Back to winter

Made it to Moscow! On my first day, I was shown around by a teacher from the International School. First stop of course was Red Square. The Kremlin was predictably unpredictably shut, so was Lenin's tomb, but we did get to visit St Basil's and the Kremlin Museum. Ivan the Terrible built St Basil's to commemorate the defeat of the Tatars, and the story has it that the builders and engineers did such a magnificent job that they were put to death for their efforts to ensure that no other basilica could ever rival this one.

In spite of the bleak weather, the square was dotted with brides in wedding finery posing for photographs, apparently a tradition. We hurried into Gum to escape the cold and grab some lunch, and were followed by at least a dozen brides and their consorts, who continued their photo shoot around us. It was a veritable floor show. The brides looked very happy, even for brides. Apparently there are seven women to every man in Moscow.