Fall Break Day 3: SAINT BASILS

Day 3 started with Christ the Savior Cathedral. This was located by a bridge that overlooked red square and all its glory. We were beyond thankful for the lack of snow and rain, and just enjoyed being outside and taking fun pictures around Moscow. We headed over to Saint Basils later and took a look around the inside.

Instead of just being one large open room, it was a labyrinth of rooms all decorated differently. The bottom floor was museum style, explaining the history and building design. The second floor was all rooms that looked up into the towers. There was a group of men singing that resonated throughout the whole building. Probably the most beautiful sound I have ever experienced. We finished up there and went to eat some lunch at a dumping place nearby before heading to the market for some souvenir shopping! When we first arrived to the market we thought we were in the wrong place. It was this abandoned theme park that looked really really fun if there were actually people there. Lots of neat buildings, cute looking shops, and tons of stalls for street markets. We decided that they must be done for the season, or preparing for the Christmas season. Wandering around the side, we finally found a decent sized market full of plenty of options. I had fun bartering and practicing my Russian numbers that I had learned. We had so much fun with one guy, he gave us free magnets as we were leaving.

We still had plenty of time left in the day, so a few of us went back to red square and went to the State History Museum, pictured above. The inside was just as beautiful as the outside. Unfortunately everything was written in Russian, but our group leader helped translate a lot of it into English!

Here is me in front of Saint Basils at night in Red Square. I couldn't get over how beautiful everything in red square was, especially at night. If you ever have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend making the trip.We then headed over to Arbat street, which was the first merchant street in Moscow. Now it is a pedestrian street full of fun shops and outdoor markets.

The four of us in this picture met up with Denis, a friend of a friend who grew up in Moscow. He met us near Arbat street and we walked through Red Square and a few bridges overlooking the Kremlin before arriving at a traditional Russian restaurant. We ate borsh and dumplings and drank morse. Definitely a fun way to learn more about Moscow from a native! To continue the story see Fall Break Day 4: TRETYAKOV GALLERY.