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Moscow has been somewhere I have been wanting to visit for years, at least over twenty, and it did not disappoint at all. We arrived late on a Friday night and were immediately caught in traffic. It took nearly two hours to move from the train station in the north of the city to get to our hotel in the south, our hotel was a Raddisson called Park Inn Sadu. This was my first sight I saw and it was the same building as the one that I loved in Warsaw, Poland.

This is now a luxury hotel that if I return I will stay at. This was my room at Park Inn Sadu on the top floor, with a view that I liked. No one else in my group had a balcony either.

The next morning, we started our morning tour of Moscow. Beginning at Novodevichy Park

Where we found the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture. This is a children’s picture book written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey. In 1991, Barbara Bush gave a duplicate of this sculpture to Raisa Gorbachev as part of the START Treaty and as a gift to the children of then USSR. Where I came across these artists and I wished I had brought one of these paintings.

Then we had a photo stop of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior

And the Kremlin

Then we drove to the magnificent Red Square with St Basil’s Cathedral, Kremlin and Gum Department Store. I have been dreaming of seeing in the flesh and I loved it. I felt so emotional that I was finally here.

Then a few of us went to have a rest. as our legs were hurting and have a bite to eat. Our guide continued the tour with the others and gave us a couple of hours before we would meet up for our ride back to the hotel. We decided to eat at Cafe Bosco where I ordered the sea bass and was told I could only have salmon. It was the most expensive place that I had ate at in Russia. But why not when you are on a holiday of a lifetime with lovely people. And it was a tasty piece of fish.

We had a little time left to explore so we decided to visit the Gum department store. It was very busy but so beautiful and also very expensive. But I enjoyed window shopping.

It was a special, magical day for me. I loved seeing the sights that I have only dreamed of. I just loved everything and this was my first day in Moscow.