Carol's Travels

Cha-Cha-Cha is ready to fly!

Today was bittersweet since it was the last day of the trip. Our group members have gotten along so well, and Miina, our guide, has been wonderful! This morning we enjoyed the lavish spread put out by the hotel. There are so many breakfast choices. This morning, I ordered a ham and cheese scramble. I also chose a tiny shrimp egg roll, bacon, fresh fruit, yogurt, a croissant, orange juice, and hot chocolate. The harpist on the stage was playing familiar songs while we ate.

Afterward, Linda and I went back to our rooms to get ready to go walking to the Kremlin. On the way we watched the changing of the guard. I was surprised that the fit young men walked with a goose step the whole time. Then we continued walking in a light drizzle to the square that had five churches. Sophia, our very knowledgeable Moscow city guide, said it was the only place in the world that had five churches in one square. We walked through Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Along the way, we walked by Putin’s residence. He wasn’t there because there were no cars parked there. We passed his helicopter landing pad, a cannon that had balls that were too big to fit in the cannon, a huge bell that was broken before it could be raised to a tower, and beautiful gardens.

We arrived at the armory at noon, the time we had reservations. We had 1 1/2 hours to see all of the collections of the czars. Everything displayed is the original piece, no replicas. All of the jewels are real diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and more. There were dresses of the female rulers and wives of the czars.. Elizabeth had 1500 fancy long gowns, and she never wore the same dress twice. There were fancy silver trays that had been gold plated to keep them from tarnishing! We saw armor, carriages, and Faberge eggs. It was an amazing place to visit. Afterward, I bought a small pendant that was a copy of something in the museum.

We then got on the bus and rode to a shopping street which had some souvenirs of good quality. Linda and I found a shop that had Matryoshka Dolls. We each bought dolls. I also found a replica of a Faberge egg. We completed our shopping, so we went to MacDonald’s and split a burger and some fries. A customer who spoke English ordered for us since everything was in Russian. The Moscow burger tasted better than I remember their tasting at home.
The bus drove us back to the hotel. Tonight we will be walking to a nearby restaurant for our last dinner together. Then Linda and I will be leaving the hotel at 2:45 A.M. for our flights home.

We are staying at the Metropol Hotel which has quite the history. Heads of state and other dignitaries have stayed here over the years. Currently there is a world military event happening this week in Moscow. The West African delegates from Mali and Niger are wearing dark suits. Others are dressed in full uniform. http://metropol-moscow.ru/en/

 

It was a beautiful warm sunny day all day. We met our city guide, Sophia. We first took a walking tour to Red Square in the sunshine. She pointed out the Kremlin. Next we took a bus tour of the important sites in Moscow that aren’t close to our hotel. We stopped where we could view the convent where a czar would send a rejected wife instead of killing her. The picturesque lake is called Swan Lake because there used to be lots of swans there. Tchaikovsky lived nearby, and he composed the first two parts of the ballet, Swan Lake, while he was living there.  

In the park we saw a little boy named Sasha sitting on every duckling statue. Barbara Bush presented the gift from the American children to the Russian children of some bronze ducklings from the book, MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS. We also stopped to walk through Cathedral of Christ the Savior which may be the world’s largest Orthodox Church. 

We stopped at a graveyard where very famous people are buried. Many statues marked the graves. There were movie stars, politicians, and a doctor who performed heart transplants among the grave sites. Some cost as much as a million dollars.  

 

We also stopped to take pictures overlooking the city. Then we stopped for lunch for some more Russian food with sausages and some kind of grape pudding-like dessert.

After lunch Sophia expertly guided us through Tretyakov Gallery. She took us through many collections painted by famous Russian painters. Then we had another adventure. We took the metro during rush hour back to the hotel via two trains and long escalators. We saw three stations which were works of art. One station had been used as a hospital and meeting area during WWII. Each station was decorated differently. Some of the artistic techniques were jasper walls, mosaic ceilings, bronze statues, and porcelain decorations on the ceilings and walls depicting people wearing traditional folk costumes. Nine million people ride it daily.