Well it is the morning of travel and I think I have everything ready - boots, passport, visa, roubles (all the same size - like dollars. Although I think other curencies also do this) Plan of action when I get off the plane - arrive 4.45 local time (so by the time I get through customes and grab some pickled cucumber or whatever they eat over there and get the first express to town at 7) is to work out the Metro ASAP - that will be the key to getting everything done. Also, I want to be comfortable getting around Moscow in the dark - remember Moscow rules!

I believe they have a similar system to the tube Oyster card system. (One of my strange quirks is that I always tend to carry my Oyster with me - just in case! Like the real adopted Londoner I am, I know what your tube line says about you! While I lived there, I was, and still remain a Metliner - the snobs of the tube network, but that's for another day......)

I am going to try not to edit this as I write it while away (that is a consequence of work!) - the whole point about it is to keep it for me as a journal log.

So, I'll sign off now and try to update whenever I can - I'm not taking my own device, it will be from Internet cafes etc. Oh, and the time that Blogger logs as a posting does not correspond to any world time I can find so I will try to give rough local times.

Until.........