Here i sit with Doug snoring away next to me. We just returned from a long day of wandering and sightseeing. We are a couple of blocks from Red Square and the Kremlin. Doug and Brad went off to find coffee less than $20 per cup and came back with a cup of tea, a small coffee and a Danish from the discount coffee shop for only $16 for all three. And we thought Sydney was expensive! Ha! Then Doug later tried to buy a new sport coat since he left his in NY. Not only were the prices two to three times that of NYC, but almost all of the sleeves were made for someone my height.

Back to this morning....the museums open at 10am, so we leisurely strolled over to the Kremlin passing lots of tourist kiosks filled with maroushka dolls of all sizes and shapes. The Kremlin is actually a series of buildings within a wall and Red Square is within these walls. I assume it is called Red Square because all the walls and buildings are red brick? I guess I'll find out on our tours later on this week. We took picture after picture of iconic sights. As you enter Red Square, to the left, looking very much like the Louvre, is the original Gum department store, which is now a mall. To the right are the yellow stucco, imperial styled government buildings and directly ahead, St. Basil's cathedral, which I thought was very beautiful from the outside but rather a hodgepodge from within. With no tour and most signs in Russian, we muddled through the place taking photos along the way. Then we went off to the Diamond Fund, filled with loads of raw platinum, gold and both raw and finished diamonds. Opened in 1967, the fund contains royal jewelry, precious jewelry  from the 18 th to 19 th century, and rare precious stones. There are 30,000 carats of rough diamonds from three Russian deposits,  900 large uncut natural diamonds, cut diamonds weighing up to 20 carats... You get the picture. Some remarkable items were a 260 carat sapphire, a 250 carat emerald, and an 88 carat diamond. Leslie and I chose our favorites. Of couse, I selected a tiara with a 13 carat pink diamond in the center. Leslie thought this too grand and selected a more simple headband version for casual Fridays and a diamond necklace.  Our brochure said that experts state this is one of only three world known collections in status, the other two being the crown jewels of Great Britain and the treasure of the former Shah of Iran. The gift area was lovely and well priced and Leslie picked up a lacquer box and I picked up some earrings. Then, crankiness set in so we went off to lunch and had mediocre pizza at an outside bistro. 

We took a comfort break, foregoing using the port o sans called "toi toi" which also charged for their use. Toilets are located in common WC areas and then you have to look carefully for indications of male or female stalls. These were noted with stilettos or men's shoes. Last night at the restaurant, we still don't know how they indicated male or female as Doug wandered into one and was told by a lady that the one he used was for women. This morning he and Brad were ever so careful to ensure they used the men's stalls and out came some women. Bathrooms continue to challenge us. Doug was attacked at at airport by a toilet that nudged him in the back and started to automatically disinfect the seat while making its normal oval seat contort and change its shape somehow. While not attacked, I, too, was mesmerized by this strange contraption.

After lunch, Doug being good at reading maps, led us to our final destination of the day. First, we ran up to our hotel rooms to get sweaters to find out that it had become hot in the ten minutes we went inside. Then, we went to the Museum of Cultural Revolution which was about a 30 minute walk each way. Yes, Ngaire, we have spared you from joining us on our museum haunts. We should have splurged for an English guide at the museum, because what we could understand, was interesting but limited in English signage, so we missed a lot.

We walked back to the hotel, so Brad could nap and Doug and I went to the mall in search of a jacket for him to no avail. So, back to the room to chill before dinner. Until later...