Sunday: Izmailovsky Market

We left around 11 for the Izmailovsky market where I bought some souvenirs. Izmailovsky used to just be a market, but now it has been built up to look like an old Russian village.

































For lunch we had shashlik, Russian barbeque and a flatbread.









This is the station for the TranSiberian Railroad which is on the route to the market.








I spent a lot of time looking for a teapot for Gary, but I didn't find anything I liked until I saw this pattern of pottery from Uzbekistan. I ended up buying the matching set of lunch and tea dishes as well as this platter. Unfortunately they didn't have the teapot I wanted, but Monica is supposed to bring it in June. Each piece is handmade and hand painted in a slightly different pattern. I have the platter on my dining room table since it is too large for the cupboard (16 inch diameter.)
I also picked up this crystal piece which goes on top of a turntable with different colored LED lights shining through the crystal. It makes really cool patterns on the ceiling, and St. Basil's Cathedral which is etched with lasers on the inside turns different colors as it spins. (The base is 4 inches wide; the crystal is 8.5 inches tall.)






























Stephen had bought a samovar when he was in Russia two years ago, but he didn't have the teapot to sit on top. I picked this one up at the market. It's gzhel, handpainted pottery generally painted in blue and white patterns like this. Coals and pinecones are burned inside the samovar to heat up the water. The teapot contains very concentrated tea. To make a cup of tea, a small amount of tea is poured into the cup, and hot water is added from the samovar spigot.







These icons came from monasteries, but I add them here since this seems to be the page of souvenirs. The first is of St. George and the dragon. It came from a store outside Sergiev Posad's Trinity St. Sergius Monastery.













This is an icon of the birth of Jesus. It came from Donelov Monastery. It was sitting on the top shelf, beyond the reach of the sales clerk who was on the short side. She didn't know any English, so we couldn't speak, but by gesturing, I managed to come behind the counter, climb on the stool, and pull it down. Maybe if I had such interesting shopping experiences back home, I would enjoy shopping more.















Monica and I also bought matching embroidered baby dedication (or baptism) gowns at the Danelov Monastery for future grandchildren. I know it's a ways down the road for both of us, but it's not like we will be able to run out and buy something like this when that point comes. (No obligation to any kid of mine or potential spouse, and they won't fit fids.)








After dinner Murray and I walked to a grocery store a mile or so away and then walked back through a park.