Day 10: Moscow Adventure

Today was AWESOME! I am beyond exhausted but it was well worth it! We went on a city tour for a couple of hours. Visited several important sites and took lots of photos. We went to the Red Square and took day time photos. I also went in to the Gym (Pronounced, “goom”) mall and had a scoop of mango sorbet on a waffle cone. I also went to a candy shop and had some Russian chocolates. I meant to bring them back home but they’re gone.
:-)
Afterwards, we went to a street called Arbat and had the opportunity to walk around the pedestrian street and shop and enjoy lunch. I had beef with mashed potatoes and borscht. Afterwards I walked almost the whole length of Arbat Street. It was quite a trek. After lunch, we went to a church called Christ the savior. Pictures were not allowed inside, but I can say that it was probably one of the most beautiful churches I’ve ever seen. I bought a little candle, I lit the candle and stood in front of Jesus on the Cross and prayed and cried. It was a truly gorgeous church, with several locals in there praying and also lighting candles. The Russian Orthodox Church is very similar to the Catholic Church which I think is why I felt so at home.

After Church we went inside the Kremlin. Kremlin means fort, and inside the fort are several churches and Putin’s office. We had to go through security and X-ray (for bags) to get in. Inside there was also a museum where I was able to see original carriages that carried queens and kings through a thousand year history. Everything was very ornate with lots of diamonds, pearls, and other precious gems. It was amazing that these were all originals and have been preserved this long.

After touring the kremlin, four of us decided to stay behind and continue to explore the area around the Red Square. Two ladies are educators from Australia, and the other is my roommate from Canada. The rest of our tour group went back to the hotel and rested. Granted, we were exhausted but you never know when you will come back to a foreign country so we chose to take advantage of our time. We went to more churches and took pictures. I chose a beautiful church where I was able to spread some of Chris’s ashes. We found a great restaurant that overlooked the Red Square called, Bosco. We had a wonderful meal!! After dinner we went to St Basil’s once again for more pictures and then we took the metro back to our hotel. I must look shady because I was asked to put my backpack through an X-ray machine by police at the metro. None of the other three ladies I was with were asked to do that. Regardless, it was an amazing day... I feel so grateful for everything I was able to fit in during my stay in Moscow.