FUN-travel: Moscow to Uglich – Day 4 – Uniworld River Cruise
July 10, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Moscow to Uglich – Day 4 – Uniworld River Cruise
Day 6 – Sunday, July 6 – Moscow to Uglich – blue skies w/big puffy, white clouds – 80’s – sunrise 0’dark:30 – sunset – after 10 pm
New Maiden Cemetary
Inside GUM
What I LIKE
- 7:00 – typical wake up & cappuccino
- 9:00 – breakfast – the same
- 10:30 – take walk on waterfront
- & thru park across from ship
- 11:30 – return to ships
- FREE INTERNET ENTIRE CRUISE!
- 1:30 – lunch – salad bar & soup
- 2:15 – boutique on ship
- have lots of ship board credit!
- find traditional santa ornaments
- 2:30 – room R&R – nap
- 5:30 – set sail
- 5:45 – safety drill
- Ship mates in hall tell us Red Square was closed due to bomb scare
- So glad we didn’t go downtown today!
- 7:00 – Captains Welcome Reception
- 7:30 – dinner – Beef Tenderloin – almost always guaranteed the best meal is reception night
- 11:00 – sleeping pill
What I DON’T LIKE
- Bus to town leaves @ 9:30 & returns @ 2:30
- Don’t want to stay that long
FUN-fact – Moscow is the sixth largest city in the world with 10 million people.
More FF – GUM is a three-arcade structure with three tiers of all worlds’ brand stores and cafés.
Red Square
FUN-travel: Moscow – Day 3
July 8, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Moscow – Day 3
Day 5 – Saturday, July 5 – Moscow – blue skies w/ occasional big puffy clouds – 70’s – sunrise 0’dark:30 – sunset – after 10 pm
Church in Kremlin
What I LIKE
- 7:00 – typical morning
- 8:00 – breakfast – nice fresh fruit
- make sandwich to go
- 8:45 – bus departs for Kremlin tour
- No traffic!
- 9:30 – 1st sop – Armory museum – priceless collection of opulent treasures including weapons
- gem-encrusted armor
- gold & silver wares
- coronation thrones
- jewel studded crowns
- sable fur trimmed hats & capes
- ornate gowns w/pearls, silver & gold thread
- carriages
- & Elizabeth’s coronation sleigh (pulled by 23 horses)
- 12:00 – 2nd stop – Kremlin Regiment – changing of the guard – held only on Saturday’s in summer – includes both mounted Calvarymen & foot soldiers
- 12:30 – walking tour of grounds includes world’s biggest bell weighing 202 tons and biggest cannon never shot because the cannonballs weigh 1 ton each
- 1:30 – bus back to ship
- 2:00 – lunch
- 2:30 – nap
- 7:00 – dinner as usual
- 11:00 – sleeping pill
What I DON’T LIKE
- Having hard time getting over jet lag
FUN-fact – Kremlin means fortress and is a self-contained medieval city with palaces, armories, and cathedrals. It is enclosed by high walls 2.25 km long with 20 distinctive towers.
More FF – The Easter egg collection by jewelers Faberge each open to reveal amazingly detailed miniature objects – most famously a clockwork trans-Siberian train made of gold, platinum locomotive and ruby headlamp created to commemorate the completion of the Moscow-Vladivostok line.
FUN-travel: Moscow – Day 2
July 7, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Moscow – Day 2
Day 4 – Friday, July 4 – Moscow – blue skies w/occasional big puffy clouds – 70’s – sunrise 0’dark:30 – sunset – after 10 pm
Bolshoi Theatre
St. Basil’s Cathedral
What I LIKE
- 6:30 – wake up
- Feel refreshed
- Cappuccino – machine in lobby – 24/7 – just so so
- 8:00 – breakfast – nice fresh fruit – make sandwich to go
- 9:30 – bus departs for city tour
- 10:30 – 1st stop – New Maiden Convent park – 15 mins
- 11:00 – 2nd stop – New Maiden Cemetary – filled w/ lots of famous Russians – incredible ornate headstones & bronze busts & statues – 40 mins
- 12:00 – 3rd stop – Sparrow Hills – view of city w/little hills & Moscow state university – 15 mins
- 1:00 – 4th stop – Red Square – bordered by St. Basil’s cathedral, Lenin’s tomb, GUM department store & Moscow museum – free time
- 2:00 – lunch – Bosco Bar @ Gum – outdoor café on square – burrata salad, chicken Caesar, 2 draft beers – 1 russian & 1 german $$$$
- 3:00 – 5th stop – Moscow subway tour – called a museum due to rich collection of decorative materials
- 4:15 – 6th stop – Arbat Street – pedestrian shopping area – dates 15th century – many famous writers including Tolstoy lived here
- 5:45 – bus back to ship
- 7:00 – arrive
- 7:30 – dinner – more just so so food
- 10:30 – take sleeping pill
What I DON’T LIKE
- Lunch costs $85.00! OUCH
- No starbuck’s – only Mc Café – 2 iced lattes & bottle Perrier $10
- Traffic is brutal!
