Last Day - Moscow

Wow this 4 1/2 half roller coaster is about to come to an end.   Yesterday in Moscow was a good day.  Went to Trentykov gallery in am.  Supposedly the best collection of Russian Art in the World.  It was a blockbuster for me.   The pictures of Russian countryside and of Russian life really resonated.  I had just traveled through all of that - the forests, the people, the silver birches, the light in early morning and evening.  Then I found a room full of Vereshchagin 1842 - 1904   He seems to have spent years in Central Asia. (To get there he must have gone down the same railway line as I did)  There were pictures of Samarkand and the mosque.  An Uzbek woman in Tashkent  wearing full Moslem coverings - i had tried on one of those coverings in a museum in Tashkent.   The aftermath of a war with the Emir of Bukara - heads on sticks in Registan Square in Samarkand.  If it sounds grisly is was, but it also helped to tie knots.  The buildings in Samarkand have been beautifully restored and the Madressas turned into artisan workshops.   These paintings were a glimpse of real life before all of the fixing and sanitizing.

I do not know what other museums and galleries I shall do today.  Mara gave The Garage a resounding 5 star.  The brainchild of Abramovitch's girl friend.  A amazing collection of contemporary art (she is a fixture at the Serpentine Gallery in London).  I do not think however I am in the mood for contemporary art today - unusual for me as I OD' d in London lapping up White Cube.   I am still trying to get a grasp of broad sweeps of people and history.  I think I shall discover St. Basil's Cathedral, maybe do another couple of cathedrals, take pictures, go to GUM and just relax a little.  Did 7 hours on foot yesterday.  A really great day.  The Trentykov, Kremlin lots of walking - seven hours on foot without a break even for coffee (I had planned one but was running late for Kremlin).

I have not done it all - so shall just save some things for next time and enjoy my day.  By the way I even discovered Starbucks, Le Pain Quotidian and finally an ATM which did not spit out my card!

The instructions for my blog have now morphed into Cyrillic.  So I cannot edit which is why yesterday's post has name and #'s.  Oh well!   TTFN