July 10

Passport Control was a breeze and we were met by a nice man holding a sign with our names on it. Although Will adopted a heavy and inauthentic Russian accent as he tried to converse with our driver, the language barrier was too much and Katherine and I had the most enjoyably quiet ride into the heart of Moscow. Frankly, suburban Moscow looked a bit like the Bronx, with gloomy, multi floor decrepit, apartment buildings rising grayly on all sides of us. On the flip side, every Muscuvite must own a high-end car because they clogged the 6 lane (8 if you count the shoulders where we passed a few slowbies)highway. No minivans for these Russians!Nyet! We love our hotel and we felt like lottery winners when we were given an early check in. The room is spacious and the sofa pulls out to a bed for Katarina. We are only several blocks away from Red Square and we promptly headed over to the Kremlin. No words for it. Just wow. Secret is, I have been here before...1980 when I was just a youngin'. But, the sight of onion domed St. Basil's Cathedral at one end and the Kremlin and Gums Department Store on each flank will take your breath away. We proceeded to the only sidewalk cafe on Red Square, red meaning beautiful, not for why you would think it be called red. And, the neatest thing happened. Several thousand-plus policemen closed off the Square and stood in formation and with pomp and circumstance honored their new comrades to the force. With great ceremony and with the Russian National anthem blaring over and over and over, we were privy to the whole shebang! We couldn't help thinking how many military parades and revolutionaries had gone before. It was mesmorizing and we new we were witnessing something unique.