More Moscow

Highlights have included: the ballet Don Quixote" at the Stanislov Theater -- with enthusiastic "brrrraavo"'s throughout the performance, shouted by two men seated right next to Susan, and with about 8 curtain calls by audience who crowded the orchestra pit railing; the Moscow Circus, without the usual circus animal smells despite multiple animal acts, including trained birds, horses, dogs, and elephants (whose toenails were painted white). Very smooth and professional show; Georgian food, Ukrainian food; Red square, with Lenin's tomb overshadowed by GUM, a large, well-stocked, sunlit mall;  St. Basil's Cathedral, with It's A Small World whimsical twisty-cone ice cream domes;  weddings galore, with bridal parties out for pics at all the monuments we visited; Metro stations named and decorated for artists, scientists (see the pic of Susan and Amanda beneath Metro chandeliers of chemistry ball/stick models at the Mendeleev Station), thinkers, and even memorializing canine cosmonauts. Here are a few pictures: