Friday 22nd May Into the Kremlin The plan today was to visit the inside of the Kremlin and we had all day to do it. We started out first though with a dry run to link the subway to Leningrad Station where the train for St Petersburg will depart from tomorrow. On the way into town we actually got some life out of a fellow passenger and it was the first and only time someone actually acknowledged we were there on the train.We were both standing and a seat came free behind Gretchen.A woman tapped Gretchen on the shoulder and indicated the spare seat with a sort of a grunt.They aren’t all zombies after all !!! Subway director Gretchen had it all worked out and sure enough after popping up from underground it only took a ... read more

Wednesday 20th May A taste of Red Square One of the benefits of living like a Muscovite in a suburban apartment is that there is virtually no traffic noise.Building number 7 that the hostel is in on Belorechevskaya Street is not really on the street.Rather it is amongst other apartment buildings 100mtrs back from the road.You can hear a very low hum from traffic somewhere in the distance but it does mean that if you are used to waking to the increase in daily traffic noise as the day starts then that won’t be of any use to you here. And so it was that 8.30am again had come around before we stirred to another fine day overhead.By this hour the sun had already been up nearly 3 hours but the dark red curtains had kept ... read more

Monday 18th May Welcome to Moscow,comrade!! The crowd in the departure lounge slowly built in numbers as the departure time came near.This flight was only 4 hours and we wondered how we were going to cope with little sleep and arrival into a VERY foreign country for us.Time would tell. For this flight we had an older but comfortable Airbus.The captain was a woman with a precise English voice rather out of place with the majority of passengers who looked rather Russian.She gave us the flight time and told us the weather was expected to be a little misty and 5C on arrival into Moscow at 5.30am their time!!!This is COLDER than home in the middle of winter we thought!!! More drinks and food meant little sleep which we thought would be a concern if we ... read more

Saturday 16th May Golf Croquet in Cairo...well almost We felt more confident about our third day in Cairo after the successful day yesterday and our trip to the pyramids. A wedding down the road from the hotel continued until around 3am in the morning so a restful sleep wasn’t on the chart for Gretchen although it didn’t bother me.They certainly know how to celebrate the big events in their lives here. The plan today was to take in the Al Geizera Club situated on a large island in the Nile River and then see what was on offer by way of a boat ride on the Nile itself.We have learnt not to try and fit too much into a day due to the time it has taken us to get downtown and the heat that while ... read more

Thursday 14th May Lost in Cairo At last a city that has got the better of us,for now.More about that later. The beds in our room as the best we have experienced to date.Wide,kingsize singles,and soft and comfortable mattress.Sleep came quickly after our early morning arrival and we didn’t wake until 8am.With breakfast not starting until 8.30am we were able to enjoy taking our time and showering under a shower that is attached to the wall.What bliss!! Breakfast was on the terrace on the roof of the 4 story hotel.As forecast the weather was brilliantly fine but with a warm breeze.We sought a table under an umbrella and dined on roll with butter and jam and coffee.Not as filling as Athens but adequate for now. We decided not to try too much today and just take ... read more