We love Venice. It is one of the most exciting destinations in Europe. Its eventful history, canals, immortal alleyways and artistic grandeur make this the city where any art lover is likely to fall head over heels. And, no wonder – in addition to the hundreds of churches here, one of the world’s most important networks of museums span the lagoon. Museums which, to cap it all, are not accommodated in conventional spaces. Instead, they practically invade Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque buildings and feature collections which now, well into the 21st century, are capable of giving you hiccups.

With access by gondola, vaporetto or on foot, these are the nine museums you simply cannot pass up the next time you go to Venice. Cominciamo!

1. Accademia – the Largest Collection of Venetian Art

The Gallerie dell’Accademia is housed in three former religious buildings and makes up the leading collection of Venetian art in the world. The exhibition covers five centuries of art, from the Middle Ages to the Rococo, boasting such essential works as Feast in the House of Levi, by Paolo Veronese, Titian’s Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple, Vittore Carpaccio's Saint Ursula Cycle, Finding of the Body of St Mark, by Tintoretto and Andrea Mantenga’s St George, in addition to early works by Lotto, the Bellini family and Tiepolo.

2. The Doge’s Palace – the Splendour ofLa Serenissima

While not a museum in the strict sense, the Doge’s Palace provides an essential visit for anyone seeking to grasp the splendour of the Venetian Republic. The seat of government, Palace of Justice and the Doge’s residence, this huge Gothic complex is the ideal place for delighting in some of the city’s foremost artworks, on the spot where they were conceived. Noteworthy, for instance, is the large-format Paradise, painted by Domenico and Jacopo Tintoretto, which presides over the Grand Council Hall. Another must-see are the canvases by Paolo Veronese in the Chamber of the Council of Ten and the luxurious Golden Staircase, built by Sansovino and decorated by Alessandro Vittoria.

3. Peggy Guggenheim Collection – Home of the Great Patroness of the Arts

Entering this unfinished 18th-century palace means venturing into the universe of the celebrated patroness, Peggy Guggenheim. Promoter of such artists as Klee, Pollock, Calder, Kandinsky, Ernst, Picasso, Moore and Braque, Guggenheim acquired this palace on the Grand Canal in 1949 and turned it into her residence. The collection is made up of 200 canvases and sculptures by renowned artists, including Dalí, Magritte, Chirico, Balla, Duchamp, Rothko, Picabia, Delauney, Malevich and Mondrian. Peggy Guggenheim bequeathed the collection to the foundation of her uncle, Solomon R. Guggenheim, on condition that it remained in the city.

4. Scuola Grande di San Rocco – the Finest Tintoretto

A must-see landmark, this former charity hospital built as a tribute to St Roch is one of the best places to see the work of Tintoretto. Completed in 1549, in 1564 Jacopo Tintoretto was commissioned to decorate the ceiling and walls of the Scuola. The standout monumental work in the complex is his Crucifixion, located in the Sala dell’Albergo, in which the artist achieved levels of sentiment never before seen in Venetian art.

5. Museo Correr – History of the Republic

Located in St Mark’s Square, this is one of the city’s leading museums. Based around the endowment which the abbot, Teodoro Correr, bequeathed to the city of Venice, it is the best place to learn the history of the Republic of Venice and the Italian Risorgimento movement. It also boasts a large collection of Venetian painting, particularly the work of Vittore Carpaccio.

Admission to the museum also gives visitors access to the Archaeological Museum and the Libreria Sansoviniana, designed by Jacopo Sansovino, of which Andrea Palladio said it was “the most beautiful building since ancient times”.

6. Museo Fortuny – a Spaniard in Venice

The late-Gothic-style Palazzo Pesaro was the residence of the famous Spanish textile designer, Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, who acquired the building at the turn of the 20th century and lived there until his death. Both the building and its contents were bequeathed to the city by the artist’s widow in 1956. The elegant rooms provide the perfect backdrop for the Renaissance-inspired fabrics embroidered in gold and silver thread, and for the canvases, retables and Fortuny’s pleated silk dresses from the 1920s. A delightful visit.

7. Ca’ Pesaro – 20th Century Art Collection

This opulent Baroque palace houses the International Gallery of Modern Art. Founded in 1897, hanging on its walls are some of the most famous paintings by Gustav Klimt and Marc Chagall, in addition to works by Matisse, Miró, Klee and Kandinsky. Many of them were presented by these artists at the Biennial and acquired by the city. Be sure to visit the Museum of Oriental Art, on the third floor, as it features veritable jewels acquired by the Count of Bardi on his travels in the Far East in the 19th century.

