Falling in love with Moscow

No, Pinoy Money Talk is not turning into a travel blog (well, not yet) but here are some pictures and a video of my recent trip to Russia and Ukraine which explains why this blog went into a one-week no-post hiatus last week.

I first visited Moscow, Russia in August 2006 and fell in love with the city right there and then. The sights and sounds were astoundingly different from what the Philippines, Korea, Singapore or the US have to offer, and the story behind each building, street or monument make Moscow more enchanting.

Photos after the jump.

During my first visit I already toured most of Moscow so this time I just decided to explore Moscow’s Metro Rail System, otherwise known as the Metro, which was recognized as one of the most beautiful subways in the world by BusinessWeek.

I also got a chance to dine in at Turandot, one of the high-end (read: expensive) restaurants in Moscow. This Baroque palace recreation is said to cost $50 million and took almost seven years to complete.

What’s high-end about it? Well to start with, the entrance to the Baroque-ish restaurant is a marble Venetian courtyard with statues of Greek gods. Onto the sky-blue dome roof is hoisted a large, crystal chandelier. Directly underneath is a quartet of bewigged musicians playing classical music on a rotating stage. The walls of the second floor are adorned with Japanese and Chinese vases and figurines, and waiters/waitresses are costumed in vests and dresses you only see in period movies.

Here’s a video of the place. Notice the elaborate and elegant wall decorations, the costumed servers, and the musicians playing the background classical music.

The full course I ordered: appetizer salad, steak with tempura vegetables, apple sorbet, and coffee. The price: only $150.

Just glad somebody — not me — paid the bill.