We arrived yesterday afternoon and were determined to make the most of our Day One - even after 18 hours of travel. We walked and walked and then walked some more. There were monuments to see, church bells to hear, parks to visit, festivals to watch and much great people watching to do. It was awesome! However, both of the vegetarian spots I'd found on Happy Cow were either out of business or impossible to find, because even after death marching around in search of them, it was about 9:30 pm and we had still not had dinner. Right in our moment of desperation, my mom spotted a divey little falafel spot and we went for it! In many ways, this was one of the worst falafels I've ever had - but in other ways it was one of the best. Namely, I was so damned hungry at this point it was just crazy. Between hunger, fatigue, and jet lag, I was practically spinning with delirium when my mom took this picture!
Nothing a good eight hours of sleep and some morning yoga can't fix! With our supplies from the grocery store, we had a nice breakfast of hummus, dark bread, bananas, and cucumber. A yummy way to start the day.
There are coffee carts and coffee trucks everywhere in Kiev, but we went to a proper coffee shop in order to mooch some free wifi. The coffees were great, and I finally got to put my SoyGo powdered soy milk to the test!
It's lightly sweetened, and you can see that it separates just a little. At home, I don't really like it when soy milk separates in my coffee, but I was actually pretty impressed with this stuff for being a powdered product. And if you're like me and really prefer cream in your coffee, I think these little packets are a good addition to your travel pack!
As we were cruising and meandering through town, we decided to try the local beverage called kvas, which is a very lightly alcoholic beer-like drink made from stale dark bread. There are ladies selling it out of coolers all around town. I'm not much of an alcohol drinker, but I loved this stuff! In fact, after we finished off this cup, we went back for more! It's even a bit sweet and very refreshing. Plus, a rare opportunity for a vegan to enjoy authentic street food! Yeah!
For lunch, we just happened to stumble across this place - because we noticed dozens and dozens of people pouring in the front door...
Here are some of the dishes up close:
Veggie ragout, cucumber and cabbage salad, cucumber and tomato salad with dill, a great radish and cucumber salad with loads of herbs...
I am so glad the vegans of the world have you as a guide. And glad you're getting some good food.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful cathedral shot.
wow, it looks like you're having so much fun! the scenery is just gorgeous! thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMore people are going Vegan. And that's a great thing.
ReplyDeleteYour travel posts are my favourite! I had a terrible-great falafel in Budapest recently so I totally know what you mean.
ReplyDeleteDear Amey!
ReplyDeleteWe liked your Ukrainian post so much! But we would like to know more about Alushta's vegans as well.
your friends from Alushta
Your travels are so inspiring! I find foreign travel to be the most difficult time to be vegan, and it's great to see someone making the most of things and sharing some valuable info along the way. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI usually put powdered soymilk in my coffee (better than milk brand), and it mixes wonderfully and doesn't clump up- but for a recent trip I bought the soygo packets. I find it clumpy and slimy at the bottom of the cup, but the individual serving packets are convenient. I think for my next trip I'll put some better than milk powdered soymilk in a ziploc with a small plastic spoon and see how it goes.
ReplyDeleteWhat a find for lunch! All the dishes look really tasty, and kvas sounds amazing. I'd go back for a second glass too :)
ReplyDelete