Trip throughout Moscow

As I've said before, I took over 3000 pics and the following are just the highlights. Please keep in mind that they are in no particular order. I had a great time and can't wait to go back and visit the friends I made and the places I fell in love with.

The Bolshoi Theater was always a beautiful place to pack a lunch, sit around the fountain and people watch.

About the only time I wore shorts. I was on a tour with my group of the city and this was the first time that I saw the Bolshoi. Isn't it beautiful!

A big old statue of Karl Marx in the middle of the city. 

This is the inside of their most famous mall on Red Square, GUM (pronounced goom). It was very neat and they decorated for every season. I ran into movie crews, famous fashion divas, and billionaires from around the world. Pretty cool huh? 

Street view of the Kremlin.

Moscow River with the famous Cathedral of Christ the Savior in the background. Funny thing about the river... I am sure it spawns two headed fish and evil Krakens.

Night view of the famous Saint Basil's Cathedral. I never got to go inside but I did take tons of pictures of its beautiful colorful domes. 

Feeding swans in the park. It was so much fun getting a closeup look at these magnificent creatures.

These stations were set up all over the city. I tried to rent one many times but the card reader didn't like my American Credit Card.... Boo!

I traveled to the business district in Moscow, where the only skyscrapers exist. Funny fact about the business district was that they built it to be more like any other big city, and they only use about 20% of the buildings. I guess that Russians don't like too much change.

My friends traveled 12 hours by train to come visit me and give me their own tour of the city.

That there my friends is the whole business district in the background.

Walking down Arbat there were many forms of entertainment. Street artists, performers, and even fire dancers. I was amazed at what talents the people of Moscow had.

I couldn't leave without getting my picture taken with Pushkin. 

The entrance to the theater inside the Kremlin. We went there to watch a ballet called The Snow Maiden. It was beautiful. I hadn't ever seen a ballet before and this show left me wanting to see more. 

The view of one of the churched inside the Kremlin.

Another old church inside the Kremlin. 

This large bell sits inside the Kremlin and it is called the Tsar Bell. It is currently the largest bell in the world and it weighs approximately 450,000 lbs! Interesting fact: its never been rung. 

The beautiful garden inside the Kremlin. It was all pristine and heavily guarded by Russian police. 

Inside the Kremlin theater where I saw The Snow Maiden. 

After a long day touring the city, we all hit up a Ukrainian restaurant to try some of their famous Salo. Salo is basically lard with seasonings.... very strange! We also tried COW TONGUE! It was so gross! But hey I am always up for trying new things. 

The metro stations were so far underground! It was definitely something I had to get used to. 

That lit up building in the background is GUM on Red Square. During the holidays they had a great big iceskating rink in the middle. If you had a pair of skates you could skate for free! 

Oh good old Lenin's Tomb. I skipped class one day to go visit Lenin. It was really weird. His body was on display and heavily guarded. You couldn't stop when walking through and it was really creepy.  

Beautiful view of Saint Basil's after snowfall. 

My first Russian girlfriend who taught me how to cook some good Russian food.

A beautiful view of my school all lit up at night on my walk back home from the metro.

Ok so maybe I was naive but I really didn't think reindeer exist. Turns out they do and they had one in the middle of Pushkin Square for all of us to see.   

On my way to VDNKh to enjoy iceskating at one of the best places on earth to skate. 

Another beautiful site inside BDNKh with Lenin in the background.

While I was skating they had a concert on ice. It was really fun to try and dance on skates.

The beautiful garden outside the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Fun fact: they rebuilt this cathedral after they had torn it down and built a swimming pool in its place during the USSR. 

Tsar Alexander II standing tall outside the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. 

The Tsar was being guarded by two great lions.

My french friend and I went inside.... women have to cover their heads to enter a Russian church.

I watched a baseball game on school grounds with the grand MSU standing in the background. 

While out shopping I discovered you could buy a famous nesting egg doll with any politician or dictator painted on it. 

My school ID. I look like a bank robber lol. But they wouldn't let me smile. 

My two best Russian friends standing in front of my gorgeous school. 

This eternal flame sits on school grounds to honor the soldiers lost in the Great Patriotic War. 

Another view of Moscow River with the Business District in the background.

One of my favorite spots was walking along the river at Park Sparrow Hills. (Translation may not be perfect) 

Sometimes there were street performers.

This was at Gorky park. Another one of the most beautiful places in Moscow. During the winter holidays they turned the place into a huge iceskating rink.