8. Ca’ d’Oro – the Jewel of the Grand Canal

Works by Andrea Mantegna, Luca Signorelli, Vittore Carpaccio and Titian, as well as fabrics, frescoes and sculptures, come together in one of the most valuable displays on the Grand Canal. The museum, which since 1984 has housed the Franchetti Gallery, is located in a 15th-century palace regarded as the finest and most famous example of Venetian Gothic architecture. After undergoing alterations at various times in its history, the 1970s saw the restoration of the original splendour of its facade, one of the most beautiful in the city.

9. Ca’ Rezzonico – A Walk Through 18th-century Venice

This Baroque palace is one of the most priceless in Venice and one of the few palaces open to the public on the Grand Canal. Once famous for its sumptuous banquets, lavish parties and opulent decoration provided by the Rezzonico family, since 1934 it houses the Museo del Settecento, a collection of canvases, frescoes and artefacts which reflect 18th-century Venice. Be sure to visit the spectacular, restored ballroom designed by Giorgio Massari, featuring furniture by Andrea Brustolon, as well as a stunning gilt candelabra. Additionally, the ceilings in three rooms boast paintings by Giambattista Tiepolo.

Text by Aleix Palau for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Aleix Palau, QMeuh, Didier Descouens, Basilio Speziari, saragoldsmith, Michele Rienzo

By Isabel Loscertales from gastronomistas

Feeling a bit blue because summer is almost over? In just three hours you can get to Lanzarote from Barcelona: it's close, it's accessible, and you'll be able to enjoy the good weather again over a long weekend. But the good weather should not be the main reason to visit the island, as you'll find that the unique beauty of its volcanic landscape, the art byCésar Manrique and the island's cuisine are even more fascinating than its climate. As it's quite a small island (about 60 km long and 20 km wide), all you need is a few days to go on a short break and get a good taste of what it has to offer. We would like to suggest an ideal plan for three days:

DAY 1: CENTRE OF LANZAROTE

There are many places to stay on the island, like the popular area of Costa Teguise, which is full of hotels. Barceló Lanzarote Resort (Avenida del Mar, 5. Tel. 928 591 329. www.barcelo.com) is an affordable hotel and perfect for family holidays. It's being refurbished and has large and comfortable rooms, three pools for adults and two for children, many activities for children, sports facilities (climbing wall, miniature golf, tennis courts, etc.), a wellness centre, buffet breakfast, and "Mediterráneo", a restaurant that offers, amongst other delights, homemade pasta and a carefully selected range of wines.

Once you've settling in and are feeling relaxed, it's a good idea to explore the area of La Geria, where you can find the curious landscape covered with typical Lanzarote vineyards. Because of the volcanic soil and strong winds, the vines are planted in pits sheltered by circular stone walls. This dry cultivation method is called "enarenado". The view of these vast vineyards surrounded by perfectly built walls, with the bare mountains in the background, is unique in the world, and is well worth seeing. And even better if you enjoy it with a glass of wine in your hand. White wine is the island's speciality – specifically Volcanic Malvasía, the island's top variety. Once you try it you won't want to drink anything else. If you would like to find out more, you can visit a winery, like El Grifo (Teguise-Uga, LZ-30, km. 11. San Bartolomé. Tel. 928 524 036. www.elgrifo.com). Then, you can visit the "Campesino" monument and the César Manrique Foundation, which are close by.

The capital of the island, Arrecife, covers the centre of the island and the south coast. The most charming area, which is quite fashionable at the moment and has a great atmosphere, is Charco de San Ginés. After going for a walk you can have dinner at a restaurant that opened recently: Naia. It's very trendy and has a beautiful view of the lake. The half-Basque half-Canarian chef, Mikel Otaegui, offers modern Mediterranean cuisine with a twist, like foie gras micuit as crème brûlée, or creamy rice with small cuttlefish. Avenida César Manrique, 33. Tel. 928 805 797. www.restaurantenaialanzarote.com).

