Touring Moscow

We had such a wonderful day in Moscow. We were met by Ann, our guide, from Exeter. She was so careful, so good, and knew so much. Her English was excellent and she was very flexible with what we wanted to see. As always we had thought we could do more than we actually got done, but all we did and saw was terrific.

In the Kremlin there are many, many large ravens on the beautiful grounds. The Kremlin is a walled governmental complex with 20 red brick towers topped with tile roofs and a gold and ruby glass Russian Star. There are

lots of beautiful cathedrals with shiny gold domes. There was a cathedral for the coronations, a cathedral for the burial of czars and emperors....plus Catherine the Great who seemed to do things differently and HER way....and also a Cathedral built just so the wives would have a place to pray in the morning before the public service at 10:00 in the Cathedral of the Assumption.

In the Armory we saw coronation vestments and vestments for the heads of the Orthodox Church. The decorations of diamonds and pearls on the silk fabric was wonderful. We saw carriages that were fancy and some not so fancy. We could see the development of windows of mica, windows then of glass, and finally windows with beveled glass. We saw carriages that had to be picked up to change the direction, then carriages with the ability to be steered, and finally carriage that had suspension systems. Still didn't look like a great way to travel to me!

We then went to the State Diamond Fund where the treasures of the government are kept. We saw crown jewels that would rival the English Crown jewels. We saw a sapphire that is the biggest in the world with 258 carats. The diamond in the specter of Catherine the Great was 379 carats. We saw some very creative jewelry- beautiful ruby and diamond earrings that were in 5 sections and could be configured in different ways. Instead of going through a hole in someone's ear, the whole earring hung over the ear like glasses. The value of the stones in the diamond vault is not known.

In the midst of our visit to the huge outdoor complex it started to rain. We needed to buy two umbrellas but the shops credit card machine was not working right so Ann bought is umbrellas- and they got used a lot.

We connected back with our driver after about 3 1/2 hours and went to the Cafe Vogue for a delicious lunch. The cutest things to me were the tiny chairs they brought to the tables to hold purses, cameras and bags. The company that arranged our tour paid for lunch as a way to say sorry for the Copenhagen mix-up.

After lunch we went for a driving tour. It was raining again and traffic was wild. As always we didn't get it all done but we loved what we did and saw. We found a town filled with cheerful- except for the police- friendly and helpful people.

Life is better since 1991 and the fall of the USSR- especially for younger people. Older people who are living on pensions were into a system that does not provide enough money in this day and age. As we were approaching the point of entering the Armory, an older adult came up the side of the long line and told the guard she was a pensioner and the government owed her some special rights. She demanded to go in ahead of the line and they let her go!

We left much unseen here and would think this a great place for a return visit. Tomorrow we head for home and we are both hoping for smooth sailing...or that is flying.