AWO Party at the Spaso House

Each year after our annual craft fair, which I think really should be called an art fair - it's more artisans and such selling their goods, the AWO (American Women's Org.) has a party at the Spaso House, the residence of the US ambassador. We thank our contributors and have a reason to get dressed up and have some wine! As I was on the Craft Fair committee this year, as treasurer of course, I even got recognized during the speeches. Who knew I'd be famous in Russia?

We had a great time this year and followed it up with dinner with a group of our friends.

Me, Meghna, Amber, & Carrie
(Meghna & Carrie's husbands work with Cameron as well)

Hook 'em Horns!

Dinner at El Gaucho

Thanksgiving in Moscow

Last year I got no Thanksgivings, so it only makes sense that this year I should have two! As we are in Russia, where they don’t celebrate the American holiday of Thanksgiving, Thursday was a work day. A work day which happened to be my last day in the office. Unfortunately Cameron was in Budapest this year for a conference, so I was on my own. One of the groups that I lead over here is called Moscow Meals, just a group of girls and their significant others (or not) who eat out on the 4th Thursday of each month. So, I planned November’s dinner to be a Thanksgiving dinner at Starlite Diner (think Denny’s but much more expensive!). They had a Thanksgiving menu which included Turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie! My group dwindled down to 5 of us the evening of the event, and was very international – including a Northern Irish, Canadian, Mexican, and only 2 Americans! Even though they ended up running out of pie and didn’t bring our turkey for an hour after our soup, we had a fabulous time.

Thanksgiving at Starlite Diner
Me, Cara, Paola, Erika, & Ashleigh

Then on Saturday, we celebrated Thanksgiving again over at my friend Lindsey’s place. It was an afternoon full of familiar favorites, including Mary Ellen’s sweet potatoes and a homemade apple pie! Lindsey and I spent Friday night making the pie – I did the easy part of peeling the apples and let her do the hard part of the made from scratch crust and lattice work! We rounded out the evening with a few Bailey’s after the Guitar Hero sessions.

Thanksgiving Pie at Lindsey's

Lindsey & I

Lindsey, Amber, and I

Update in Moscow

An update to all our friends and family I haven't been able to speak with - I quit my job a few weeks ago! Well, technically, I'm going on leave of absence, but I will be able to be a "Lady of Leisure" these next 20 or so months we have left in Russia!

I am very excited about my new move - and have already taken on new responsibilities within the women's organizations. The girls tease me and say that I can't say "no" to anything. Which still rings true in non-work activities as it did in my working life!

Some of the fun things I have been able to do lately are a backstage tour of the Bolshoi theater, serving on the committee of the AWO 15th annual craft fair where we raised about $40,000 USD for our charity, a pediatric oncology hospital, and hosting International Cooking at my house last minute!

I'm looking forward to getting involved in many more activities, including a group called Understanding Russia - which is basically a Russian history and culture class, a Bible study, and maybe even knitting!

I have also come to realize that the life of an expat means saying goodbye very quickly to new friends! As I've had more time now, I'm getting to know so many wonderful people, and it's truly sad to see them go. But that being said, there are new people showing up all the time, and I love forming new friendships!

Cameron comes home from his trip to the states tomorrow, and I cannot wait to see him! Then we'll be home again in less than a month now. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone stateside!

Hook 'em Horns!

Last week I went home to Dallas for the weekend before I headed to Atlanta for training. As luck would have it, UT had a home game that weekend, so almost my whole family (minus Mom who enjoyed the day to herself!), drove down to Austin for the UT vs. Missouri game. We started off the day tailgating with the Tri-City Tailgaters (thanks Hickey's) and then rounded it out with a win over Missouri - maintaining our #1 spot in the polls! Hook 'em Horns!

Luckily the game was at 7pm CST for me, as we got to enjoy the day in Austin, however, that meant that Cameron had to power through the evening until 4am for kick-off here in Moscow!

It was a very short visit home, but I was so glad to catch up with friends and family. We will be home again for Christmas and looking forward to seeing all of you!

Switzerland (and a little bit of France)

Gimmelwald - small town up the mountain from Interlaken

Enjoying our wine, cheese, and bread lunch on our hike (walk)

One of the many beautiful waterfalls on our way down the mountain to Interlaken

Claire, Jeff, and us in Zurich

Vineyards in Alsace, France

to be updated...

Gary in Moscow

to be updated

Softball in Moscow??

So, who knew that there was softball in Moscow? A few weeks ago, Cameron got the "call up" to come play softball with a colleague and his team. It was a fabulous sunny day in August, so I went out the "softball field" with him. The "softball field" was actually a dry lake bed, but we had a good time anyhow. I enjoyed the sun and actually running into a few friends, and Cameron enjoyed actually playing softball!

