We exited the Kremlin and walked along a parkway to an underground mall to have lunch in a food court. Springtime in Moscow!
Among the indecipherable offerings were Subway an Burger King. We were
adventurous, and all we can say is that food courts are the same there
as here -- you will survive, but that's about it.
Malls everywhere!
Courtesy of the Gap it was up the up escalators and out into the park
for the short walk to Red Square. The gate is just to the right of the
small blue dome.
One the right inside the gate....
on the left....
and ahead, on the right. In the middle of the long expanse is a low dark marble building housing Lenin's tomb. You can just make it out in the photo. Unlike tourists before the fall of the USSR, we were not required to visit.
Only days before on May 9 this Square had been filled for Victory Day, Russia's biggest holiday, the celebration of victory over the Germans in WWII. There had been reviewing stands, soldiers marching, tanks and ranks of weapons on display, the most militaristic show since the fall of the Soviets.
Down at the far end is St. Basil's, what we all really came to see. Well, us, anyway. Be thankful you are seeing only a tiny fraction of the photos I took!
A look back to the gate...
A look forward toward the church.
To the left, the renowned GUM department store...more on that below.
Also, cute guy in hat.
More of the cute guy.
Now more of the church.
Had enough? Hah!
Did I mention that by now the rest of the tour group had coalesced on the other side of the barriers put up for the Victory Day parade, and were moving off in the opposite direction? Quitters!
How could you ever get enough of it?
OK, I must really tear myself away...
and finally, inside the GUM mall. Whew! (Note cute guy with hat up ahead.)
Back in the day, only foreigners could shop here, and only with foreign currency. Folks who went reported a drab building with sparse offerings of poor quality items. All of that has changed. This is a huge complex of buildings under intricate glass canopies. At least the names of the shops are familiar -- Prada, Gucci, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, and every couture designer you can think of. We had thought we might pick up a few souvenirs. Umm, no.
You could enjoy a bit of pricey ice cream,
or flavored sodas made to order.
Since we saw no souvenirs, we made our way out of the mall, and back to the square near the gate we came in.
And our tour of Red Square was done. Or maybe not...
Just one more...
And now a special treat. Traffic patterns being what they are in Moscow, we circled the Kremlin almost every day. In fact, several times a day. So on this day, after our tour inside, we circled one more time. And here is St. Basil's again, from the bus, and the Kremlin.
OK, now I'm done. For now.
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