Красный Площадь

August 1

Well, today I woke up at 8 thinking it was noon. Gloriously, it wasn't. After we got up and had oatmeal, Eunice took me to see the Красный Площадь (Red Square). It was amazing!!!!! Very surreal. Lenin's tomb, the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral. I'm actually in Russia! I took some pictures, so you'll have to see for yourself.

My favorite thing about Red Square was all the brides! Apparently it is Russian tradition to have your wedding pictures taken all around the landmarks in Moscow in between the ceremony and the reception. I must have seen at least 15 brides traipsing around the Red Square and the Kremlin in the most fabulously decked out gowns I have ever seen! I took a picture of one of the brides and in the background you can see a long line of limos from other brides making their picture stop in the area. As if a wedding day weren't already exhausting enough.

I was also able to glimpse the Communist Party in the Red Square. It consisted of about 10 protesters over the age of 70 carrying three Communist flags and a big banner. I wanted to take a closer picture of it, but Eunice told me I had better watch out.

We got to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier just in time to see the changing of the guard. I just have one thing to say – Watch out Buckingham Palace! Or at least practice those leg lifts a bit more.

I also finally saw the Moscow dome that I have seen on the cover of my Moscow textbook for two years. Turns out it's just the top of a shopping mall. It still looks cool, however. Walking past that we came into the garden of the Kremlin and there were fountains and ponds all over, each one with the statue representing a fable in them. It was truly beautiful. We ended our trek through the city at the Bolshoi Theater but, unfortunately, I have no pictures of it because it was remont (under construction – I guess not so different from Spain after all.