We have been busy this fall - for those of you who don't know, I "halfway" quit my job and I'm now working part time - which is great for socializing! I have become very active with the AWO (American Women's Organization) and the IWC (International Women's Club). I have met several new friends and I'm loving that! Finally - girlfriends!! My friend Lindsey and I have started a Friday afternoon tradition of wine and Grey's Anatomy! Quite fun.

5 years down and countless more to go...

This past August 2nd we celebrated our 5 year anniversary. Can y'all believe that it's been 5 years already? It honestly feels like just yesterday I was walking down the aisle.

At Turandot - our table on the balcony of the 2nd floor

The detailing in this place was amazing!

Cameron took me to a very elegant new restaurant in Moscow, Turandot. Many foodies and critics have described this place and can do so much better than me. Here is a quick excerpt:

"The Turandot Restaurant is an establishment beyond the scope of definition “restaurant”, it’s a true luxury palace, all the interiors of which are hand-made. Here is the tinsel, the antiques, the majestic chandelier of Malaysian crystal with unique lightning, acting fireplaces, tapestries – and everything is genuine! The details of interior have been made for 6 years! Two workshops of wood-carvers, artists, sculptors have worked at them without a break.
The restaurant has got 14 halls of 20 thousand sq. m. The tables boast china-ware – the XVIII century original copies. Three dozens of steps, winter gardens, frescos, pictures, silk carpets, vase collection of Min dynasty era. In the center – there’s a round hall with colonnade. Under a huge tree of bronze there’s a turning podium for an orchestra. Above it all there’s a mechanical peacock able to whirl and to flop, a grotesque hi-tech copy of the Hermitage statue in St. Petersburg."

And a quick link to one of the write-ups...
http://www.passportmagazine.ru/article/432/

View of the harpist, pianist, and flutist from our table

View on the first floor

Karen & Dennis (aka Mom & Dad) visit Moscow

Karen, Dennis, Cameron & Megan in Red Square

Karen & Dennis in front of the gardens outside the Kremlin

St. Basil's Cathedral

My Mom and Dad arrived in Moscow the Friday after Kristin and Trey left. So – we were becoming experts at having visitors by this point. After picking them up from the airport (where they had actually arrived 30 minutes early! And before I got there!), we headed back to our place so they could rest up before we went to an early dinner – again at my favorite – Pasta della Mamma. Cameron didn’t arrive from the UK (yes, again – for work this time) until late that night, so he missed our on dinner, but luckily his sweet wife picked up some togo for him.

On Saturday morning, we tried to cook up a “Traditional Moates’ Breakfast,” however, there was no bacon to be found at either of our grocery stores. So – we skipped the bacon and had the eggs and toast instead. We walked down to the Kremlin, where we met our tour guide who took us through the Kremlin (again for me, 1st time for Cameron) and Red Square. It was a great tour! My dad loved the commentary asides from our guide. And I loved seeing it all again from the perspective of another tour guide!

Saturday night we went to Café Margarita – which unfortunately isn’t Mexican, but is called Margarita for the novel, The Master and Margarita, a famous Russian novel based on this area of town, Patriarshy Ponds. It is a great little place (only about 10 tables), and they have live music – 2 fiddles and a piano – each weekend. We had a ball shaking our shakers, and clapping along to the songs. We didn’t really sing along much, as there were several songs in Russian!

On Sunday, we went to a little known area of town and down about 18 stories for our Cold War Tunnel Tour. I have to say – this is probably one of the best tours I have been on here in Russia! These tunnels are at the depth of the Metro (18 stories down – which luckily I got to take the elevator with my mom and Renie!). Stalin had them built in the height of the Cold War so that they could run things in the face of a nuclear attack. There was a propaganda film we watched which was so 180-degrees from the films we saw growing up, it made you think that all Americans were war-mongering bastards. I’m sure the truth (if you can call it truth) is somewhere between the films I grew up with and this film, but it was completely amazing and informative to see things from a different angle.

In fact, the very same day we were on the tour, NBC Nightly News aired a clip about the Tunnels. Here is the link – it begins about 10 seconds after the first story….

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#25664282

On Monday, my Mom, Dad and I walked down the Boulevard to Christ the Saviour Cathedral. It was a long walk, but a beautiful day. After touring through the museum, we walked back and stopped for lunch along the way.

I sent them off to St. Petersburg on their own on Tuesday, and hoped that everything would go smoothly! Luckily no real snags, and they really enjoyed their St. Pete trip.

