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 couple of metal trees adorned with locks similar to those we saw in Moscow. Now I have learned that these are wedding locks placed in public places by couples when they marry, sometimes just plain locks, sometimes with an inscription. The park abutted the City Beach, an unexpected sight, a stretch of sand replete with lifeguard stations on the Kotorosl River. A few people were out rocking and suddenly this very punk guy with dyed spiked hair in outlandish dress comes by on roller blades.

Yaroslavl is another one of the Golden Ring towns with significant history dating back to the middle ages. The monastery, founding in the 12th century, became the town's main fortress and the church inside, Spaso-Preoprazhensky cathedral, is the oldest building in the city. Inside the monastery is a large cathedral and bell tower. We were fortunate to be there for a concert of the bells and could see the bell ringer up at the top amidst the bells. There was a small set of bells down on a walkway and later he came down and played the bells in front of us. The bells have wires that are wrapped around his fingers and he just moves his fingers and creates this wonderful bell music. The monastery contained several museums which not only did we not visit, but which were not pointed out to us. I discovered them when I wandered away from the group a bit. These included the Treasures of Yaroslavl with gold, silver and previous jewels and the collection of ancient Russian art and icons and a museum of local history.

After leaving the monastery, we took a short bus ride to an area in the city with two blocks of parks, the original city center, which is a UNESCO Heritage site. We viewed the War Memorial and then walked to the end of one park to the with a large white church with beautiful gold domes, the Uspensky Cathedral. The first wooden cathedral was built here in 1215, destroyed by fire it was then rebuilt in the 16th Century and was completely destroyed again in the 20th Century by the Soviets. In 2005 it was decided to rebuild the cathedral once again and in an astonishing feat of construction the huge building was completed in just five years. The church sits on an embankment overlooking the Volga River and we walked on the promenade on the embankment to the place where the smaller Kotorsl River flows into the Volga. Below us at that site is a large park with a tall monument in it. We saw a river cruise ship in the Volga and were told it was the first of the season and was waiting to depart. We came back to the central square which was decorated for the upcoming May 9 Russia Day. On one side of the square sits a block long yellow three story building which is the medical school. Our guide Andrei's wife is a pediatrician and teaches there, but due to the holiday she would not be there the next day which was to be our free day in Yaroslavl (but I did ask.)

Church of Elijah the Prophet built in 1647 and considered to be the most beautiful church of the city. It was built by two brothers who were wealthy traders in Siberian furs. There are around 50 churches in Yaroslavl built by the town's merchants not only to honor God, but for family prestige. The main part of the church has five blue-green domes and a bell tower. Inside there are outstanding murals. We drove through the city to return to the hotel for lunch and then after we were taking a trip to the Governor's House for a special surprise. This 18th century building houses the Yaroslavl Art Museum with a very good collection of 18th-20th century Russian paintings as well as period furniture. Our tour of the house was provided by a young woman in a period costume who was the governor's daughter. As we entered a large gallery on the second floor, we were served a glass of Russian champagne and escorted into the next large gallery. Our guide was met by a young man, also in costume, and there was a chamber quartet also in costume that entertained us with a lovely concert. At the end, the couple danced and then to waltz music they selected partners from the audience to join them. We had a few good sports in the group and I did capture this on video, yet to be reviewed. It was a charming interlude and special to be treated to like royalty.

We had some free time at the end of the afternoon, so I went out and walked around the main part of the city. I found a market, sort of a flea market place, and found a stall selling wallets. I was getting tired of carrying the little money I had in small baggies since I had lost wallet and was so happy I found this very nice bright red wallet for about $10. Next to this market was an indoor food market, so I wandered around there. I bought a bag of assorted dried fruits after this very nice man selling them offered me some free tastes. The snack served me well down the road. I walked back and passed this very cute Ukrainian restaurant we had seen from the bus with statues of a man and woman in traditional clothes outside. I wondered why our tour didn't include this, but no, another dinner in the hotel. I stopped for a latte in a coffee house near the hotel. This place also sold coffee from all over the world for personal use so I read (in Russian) all the different kinds of coffees they sold from the menu.