October 7, 2001 – Moscow

St. Basil's (technically the Cathedral of the Intercession but you wouldn't know what I meant if I called it that) is stunningly beautiful. The legend is that Ivan the Terrible had the architect blinded so that he could never create another comparable work. Like most legends, if it isn't true, it should be. They were cleaning the big tower, but it still looked very impressive. Sylvanna, our tour guide, was looking forward to the end of the trip. She had been guiding for nearly a year, and was in need of a holiday. She planned to return to her home in Melbourne and spend the winter relaxing.