Once they arrived back, we took the boat tour through the city – while it was pouring rain, where luckily we were under cover – and enjoyed a quite night where they tasted my new cooking abilities!

On Saturday we went out to Ismailova to shop for all sorts of souvenirs. Although I think I ended up buying more than they did!

We sent them onto Dublin on Sunday, and I’m so glad they had the chance to come and visit us. Like Kristin, I know that travelling to Moscow, Russia was not the top of my Dad's must-see places, however, it turned out he absolutely loved his trip! My Mom – who has experienced a little bit of world travel in the past (Norway), had high expectations from the start!

Kristin & Trey visit the Motherland....

After a long day of travelling from London (amid many flight delays and plane changes), we finally arrived back in Moscow with Kristin and Trey. And wouldn’t you know it, the lovely Moscow weather was overcast and rainy! But that was fine as it was late and all we wanted to do was get back home and go to sleep and eat (oh yeah – did I mention that we hadn’t eaten all day because amid the plane change, the crew forgot to load the food??)

Monday morning we woke up and treated Kristin and Trey to the “Traditional Moates’ Breakfast” of bacon, eggs, and toast. We thought we were going to tour the Kremlin that day, but the tour agency messed up, so we then tried to go to the Moscow Zoo, which happened to be closed on Mondays! So – we settled for heading down to Starry Arbat (Old Arbat) and walked down the pedestrian street and looked at all the matroishka dolls and paintings along the way. Kristin was most impressed with the new Starbucks and the way it had both the English and Russian signs on the outside. Once we got to the end, I told them that it would take about the same amount of time to walk home as to take the Metro, so we decided to walk. Big mistake, as we got caught in a torrential downpour! It was lightening and thundering all over the place – which is also quite funny as Cameron and I were convinced that thunderstorms did not come to Moscow. So – our theory was disproved, and we were caught in the brunt of it.

After we made it home and dried off, we settled in with a nice glass of wine and then met Cameron for dinner at my favorite – Pasta della Mamma. After dinner, we headed down to the Red Square to take some pictures – yes – Kristin gets credit for the picture that leads our blog! It turned out to be a beautiful evening.

On Tuesday we had our tour of Red Square and the Kremlin. This was actually my first time inside the Kremlin. We had a great time – and our tour guide told us lots of stories and facts about Russian history.

Trey in front of the "largest" canon in the Kremlin

Tuesday evening we took Kristin and Trey to Scandinavia (our favorite patio venue) across the street from us and met up with a bunch of our friends. We also met some new friends who will be moving here shortly from the UK! We’re looking forward to their arrival!

On Wednesday, we ate at the McDonald’s right by our place, which is also the very first McDonald’s in Russia. It was good to have a greasy burger and fries! We then made our way back to the zoo – which was open on Wednesdays! Lots of animals, and the polar bear was my favorite. After a quick trip out to Victory Park to check out the extremely long escalator, we rested for a bit before we met Cameron at the Eastern Room – our standard for Indian food.

Kristin & Trey in front of the Moscow Zoo

Kristin & Trey in front of the Arch near Victory Park

We left for St. Petersburg on the 12:30 AM train on Wednesday night. The 4-bunk compartment was actually not too bad, and after a few episodes of Arrested Development, we all hit the sack. We arrived in St. Petersburg on Thursday morning, and went and relaxed at a little café while we waited for our rooms to be available. We were all completely beat by this time, so we took a nap and then headed out to see some sights before we went to the ballet that evening! Yes – Cameron has now been to 2 ballets! Amazing!

Friday, we took a guided city tour, which was fun, although our guide was not nearly as good as the one we had last October when Gary came to visit. Oh well – luck of the draw I guess! After dinner, we sat outside at a little table and played hearts and spades and enjoyed a few beers al fresco. Then we decided to walk down to the Church of the Spilt Blood to take a picture in the waning “White Nights.” However, genius that I am, I try to trip up my then 11 year old nephew, who so agily avoids me, which means I go flying across the pavement and scrap up my elbow and knee! So – at that point we called it a night and headed back to the hotel.

Saturday morning, we took a quick boat cruise before we had to get back on the train back to Moscow.

St. Issac's Cathedral

The Fountains in the River Neva in St. Pete

It was great to have Kristin and Trey come visit us - and while I'm certain they will not be back in the next 2 years, I think their view on our life here in Moscow has changed considerably. And now she can feel comfortable that yes, her baby sister is surviving quite well! (and not about to be kidnapped by the Mafia!)

London with the Guckian's and McInnis'

"Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament..."

