The ship arrives in Moscow, and I get a chance to see some stuff again, and to add some new bits....
Loved this retro ice cream cart on Sparrow Hill....
Back to the Kremlin, of course...
......and the cannon which was never shot....
...and Cathedral Square (with a cathedral on each corner....
....and our guide Violetta (yes, named after the opera). Hugely knowledgeable about all things historic and cultural, a real treasure...
.....St. Basil's, of course. (The favourite line of the day was the awed look, and someone saying: I always thought they photo shopped that....)...
This was part of a commemoration of Russia's experience in the Great Patriotic War - as World War II is known in Russia. There are five stories, one for each year of the war, and 1,418 fountains, one for each day of the war. There are exhibits tracing the battles, Russia's terrible losses, and the Allies eventual victory.
Free time to wander around...
...followed by dinner at the hotel, and a ballet, at a new venue called the Hall of Congresses, recently built within the Kremlin walls. It is a huge venue - it seats 6,000 - and is called "The People's Ballet. We saw an offering called The Scarlet Flower, a Russian take on Beauty and the Beast. Tchaikovsky it wasn't, not really very subtle at all, but still, enjoyable. An incredible number of well behaved children in the audience, imagine that....
We returned to the Tretyakov State Gallery, but this time with Violetta, who gave us a lot more insight into the collection. It was created by Pavel Tretyakov, an oligarch of his day, who donated his collection to the city of Moscow. He was the first to collect Russian art - this was in the 1860's or so. (Prior to Peter the Great, there was only religious art in Russia....)
The streets of Moscow were closed - for a marathon, believe it or not - so we wandered back to the hotel on foot, exploring a grocery store, a Russian equivalent of a dollar store, a pharmacy, and, finally, the State History Museum.
Just enough time for a farewell dinner at the hotel and a few hours sleep before leaving for one of two international airports in Moscow for the return trip.
It was a fabulous trip. All of the (groundless, as it turned out) anxiety which preceded it was worth it. I hope my next bucket list item, the Galapagos, will be pretty spectacular as well - so far I am batting two for two..
Finally, I am not sure that this will work, but it is meant to be a link to a slide show sent to me by one of my companions....
.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bcJSErJlWQuzrFIgA5L1RxzTNAoU4qky/view?usp=drive_web
Loved this retro ice cream cart on Sparrow Hill....
Back to the Kremlin, of course...
......and the cannon which was never shot....
...and Cathedral Square (with a cathedral on each corner....
....and our guide Violetta (yes, named after the opera). Hugely knowledgeable about all things historic and cultural, a real treasure...
The infamous GUM department store is not far from the Kremlin. This was only a small part of their small display...
This was part of a commemoration of Russia's experience in the Great Patriotic War - as World War II is known in Russia. There are five stories, one for each year of the war, and 1,418 fountains, one for each day of the war. There are exhibits tracing the battles, Russia's terrible losses, and the Allies eventual victory.
Free time to wander around...
...followed by dinner at the hotel, and a ballet, at a new venue called the Hall of Congresses, recently built within the Kremlin walls. It is a huge venue - it seats 6,000 - and is called "The People's Ballet. We saw an offering called The Scarlet Flower, a Russian take on Beauty and the Beast. Tchaikovsky it wasn't, not really very subtle at all, but still, enjoyable. An incredible number of well behaved children in the audience, imagine that....
We returned to the Tretyakov State Gallery, but this time with Violetta, who gave us a lot more insight into the collection. It was created by Pavel Tretyakov, an oligarch of his day, who donated his collection to the city of Moscow. He was the first to collect Russian art - this was in the 1860's or so. (Prior to Peter the Great, there was only religious art in Russia....)
The streets of Moscow were closed - for a marathon, believe it or not - so we wandered back to the hotel on foot, exploring a grocery store, a Russian equivalent of a dollar store, a pharmacy, and, finally, the State History Museum.
Just enough time for a farewell dinner at the hotel and a few hours sleep before leaving for one of two international airports in Moscow for the return trip.
It was a fabulous trip. All of the (groundless, as it turned out) anxiety which preceded it was worth it. I hope my next bucket list item, the Galapagos, will be pretty spectacular as well - so far I am batting two for two..
Finally, I am not sure that this will work, but it is meant to be a link to a slide show sent to me by one of my companions....
.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bcJSErJlWQuzrFIgA5L1RxzTNAoU4qky/view?usp=drive_web
If it doesn't work, you will have to make do with my meagre offerings; hope you liked them.
Tomorrow, I will bring you up to date on life in Palm Springs. Then, I think I will take a breather, and not subject you to any more of my ramblings for a while...
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