Marathon done, no friends to tag behind – last day in Russia.

Woke Monday to sunshine, first rays my entire Moscow stay.  Gorged on a lavish breakfast buffet, showered, layered up, grabbed a local map & hit the pavement.  Best guess: no more than 2 miles from Red Square, multiple art & history museums.  Have feet, will travel.

Prospect Mira to Lubyanka Square, up & under multiple street crossings, left on Teatralnyy.  First stop: the Bolshoi [Theatre], iconic home of the Russian ballet.  Point, click, snapped my shot.  Continued thru a park littered with Communist statues, popped out in front of the State Historical Museum.  Attempted to purchase lamb kebabs at an outdoor kiosk; received 2 lamb chops, pickled cabbage, sauerkraut, sweet pickle & a hard dinner roll.  Yeah my Russian is pretty lousy these days…but hey, I didn’t starve 🙂

Slow stroll thru Red Square.  No time constraints, took time & studied the architecture.  Circled St. Basil’s Cathedral (far end of the Square), bridge-crossed the Moskva River – STUNNING view of the Kremlin, gleaming white & gold inside its red brick fortress.

Bridge returned, took a right – and got in some art history.  Self-toured 4 Orthodox cathedrals (one monastery), all garish with religious artifacts, marveled at their dome construction.  Entered 2 Metro Stations…just to see the art.  Finished the day at McDonald’s – yep, McDonald’s.  2 cheeseburgers & a Coke.  Not my finest moment…but appreciated knowing exactly what I was gonna get.

and blink…that was it.  Home in morning – 28 hours & 7 time zone changes later; travelling back in time, would be a day that seemingly never ends.  17 years [after my expat assignment], super thankful for the opportunity to revisit Mother Russia.

My heart is full.  Большое спасибо!

до свида́ния Russia