, and ate lots of delish food.  (Japadog anyone?)  The weather was great while I was there, and I was able to wander about and enjoy the city.  But what I really enjoyed was my experience flying to and from Canada on WestJet.

Now, I'm not talking about security - for some reason every time I fly I discover yet another item of clothing or small inconsequential thing in my bag that results in my being pulled aside and scanned.  I'm ready for the day where I can just sign up for a program where they send me a fleece skin tight onesy that I wear through security and on the plane.  Enough of the craziness of security, let's talk about my actual flying experience….

I've flown quite a bit so far this year, and have enjoyed quite a few different airlines: Virgin America, SouthWest, Delta, and United, just to name a few. I flew WestJet for the first time on my way to Vancouver, and it was a fine experience.  The flight departed on time and the crew was friendly, but I was very impressed with my return flight.

I was scheduled to depart Vancouver on the WS 1776 flight at 9:35am this past Monday and arrived at the airport nice and early just in case security was crazy.  Thank goodness it was not, other than my new found power to pack regular items that look suspicious on the x-ray machine.  Anyway, at 9am everyone waiting to board the plane was informed that we were going to be delayed due to the fog in San Francisco.  (This is not unusual.)  What was unusual was that the actual Captain took the time to explain why the fog prevented us from departing on time and how sorry he was that we were going to be delayed.  They also continued to update everyone and stay positive about the situation letting us know how quickly the weather in San Francisco can change - which is completely true.

To pass the time WestJet encouraged the passengers to participate in a paper airplane competition.  First one of the crew members made a paper airplane, and threw it from a designated spot.  If you (the passenger) could fly your plane past the crew member's plane you received $50 in dining credit.  (I'm unsure how the dining credit was provided, was it just on WestJet flights, or some other kind of gift card?  As I said, I'm unsure.)  

At first I didn't really care about the paper plane competition because I was grumpy and irritable as I had gotten up earlier than I would normally.  But then, as I saw all these people around me working on their planes, folding them and then refolding them I started to pay attention.  There were a lot of people putting some serious thought and detail into their planes and how they would fly.  I did not participate but I did enjoy the show, which lifted my mood quite a bit.  

The winner, Dave, won the $50 dining credit and got to board the plane first as a nice little bonus.  He told me he had watched the crew member craft their plane and then modeled his after it.  Smart cookie that Dave.  

After the plane had been boarded and we were waiting in line to approach the run way, I looked out my window and saw a gentleman, standing out in the pouring rain on the runway holding a sign that said, "Have Fun In the Sun."  And he was waving at the plane!  I of course waved back.  I feel sorry that he had to stand out in the rain, but it brought a smile to my face and I was very happy to be flying home.  The morning delay was all but forgotten.  Captain Russel, and Kirsten the head flight attendant along with the rest of the crew were smiley and friendly during the whole 2 hour flight, and made sure everyone was well taken care of.  

After landing in San Francisco we enjoyed some jokes from one of the flight attendants: "Why did the scarecrow win a medal?" "Because he was outstanding in his field." (Yes, nerdy, silly, but none-the-less entertaining.)  

Overall flying with WestJet was a really great experience and should I be traveling to Canada again I wouldn't hesitate to fly with them again.  

Let's Do a Quick Wrap Up of My Life (In Pictures!)

Imagine the date and then imagine that this post isn't months late!

January 15: My Christmas Present!  Bob bought me an electronic piano for Christmas! It's awesome and I love it and play it all the time.  It sounds and feels like a real piano, I know, I picked it out myself.  (The piano does not sit in the middle of the living room, it has since moved to the bay window, and it looks great.  I can people watch and play the piano at the same time.)

 January (Middle) - I start part-time at my new gig that I've lined up for after I have finished at Mochi.  You may have heard of a little company called simplehoney.  We're pretty awesome: (guess which one is me!)

 February 1st - My peacock hair had faded back to platinum and it was time for a new color:

BAM! Foxy turquoise! Thank you Anthony at GingerRubio!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 February - President's Weekend! My friends Holly and Mary come to visit and we: eat, visit Alcatraz, eat, go wine tasting, eat, and then eat some more.  Because that's what we do!

Holly and Mary at Ram's Gate Winery.  And Shad and Maggie! (Also at Ram's Gate)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Holly was not excited about Sidewalk Juice in San Francisco.  Her face pretty much describes how it tasted.  (Honestly, who orders a green drink!?)

 February 25th - While working on Flash Gaming Summit stuff for Mochi I tried to cut off my finger.  (Okay, I didn't try, but I did slice it really good, I'm talking gushing.)  It looked like the Joker from Batman. It's heeled up real nice, but it hurt for a very long time.

March 4th - My last day at Mochi.  I worked from 7am until 6pm at Flash Gaming Summit.  It was a long day.  I did get to meet some awesome dudes, Antonio and Ben of Playtomic.  Bob and I took them to dinner, and Antonio is coming back to play some time this summer.  I don't have any pictures from my last day.  Suzanne and John (from Mochi) were really awesome and blew up a whole bunch of balloons and tied them to my chair at work.  Thank you Zan and John!

Later in March - I started to learn how to use Instagram for work.  Apologies to everyone who got multiple pictures of the same thing twice, I was in learning mode.  I have since mastered Instagram.As you can tell, I enjoy the antique setting.  There's Ramsey looking forlornly at me, and to the right is San Francisco as seen from the simple honey office.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 9th - Melinda comes to visit!  Hoorays, Lou is here and we're going to eat and shop!  

We ate at Tartine, first time I'd had lunch there.  The sammichs are huge!  I swear we each only ate 1/3 of our food, we had to take the rest home.

 Melinda picked out an awesome dress at Sway, in Noe Valley. (I know, I'm using Instagram again.)

We drank our faces off all over San Francisco with Bob and my friend Rachel.  (We needed a Rachel as our sister was not there to complete us.)  There was a photo booth to help document the night.  Yes, that is a picture of pictures.  i don't care, I like it.

 

Bob and I took Melinda on her first wine tasting adventure.  We stopped for a nice tourist shot with the Golden Gate Bridge.  Yes, I know you can't see us very well.  I still like the picture. 

 

We took Melinda to Beni-hana in Japan Town.  (She's big in Japan.)

We ended Melinda's trip to San Francisco with a visit to Delfina Pizzeria, because well, it's delicious.

 

And now, you're all caught up with what I've been doing!  I am making time to make sure that going forward this blog will be more up to date.  (If you'd like to catch up on the rest of March, check out Naked in LA for My Birthday)

Love and kisses,

Margaret