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Published: September 4th 2008
......It take years of practice to walk in either, these Russian lasses make it look like a walk in the park in your Sunday best slippers! We thoroughly enjoyed watching The National Ballet perform The Nutcracker, unfortunately The Bolshoi Theatre was closed for refurb so we saw them perform in a sister theatre next door; it was excellent if a little bizarre seeing Father Christmas and Xmas trees in September! The performers appeared to be calcium deficient as they were milking the applause (for anyone that has been to the Opera House that was mild in comparison)!!
We are also enjoying watching the varying amount of stiletto heels (which appear to be compulsory street wear) walking around, the appreciation of this performance is equaled; it is as skillful as the ballet as they masterfully negotiate the cobbled streets with 4 inch++++ skinny heels with the utmost ease, although there are a few learners starting out who usually have a close friend to oblige as a lean to!!
We had a fascinating walking tour with a lady in her 50's who has lived through
Communism and come out the otherside - amazingly! When you hear stories of people practically starving
Essential Moscow wear!!
In any weather, at anytime, any place, anywhere.and the see the modern Moscow with it's globalisation and High Street shops it could not be further apart. The Hammer and Sickle emblem has now been well and truly replaced with the gold rings of Gucci.
Have now experienced Moscow by day and night light; during the day it is a contrast of Stalinesque buildings which are large, square and grey in contrast to the low rise ye olde buildings which are painted in pastel colours with intricate detail that Lenin allowed. The building and development taking place in the city is everywhere you look; the Moscovites say that a new bird has been spotted in town - the crane (and there are flocks of them)! There's also a Cockatoo and they are mostly driving blacked out 4x4's!
Visited the tomb of the "Unknown Soldier" where they change the guard on the hour with the goose step marching which is different from Queenies guards. Headed to the 15th Century Convent that was also used as a prison by Peter the Great, it also withstood attacks from the Polish. There was an impressive cemetery next door which has some outlandish gravestones, it included the graves of Pushkin, Krushchev
STILL Smiling
but it's Bloody Cold an Chekhov.
Finally, we toured the "Gorky House", where Maxim Gorky spent his time under Stalin as Minister of Culture, it was a beautiful house built in the Art Deco style by a shipping merchant in the 19th Century. Stalin impregnated the walls with poison to bump Gorky off - allegedly! We had to wear rather delightful slippers over our shoes to protect the floor, although we are sure that they were getting us to polish the floors for them.
We are about to leave Moscow to board the 21.30 to Mongolia, we will probably be out of contact until then.
LOL
K&R
xx
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Fed
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only Kirstin...
could travel across the world in a white jacket... one classy lady! So far not very jealous because I've been to Moscow myself (it is SOOOOO true about the shoes not to mention all the underwear sold in the subways) but will be once you emerge on the other side on your train trip. Rob, when in Mongolia, don't forget to taste and get the recipe for the camel stew - it's a local delicacy, often made with a camel that died of old age - a new twist on slowly matured meat... if you bring back the recipe, I promise I'll find the camel!!! Have fun guys - Lots of love, Fed x