Sick of Russia.
I am sick of Russia.
The South African wine was the last straw.
When I called for room service, the voice dissuaded me. It will be an hour, or an hour and a half. That is a long time. It is too long. Come to one of our restaurants, it will be faster."
I hang up, and try to go to a restaurant. One is closed. Both sky restaurants are closed. A fourth seems to be a discotheque. I return to my room and scavenge fruit. Finally I call room service again. A new voice takes my order. When it arrives...
The Beef Stroganoff has no potatoes. Mashed potatoes were advertised!
Worse, the wine is from South Africa. I had bad experiences with wine from Africa, though perhaps Zimbabwe and Zambia wines are not representative. I am not in the mood to experiment! The menu listed a 2004 Bordeaux from France, and a Chilean wine. Either would be acceptable. But in fact, the wine I have, I am told, is the only wine possible.
The horror of South Africa Merlot is the last straw.
THINGS I HATE ABOUT RUSSIA:
- Wine: South Africa. Enough said.
- Traffic: Awful.
- Shuttle driver 1/2 hour late to airport. See: traffic.
- Shuttle driver is supposed to speak English but does not.
- Shuttle driver ignores me, and only responds to Tom.
- The heat! The heat! The heat in our room is perpetually on.
- Passports, collected by front desk, are all but irretrievable.
- The bath water is yellow!
- Poor Tom said, "One of those cheesecakes will be mine," but when he went downstairs to buy a piece, they were all sold out, and moreover, there was a long line for the reddish-pink "something-or-other."
- No Internet in the room.
- Because they raise the drawbridges, people often have to leave the hotel at 1AM for morning flights. See: traffic.
- The toilet seats are uncomfortable.
- Nobody speaks English!
I hate Russia.