For The Love of Travel

Today the ‘oh so expensive’, but in my view, ‘oh so worth it’, Grand Kremlin Palace tour…..it was built over a 12 year period, 1837 to 1849. Commissioned by Nicholas 1 and designed by a team of architects under the management of Konstantin Thon, it was intended to empathize the greatness of Russian autocracy. Mr Thon was also the architect for the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour!, and the Armoury, so he was used to visioning ‘grand’. 

The Palace was formerly the Tsar’s Moscow residence. Its 125 metres long, 47 metres high with some 700 rooms and 5 grand reception halls are now used for State receptions and official ceremonies.

The entrance hall has polished granite columns and a grand staircase leads to the first floor. There’s a huge painting on the first floor, “Who Comes to Us With a Sword Shall Perish by the Sword”, painted by Prisekin in 1983. 

The oldest room in the Palace is the Hall of Facets built in 14 87 by Italian architects Marco Ruffo and Antonio Solari. It has unique frescos with iconographic scenes, parquet work rare in its beauty and interiors radiant with gold.

Hall of the Order of St Andrew (The Order of St Andrew is the highest order you can receive in the Russian Federation. It is awarded to prominent statesmen and public figures, and representatives of science, culture, the arts and various industries in promoting the prosperity, greatness and glory of Russia). Needless to say, special ceremonies are held in this Hall.

An early supper before the ballet performance at the Bolshoi restaurant – opulent and grand; stark white and black accented with large colourful modern canvasses, deep purple fabric and brown leather upholstered chairs and a splash of greenery from the beautiful orchids.

The cuisine is French/Russian. And delicious. I tried a tomato and mozzerella salad and beef cheeks with mash…..melt in the mouth!

Onto the Bolshoi theatre…just a few hundred metres down the road. Originally designed by Joseph Bove, holds ballet and opera performances, and sports an incredible Imperial decor resplendent in gold and red. 

The ballet company has more than 200 dancers. Seeing the “Legend of Love” ballet tonight, with Ivan Vasiliev from St Petersburg being a special star in this production. Fabulous choreography, a blend of the traditional style with some modern ballet techniques incorporated, its a visual feast! Ethereal en-pointe females floating across the stage. Especially loving Ivan’s pirouettes, grand jetes and barrel turns – worthy of Nureyev’s and Baryshnikov’s athleticism!

In the interval, I was invited by a staff member to visit the 3rd floor of the theatre to see the historical exhibit of previous stars and performances. Also incredible and delightful!

A half day tour of the the Kremlin Armoury Chamber today – since 1508, its been in charge of producing, purchasing and storing weapons, jewellery and various household articles of the Tsars. The finest Muscovite gunsmiths, jewelers and painters used to work there. In 1700, the Armoury was enriched with the treasures of the Golden and Silver chambers of the Russian Tsars.

Alexander 1 nominated the Armoury as the first public museum in 1806, but the collections were not opened to the public until 7 years later.

After the Bolshevik Revolution, the Armoury collection was enriched with treasures taken from the Orthodox Church sacristy, Kremlin cathedrals, monasteries and private collections. Some of these were sold abroad on behest of Stalin in the 1930s. In 1960, the Armoury became the official museum of the Kremlin. 

No photos were allowed to be taken inside unfortunately. And legs needing a break after all that SLOW walking pace, so back to rest at hotel. And salivating, thinking about seafood repast this evening.

Sakhalin restaurant is a jewel of a seafood restaurant with shells, crabs, shrimps and fish from the Far East of Russia – with a breathtaking 360-degree panoramic view of Moscow (and its at the top of my hotel!).

Russian regional products combined with Mediterranean/Asian dishes and cooking techniques, form the basis of a new style of MediterrAsian cuisine.

Novodevichy Monastery occupies a very specific place in Russian history. On the grounds surrounded by the Kremlinesque walls, which were built to act as a fortress, are four cathedrals including the majestic four-onion globes of Smolensky Cathedral which dates back to 1524. It was at Novodevichy that Peter the Great imprisoned his sister Sophia and executed her supporters from the Streltsy rebellion. 

Close-by, the vast Novodevichy Cemetary. Anyone who was anyone is here. Russians adore statues and immense monuments and it’s a fascinating place to explore. Notable graves include Chekhov, Eisenstein, Khrushchev and Yeltsin. 

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The Tretyakov gallery houses 1300 works of Russian art from the 11th till the early 20th century, beginning from pre-Mongolian icons and mosaics and ending with landscape, portrait, historical paintings and masterpieces. The works of the great artists Kiprensky’s “Portrait of Alexander Pushkin”,  Vereshchagin’s, “Triumph”, Vastnetsov’s “Bogatyrs” (Warriors), Aivazovsky’s “The Black Sea”, and “The Rainbow”, particularly took my fancy.