DAY 2: SOUTH OF LANZAROTE

The beautiful Timanfaya National Park is a place not to be missed. At the entrance you find an activity specially for tourists: a camel ride, which you might fancy... or not. The best thing to is to take the bus inside the park and enjoy the amazing lunar landscape: a desert area full of volcanoes, traces of lava, and a display of red, ochre and orange hues against the blue sea. You can almost get an idea of what life on another planet would be like. After the bus trip you can stop at the curious El Diablo restaurant, designed by César Manrique (the ever-present artist whose work is to be found all over the island), which overlooks the park. You have to see the enormous grill where they cook the meat – they use geothermal heat straight from the ground, at 600ºC!

Near the park you can find the coastal village of El Golfo, where you can taste typical cuisine of the sea. One of the places you can try is Bogavante restaurant (Avenida Marítima, 39. El Golfo. Tel. 928 173 505), which has a terrace that is not far from the sea. Here you must taste typical Lanzarote fish and seafood. With an intense flavour granted by the Atlantic Ocean, sea bream, comber, red mullet, limpets, squid, grouper, etc. are cooked in simple ways, grilled, with mandatory wrinkled potatoes and mojo picón sauce (either the more citrus green mojo, or the slightly hot red mojo). Other typical products in Lanzarote are cheese, also served fried with fig jam, and scalded "gofio" (which is toasted cornmeal mixed with water and salt; sometimes it replaces bread, and other times it's used to make desserts). And speaking of dessert, you must try "bienmesabe", a very sweet cake that is typical of the area, made with almonds, honey, egg yolk and sugar.

In the afternoon you can visit a lagoon, Laguna Verde or de los Clicos and the Hervideros, where you can see where the sea has eroded the volcanic rocks. Lower down you can find thePapagayo beaches, situated in a nature reserve (there is an fee of around €3 to park the car), and stunning coves where you can sunbathe and relax.

And to round off the day, you can book a table at La Tegala restaurant, in the town of Mácher, near Puerto del Carmen. It's a very special and romantic place, recommended by the Michelin Guide, where the food and the architecture are a wonderful combination of tradition and modernity. Built on a small vantage point, it is the result of joining an old traditional country house and an avant-garde annex with large windows. Chef Germán Blanco's signature cuisine includes many locally-sourced ingredients (organic where possible), to make it fun and contemporary, and bursting with flavour. The best way to discover it is with the Estela menu experience, which changes a few times during the year and is quite affordable at €42.

DAY 3: NORTH OF LANZAROTE

As you head north, it's worth stopping at the picturesque town of Teguise. If you go on a Sunday, there is a very popular market with a small area selling food, where you can purchase cheese, homemade mojo picón sauce, wine, etc. Nearby you can findFamara beach, with its amazing cliff. It's very popular with surfers, as it's really windy! Then you'll come across the town of Haría and its "valle de las mil palmeras" (Valley of a Thousand Palm Trees).

Another popular place in Lanzarote is the Mirador del Río viewpoint, one of César Manrique's projects, resting atop Risco de Famara, and perfectly integrated into the landscape. If affords amazing views of the volcanic mountainsides and of Chinijo archipelago, where Graciosa is the main island. You can have a drink at the beautiful café-restaurant, which boasts large windows that enable you to enjoy the panoramic view. Then it's time to visit Los Verdes cave, situated in a lava tube that continues under the sea. And then we find another of Cesar Manrique's great works: the beautiful Jameos del Agua site. It's an open lava tube with a natural lake. Look carefully at the small albino crabs that live here. They are an endemic species called "jameítos" There is also a café-restaurant here.

You can have lunch at the coastal town of Arrieta, to continue tasting the island's delicacies from the sea. If you're looking for an affordable place, La Casa de la Playa, a restaurant on La Garita beach serves fish and seafood for €15-20 on average (Tel. 928 173 339). And if you've still got time, you shouldn't miss a trip to Graciosa island, to visit some of its secluded beaches. Boats normally leave from the municipality of Órzola. This small island only has a couple of municipalities and no roads have been built, so it's perfect for those who love cycling in the unspoilt and wild countryside.

 We’ll be there. If you want to come too, check out our flights here.

Nosotros nos apuntamos, si quieres venirte consulta nuestros vuelos aquí.

Por Tensi Sánchez de Actitudes Magazine

Lisbon is without doubt one of the most beautiful and magical cities in Europe. As soon as you arrive, you feel immersed in a world of new sensations that only Lisbon can offer.  Historic Lisbon stands in perfect harmony alongside the more modern features of this vanguard city, where its wide range of leisure activities and cultural options have made it a highly fashionable destination.  Each area of the city offers a vast array of attractions to make sure you’ll always have plenty to do and the streets are teeming with ambience both day and night.

