I almost appeared in a British tabloid! When we were leaving St Paul’s Cathedral, there was a rush of guests arriving for a wedding in one of cathedral’s chapels. The guests were of the young, bold, beautiful and restless kind. You know, thin leggy women and disheveled cool dudes. While…
Every morning this week was rainy and drab, but Saturday suddenly turned out sunny and not especially cold. We took our time until noon to get out of the house, but still jumped on a train and went to the City. Setting out that late left us with only a…
The cover story in this week’s Economist talks about British transportation problems. While the angle is more towards fixing the roads, the article also mentions in gory detail the issues with rail networks. Incidentally, I am starting to believe myself that my earlier high marks to public transport were misbegotten.…
Starting with an announcement today (especially for those who may be coming directly to the blog, bypassing my front page): The Guestbook feature of the website has been decommissioned – as writing comments to my posts is a better place for guestbook entries anyway. I also created a separate Guestbook…
The weather is a bit overdue turning to the worse, but it’s catching up. On Saturday, several downpours alternated with bright sunlight, but the rain won. On Sunday, the rain continued to come and go. It is not really cold yet, but there were a couple of days during the…
No sooner I complained about not having a Russian store nearby that Natasha found one. It is in no way comparable to the ones we loved so much in the States, it does not have hot kitchen – and the owners actually do not speak Russian – but it is…
Taking a break from describing events of our life, I want to let a bit nostalgia in and recite some things that we so gotten used to in America that we never considered their importance. Without further ado, here are some things that we clearly took for granted in the…
The weather on Natasha’s birthday was beautiful – a bit crisp and windy, but bright sunny skies. We did not want to miss an opportunity for a day out, so we decided to take a train to the city, visit a museum and then stroll around… … but the train…
Never having to move out of a house, we never had to deal with so much stuff coming into a house… The last few days have been spent on unpacking and trying to find places for our numerous personal effects. There are about 20 boxes that we still need to…
What comes to mind when you hear the word Brighton? Restaurant Татьяна, matrones in fur coats walking to a grocery store, pensioners and kids mingling all over boardwalk, Russian мат… We beg to differ. The original Brighton – there is no doubt in our minds that it gave the name…
Going strong! For the second weekend in a row, we, true to our purpose, explore the new environs. Can we keep it up? The kids must be having second thoughts, for sure… Watch this space! Today we decided not to travel all the way to the city, but instead visit…
These newcomers to London started with an act of sabotage! I did three rounds of laundry without a problem while I was by myself. As soon as my lovely wife got to it, one of my best dress shirts turned from white to salmon pink!!!… The first full day together…
Well, the car is parked in driveway, the wife and the kids are sleeping in their new beds – the new chapter in our life has officially commenced. And life is pretty damn good, at the moment (no little thanks to a bottle of nice Cotes-du-Rhone)… For such an exciting…
Sometimes, things come up that you have not really considered when you thought through various pros and cons of a potential life-altering decision (such as starting a new life abroad). When they do, you feel stupid on multiple levels. Stupid, because you did not consider them in the first place.…
After a long post last weekend, almost a week-long silence. To my regular audience – and I know who both of you are – my sincerest apologies. I had planned on writing the blog at the end of each workday, but there is too much stuff to deal with during…