An unusual car with European license plates parked in the center of Vladivostok. Sara and Paolo are newlyweds from Italy who moved to live in a house on four wheels with their cat named Sake, celebrated their wedding there and went on a long trip around Russia in it . They were unhappy from the trip, but the couple decided to check for themselves if the stereotypes about the evil Russians with bears were true – it was not. VL.ru journalists learned from foreigners why the capital of the Far East is attractive, where Vladivostok has the most delicious pizza, why our murals, in their opinion, are the most beautiful and what it’s like to live in a motorhome, and he gave them to them too. a taste of the city.
A long honeymoon trip in a motor home
Coronavirus has changed the lives of many people, including Italians Sarah and Paolo, who until 2022 worked as a dental hygienist and an IT specialist. Travel lovers bought a mobile home two years ago to travel wherever they wanted, and moved into it with their dog and cat. They traveled throughout Europe, they went to Africa, and when they returned to their native Italy they even had a wedding in a motor home, inviting relatives and several friends.
“We returned to Italy and got married in a motor home right in the mountains. It was fun because it was a surprise for the families. There were only 30 people at the wedding, but it was a very important and glorious moment. We had our dog and cat with us. And then we left Italy in a motorhome,” said Sara and Paolo.
The honeymoon, which the newlyweds usually spend at resorts and in expensive hotels, was delayed for Sarah and Paolo, firstly, and secondly, it looks un- normal, of course, like the wedding. They went on their four-wheeled house to the Balkans, to Greece, then to Georgia and Armenia, from there to Russia, stopped in Mongolia and Kazakhstan, returned to the great Russia and went to Vladivostok.
They arrived in Russia at the end of May. In a few months we managed to visit Rostov-on-Don, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sergiev Posad, drivingacross the golden ring, ending in Kazan (where we drank vodka at the residence of local residents and we got to feel part). of the family), we saw the Volga, went to Ufa, Yekaterinburg, Kazakhstan, Altai, through Mongolia we ended up in Ulan-Ude and enjoyed the beauty of Lake Baikal, we went through Chita, Khabarovsk and Blagoveshchensk and ended up in Vladivostok. In early September they will go to South Korea, from there to their favorite Japan.
“Sake is the most important thing here”
Sake, the cat that saved Sarah and Paolo, is now traveling with them. Before that, a catcher also used to travel with the family, but they lost him on a trip to Russia due to cancer.
“We were in Ufa. Then they found out she had cancer. And within a month she left us. The vets couldn’t save her because she was too old. But they were very kind – they talked to us, explained the situation, gave her pills that allowed her to deal with the pain. We were very lucky to be in Ufa at that time,” said Sarah and Paolo.
Sake managed to live in the motorhome. The owners even joke that this is his property, not theirs. There are claw marks on the chairs and furniture, but they don’t bother anyone. It’s not difficult with it – problems can arise just when processing documents at customs. Sake is a very social cat who has visited dozens of countries and cities and is already used to an unusual home and ever-changing environment.
Sara and Paolo do not live in hotels and hostels; they only need a few meters, on which there is a double bed, a small toilet hidden behind the door, a gas stove, a refrigerator, a table (both eating and working) and shelves for clothes. The house is heated, has a 90-liter water tank inside, and is “powered” by solar panels.
“We don’t have a lot of clothes – the all-season clothes are stored on several shelves. We use a small amount of water – we have a tracker that shows how much is left. There is a tank for 90 liters of water hidden under the bed, we use it for everything – for cooking, showering. Now we use it very economically – it can easily last for 10 days. We can also monitor how much electricity is left because the house runs on solar panels. In Vladivostok, the sun is a problem, we spent a lot of time looking for a place where the sunlight would fall,” explained Sarah and Paolo.
Sarah and Paolo live very ascetically – a few clothes, one laptop, two pairs of shoes. They often cook their own food to save money when they go to restaurants. They do not eat meat; they bring fish and seafood instead. The diet contains a lot of rice and other grains, eggs, vegetables and fruits. VL.ru journalists also found condensed milk in a traveler’s refrigerator – they said that they tried the most delicious condensed milk here in Russia, now it is always in their small refrigerator . They do not deny themselves the pleasure of trying pizza in large Russian cities.
