after the internet-oh the joy of getting on the blog ! :) - we went back to gum on red square to a cafe we'd seen. gum is a shopper's paradise. jo, you would love it but bring dad's plastic...and mum's ...and greg's... :) i found a monsoon and accessorize-bliss. lou gave me ten minutes to cruise the colour co-ordinated displays and revel! i spotted a skirt called isobel, priced in uk and euros...i was tempted! :)
we spent the afternoon in the english courtyard museum. an odd little building between red square and the huge building site that was the hotel rossiya. the place was the english embassy in the time of elizabeth 1 and the first foreign embassy in russia.
trade came via the northern seas and we traded broadcloth, hemp and gunpowder for honey and wax (there were other things but that was what has stuck in the memory!). great play was made of how bread was sent in each direction in times of famine.
oliver cromwell spoiled things by chopping off charles' head and relations were suspended but restored when power was back in the hands of royalty. odd how history twists and turns, i bet the soviets would have applauded royal heads rolling! :)
the building is a rabbit warren of low doorways and steep, narrow staircases. there are a lot of historical documents and pictures, all well labelled in russian and english. the curators are very proud of it all.
quaint in the extreme and a great way to escape the rain! :)
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