After dumping our bags at the hotel built for the Moscow Olympics - miles out of town - we jumped on the easy to follow Metro system and came up into the sunlight just at the edge of Red Square. We then wandered into Red Square through the northern Resurrection Gate which perfectly frames the building that more than any other says "Russia" -St Basils Cathedral. On the far side of the square is Lenin's Mausoleum standing at the foot of the Kremlin walls - you have to line up to see the embalmed Lenin. During peak season this could take hours - you'd have to be really "into" embalming techniques to wait for hours. Worth a visit if you've got a couple of hours to spare.

St Basil's crazy confusion of colours, textures and shapes was built around 1550 to celebrate Ivan the Terrible's conquest of Kazan. Legend has it that Ivan had the architects blinded so that they would never build anything like it again. Inside, the "crazy confusion" tends to continue in a series of small chapels featuring golden mosaics and icons.

The views across Red Square are impressive - you can almost see and hear the famous May Day Parades.

It is worth returning to Red Square for sunset so that you can watch the colours on St Basils gradually change in the twilight - just magic.

The word "Kremlin" in Russian means "fortress" and every medieval town in Russia had one. The first walls in Moscow can be traced back to 1100's - that's how old it is!

From the 1300's the Kremlin became home to the Russian Orthodox Church - that's why there are about five cathedrals within the walls of the Kremlin. All very impressive. The Assumption Cathedral pictured here was the focal point of the Church in pre-revolutionary Russia and is the burial place of the Heads of the Church from 1300 to 1700. The icons and mosaics are beautiful.

We hired a guide near the main entrance - she was very informative and lots of fun. We asked for a "quick and easy" tour of the Kremlin but after four hours we were quick-and-easied out!!!.

If you visit the Kremlin you should take time out to visit the Armoury set up in the 700 room Great Kremlin Palace. It is more than just a collection of dusty old weapons and suits-of-armour - it is a staggeringly opulent collection of treasures collected by Tsars, Church and State over the centuries. The collection included Faberge Eggs commissioned by various Tsars - one egg celebrates the opening of the Trans Siberian Railway - inside is a tiny engine and carriages.

We were not allowed to take photos but this photo of the girls with our wonderfully stylish, fun guide says it all!!!

As we walked out of the Metro near Red Square, this giant Rolex billboard just dominated the streetscape.

After the hectic visit to the Kremlin we were only interested in sitting down and looking at the sights rather than walking around the sights. We decided to do a cruise down the Moscow River ..... turned out to be a fun way to see the city from a different perspective.

Another perspective is from the underground ...... Moscow's Metro system is one of the city's marvels - used by 9 million people daily and with over 120 stations there is plenty to see.

Some of the stations commissioned by Stalin were regarded as the "Palaces of the People". Several feature huge chandeliers, gold encrusted mosaics and stern statues of heroic workers and soldiers. Photos of the stations are not "encouraged" so I haven't anything to upload. Still it is worth a look!