Today: free day!

We had our first full day all to ourselves -- well deserved since we've been so busy up until this point and are about to get busier with classes starting tomorrow morning at 9am sharp. There was a lot of sleeping in and napping and settling in and journal writing (по-русски для Аллой Львовной!). Every amused themselves in their own way, but later in the afternoon I dragged Jess and Aisling along to my favorite museum in Moscow: The New Tretyakov Gallery. I believe that every time I have been in Moscow (four times now in total, not counting layovers between trains/planes) I have gone to the New Tretyakov. This gallery holds all of Moscow's 20th century art -- all of the Russian avant-garde. I did not take any photos while at the museum, but here are some of the works we saw:

Кандинский В.В. "Композиция VII." 1913.
Kandinskii V.V. "Composition VII." 1913.

Кончаловский П.П. "Семейный портрет." 1912.
Konchalovskii P.P. "Family portrait." 1912.

Филонов П.Н. "Композиция. Корабли." 1913–1915.
Filonov P.N. "Composition. Ships." 1913–1915.

Экстер А.А. "Венеция." 1918.
Exter, A.A. "Venice." 1918.

Ларионов М.Ф. "Весна." 1912.
Larionov M.F. "Spring." 1912.

Шагал М.З. "Над городом." 1914–1918.
Chagal, M.Z. "Over the city." 1914–1918.

After the New Tretyakov, I dragged the 2 devushkii along with me further to a Moscow branch of my favorite St. Petersburg haunt -- the Stolle perog café. Perog of various varieties was consumed -- salmon, hare and mushroom, cabbage -- and coffees and tea drank, and everyone was very content by the end. We might become regulars there doing our homework over the next two weeks.

You know, if the other 4 devushki don't start writing some of these entries soon, this blog might just turn into one big reminiscence of my year abroad. Look out!

First day of class tomorrow, so I should probably get some sleep.

Do zavtra.

-- E.B.