It didn’t seem as if we had had nearly enough sleep when it was time to get up. We headed to breakfast in the enormous dining room and were amazed at the huge selection of food. There was everything available. A far cry from China. There was: fruit; hot and cold cereals; cheese and pickles; cold meat and hot dishes; salads; potatoes; rice; eggs; bread; cakes; and deserts. I said to Ray that they must have been catering for a typical breakfast for every country in the world!! And, there was a pianist playing soft classical music to wake everyone up.
Jon, Ray and I met our Russian guide at 10 am and set off on our tour of the city. It was exciting; the beauty of the city was not what either of us had expected, as we were certain that St. Petersburg would be the prize, but it is spectacular and Moscow has become a real favourite. There are about 12 million people in Moscow; it has a huge population of billionaires; it has been the most expensive city for foreign employees in the world for 3 years and has only just been surpassed by Tokyo and Osaka this year; and its subway is the busiest in the world with 9 million users a day.
We saw so many beautiful sights, but unfortunately the Red Square area was closed because of the Formula One race in the afternoon so we didn’t get into any of the sights in that area. By the way, did I mention that the Russians like to drive fast…very fast? We have also seen more varieties of luxury cars (Ferrari, Maseratti, Lamborghini, Rolls, Aston Martin, etc.) here than I’ve seen in a day in Toronto! The roads fortunately are wide and in great condition. Drivers obey the rules, unlike India; there is no frenetic honking of horns!
The centre area is magnificent. The architecture is unique and colourful, there are many beautiful gardens, and the city is rich with statues and other artwork. We saw some beautiful churches, for example Church of St. George, Church of Christ the Saviour and my favorite, the Church of the Trinity which stands on the top of Swallow Hill. Painted with white trim it has five green cupolas and is decorated with beautiful paintings. Some of my favourite sites that we saw were: Gorky Park (did you see the movie or read the book? I gave up on the audio book, it was just a little too strange!)alive with roller coasters and Ferris wheels and people and kids all enjoying the hot summer weather; Peter the Great statute in the Moscow River which is riddled with controversy about its existence; the Park of the Sculptures; Gallery Street; The New Maiden Convent and the huge pond in front of the convent which inspired Tchaikovsky to write “Swan Lake”, and the park across from the convent where the bronze ducks which were donated by Barbara Bush to the children of Moscow from the children of the US are on display; and finally Victory Park with the huge obelisk of St. George and the Dragon (that was my high school in Edinburgh’s logo), and at the far end by the Triumphal Arch, the volley ball competitions.
When we got back from our tour, we met Chris and went into the Izmailovsky Market, an eclectic market for antiques, paintings, carpets; and souvenirs. The buildings around the market are unique but empty and we can’t help but think either tourism is really down or the venture has not yet come into its own. After this we had a quick moment on the Internet to check e-mail, time to change and freshen up, then dinner in one of the outdoor cafes around the hotel. By the time we crawled into bed, we were exhausted but what a wonderful and exciting day we had; we learned so much about Russian history, and saw so many beautiful sites.
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