“But you have the best pizzeria in Russia – this is the Sicilian pizzeria. We met Fabio, he is Italian and he makes very tasty pizza. You have to trust us as Italians – it tastes even better than in some pizzerias in Italy. We haven’t eaten a delicious Italian pizza for a long time, and when we tried it here, we were very happy,” said Paolo and Sara.
“We want to eliminate stereotypes”
Two years ago, after moving into a motorhome, Sarah and Paolo left their careers as dentists and IT specialists to become professional travelers with their blog. They tell you how to fill out the paperwork, show you useful apps, and basically share tips for living in an RV.
They were unhappy from traveling to Russia – Paolo and Sara explained that stereotypes about Russian people are still strong in Italy, even in big cities, so even close relatives and friends told them that they could here, in the land of vodka and bears. be dangerous
“A lot of people stopped us from going. They said that people in Russia are angry and suspicious and have a bad attitude towards foreigners. It is strange that there are still stereotypes about Russian people. But we decided to check everything with our own personal experience, so we still went on a trip,” explained Sarah and Paolo.
It turned out that everything is completely different – Russian grandmothers are ready to take you to your apartment and feed you borscht (even specially prepared without meat), ordinary townspeople will show the route for you in every way without any problems (if they can they will explain it in English, show you on the map or take you by the arm to the right point), do doctors everything to save the pet, he reduced the suffering and suffering of his owners, and children, without a shadow. suspect, to come out to find out where the passengers are from, where they are going and tell them where else they have to go.
“Russian people are amazing. They are very kind and always try to help. It is also interesting that in Russia we always feel as comfortable and safe as possible, we are not afraid of anything, even in the evening. We were surprised to see a Russian woman calmly walking down the street almost at night – you don’t see this in Italy,” said Sara and Paolo.
Under the slogan of debunking stereotypes, a blog of foreigners is now developing. They hope that they will be able to show Russia and its inhabitants as kind, compassionate, interested and always ready to help.
The taste of the city
Sarah and Paolo have never been on a seaside holiday in Vladivostok – the weather just didn’t allow it. But they managed to walk around the city center and enjoy the architecture.
“We didn’t expect Vladivostok to be just like this. We thought it would be like the rest of Russia – what Chita would be like, for example. But it turned out that this was not true. It’s gorgeous. Like Italian port cities. We want to go to Russian Island and see nature. But the city has already surprised us – there are a lot of young people here, a lot of art. We have never seen such good street art in any city as Vladivostok. You walk down the street and one mural leads to the next, it’s so unusual and beautiful – tigers, seagulls,” said the newlyweds with inspiration.
Together with VL.ru News correspondents, they walked the main streets of Vladivostok and found out which creative teams made these “wonderful” murals. We saw local mosaic pixel art and vowed to follow the QR codes and find as many street art works as possible on the city streets.
The travelers also got a taste of Vladivostok. Since Sarah and Paolo don’t eat meat, they couldn’t try pie, but they tried milk – they remembered the unusual taste of milk. They also appreciated Taiga flavored ice cream, or instead of pine nuts, from a local factory, very different from Italian gelato. We learned the recipe for okroshka and appreciated the broad taste of live kvass from Arsenyev. And, of course, we tried to find a brand store of a local confectionery factory with the smell of chocolate and we tried the best, according to local residents, Bird’s milk, and we also played a popular game measuring the colors of the chocolate covered candles. cry
Until now, they remember Vladivostok for the atmosphere of a port city with vibrant youthful energy, beautiful architecture and amazing street art. In the coming days, travelers will continue to explore Vladivostok, even planning to go to local beaches and finally swim in the sea. And at the beginning of September, their journey through Russia will end – they will take a ferry to South Korea, and from there they will go to Japan – the birthplace of sake, the drink is known as a cat traveler.
Let’s remember that we previously met two other travelers from Italy. You can read more about this by following the link.
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2024-08-25 05:08:00
