In this even numbered year it’s my time to travel outside the U.S.A. and so my bags will be packed to depart for Russia on Sunday July 8th. Many of you are interested in where I will be going, so I thought I would share the highlights of my itinerary. I’ll be traveling with Msgr. Steve Pedone, my classmate. We were ordained together by Bishop Flanagan on 3 June 1978. We are both looking forward to our journey.
We are signed up for a cruise on the Zosima Shashkov 3 cruise ship with third class accommodations for our 13-day journey. I love cruises because we will have the same room for our whole journey, and all our meals will be taken care of. Here’s what is in tap:
July 9-12, we will be touring Moscow: Red Square, The Kremlin, Assumption Cathedral and the local Russian Orthodox Churches, and the Museums.
July 13, we will arrive in Uglich: and take a walking city tour with visit to Kremlin, the Church of St. Demitrius on the Blood Transfiguration cathedral.
July 14, Yaroslavl: we will be taken to the panoramic city tour with a visit to a local market (free time). We will also see the Church of Elijah the Prophet (exterior), Church of St Nicholas (interior) and enjoy an interactive tour of former Governor's House and visit the Art Gallery.
July 15, in Goritsy we’ll tour the St. Cyril on the White Lake Monastery and Museum of Icons.
July 16, We'll cruise along Europe's second largest lake, Lake Onega and arrive on the island of Kizhi. Here we will visit a fascinating open-air museum containing numerous examples of elaborate Russian, wooden architecture we will also visit the Church of the Transfiguration or Preobrazhenskaya (the church of twenty-two wooden domes), I have only seen pictures of this and can’t wait to see the real thing!
July 17, Mandrogui: We will enjoy walking around this traditional Russian village in its beautiful setting and spending a day of rest, relaxation and fun. We will have a fantastic barbeque picnic on the banks of the river featuring one of Russia's favorite specialties - shashlik (meat shish kebab prepared on an outdoor fire. I love trying foreign foods!
July 18-21, Saint Petersburg where we will see the Kazan Cathedral, The winter Palace, Peter and Paul Fortress, The Hermitage, Petehof, the summer residence of the Russian Emperors.
I will try to again share our adventures on our Parish facebook so that all of you can enjoy the sights as we take our adventure.