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'From Russia with Love'

Published on isbi School News dated Tuesday 6th of December 2011

Thirty students and four staff from St Benedict's School, Ealing enjoyed the trip of a lifetime to Moscow and St Petersburg during six days of the autumn half-term holiday.

An action packed two full days in the Russian capital covered the incredibly grand Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Mausoleum of Lenin, the world famous Red Square, the Kremlin and the Moscow Space Park. After an evening of shopping and then dinner at the Hard Rock Café, the group boarded the train for the much anticipated overnight train journey to St Petersburg, which most of the group slept through.

St Petersburg did not disappoint. It turned out to be an absolutely stunning city. The hectic schedule included the fortress and cathedral of St Peter and Paul, Catherine's Palace, St Isaac's Cathedral and the enormous and hugely elaborate Winter Palace. However, possibly the most surprisingly peculiar and unique experience was the evening of traditional Cossack dancing and music. A viewing of the Baltic Sea and a stop at the impressive memorial commemorating the siege of St Petersburg during World War II rounded off the trip.

Lower Sixth Former Edward Watson describes his impressions. 'A highlight of our stay in Moscow was a visit to one of the many circuses of the city. A truly memorable experience which was capped off with a display of events not normally seen�anywhere! Moscow was a truly incredible and interesting place. In turns beautiful, powerful, dangerous and tragic. It had an almost schizophrenic character reflecting its brutal and turbulent history yet the memory of Swan Lake and the Peace Park at night will long stay with all of us.'

Andy Bowman, Government and Politics teacher, who organised the trip, said, 'Peculiar is perhaps the best description for much of what we experienced in Russia and it is this which made the trip so wonderful and thought provoking. There was a tremendous team spirit within the group and everyone had so much fun. All that remains to be said is 'spasibo' to 'Mother Russia' for there is no place on earth like Moscow.'
'From Russia with Love' - Photo 1'From Russia with Love' - Photo 2
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