It's all about the money, fast cars, and girls

Moscow reminds me of a bad late 90's rap song (which perhaps I've made up in my head), but I'm walking around with a little beat (in my head) for money, fast cars and girls. As we've walked through a variety of neighborhoods in Moscow, one thing is for certain, Moscovites LOVE their fast cars. Never before in my life have I seen so many $60k+ cars. In one block we saw a bentley, maserati, porsche cayenne, BMW X5/X6, Audi A5 etc etc. And they're all parked on the street! Unlike the states (where the preferred car color is silver) black rules. Although, there doesn't seem to be a car wash business since all the fancy cars are dirty and dust covered.
The girls love them some brands. It's head to toe armani/versace/burberry/prada - almost to a fault. We saw a woman walking with Versace labels from head to toe, yet she screamed florescent highlighter color combo pack (Pink shirt, yellow pants, green shoes).
We've done all the requisite sites in Moscow (Kremlin, red square, Lenin's tomb - who by the way is embalmed and kind of creepy looking, museums, etc) and the one that sticks out the most to me is the sculpture park. The sculpture park is the setting for last year's Amazing Race (There was an episode where the competitors had to count the number of stalin & lenin heads in the park). It's actually a lovely park, home to all the 'cast off' sculptures in Moscow. On a Sunday, it seems to be where all the Moscow families hang out, play chess (we saw a human Pawn! (dressed up obviously for a life size chessboard competition), and just chill. It was lovely to see 'normal' Moscovites doing their thing.
Lenin is a trip - did you know that when he died, Stalin insisted that he be embalmed so all of Russia could view him? Apparently, his brain was taken out in the process (to be studied of course) and every few days the body is wiped down and then submerged in wax/chemicals ever 18 months. In truth, he kind of looks like a wax museum figure (you literally are herded in like cattle, so for all we know he COULD be a wax figure).
Food wise, we haven't experienced anything special. I've eaten more beef than I have in the last 2 years, and wow, the potatoes. Mmm potatoes. Sadly, nothing terribly impressive. I've had beet juice, borscht (beet soup), but it's just rather filling, so nothing to really 'write home about'. We'll see if St Petersburg offers more options (albeit cheaper ones). When we read that Moscow is the most expensive city in the world, we were prepared, but really we weren't. Our cheapest meal so far (and I'm a bit ashamed to admit this) came at McDonald's! (which btw, is one of two food options at the Kremlin - the other being Sbarro - yay American chains?) McDonald's definitely subsidizes the food cost in Moscow, since the prices were the equivalent in exchange.. e.g. My milkshake was only $1.50USD... whereas every other meal (at non McD venues) was significantly more.. We had cafeteria (think 80's style public school food) dinner last night, which was a whopping $30USD for 2 hamburger patties on a plate, with a squirt of mashed potatoes. People weren't kidding about prices..

We're off on the train to St. Petersburg - Yay for the Hermitage!!