Preliminary Day by Day Itinerary

March 17 Depart New York
Tuesday
Check in no later than 4:45 PM, and gather for introductions before boarding. Our journey starts today at 6:45 PM aboard FINNAIR AY006. (meals aloft) 

March 18 Moscow
Wednesday Suzdal
Arrive in Helsinki this morning and connect with the short flight to Moscow arriving at 1:50 PM. Welcome to Russia! Lunch enroute. Upon arrival in Moscow, we’ll head for Suzdal. Nap in the coach. Stop for a bowl of borsch in the Kirzhach village café. Later check in at the Pokrovsky Monastery. The warmly lit cabins will be our cozy accommodations. They were built originally for Russian historians and researchers. This historical site is today a working monastery. Dinner is included tonight in the refectory of the convent. (meals aloft-D)

March 19 Suzdal
Thursday Vladimir
We’ll have time to spend in picturesque Suzdal. Enjoy a leisurely morning and then visit the village of wooden architecture. After lunch, head south to Vladimir, one of the oldest medieval Russian towns. The ancient town of Vladimir is another masterpiece of the Golden Ring. We have included lunch today while in Vladimir at a nice restaurant in Old Town, which has good Russian cuisine and a cozy atmosphere. Tonight enjoy a special Russian dinner and folk performance. (B-L-D)

March 20 Ivanovo - Kholui
Friday Palekh
Depart northward for Ivanovo, a famous textile center and site of first local “soviet”. We’ll visit Kholui workshops and museum. Continue to Palekh. It is said to have been founded by the people who fled there from the Tarter-Mongol raids. For centuries, Palekh has been the center of icon painting and is home to the Palekh Art School and Museum of Miniature Painting. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to purchase lacquered boxes from the original artists! Return to Suzdal this evening. (B-D)

March 21 Fedoskino
Saturday Moscow
We’ll make our way back to Moscow via Fedoskino; the most famous of the villages where the black lacquered hand-painted paper maché boxes are crafted. We’ll arrive in Moscow in time for dinner. (B-D) 

March 22 Moscow
Sunday
This morning, we’ll be introduced to some of Moscow’s famed sites. Red Square, center of Moscow since its founding some 800 years ago, continues to be the historic heart of the city. You’ll find this cobblestone square tingling with life. Lining one side of the square are the unmistakable red walls of the Kremlin while St. Basil’s Cathedral, the most easily identifiable of Moscow’s landmarks, stands on the other side. GUM department store stands on the east side of this open plaza with the History Museum on the north. The Lenin Mausoleum is the focus of the square. There’s free time at noontime to try one of the American or Russian fast food restaurants. Then board the Metro to see the magnificent underground Museums. End at Arbat Street, Moscow’s colorful pedestrian precinct lined with boutiques, art galleries, theaters and cafes. The coach will transport you back to the hotel. Dinner is included at the hotel this evening. Shall we order theatre tickets for you? (B-D)

March 23 Moscow
Monday
This is certainly a day to remember! Today we go inside the Kremlin. Its 64 acres enclose palaces, cathedrals and towers, including the splendid Ivan the Great Tower and Belfry. Within the complex are the Grand Kremlin Palace, the Terem Palace, the Palace of Congress and historic Cathedral Square. Ringing the square are the historic Archangel, Annunciation and Assumption Cathedrals. We’ll go inside one of them. The Czar Bell and Czar Cannon make a good photo opportunity. We’ll have a two-hour guided tour of the Armory. There you’ll find the exquisite Faberge Egg Collection and much more. Filled with exquisite icons and paintings, carriages and costumes, this is the most historic of the Kremlin’s monuments. Then it’s time to relax over a special lunch at a downtown restaurant. Later in the afternoon we are invited to a famous artist’s studio to enjoy a tea party and to get better acquainted. There will be a bit of vodka too!

No trip to Moscow is complete without enjoying a performance of the Russian circus. It’s included tonight. (B-L)

March 24 Moscow
Tuesday
Today, you might enjoy a day to yourself. But, as an option, we’re off to the countryside for an excursion to Sergiev Posad, the medieval town that is the seat of Russian Orthodoxy. The most interesting time to visit is while services are going on.Those taking the excursion are: Eleanor, Alan, Liz, Polly, Paulette, Theda, Karen, Grace, Susan, Anne, Mary and Russ.

March 25 Moscow
Wednesday
This morning we are invited to meet with the Women’s Union of Russia to learn of their work, current conditions and the hopes and dreams of Russian women. This afternoon we will visit a Moscow school at 2:00 PM. The school is in the center of Moscow and have a WW2 Lend-lease museum.  They are arranging a tea party for us. Dinner is at the hotel tonight. Have a last look at illuminated Red Square this evening on the way to the train station. Settle into your comfortable sleeping compartment aboard the overnight train ride to St. Petersburg. Dream of troikas on the frozen Neva and lavish balls at the Winter Palace, as your train glides northwest. (B-D)

March 26 St. Petersburg
Thursday
Welcome to St. Petersburg! With its name changed back to St. Petersburg from Leningrad, this relatively young city was conceived and built by Peter the Great only 300 years ago. As we leave the train station, we’ll catch our first glimpse of this enchanting city. At every turn you’ll find the city’s grand neoclassical architecture mirrored in a network of canals and rivers. Travel along Nevsky Prospekt, the city’s most elegant boulevard lined with palaces, mansions, and churches, most of which are fine examples of Russian Classical and Baroque styles. The impressive Kazan Cathedral is here. The richly gilded St. Isaac’s Cathedral, and the famous “Bronze Horseman,” statue of Peter the Great, are located just off Nevsky Prospekt as are the well-known Pushkin and Maly Theaters. The Admiralty Building and the Smolny Convent will be pointed out to you.

Check in at our hotel for a rest followed by lunch.

In the afternoon we have a very special visit to the exquisite Usipov Palace with its beautiful recreated interiors. Once a residence of the wealthy and respected Usipov family, it saw one of Russian history’s moments of high drama - the murder of Grigory Rasputin.  (B-L) 

March 27 St. Petersburg
Friday
After breakfast, we’ll visit the Hermitage Museum. Located in a splendid ensemble of buildings in the Palace Square, the buildings were at one time royal residences and offices of the State. The principal building, the Winter Palace, itself an outstanding example of Russian Baroque, is today part of the Hermitage Museum Complex. Boasting over two million art and history exhibits, all displayed in halls and galleries that are themselves masterpieces, this is most definitely one of the world’s finest museums. After free time for lunch, we’ll visit Peter and Paul Fortress that contains the Peter and Paul Cathedral where the Romanov czars lie buried. We’ll see the small chapel where the last czar and family lie in rest—a very moving experience. Return to the hotel for dinner. (B-D)

March 28 St. Petersburg
Saturday
This morning, we are off to the countryside with an excursion to Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin) and a visit to the magnificent Catherine Palace. Set in 1,500 acres of beautifully landscaped parklands, the palace with its brilliant azure facade and gold moldings is the main structure. We’ll see some of the best-known chambers in the restoration work still under way. After dinner at our hotel this evening, we will celebrate a farewell party with a folk performance at the Nicholas Palace. There will be refreshments during an intermission where we’ll have the opportunity to meet the performers. (B-L-D)

March 29 St. Petersburg
Sunday New York
Say goodbye to Ludmila and the new friends you’ve made. Our FINNAIR flight to Helsinki departs at 12:35 PM, connects to AY005 in Helsinki at 2:20 PM and arrives at 3:55 PM in New York. Welcome home! (B and meals aloft)