Moscow - what to eat, drink, and shop for

Order: (Try everything. It's all delicious. And always served with creme fraiche and fresh dill, so how could you go wrong?)

Caviar with blinis (delicate, thin pancakes). Caviar in Russia is delectably sweet, it's like biting into perfect little bursts of sweet & tart.
Pelmeni. Traditional dumplings stuffed with pork, beef, and something else. Don't be scared, it's good. Promise.
Soup, any kind. Russians sure know their soups. It must be a perfected art, born out of the necessity to stay warm in the winters. The borsch is always good, but be adventurous and try some other kinds. They're hot, flavorful, and served up in cute, little individual crocks. That's all you need to know. Trust me.

Drink: Russian vodka, straight up. But that's stating the obvious.

Surprisingly, Russians also make good beer! Check out some of these, which The Fella enjoyed thoroughly, such as Kozel or Tinkoff. You can even bottle up your own micro-brewed beer at some grocery stores in Russia. Now, THIS is a concept we need to bring to the States!

Shop for: matruyska dolls in Moscow, as opposed to in St. Petersburg. It's far, far cheaper, says our new friend, Alex, because they are imported from Moscow to St. Petersburg, and sold at an exorbitant mark-up. I'm glad we listened, and bought 10 lovely, fine-detailed sets of matruyskas as gifts from him. We found out just how true this was when we arrived in St. Petersburg the next day – vendors were selling the dolls at upwards of $75! For the small, dinky, generic ones. (And don't even think about the exquisite, 10-piece matruyskas we bought from Alex – in St. Petersburg, these were at least $125.00!)

Also, pick up high-quality, stylish fur hats at the markets in non-peak season and/or on weekends. I scored a beautiful mink hat for around $50 USD. (These are normally upwards of $100.) I imagine the same holds true of fur hats in Moscow as it does the matruyskas.

To get around: Moscow Metro. It's efficient, safe, clean, and a sight to check out! The Metro is completely underground, and the tunnel ceilings are covered in ornate crown moulding, mosaic tile, or gold, held up by stately marble columns, and decked out with chandeliers, bronze sculptures, and stained glass. It's also helpful if you have an English/Cyrillic language map so that you can identify which stop you need, as the Metro signs are only in Cyrillic. Not good. 

One extra note, do not – and I repeat, DO NOT – pause in the walkways as the throngs of Russian commuters WILL sweep you away en masse.