Lisbon’s winding and sometimes steep streets can make it difficult to get around the city, but the public transport services and even taxis are not expensive.

Here are some useful travel tips that don’t appear in many guidebooks.

Port – Santa Apolonia area

This is a fairly new part of the city that has attracted many new restaurants and shops to set up in old port warehouses, creating some unique and spectacular spaces. Be sure to visit the excellent delicatessens or have breakfast at Gourmet Deli Deluxe, try the international dishes at Bica do Sapato restaurant and the  vintage furniture shop known as Loja da Talaia.

This area also boasts some fabulous nightspots, including the famous LUX discotheque, but if you’re not on the “guest list” or you know someone who can get you in, the queues outside are horrendous, though it’s well worth the hassle.

Bairro Alto – Principe Real area

Barrio Alto is home to the Principe Real area, an old residential district next to the Botanical Gardens and where you’ll find many of the city’s most modern shops and restaurants, including trend-setting  concept stores  Espacio B,  21 pr Concept Store, Real and  Fabrico Infinito.

If you love fashion, be sure to visit such shops as  Nuno Gama,  Alexandra Moura, Kolovrat, Ricardo Preto and Nuno Baltazar. These top designers all attend Moda Lisboa, Portugal’s most important biannual fashion show that is becoming increasingly famous the world over.

Next on our route is Poison d’amour, a cake shop that is sure to make your mouth water, boasting a wonderful terrace where you can enjoy a moment of pure magic. The terrace of the Lost In café-bar, which has an Indian-style decor, offers breathtaking views over the city. For some authentic Portuguese home-cooking, we highly recommend Tasca Do Urso at 32 Rua Do Monte Olivete. And last but not least, theFacto Royale hair salon with its exquisite decor and reputation as one of the finest in the city.

Baixa and Chiado area.

A great way to spend the afternoon is to stroll through the streets of Baixa and Chiado, taking in the most authentic side of Lisbon, its houses, cafés, streets… this is home to a shop called Pelcor, famous throughout Portugal for its cork fashion accessories and incredible handbags. Along Rua Nova do Carvalho you’ll find a bar called Sol y Pesca where you can enjoy a glass of fine wine, then go for a cocktail in the pub known as Pensao Amor, a former brothel that has managed to preserve much of its original decor and boasting a replica of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Don’t miss even the smallest detail!
Close by is the restaurant  La Velha Senhora offering superb local cuisine at affordable prices.

Alcántara area

Another of Lisbon’s lesser known gems, this area is home to some of the city’s coolest shops, cafés and restaurants, alongside the trendiest advertising agencies and photographic studios.
It’s like a small city in itself, a dream factory where everything is ad hoc and created for LX Factory.

Sunday is the perfect time to visit this area and check out the LX Market where you can find fabulous porcelain, books, clothes, live music, etc.…All the shops and businesses have managed to preserve the essence and decor of the industrial spaces they once were.  There are over one hundred unique premises, such as the stunning  Achimpa bookshop,  La Cantina restaurant and even a press kiosk inside a container called Mag. All this and so much more is available in LX Factory.

Olivais area

Another fascinating area to see is the so-called  new Lisbon which arose from the EXPO 1998 World Exhibition. If you like architecture, you’ll love the Portuguese Pavilion by Álvaro Siza, winner of the Pritzker prize, along with many others. The area is fully inhabited and all the pavilions have been reused. A fine example of urban renewal that other European cities would do well to copy.

The Expo area gives shape to the Olivais district, which is linked to the city via underground, Vasco da Gama Bridge (the longest in Europe), and the intermodal station designed by Santiago Calatrava.

Must-do

*Try the best sweet in the city (and it’s not the famous Bethlehem Cake) at the cake shop called Pastelería do restelo “Careca” on Rua Duarte Pacheco Pereira. The delicious Palmees do Careca!

*Admire the work of a possible future Pritzer prize winner,  Charles Correa, the Champalimaud Foundation building and have lunch in the incredible Darwin restaurant on Avenida de Brasilia.

*Choose a good hotel such as Eurostars Das Letras offering first-class service to make your stay even more enjoyable.

