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Monday, October 3, 2011

Our World Tuesday: Russian hospitality in Uglich



When we visited the Russian city of Uglich, our tour group from the Viking Surkov were invited by a retired schoolteacher to have a small luncheon at her home. Vegetables were from her own greenhouse and garden, and she served cake baked at home. Home-grown vegetables soon vanished from the
plates, as did homemade bread and cake.
Of course, much of the fun of the visit came from watching fellow passengers participate in tasting homemade Russian vodka! They were also instructed in the part pickles play in vodka-drinking.

I understand it was quite an experience, and can give you my personal opinion of the tea and cake. They were delicious!


Above, after bidding our hostess (holding door) farewell,
my husband stopped to admire something
in her spacious garden of flowers and vegetables.




Posted for Our World Tuesday
the second-generation meme appearing in honor of the late Klaus Peter, who began the very popular My World Tuesday.
Klaus's wonderful work in wildlife photography will live on, I'm sure, in books and galleries, but he will also be long remembered for the help and unstinting encouragement he gave to his fellow bloggers.

23 comments:

Unknown said...

Another great tour, Kay. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Barb said...

How lucky to visit in a home and get to know the locals. Fresh veggies and cake sound delicious!

Gemma Wiseman said...

It must be wonderful to get a taste of local colour and lifestyle when travelling! Interesting series of photos!

Sylvia K said...

Sounds like a fun and delicious visit! Great photos as always and I love the look of her garden! Beautiful! Once again it does sound like a wonderful trip! Hope you have a good week, Kay!

Sylvia

Dianne said...

What an amazing garden and how lovely of that retired teacher to share her table with visitors from abroad - it must have been a very special day! Thank you for sharing it with us!

Reader Wil said...

Oh, Kay what a wonderful experience to visit a real Russian home. Thank you for sharing. When
I was in Moscov we stayed in hotels and that is not half as interesting.

Lesley said...

Being able to visit inside a home would be such a treat!

carol l mckenna said...

I got to visit a home in China in a small village ~ Love your photos and post about your Russian visit ~thanks, namaste, Carol, (A Creative Harbor) linked up with Our World Tuesday)

Julie said...

How wonderful for you to be invited! She does appear to have a wonderful garden. I am most envious.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Great experience! Wonderful to get to know 'real' people, not to mention the wonderful homemade food.

Pickles are part of making vodka?

Rajesh said...

Wonderful shots. Looks like nice and interesting place.

Ebie said...

I think it is a great idea of incorporating a real "homey" experience in tours. Nothing tastes better than home cooked meals!

I will drink to the vodka, cheers!

Gattina said...

That's the best part of a round trip to be invited by locals in their home and see how they live !

Jim said...

Great post, Kay.

SquirrelQueen said...

Getting the opportunity to visit with someone local would have been the high point of the trip for me.

eileeninmd said...

How nice to be invited to a luncheon with a local family. It is a great experience. Did you try the vidka? Great photos, thank for sharing your world.

Indrani said...

Great experience for sure.

Arija said...

When people have lived hard lives and have little themselves, they are at least great on sharing what they have. Considering that state employees were not paid for a few years, they had a lot of experience in becoming as self-sufficient as possible.

Thank you for taking us along.

Fran said...

The Russians have a tradition that each person at a dinner table has to propose a toast and then everyone knocks back a large vodka (with fruit juice on the side, never mixed). Fine when there are two or four at the table but when you get to twenty, you can feel the hangover kick in!!!! How lovely to be a guest in someone's house like that x

Anonymous said...

What a great experience!

Leslie said...

What an adorable house and garden! That cake reminds me of the cakes my Austrian friend used to make. She couldn't understand Americans' obsession with frosted cakes.

S K Ditta said...

The more you share of Russia with these excellent pictures and narratives, one can't help but feel that we know so little of this beautiful place and people. Thank you, Kay and Richard.

Powell River Books said...

That fridge and stove look like the perfect size for our cabin. It must have been really special to visit someone's home. Traveling on a tour sometimes keeps you away from the real people and places. - Margy