Best Eastern Izmailovo Gamma Moscow

... make it a work of art, 12 stops 19.4 klm, each different. Stained glass, marble, chandelier's and fancy tile work. <br><br>4 hour's later we ended up back at the hostel, time for a bite to eat. <br><br>Rain has slowed will walk around the Kremlin tonight and see it under lights.<br><br>&#1078;&#1080;&#1079;&#1 085;&#1100; &#1093;&#1086;&#1088;&#1086;&#1096;&#10 72;<br><br>Photos coming once we hit Beijing!<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br ><br><br>

... Stalin, Lenin and all Russian presidents. This afternoon we went to the Hard Rock Cafe, and so proud we managed to navigate the metro by ourselves!!!! (Yes Karen, we did it and survived :-) ) <br><br>****This part was written on location :-) ******<br><br>Tonight we are at a Russian Dance 'miracle' (not just a mere dance show, we are definitely the youngest here!!!!! The metro at rush hour was a bit scary ...

... and in a way more 'real'. More spread out, more money around (you can see the difference in the types of cars on the roads). In general people were a bit more accepting/patient with tourists in Moscow and their were churches and cathedrals everywhere - I got used to putting on a skirt (over my jeans) and headscarf to enter - not quite sure how much of a state I looked at times but that's obviously not important. A quick mention of one challenge I had here - buying railway ...

... But it is good! I felt safe walking home late at night and the only people I was trying to avoid was the police. This I think I already talked about in my previous entry. Well, I think this is it for general comments for now. I will be getting on the train to Kazan in a few hours (at 10pm) and I am thinking of taking one last stroll around the city. I didn't get to do much on Moscow. I saw the sights and walked around a lot. I got to know the centre, Arbat, Kitay ...

... didn't get checked once and when my bags set off the metal detectors they just waved me right in. There is a huge village set up for the Champions League Finals between Manchester United and Chelsea and I walk around the entire area and take in the sights before heading to the metro to make my meeting with Svetlana. On the way to meet Svetlana, I do a tour of the Moscow metro ...

... magazine, writing in my journal (the true confessions of the Moscow airport, written like the Blair Witch Hunt), and people-watching. I swear, the hats in Russia....man...I feel like I'm in Paris, but instead of shoes, the fashion statement is CHAPKAS (hats)! Big furry ones mainly. Most of the men I saw wore the big furry ones...very pretty! After the 5 hours of nothingness, I go up and walked around ...

Ukraine and Russia, two countries that 20years ago w**e part of the communist USSR but now seem so diff**ent. We w**e a little scared about going to Kiev aft** are guidebook wrote that no one will speak English, we should regist** with our embassy on arrival, women shouldn't walk around alone, and Ukraine is extremely poor country with loads of crime. The book is now in the bin; rath** than excite us about our destinations it incites ...