Monday was our first real full day in Moscow. It started early enough -- after a much needed sleep we both found ourselves pretty much wide awake around 6:30 AM. We figured an early start to the day meant that much more stuff to be able to do.

Well, perhaps not. After a mediocre (but included, thankfully) breakfast at the hotel, we walked to the Metro station and rode the train into Red Square, getting there around 9. Thing is, nothing's open that early. Also, it was raining. So yay. :)

We wandered around Red Square a bit, stood and stared at St. Basil's Cathedral (you know, the one with the colorful onion domes), and the Kremlin wall (with Lenin's Mausoleum, and were generally soggy tourists.

At 10, the giant mall GUM (ГУМ) opened, and we wandered in there to dry off, catch a coffee, and get our bearings. We also wandered the mall, which is enormous. Mostly clothes, as with most malls, but on the third floor we accomplished some needed errands including some pre-paid SIMS (with data!) at a Megafon store.

After our mall wanderings, we decided to wander around Alexander Gardens outside the Kremlin wall on our way to check out the Armoury museum inside the Kremlin. Today, however, was to be the day of aborted and delayed sightseeing, as the next entrance time was 2:30, and tickets didn't go on sale until 1:45 for that. We decided it was lunch time, since it actually was, and hit a neat little food court in a different nearby mall. For those keeping score at home, Sbarro in Russian is Сбарро. Our hunger sated, it was time to buy some tickets and go see the Armoury.

It was pretty good. The included audio guide helped a lot, and we ended up spending a little over 90 minutes checking out various treasures, suits of armor, swords, carriages, dresses, and Faberge eggs. Not too bad for 700 rubles each. (Oh, it's a little over 30 rubles to the dollar.)

We spent the rest of the afternoon escaping the worsening rain by riding the Metro around and looking at some of the stations -- there are some really ornate ones. Finally, after a nice sushi supper, we made our way back to the hotel, since we were pretty much beat at that point. I managed to get the mobile data set up on our phones, which is a good thing, since the near ubiquitous wi-fi experience I was expecting based on Boingo's map of hotspots has yet to materialize. In fact, I don't think Boingo has yet successfully connected to any networks while I've been in Moscow (worked dandy in Sweden and Chicago, though).

Tomorrow looks to be not rainy, thankfully. We'll be checking out one of the major art museums (not sure which yet), walking around the Arbat if the weather's holding up, revisiting Red Square after dark to see it all lit up. I'll snag some photos then.

Thus far, though, Moscow is rainy, wet, and under construction. :)

Until tomorrow!