- Food on this ship not even comparable to the Uniworld Rhône river cruise – ship is Russian owned & only chartered by Uniworld
Moscow State University
FUN-fact – The décor in the Moscow Metro is palatial with marble, mosaics, stained-glass, life-sized statues, bronze fittings.
More FF – It consists of 170 stations, 11 lines and carries 7 million riders each day.
Metro Mosaic
FUN-travel: Moscow – Day 1
July 7, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Moscow – Day 1
New Maiden Cemetery, Moscow
Day 3 – Thursday, July 3 – Moscow – blue skies – 70’s – sunrise 4:56 am – sunset 10:12 pm
What I LIKE
- World Traveler = Premium Coach – what biz class used to be 10 yrs ago
- Saved 15,000 pts + $$
- Served the same meal that biz class got
- Only 3 + hr flight
- BA flight attendants give us 2 bottles of Taittinger Champagne to take w/us
- 4:00 am – arrive early
- Breeze thru customs & out by 4:30
- 4:50 – head back to arrivals area & find our guide w/sign
- 5:00 – take off for ship
- 6:00 – arrive
- 8:30 – passenger from prior cruise suggests we go get breakfast
- Wandered how I was going to make it thru day w/o food
- Uniworld gives us $200 shipboard credit to compensate private transfer
- Get room upgrade – ship not full – cancellations due to Ukraine turmoil
- 10:30 – front desk lets us into our room early
- I have my eye mask
- Go to sleep!
- 4:30 – wake up
- 6:00 – happy hour martini $13
- 7:00 – dinner – nicoise salad & French onion soup – Italian wine not good
- Lady @ next table complains & gets Shiraz
- I take her lead and get that too!
- 10:00 – take sleeping pill
What I DON’T LIKE
- Uniworld rep is not there to greet us
- Walk outside to look for driver
- Start freaking out as no one speaks English @ Information
- Uniworld includes transfers if flight is between 6 am & 8 pm
- Costs $179 for private transfer
- Exhausted & room check-in not until 3 pm
- Upgraded 2 categories but lost 30 sq ft
- Room pretty small – 135 sq ft – typical of river cruise ships
- No black out shades & its light 20 hrs per day
FUN-fact – We book the least expensive rooms on cruises and have been very lucky in getting upgrades. As I always say, “You can’t wear an upgrade.” This is our 2nd Uniworld Cruise.
GUM on Red Square
FUN-travel: San Diego to Moscow via Heathrow
July 6, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: San Diego to Moscow via Heathrow
Day 1 – Tuesday, July 1 – San Diego to Moscow via London
Kremlin Tower, Moscow
What I LIKE
- 6:30 – arrive & breeze thru security
- BA lounge is Admiral’s Club – newly remodeled
- Nice wine selection & appetizers complimentary
- 8:25 pm flight on time
- non-stop to London
- 2 business class tickets – only 100,000 miles
- fully lay down seat
- taking a sleeping pill
What I DON’T LIKE
- taxes and fees for FREE ticket are $2500 ++
- going through “Hurry Up & Wait” @ airports
- food & wine selection in biz class mediocre
Day 2 – Wednesday, July 2 – London to Moscow – sunny & warm
What I LIKE
- Slept good
- Land early but no gate
- No problem as we are in no hurry
- BA lounges – full bar and snacks/sandwiches
- 6:00 – hot food buffet, cheese selections & dessert comes out
- 8:35 – head to gate via the train – takes 15 minutes
- 8:55 – start boarding
- 9:30 – takes off on time
- World Traveler = Premium Coach
What I DON’T LIKE
- having to go thru screening again
- 7 hour layover
- biz class to Moscow not available @ time of booking
New Maiden Convent, Moscow
FUN-fact – There are 2 BA lounges in Terminal 5 and the south one is bigger with an Elemis spa next door.
Not so FF – Flyer Beware: Screening in Heathrow. Be prepared to be delayed by 20 minutes if your bag gets selected. This was a first for me. My “junk jewelry” & “all the other stuff” in my carry on looked suspicious. Go figure!