Kremlim visit

We went to the Kermlin today and it was absolutely amazing. I would have taken pictures of the outside but it was wet and raining and very very cold. It's the first cold day we've actually had in Russia. It reminded me a lot of Florida because it was a wet cold and it kind of soaked you to the bone. I've had a chill since I woke up this morning. Our guide for the Kermlin, Lena, was very very nice. She took us through some of the churches. The Church of the Assumption is where the Tsars were married and coranated. The inside was decorated in frescos and icons depicting the Virgin's Assumption to Heaven. I wish I could have taken pictures but of course you can't for obvious reasons with caring for the art. The second church was of the Archangel Michael where Russian rulers were buried up until the time of Peter the Great I believe but I can't quite remember so don't quote me on that.
I really loved getting to see these churches. I had studied them with Dr. Steeves in his Survery of Russian Civilization class and I was fascinated by them and their vast history. These churches have stood through wars and political upheavel. One can't help but be in complete awe of their simple elegance and design.
Lena also took us to the Armory which is a state museum now. It houses carriages, clothing, jewals, silverware, and weapons. We were able to see the coronation gown of Catherine the Great and Alexandra, the last Tsarina of Russia. In some cases it was almost impossible to imagine that woman such as Catherine had been so tiny. I mean really their waists must have been the size of my thigh or something. THEY WERE SOOO TINY! Honestly, as I was looking at some of the robes and jewals I felt like it was such a waste of pearls and diamonds. I mean seriously, does a horse really need a jewal studded headpeice encrusted with over 1,000 diamonds? I think not....but whatever.
I'm really starting to make friends here as well. We have like this little international group. Jim is from England, Ozge is a Turkish Greek who lives in America, Hilda is from Normay and Marilyn is from Sweden. Then we also have Jessica from Florida and Johann from Sweden who sometimes join us. It's nice because sometimes we speak Russian to each other and then when we don't understand we just switch to English. We also have one thing in common that really pulls us together and that's our complete and inexplainable fascination with Russia. None of us can explain it but we've just always been drawn to this country for some reason and now we are all getting to experience it together.