Medi's Birthday in Moscow ( with commentary by the celebrant)

I celebrated a very special birthday in a very special city  - Moscow all arranged by my wonderful husband.

We started with a champagne toast in the executive lounge of the hotel.  When we first arrived at the Marriott Hotel here  - the Aurora - our room butler knocked on the door with two glasses of champagne.  It’s not really our favorite drink but this kind of champagne could change our minds.

A toast to start the evening.

Veronika of the executive lounge was happy to be part of the birthday celebration.

We took a cab to the Ritz Carlton where we headed  to their bar ,the O2,  with an incredible view of the Kremlin.

Another birthday toast.  The weather was simply gorgeous as you can see from our attire.

Another view from our table.

Another toast for the birthday girl.  Mind you while we had many toasts, we only had one glass of wine at each place.  

At our unique and wonderful restaurant, Ray took my  picture in front of the fireplace at the CDL which  stands for Central House of Literature (Restaurant) . It is a seven room mansion, the former  home of Countess Olsufieva.   We learned  French President  Sarkosy and  President Putin and the Premier of Russia recently dined in the room we were in.

Ivan, the breadcaptain,  offered us a selection of eight different breads . I chose Italian and French while Ray chose Rye and Eight grain.

Sergei, the head waiter,  paid special attention to making our Caesar salad. He said he had been a cook at the Ritz Carlton before coming here.  He emphasized “cook” not a chef.  He said he got his start in the restaurant business when he worked as a counter man in the first McDonalds to open in Moscow in 1990.

Another birthday toast!  Yes,  I know there were a lot of toasts but did I mention it was a special  birthday?

The duck I ordered had such great presentation that I did not want to break up the artwork.

It was the nicest birthday of my life and all thanks to my wonderful husband!  He makes me feel so special.

The Irish Famine ,the Jenny Johnston, the Famine Statues

Between 1842 and 1852,  there was a famine - the Great Famine - that saw the population of Ireland drop by two million people. One million starved to death and one million emigrated to the US and Canada.  The population of Ireland dropped by 25% and during this time the population of New York was 25% Irish.
The ships the immigrants took were called "coffin ships" because so many sunk in the Atlantic storms. Also there was disease on board and when the ships landedm the Customs Official put the sick into quarantine where many died.

The one ship that differed from the others was the Jenny Johnston , a replica of which is pictured above. Not a single person died on the 17 crossings.  In fact, there was a birth .  The ship sunk off Montreal when the famine was over and it returned to hauling lumber. Even then, the entire crew was rescued.

The key to the ship's success seemed to be an excellent captain and an experienced ship's doctor who insisted on total cleanliness and as much exposure to fresh air as possible.

There was little room for all the people who sailed and large families had to share one bunk.  The least number of passengers was 190 and the most was 250.

The replica is an actual sea-going training ship today. It has a legal capacity of 40 passengers.





Imagine weeks on sea keeping body and soul together.

Signs don't lie.

There are statues about 500 feet from the Jenny Johnston depicting the famine victims. I heard the statues described as "disturbing".  I could not get the images out of my mind for days.

What is it like to have no hope?

The Jenny Johnston provided hope for some.

Dublin - The Pubs

Colorful Pubs are everywhere.

This pub is not afraid to state it is new.

This pub claims to be the oldest in Ireland.   Hmmm.....

We spent hours in the Brazen Head trying to verify its claim that it was the oldest pub in the city.

Legalize Marijuana

Well, each to his own.  Maybe not every Irishman spends some of his free time with friends in a pub  having a pint or two.

Dublin - The City & Its History

Dublin was originally a Viking city.  In fact until 900, the Vikings ruled Ireland.  The symbol above is a representation from an Irish bible trying to depict Noah's ark and the best they could do is picture a Viking type boat with a bird.  Today this symbol is the trademark of the Allied Irish bank, the largest bank in Ireland.

The Irish rebelled and took control from the Vikings in the 900s and stayed in power until the 1200s when the british  took power and stayed in control to the early 1900s.  In the 1540, Henry the 8th decreed that in all the lands he ruled the only religion that could be practiced was that of the Church of England.  That is when the problems between the Catholics and the Protestants started.  A new profession arose known as  "priest catcher" where men were given high bounty for telling the government where the Roman Catholic priests lived.








Dublin Castle Ireland, was until 1922 the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland. The Castle served as the seat of English, then later British government of Ireland under the Lordship of Ireland (1171–1541), the Kingdom of Ireland (1541–1800), and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1800–1922). Upon establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, the complex was ceremonially handed over to the newly formed Provisional Government led by Michael Collins  (from Wikipedia)

The British had their seat of government in the building right next to the Dublin Castle.  In 1922, they turned power over to the Irish provisional government and to Micahel Collins.  When he showed up late for the ceremony, the British official in charge said to him

"You are late. We have been waiting for you to get here  for seven minutes. 

Collins replied : "We have been waiting for you to leave here for seven hundred years"




Our guide, Pillar ,  was wonderful and seemed to know every street, nook and cranny in Dublin.  "Pillar ? , you ask "That does not sound like an Irish name "   It is not. She came here six years ago from Spain to study archeology and now is doing graduate studies on World Heritage Cities.
Ireland is most cosmopolitan now that the EU allows residents of any EU country to live and work in any other EU country.  At our five star hotel, the restaurant staff was all eastern European and the housekeeping staff was Filipino and African. 




Our guide asked us to name the most romantic city in the world and quickly added "If you say Paris or Rome , you are wrong."  She said Dublin was the most romantic city because it housed the relic of St, Valentine.  In the early 1900 when the Irish Parliament passed a law granting religious freedom to Catholics the Pope sent the remains of St Valentine as both a thank you and a celebration.  Our guide noted that even with freedom , worship was low key and many churches were known by the street they were on rather than an obvious Catholic name.

Our guide told us that many of her friends call this church the "Adam and Eve" and not all know its real  name which is actually the Church of the Immaculate  Conception.  It stems back centuries to when the Catholic religion was outlawed so people had to be careful and creative to have a place to hear mass.  Many times mass was held in the room behind a pub, a grocery story or a bakery.  People would say they would meet at the pub or the store on Sunday meaning that was where mass would be held.  The Adam and Eve is the pub next door to the church.