Moscow and St Petersburg

The first time we see Russia... We plan the trip well in advance; we apply for and obtain the visas at the consulate and have our passports translated into Cyrillic. All that's left is to wait for departure day, 26 June: we meet at 3.30 am at the rendezvous point and set off by coach towards Bologna. Here we meet our official tour leader, start the boarding procedures, deal with the formalities and board at 7.35 on a CSA flight with a stop in Prague to change aircraft. In Prague we change plane and arrive in St Petersburg at 4 pm local time. After border checks we meet another local assistant for the transfer to the hotel. 27 June We go to visit St Petersburg. First we see the square of the Rostral Columns and Nevsky Prospect, then we reach the Field of Mars with its famous granite column. A short stop for lunch and then we continue to the Admiralty area, in St Isaac's Square.

We are tired from the long walk but very happy to have seen so many beautiful things, and completely different from anything we have seen in the past. 28 June After a hearty breakfast at the hotel we set off to visit the famous Peter and Paul Fortress, whose construction coincides with the birth of St Petersburg, so it is considered the symbol of the city. The gardens, the rooms, everything is wonderful, the weather is fine and a warm sun accompanies our visit. 29 June Today we visit the Hermitage, one of the largest museums in the world. In the halls we find paintings by Raphael, Rembrandt, Leonardo, Rodin, Picasso. The Amber Room is wonderful!!!! Outside, in the magnificent gardens, there are performers in the dress of the Tsar's era. We don't even take a lunch break, so captivated are we by this wonderful spectacle.

At 3 pm a coach comes to pick us up and takes us to the station to catch the train which, crossing forests, takes us to Moscow. The train is not one of the nicest, in fact it looks like a troop transport; next to us there are women selling fruit, eggs... and even chickens. Looking out of the windows you can see an enormous number of dachas; some large and well built but most are small and poorly maintained, yet it is all very characteristic. Since we left at 4 pm and arrive after 9 pm, dinner is served as a travel hamper... Russian style! What a laugh: 1 boiled egg, a slice of smoked meat, some fruit, a small sweet and water. But we go to a very beautiful and enormous hotel. It is 1.30 pm and still daylight, so we take a short walk while waiting for darkness to fall. Then we venture towards some illuminated fountains with beautiful water displays.

30 June Early on we go to Teatralnaya Square (formerly Sverdlov), walk along Tverskaya Street (formerly Gorky), and Novy Arbat. By coach we head towards the Lenin Hills, where the largest Russian university stands. From here we admire a grand panorama over the city of Moscow. A visit to the Novodevichy Convent with its beautiful blue domes. After lunch we drive along Stary Arbat and begin our tour of the metro. To say it is beautiful is an understatement! There are decorated stations that look like salons. We have to be very careful because the escalators are very steep and very fast. 1 July Today we visit the territory of the Kremlin. We start with the huge GUM department store right on Kremlin Square, which welcomes us with an immense carpet of poppies. The buildings surrounding it are imposing, majestic and beautiful.

We are struck by the balcony where the nation's presidents appear on the occasion of the grand parades held here. We visit a beautiful church. 2 July Today we have the whole day free, so we take a nice tour of the old town, through the bric-a-brac markets. There are many young people, men and women, with a bottle of beer in hand. Many are already half tipsy. 3 July After breakfast and having also seen some wonderful toilets, we head to the airport, from where we set off to return home at 5.15 pm. And so ends our first trip to Russia.