Varsity Shopping

I've always considered myself an enthusiastic & even an exceptional shopper.....maybe due to blood (dad managed Walgreen's, 1 grandfather a J.C. Penney, the other a pharmacy), maybe just due to sheer experience.  Regardless of the why, these retail skills have seriously been put to the test in Kyiv.


Lace up, shopping here is a marathon........


You better shop around: While there are a ton of 'ginormous' hyper markets, that truly do sell a surprising range of products under the same roof, our typical shopping list includes several 'must have' products that seem to only be available at one store.  Only problem is - not at the same one store.....


Cans of cashews were not something I thought I needed to import or hoard....

...but after 2 months, I'd written them off until one fateful day at my favorite wine store - Good Wine...

In addition to it's elaborate nut section, obviously it has a huge range of wines.....

After discovering this store, we went from importing 12 bottles of wine / trip (2L allowed / person - we, of course, included the kids in our calculations), to shifting all of that suitcase weight & space to other essentials - baking products and snacks - oh happy day!


While it was a given that chocolate chips needed to be imported via suitcase, I panicked when it appeared that our serious consumption of cinnamon toast was in jeopardy.....until a trip to Metro - a Costco like store....

Given the only bottle available is GIANT, we no longer are in risk of a shortage (imported US bottle shown for scale).....

But who would ever guess this is the only store selling it & the only size of cinnamon seen in the country!?




And, while I knew that Europe was not as big on diet, low-cal, low-fat, I was not prepared to live a happy life without our breakfast staple - fat-free Greek Yogurt.....locating this gem required the help of a Russian speaking Swedish friend.....

and a trip to Silpo - what appears to be a mid-level chain...

I really should be awarded some sort of finders fee now given the number of people I have directed to Silpo.  I suspect the 0% fat craving parade of ex-pats is now skewing their inventory management.




And while I get that fresh cranberries are not 'essential' year round, Thanksgiving would not be the same without them (Xavier alone requires about a bag's worth per sitting)......

...thanks to Mega Market (a 2 story supermarket + drug store type place) we did not have to do withough....

This has proven to be my favorite store among them...has a nice selection and probably about Dominick's / Safeway quality...but even within this one you can't 'one stop shop'.......

The top floor houses all of the home & personal care stuff (think TP & shampoo), the ground floor all of the groceries.....if you want to buy some of both, you are expected to make separate purchases & store the items previously procured in the handy lockers provided.....

..simple?  No!  But if it were, we would not get the pleasure of considering ourselves 'varsity shoppers'.




So Happy Tuesday & here's to shopping!