*Visit the MUDE museum of fashion and design, a building dating to the 1950s and former headquarters of Banco Nacional Ultramarino. Its original use can still be appreciated thanks to the decadent industrial ambience that makes it all the more fascinating.

By Tensi Sánchez from Actitudes Magazine

Photos by Rubén Seco

If you feel like going to discover hidden Lisbon reserve your Vueling?

The food thing in Moscow is rather odd – with exceptions, it’s usually simpler and better quality in economical eateries than in pretentious upmarket restaurants. Why should that be? We could go off on a historical, aesthetic, cultural, existential rant that would lead us back to Lenin’s czars, via the Cold War, and end up reflecting on certain post-Perestroika aesthetic criteria affecting much of Russia’s ruling classes, Yeltsin’s new rich now happily ensconced in capitalism. That aversion to minimalism; that Russianhorror vacuiexuded largely by the prevailing fashion, architecture and – of course – gastronomy.

Hence, by adopting the mantra that less is more – an idea many Russians eschew – you will win the gastronomic battle in a city as fascinating as it is hostile, but overwhelmingly beautiful, so different from what we pictured in our mind’s-eye. A city in which you need to have all your wits about you, the impelling need to come to grips with everything which is the driving force behind any journey. And, remain impervious to the odd diatribe hurled at you by Russians of any age and condition, who vent all their pent-up energy just to make it quite clear from the word go that they detest you and everything you stand for.

And, once you have experienced the cold and have been shouted at in Russian; once you have strolled along those huge avenues designed for tanks rather than people, and discovered, to your dismay, that in many respects Moscow is more like London than Moscow, then you will realise you have gained greater insight into the 20th century. And, that nobody who has not borne the brunt of being yelled at forcefully in Russian at least once in their life is in a position to voice an opinion about last century, or about its legacy, its influence on us and, in short, about who we are.

However, as we dedicated long, endless hours of strolling about to existential reflection, we also ate. At times, amazingly poor food, in mainly pseudo-modern restaurants. At others, very tasty food, in those places we are interested in here – notably more modest restaurants. Here, then, is the selection of our ten favourite restaurants in Moscow:

1. Caffe del Parco (Via di Camaldoli, 7)

Take note, hipsters. This will be your favourite restaurant in Moscow, located in what is surely about to become your landmark district in the city – Red October – alongside the river, by way of a Russian version of Williamsburg-Malasaña-Shoreditch still in the making, and that is the best part about it. There aren’t many establishments there yet, although there is the odd interesting store, a bookshop and a good number of restaurants with recycled furniture, bars, DJs and nightlife. Caffe del Parco, recently opened by a Sicilian who settled in Moscow some years ago, is a charming, minimalist café-restaurant where they have recovered the nonna’s recipes and where we were lucky enough to taste one of the best risottos ever. Just another of the thousands of paradoxes Moscow metes out to the visitor.

2. Cafe Mart

Pressing on with our modern streak, this cafe, one of two branches of the Moscow Modern Art Museum, is located in a delightful garden adorned with statues by the Georgian artist, Tsereteli, and packed with families dedicated to the noble art of brunch, with a host of children scuttling about the dining-room or participating in one of the workshops held inside. Delicious coffee, pastries, sandwiches and the odd dish on the simple, unpretentious menu featuring a combination of French cuisine with Georgian specialities in a setting that could well be somewhere in Berlin or Amsterdam.

3. Harat’s Pub

This small, cosy Irish pub on Arbat street, a broad pedestrian avenue that acts as the nerve centre of the city’s shopping and leisure milieu, happens to be one of the few options for having a drink. It is an unusual spot, run by a friendly Muscovite and former resident of Andalusia who loves Latin culture to the extent that he cares less about heading an Irish pub and is unfazed by its siting in one of Moscow’s mainstream precincts where one would expect to find some Russification, rather than forays into the cosmopolitan. He and his rock clientele seem to be enthusiasts of the Spanish beat, so that when you step inside you are hit by a full-blown “Lega-lega-li-za-ción” seemingly blaring out from some boomboxes. Indeed, the crowd here are fans of Spain, Ska-P, imported birras and Ireland in all their magnitude, and this strange yet endearing mix makes for one of Moscow’s most entertaining bars.