We flew into London on Wednesday evening, and after about 20 minutes of being on the ground in the UK, I had determined that I could definitely live there, and that life has to be so much easier there than Russia! It was confirmed when the high-speed train we took from Heathrow to Paddington station was 1) actually high-speed (about 15 minutes to town!), 2) extremely nice and comfortable, and 3) there was no EEMS (my new favorite, borrowed from my new friend, Lindsey - Eastern European Man Smell). Lastly - they actually speak my language (at least most words translate!). When we arrived at the train station, we hopped into one of the cabs to our hotel. Little did we know the hotel was just about a 2 minute walk from the train station! Oh well - you live and learn.

We checked in, and rested a few minutes waiting around for the Guckians. It was about 7:30-8, so we decided that they must have left us and already gone onto dinner. We were asking the concierge about places to eat when they all showed up - back from a tour across town. We walked around the corner and had a nice dinner at a fun & modern Italian restaurant.

The next day, we had a "Traditional English Breakfast" and then hopped on the Tube to head to see some sights. We came out of the tube right at the base of Big Ben, and then walked by Parliment headed to Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms. These are the actual underground rooms which Churchill and his advisors spent time in during the air raids in WWII. In the middle of the rooms, there is a museum dedicated to the life of Winston Churchill. There is some much to see and go through the interactive museum, you could spend several days in there. However, we left after a few hours to see the rest of London.

We walked from there to Westminster Abbey, where Kristin, Trey, & Kenneth decided to go in for the tour. As Cameron and I have been "toured out" of churches thus far into our journey, we decided to go check out the London Eye.

Westminster Abbey

The London Eye

The London Eye was amazing - it continuously runs and takes about 30 minutes to get all the way around. It was a good thing Kristin didn't join us, as we did have to stop once for about 5 minutes, and even though the compartment was quite large (about 10-15 people fit comfortably walking around), I know she wouldn't have liked the trapped feeling! Although we just looked at is as bonus time on the ride!

After the London Eye, we met the Guckians and had a late lunch in one of the many pubs London has to offer. We strolled around town after that, mainly looking for a place we could watch the Russia vs. Spain football (aka soccer) game later that evening. Surprisingly, not many of the pubs have TVs! We finally found one, and Kristin, Ken, and Trey decided to head to dinner on their own (imagine that - not wanting to watch a Russia - Spain football game - ;) ). Claire and her mystery friend were heading out to meet us as well. We knew that Claire was staying at a friend's place in London, so we assumed that this was the friend. When she walked in, her husband, Jeff, was following - he had surprised Claire the day before by telling her he would be able to leave Korea early and meet her in London! How much fun - they had both flown in earlier that afternoon, and let me tell you that Jeff is definitely a jet lag expert! We had a blast catching up with our friends (and I have to admit, I didn't watch much of the football game!).

The next morning we awoke quite early to "queue" for tickets to Wimbledon, and made it out there by 8 am! It was crazy - the number of people "queueing!" But everyone was so extremely friendly and the lines were so extremely well organized - nothing at all like here in Russia!

Queueing at Wimbledon

We waited a few hours, and then we were able to get in. We got ground tickets, which means no reserved seats for the best 3 courts, but the ability to see the games on the other 15 or so courts. It was so much fun! And I actually finally got the hang of the scoring! (yes - Cameron's been trying to teach me for years!) Wimbledon is known for their Strawberries & Cream (see pic of Jeff, Claire, & I), and their Pimms, which is somewhat like a beer/champagne cocktail. Anyhow - the Pimms they were serving must have been a bad batch because it was absolutley horrible! Kristin took one sip and about lost it. I managed to drink about half, and Cameron, ever the saver, drank the rest as we had just paid $12 for each one!!

Strawberries & Cream at Wimbledon with Claire & Jeff

On Saturday, we went down to "The City" where the Tower of London is located. This was one of the best tours - especially as I had just seen "The Other Boleyn Girl." A true Beefeater (or true Beefeater actor!) gave us an hour long tour telling us all about the Tower and the various stories that go along. Cameron, Neth, and Trey were enamored with the Ravens, about which there is a legend that if they all leave, then the monachy will fall. We saw the Crown jewels, which are absolutley beautiful, and the Tower Bridge (not to be mistaken with the London Bridge).

Cameron, Kenneth, & Trey in front of the Tower Bridge

After the Tower, we headed to St. Paul's Cathedral, however, it was closed for a private service. So, we took pictures outside and then headed across the Milleneum Bridge to the South side of the Thames. We walked along the river and stopped and had a beer at one of the markets along the way. Once done with strolling along the Thames, we took the tube to Hyde Park and walked through on our way to the Princess Di memorial. The memorial is a running stream of water in the middle of the park. They encourage you to take your shoes off and put your feet in for a dip.

