An early start to the day was easy as I had slept early last night. After a lovely breakfast at the hotel, left to check out the famous Metros of Moscow.
First stop - Mayakovskaya. The name as well as the design is a reference to futurism its prominent Russian exponent Vladimir Mayakovskay. Considered to have beautiful architecture, it is one of the most famous Metro stations in the world. It is most well known for its 34 ceiling mosaics depicting "24 Hours in the Land of the Soviets."
We got off at the theatre district and walked around the beautiful Moscow streets around here. We walked into Tsum, the mall for high end shops and walked out as quickly. Then spent most of the time walking around Kuznetsky Most - a beautiful walking street lined with shops and statues of famous Russians.
We stopped for a beer and my friend Suresh joined us. Soon we were off to a place opposite Bolshoi for lunch where Rajat also joined us. I haven't met Rajat since we left Moscow in 2005 and Suresh as well in many years. Great fun times reminiscing.
How can one be in Moscow and not go to Bolshoi. We had pre-booked tickets for the Ballet - Le Corsaire by the Sofia Opera and Ballet. It was great to be back in Bolshoi after so many years. The ballet was very good and we had a great time.
We decided to walk back to our hotel. Today I did about 20k steps twice my daily target. Moscow has changed quite a bit - broad sidewalks, well lit signs and tons of restaurants and cafes. It is great to be back in Moscow.