Day Two in Yaroslavl

It appears that I have not fully adjusted to the time difference yet since I once again woke up very early - 5am :) But I liked it. It gave me time to do my reading, to get ready for the day, have breakfast with my college roommate of almost 2 years and to explore Yaroslavl by foot . . . or rather with high heels on solid ice :) It's an experience like no other! Yaroslavl is an incredibly lovely city. It's a wonderful mix of older architecture with lots of new renovations for this years 1000 year anniversary of the city. There are lots of little shops and cafes everywhere you look. There are also a lot of people walking. Perhaps it was the early morning hour, the simple fact that it was the day after a holiday (Christmas), or a combination of the two but there were not that many cars when we went walking. It was incredibly serene and breathtaking as the entire city was blanketed with a crisp, white layer of snow.

Once the entire group was awake and ready, we set out for the Monastery of Tolga {Толгский монастырь} which is now a functioning nunnery. It was (also) incredibly beautiful. The sixteenth century (If my memory serves me well) buildings surrounded by birch trees and fresh snow look like a picture on a postcard! The orthodox church with the icons, altar and a few other things(it was off limits today and we could only look inside through a glass door)covered in gold was quite impressive. There icons of Mary and we saw many people praying, crossing themselves, and lighting candles in hopes that their prayers will be heard & answered.

After our trip to the nunnery, we went to Sergiev Posad {сергиев посад} and learned how to paint matroshki dolls {матрешки}. It was a lot of fun. It was a great day, and I'm looking forward to finally starting to explore Moscow tomorrow :)