Cameron, Trey, Kenneth, & Kristin
Dipping their feet in Princess Di's Memorial

We had to leave early Sunday morning, but I'm certain we'll be back in the next few years - I absolutely loved it, and there is too much to see in just a quick 4 day trip!

Home again, home again...

In the middle of June, we were able to head back home as Cameron had to head to Houston for work. We spent our first weekend in Fort Worth with Cameron's family. We got to meet our newest little niece, Chase Cameron, and play with our other niece, Bailey Jay. It was so much fun!

Big Sis Bailey & Little Sis Chase

Bailey climbing all over Uncle Cameron

Chase & Aunt Meg

Cameron enjoyed golfing on Saturday, and I took a quick nap as I was exhausted from our long delayed flight on Friday. On Saturday evening, we headed out to his Aunt and Uncle's lake house for a surprise birthday party for Andrew. Quite fun, as we were the decoys - he thought he was heading out there for dinner with the Russians!

I spent the week in Plano with my family, catching up on doctor's appointments, shopping, and lunches and dinners full of QUESO!

When Cameron returned from Houston on Friday, we spent the weekend in Dallas and around.

It was back to Moscow on Tuesday, but not for long... We headed to Londontown the following week!

Budapest, Hungary

Friday morning we hopped back on the train bound for Budapest to visit our friends who were about to move back to the States. John took a half day, and he was walking up from work just as our car pulled up to their apartment. After a quick tour of the apartment (which I know Kristina is very glad to be done with!), we headed to lunch at one of their favorite places to bring guests. It was on the river on a boat, and we overlooked the city. Quite a fabulous view. After a wonderful lunch and a few beers, we wandered up to the Castle for some more fabulous views and picture taking opportunities.

From the Castle overlooking the city (Buda)

St. Stephen's Basilica

John & Kristina & us on the banks of the river

The arch leading onto the Chain Bridge

Vajdahunyad Castle

We enjoyed the rest of the weekend, sightseeing and eating and enjoying a few cocktails! Thank you to John and Kristina for hosting us so close to your departure.

Unfortunately we missed the new arrivals to Budapest, the Liners, by only a few hours. But we know we'll be back to visit them during their tour abroad.

Vienna, Austria

On Thursday morning we hopped on the train to Vienna, Austria, which is mid-way between Prague & Budapest. We weren’t originally planning on stopping here, so we didn’t have anything planned except for a last-minute hotel we booked. We walked through town, ate a great lunch, and decided that we must go back and do Vienna properly – ie get a guided tour through the city.

St. Stephen's Cathedral in the Stephanplatz

Flower Market (these are all over Europe, including Moscow, and they are just so beautiful!)

Small side street

Prague, Czech Republic

Our first trip outside of Russia was at the end of May and we were well overdue for a trip outside the motherland. I can tell you that we certainly will not go another 5 months without traveling somewhere!! On this trip we flew to Prague for 3 days, took the train and stopped in Vienna for a day, and then ended the trip in Budapest for another 2 days.

A View from the Charles Bridge of the Castle District

The Prague Castle

Tyn Church in Stare Mesto (Old Town) with the astronomical clock on the left

The astronomical clock

At a local beer garden

Prague was absolutely beautiful. We had a great little hotel which was extremely close to the Old Town Square with the Astronomical clock. Our first night we walked around the square and across the Charles Bridge before we stopped for dinner on the square. The following day we took a 6 hour tour! Lots of walking around town getting to know everything. We asked our guide for a good beer garden and she recommended a place that the locals frequent on a hill just above the river. Walking there we had to go through some beautiful parks which Cameron commented were just waiting for a few people to go out and throw the football around. We got to the beer garden and it was a bunch of picnic tables and a walk up beer stand with beer served in plastic cups. But – it had the most fabulous view of the city and completely reminded us of the vibe in Austin. Extremely low-key with dogs and slobber which of course found its way to Cameron’s shirt! I think that beer garden was my favorite part of Prague.

After the beer garden, we went back down to the square where we went on a “Ghost Tour.” Completely cheesy, but lots of laughs – especially when a guy with a mask jumped out in front of me and I screamed bloody murder!

On our third day in Prague, we were buying a hat for Cameron at the Four Seasons (no, unfortunately we did not stay there!) when we got the call that Chase Cameron Markle was born in Ft. Worth! We were most excited as we knew we’d get to meet Cameron’s namesake, our newest niece, just a few weeks later.