Itinerary:

Day 1: We start our tour from the coast of Pirogovskoe reservoir 10 km north of at 9 a.m. We drive through Pushkino town the history of which is connected with Armand and Mamontov families. Our first stop is at Gremyachiy (Thundering) spring – the miraculous water source of St. Sergius of . Then we visit Gagino village where our great opera singer Fyodor Schaliapin married his Italian wife. After that we take a look at how the largest pumped- storage hydro electrical plant of works and is being constructed. We have our lunch in Alexandrov – the capital of Muscovy during times. After an excursion around the we leave Alexandrov and head to Pereslavl, dropping in at St. Lucian’s poustinia – a small and quiet monastery, a typical Russian orthodox cloister on our way. The last point of the day is an abandoned Soviet S-200 missile base, a true witness of the Cold war era. We arrive in Pereslavl in the evening and stay there overnight.

Day 2: In the morning we take a walking tour around Pereslavl, visiting its major sights and learning about its rich and exciting history. Having left the town behind, we make a short stop in the town of Sima where the glorified Russian General Peter Bagration, wounded at Borodino battlefield in September 1812 passed away and was buried. A bit further down the road another "last soldier of the empire" – a former base of intercontinental ballistic missiles in Teslovo – will allow us to recall the recent history of nuclear confrontation between East and West. After crossing the border from Vladimir to region in the picturesque little town of Luchki a narrow winding forest path will bring us right to the walls of the St. Demetrius church where we will have our lunch in the field. Finally, before finding ourselves in , we’ll make another short stop in the village of Porechye-Rybnoe just to have a look at one more unique object - the highest non-urban (and the fifth highest in general) bell-tower in Russia. A welcominghotel and a fine dinner will be waiting for us in Rostov.

Day_3: The first half of the third day is devoted to sightseeing in Rostov - the gem of the Golden Ring. After visiting Spaso-Yakovlevskiy Monastery and the Rostov Kremlin, where we may be lucky to hear the voice of one of the largest and oldest functioning bells of Russia,we leave the town behind just to discover another remarkable piece of medieval architecture nearby - the XIV century Borisoglebsky Monastery. After lunch we leave the major roads behind and slowly start making our way back towards Moscow. The final part of our trip will give everyone a good chance to taste the real Russian roads as we pass through numerous small villages, lush fields and dense woods. We emerge back on pavement near the village of Brynchagi – the birthplace of Mikhail Koshkin, the ingenious designer of the world-known T-34 - the best tank of the Second World War. By 11 p.m. we should return to our Starting point.

Highlights:

 Gremyachiy (Thundering) spring  Zagorsk pumped-storage hydroelectrical plant  Alexandrov  Abandoned S-200 missile base  Pereslavl-Zalessky  Sima  Teslovo  Porechye-Rybnoe  Rostov  Borisoglebsky monastery

Accomodation: Based on room availability we stay in either of the following hotels:

 Pereslavl-Zalessky: Veslevo Park (www.veslevo-park.ru) or Pereslavl (www.hotelpereslavl.ru)  Rostov: Usad’ba Pleshanova (www.hotelvrostove.ru) or Moskovsky Trakt (www.mostrakt.ru)