Says "Gorky Park"

I wasn't the only one to enjoy Gorky Park.

The first time I saw sand in Moscow! This Florida girl was quite impressed with the sandcastle building skills of some Russians.

The Cathedral outside the gates of Red Square.

Metro station art at Chekhov station. 

While enjoying breakfast I was being guarded by the nice policemen at my school with AK47s.

Selfie sitting in the window of my classroom.

My classroom and its few inhabitants. The class sizes were small but that was perfect for me.

More metro station art at Dostoyevski Station

A mural dedicated to Dostoyevski's Crime and Punishment 

I went to a war museum with all these cool war planes and tanks.

My selfie with some sort of missile thingy.

There were plenty of monuments dedicated to wars and revolutions in Russia.

On my way to school my roommate and I discovered leaves the size of our faces! 

I always had a beautiful walk to school. Look at that view.

My first snowfall in Russia. I was very excited! 

The next day on our walk to school I was obsessed with taking photos of the snow. 

Walking in snow was new to me and I just was praying I wouldn't fall.

Cold and Happy :)

I found a car sitting outside of GUM with the Beatles plastered on the side of it. The Russians love the Beatles.

During my time there I was able to visit the famous Russian Novodevichy Cemetery. This is where many famous people are buried. There were very beautiful dedications to those that had passed on.

The nuns place fresh flowers at the graves of the most famous every week.

There were many military generals buried there.

This was the outside view of the monastery.

We went inside the cathedral in the monastery and when we came back out, we were approached by some very adorable kittens. 

I decorated our door for Christmas. The ladies on the floor loved it!

So I went to this bar called the Helmet Bar. Any time you ordered a special cocktail the bartender came out with a helmet and hit you over the head after you drank your drink.

My friends and I went on a shopping spree. All the malls were decorated.

The inside was just as beautiful.

Another beautiful view of the snowfall from my window.

VDNKh during the day.

My selfie with Lenin.

On the grounds of BDNKh there was an upside down house. 

My first snowman with my roommate.

Making snow-babies on our way to class.

Lenin got snowed on.

We also decorated the inside of our dorm.

My roommate and I at our favorite spot Komchatka. We ended up on their facebook page:)

Our Christmas crew and the delicious Christmas dinner. 

Standing in the courtyard of my school, playing in the snow with my roommate. 

Beautiful view on the walk to class.

One of the many iceskating rinks in the city.

To prevent homesickness, I pinned photos of my friends and family all over my room.

My roommate and I went iceskating on Red Square. If you look closely you can see Saint Basil's Cathedral in the background. 

There is my beautiful roommate.

We got silly and decided to lay on the ice to pose for a picture with GUM in the background.

I went on a boat cruise of the Moscow River and saw some very beautiful sites. 

This was a statue dedicated to Russia I believe by the French. It honors Peter the Great.

A view of the government building from the river.

For Russia's Victory Day parade my friend took me out to the forest to have a picnic with her family.

We walked through the forest and explored while her parents prepared the feast.

BEST MEAT EVER! I really became obsessed with shashlik. It was so tasty and I dream of the day when I will taste it again.

My last day of class. My roommate and I bought flowers for our teachers.

The view of the front of my school.

This was the market that I loved shopping for souvenirs, Izmailovsky Market. I was able to drive a good bargain in my broken Russian.  

This statue was inside the metro station in front of the market.

All Russian metro stations had a theme and were beautifully decorated.

So apparently one of the alumni at MSU is a bazillionaire and he hosts a huge physics day party every year.

More from the party.

This was the view of the city from the rooftop of the famous mall Children's World. Beautiful isn't it?

In the front of my school there are giant statues of the working class.

View of my school from the North entrance.

Another picture from Sparrow Hills.

Sunrise from my window.

Nice nighttime picture of my school. 

This is a picture of my faculty building where I took classes.

Another eternal flame on the outside of the Kremlin. 

A monument dedicated to Russia's adventures in space.

My friend and I went to Ostankino Tower... the tallest tower in Europe almost 1,800 feet tall.

The view from the top.

They had glass panels in the floor making it super scary being up that high. 

A cute little restaurant sitting off Arbat.

Another view of that cute restaurant.

I was petting the dog at Revolution Square Metro station for good luck.

Standing outside of Red Square waiting for my friends to show up.

They finally fixed one of the towers of the Kremlin before I left.

Some white doves camping out inside of GUM.

All of these pictures were taken by yours truly so if you were hoping for some professional shots you can try google:)