Midnight Train to Moscow and on to Obninsk

I have fallen in love with St Petersburg. I was sad to have to leave. We spent our last day walking around and having a nice dinner at a Georgian restaurant where I had some of the best pork I have ever had. It was raining like cats and dogs as we waited to journey to the train station. I love how they have a flower shop at the train station. I am a sucker for flowers and I have noticed so many more people buy fresh flowers internationally. This is a custom I plan to adopt more frequently in my life. We finally boarded our train to Moscow. The compartment was surprisingly comfortable. After watching parts of Anastasia I fell asleep. Although the bed was hard, I slept surprisingly well. We were awakened at 7 am as we approached Moscow. I noticed it was still raining. I wish I would have brought my rain coat and a bit more hairspray because my hair turns into a chia pet with humidity. We met the guide for our day tour of Moscow. We makes a quick pit stop at the golden arches for breakfast. The classic sausage egg mcmuffin was the best I had ever had and they actually gave us adult size orange juice instead of the Dixie cup sizes they give in the States. Our tour guide Elaina was fabulous! I think we went everywhere possible throughout the city and she explained things so clearly. We stopped my the Kremlin, famous convents where Tzars and others would send their wives when they didn't want to be married to them anymore (their alternative to divorce which was outlawed at the time). We saw the 7 sister buildings Stalin built to the glory of Russia. We went to the cemetery where many russian generals and governament leaders are buried. The monuments were so intricate and elaborate. I have never seen anything like it. We ended our tour at Red Square. Unfortunately the Kremlin was closed but we got to we the general idea. St Basils was beautiful and it was fun to see the posh shops in the mall named "gum". We had the Russian interpretation of Asian food...interesting, and then traveled on the metro to see the 1930s style architecture and art in the metro stations. We then made our was to Obninsk. We are now in the "real" Russia. Soviet style hotel that remind many of army barracks. Luckily they do have WiFi and running water...what more can students ask for...really! Today we toured a bakery and the nicest hotel where the Dean and his wife are staying. I am impressed with how the students have responded to these experiences. At lunch we were all talking about how things are going so far, and it is fun to see the transformatn take place. Their eyes are being opened to the world. It makes all the months of planning and stress worth it when I can see that the students are having the same type of life changing experiences that I experienced on my first trip in 2007.