May 4, 2013 Today was a bit of a "lazy" day in Yaroslavl. We had the option to sleep in and/or have a late breakfast as we were not to meet until 10:30. I was up and down for breakfast at 8:30 and then spent a little time trying to catch up on the blog, work on pictures, etc. We met and walked a few blocks up the River. At the corner where we turned there was a cute set of wooden sculptures - a bear and a windmill - in someone's yard. After another few bloc...

May 3 The day started with another hotel breakfast buffet. Then onto the bus to start the day with our guide Andrei and a visit to Yaroslavl's Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior. Just across the street from the entrance was a park with a pyramidal monument which is actually a modern bell tower (1997 ) commemorating the place where Minin and Pozhakrsky and their assembled army set off to oust the Poles from Russia in 1612. In the park, there were a...

May 2 The shower at Prince Vladimir Hotel looked like something from Star Trek. It was sort of capsule shaped and had a remote control device inside with all sorts of buttons to push. I don't think anyone on the trip was bold enough to try it. My fear was if I pushed the wrong button, I might eject from the room. Another Russian buffet breakfast. Unlike the Peking Hotel in Moscow, this hotel did not have granola, only corn flakes and cocoa pebbles. There were ...

May 1 Luggage in the lobby by 8:30, breakfast finished, and onto the bus. So here comes my father wheeling together 1 large and 1 carry on size suitcase in addition to his carry-on bag. Instructions were clear - bring one bag because you will need to manage it yourself on the train. When queried about why he brought so much he said he was uncertain about the weather, brought extra jackets, etc. I guess he will manage. So May 1 is May Day in Russia. Russia's ...

April 30 In the morning we visited the Russian Arts and Crafts Center. It is a new and modern building in the middle of an industrial area. The center had a representative display of Russian arts such as the nesting Matruschko dolls (which are not traditional folk art at all but were created in the 1890s by a man at the request of his employer, a Russian toymaker, and modeled after Japanese nesting dolls), textiles, lacquered items, decorative samovars, straw ...