Moscow: Friday, September 28, 2018:

Breakfast was okay but there was a problem with my room key which was sorted at the second attempt – although it did mean that I did not have a chance to get a much-needed shower after three days on the road. Basically, I cut it very fine for the coach pick up.

We caught the bus at 10.14am and our driver was Serge. It was raining and the temperature was 12°C. It was unexpected and early for the autumn – the weather was typical for October and November.

Moscow’s population exceeds 14 million people officially. As we walked to Red Square we passed the Lenin Metro Station and there were displays of pumpkins in the streets.

Red Square was originally a market square and there was a traditional 16^th Century church which was rebuilt after 1991. In front of St Basil’s Cathedral is a monument to the Polish/Lithuanian invasion.

Of course there is also the Kremlin overlooking Red Square and we are due to visit that later in the trip. I took a photo for a Vietnamese woman and someone else by the Kremlin.

Moscow, like Rome and Sheffield, was founded on seven hills. We had a good view of the Moscow skyline and saw a fancy cream building which was a university before heading for a trip on the Metro.

The Metro – the first line in 1935 had six stations. Now there are more than 230 stations – 265 if you include the Moscow Central Circle. Construction has never stopped.

Every day 11 million people go by Metro, five million people go by bus, four million by trolley bus and two million by train. On escalators you should keep right if you are not in a hurry.

We started at the Kiyevskaya Metro Station which was on the Circle line and the stations are lavishly decorated – there was a portrait of Lenin and various murals which were Kyiv related.

We got off at Komsomolskaya and went back to Prospekt Mira.

We had lunch in a Georgian place across the road from the hotel – steamed dumplings (khinkali) with veal and beef and pork stuffing.

However, there was a mix up over the bill – we’d asked for separate bills but there was just one bill for the table.

Thankfully a guy who could speak English helped out and we managed to get it sorted in the end. I was happy to just split it five ways but hey ho.

I actually had an afternoon nap and eventually got that much-needed shower.

We enjoyed an evening meal of beef stroganoff, with Kenya beans and Rosemary potatoes.

Later I wandered around with Breda and Gerry and we found the bizarrely titled Tipsy Pub which was an Irish bar and restaurant. No matter where you go in the world you will always find and Irish pub.

There was a nice selection of beers and a guy playing a range of cover songs including some by Neal Young.

The Russian man sat next to me asked if I was English? Apparently his sister was born in London because his dad was posted there in the early 1990s. We had a good conversation including some talk about current politicians.

We caught up with Rob and his mam, apparently he is studying business law and she is from Tralee and originally from Galway.

They take turns choosing holiday destinations and Rob chose Russia this time and next time she would like to visit Petra in Jordan.

Quite a few of the group have done Travel Department trips before including Beijing and Tuscany.