We started off our day by going to Izmailovsky Park a market
place that was like a flea market and sold tons of Russian and Soviet gear.
When I was there, I picked up a small owl trinket for my Mom, a couple of
Soviet Propaganda Posters and a KGB flask. Izmailovsky Park was the first location where market forces developed after the collapse of
socialism. At first, people would go to this market with small goods that they
produced on their own, like a weaved basket and sell it to their peers. Over
time, this market grew as the Russians began purchasing more and more goods. Now the park
has become a tourist trap and there is a quiche section that even looks like
Disneyland.
Izmailovsky Park
Then we went on a bus tour of all of Moscow, but honestly I was so tired that between stops I was fast asleep. After we finished the tour, the men suited
up and the ladies dressed up for a Swan Lake at the Kremlin Palace. I was disappointed that the
Bolshoi Troupe happened to be in NYC while we were on our trip, but the Kremlin Palace show was marvelous. The Kremlin Palace is actually one of the biggest buildings
and right near the entrance of the Kremlin and the building looked similar to
Lincoln Center from the outside. We got ourselves some bottles of Pepsi
and enjoyed some vodka that we snuck into the theatre using my newly purchased KGB flask.
KGB, Vodka and Swan Lake
Kremlin Palace Theatre
Selfie with Sickles and Asians
Anteroom of the Kremlin Palace
Swan Lake was a beautiful play and if you haven’t seen it or
heard about it, I recommend you watch Black Swan with Natalie Portman for the plot. My favorite performers were the court Jester and the Wizard. The
Jester performed the most physically demand while
the Wizard’s outfit had bat wings coming off his arms, which made his movements monstrous. My favorite scene was in the second
half, when the princess is taken away into the dark world of the wizard. It
begins with the Wizard guiding the princess away from the world of glitz and
gold of palace life. They transport us to the world of the wizard of darkness
and blue lights and then around 25 swan ballerinas flow in from the side and formed a circle, creating a hypnotic movement on
stage.
After the show, we looked for some food and the group came
to the consensus of eating McDonalds. We grabbed our Big Macs and took them to
the center of Red Square in front of Lenin’s Mausoleum, parked our tired butts
right in the center and chowed down. I'm glad that today we were able to see the Kremlin Palace
Ballet, the quintessential Russia experience.
Practicing my ballet moves
Outside the gates of the Kremlin Palace
No comments:
Post a Comment