A random travel moment happened today. Since I have been
working from home I have been trying to schedule contractors out for yearly
maintenance issues. Today I had the chimney sweep folks out to clean and
inspect my fireplace prior to winter and prime fireplace weather. So when
leaving today the man who completed the work noticed my photos on the wall in
my house. I have several pictures (blown up to 16 X 20) that were taken on
various travels displayed in the house. He noticed the very colorful picture of
St. Basil’s Cathedral and wondered if I took the photo myself or if it was
something that I purchased.
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| The picture that hangs in my dining room! |
I was only too happy to discus it! Yes, I told him that I
was lucky enough in October 2009 to visit Moscow where my daughter was studying
abroad for a semester. My good friend Carrie came with me and we spent a week
touring the city. We navigated the subway, toured the Kremlin Armory, saw dead
Lenin and visited St. Basil’s.
(BTW, if you don’t know the story about dead Lenin and his resting place
in Red Square for all to see, Google it. It is strange and fascinatingly creepy
at the same time!)
I took this picture of St. Basil’s with one of those simple
point and shoot cameras that can fit in your pocket. As colorful and vivid as
the picture is, the actual cathedral is so much more impressive! Commissioned
by Ivan the Terrible, it is actually a collection of smaller cathedrals housed
in the building. There are no
photos allowed inside due to the age of the building (built in the 1500’s) so I
only have outside pictures. The cathedral sits at the edge of Red Square which
itself is massive.
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| St. Basil's sits at the edge of Red Square |
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| Me and Meghan in from of the cathedral. |
So there is your random travel moment! The kindly Chimney
Sweep (alas, not Dick van Dyke) asked about a photo on my wall and that one act brought back my entire
week -long trip to Moscow back in October 2009. I don’t know if I will ever get
the chance to visit Moscow (or any of Russia for that matter) again but I can
cherish the trip and remember the memories simply by looking at my dining room
wall!