4.  Varenichnaya N.1 (Arbat, 29)

This is our favourite restaurant in the city, an unpretentious, pleasant, centrally located and economical eatery also on Arbat street which offers traditional Russian cuisine in the form of such dishes as vareniki (a pasta pie with various fillings, topped with a delicious sauce), pelmini (a similar dish of Ukrainian origin) and chebureki (traditional meat-filled pasties). They also have a selection of traditional pancakes, cocktails with or without alcohol, coffee and homemade pastries. All set in large, crowded but very cosy premises with motley adornments revealing extraordinary good taste juxtaposed with others striking one as just the opposite. This matters not the least when you sink your teeth into one of the economically priced delicacies served by charming staff who, surprisingly, are able to communicate in English.

5. Varvary

A rundown of gastronomy in Moscow is not complete without mention of Anatoly Komm, the country’s first chef to earn a Michelin star, who has an avant-garde restaurant offering haute cuisine known as Varvary. If you can afford it, it is worth booking a table in the dining-room run by this eccentric and unclassifiable chef who applies the latest cutting-edge techniques to a base of traditional Russian cooking (soups, smoked food). Komm regrets the terrible autarky Russia is going through and the indigenous people’s reluctance to open up to influences from neighbouring Europe, and he must know what he’s talking about. This is not the case with his luxury Muscovite restaurant, which offers molecular cuisine for customers with informed tastes, worlds apart from those “new rich”, as Kromm puts it, practically uneducated and with rather pompous tastes. The dishes crafted by this sensitive, art-loving man are noteworthy for their spectacular aesthetic, among other things.

6. Monsieur Croissant (Baumanskaya, 42)

You need to move away from the centre and approach the area of Baumanskaya, which we strongly urge you to do if you want to discover the real Moscow, which is much warmer and welcoming, far from the inclemencies of a centre as hostile as it is spectacular. And, if you decide to confront the beautiful although complicated Moscow metro system, this small restaurant is a great choice, whether you want to breakfast on one of its buns or pastries or have a simple but well prepared lunch, such as pasta with vegetables or the soup of the day. Nearby is a Hotel Mercure, where we happen to be staying, at a laughable price compared to downtown rates and just two metro stops from Red Square.

7. Tamerlan

This mega-restaurant with its mock luxury comes with a clientele dressed as if they’re were all attending a wedding downing vodkas like they were water. This Asian restaurant is a good option if you’re feeling like some glamour, as the Eurasian cuisine is outstanding, the price, reasonable and the decor, striking and attractive.

8. Chemodan (Gogolevskiy Blvd., 25/1)

It would be unforgivable to leave Moscow without having dined at least once in Chemodan, a delightful, absolutely unclassifiable restaurant that breaks the mould of what one would imagine contemporary Moscow to be like. Chemodan is located in the vicinity of Arbat and has an ambience (with its grand lamps, wallpaper, carpets and paintings hung on the walls) more reminiscent of a bar of intellectuals in the Paris of the twenties than what you would expect in Putin’s Russia. As you open the door and are met by a charming little old man, with the sound of Bésame mucho in the background, you know you’ve come to the right place. There, you give yourself over to cuisine with Russian roots, selecting from a well-worked menu featuring pampered, sensitively crafted dishes from all over the country.

9. Café Pushkin

Only if you have around €300 in your pocket should you venture into Café Pushkin, a legendary locale which is worth mentioning for figuring in all possible world rankings for both the best restaurants and the most beautiful ones. Don, therefore, your best attire and take your place like some Cinderella in this majestic environment lined with fine woods and where even the most secluded corner is lavished with tasteful luxury. Prepare to savour Russian cuisine with French touches – or, might that be the other way around? Despite the charm of the establishment, however, the dishes may not satisfy those diners seeking haute cuisine in its pure state.

10. Beverly Hills Diner

Lastly, a big lark, which we’re eager to not leave unmentioned as it is surely the most telling joke we have seen in Moscow. This is the most American of eateries, where you would expect Olivia Newton-John to make her entry at any time. It stands in downtown Moscow, with neon lights that appear to be proudly blaring out to the world that – yes – they won the Cold War. You bite your tongue and see for yourself, with some resentment, that you’re not quite sure what victory is being celebrated. You realise that, after so much salmon and Russian sauces, what you really fancy is the pleasure of the familiar, being able to finally sink your teeth into a hamburger.

Come and experience it for yourself! Check out our flights here

Text and photos by Laura Conde (Gastronomistas)