Sunday was a perfect autumn day in the capital, which Olga noted is not so much of a season as a handful of days spread out amidst the drizzle and ominous winter weather looming on the horizon. We decided to spend the day at Arkhangelskoe, the country estate just outside the city that belonged to Prince Yusupov. As with most of our excursions of late, it was an adventure to get out. In this case, it was that we had to catch the rare and incredibly packed No. 549 bus from Tushinskaya Metro station. It was laden with Muscovites eager to get some fresh, autumnal air while they still can.
The estate is really a stunning place. In addition to its palace and other buildings, it features acres and acres of formal French gardens, with lots of lanes to stroll and statutes to see. There is an amazing view south over the Moscow River and the long, flat Russian horizon, which you can see from between two Stalinist sanatorium buildings from the1930s. It was crowded, to be sure, with lots of women making elaborate hats out of the golden leaves and families taking photos of themselves. We were no different of course (see below).It was a pretty lazy day. We let Mila cruise around for awhile, which she has gotten quite good at if you hold her hands, and point out trees to us. She is a great fan of colorful leaves. We ate some shashlik, after some typically Russian adventures in ordering and waiting for them, and while Mila napped we laid around on the grass, probably for the last time this year before snow and cold arrive in force.
Olga in line for tickets at the entrance gate...
Some leaves....
Walking around...
1 comment:
Congratulations on the new job!
Babies like leaves here in Williamstown, too.
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