More of the Golden Ring.

We are now on our sixth (or is it seventh) Golden Ring town. So far Suzdal has been the most attractive and relaxing. Protected from all development and with a population of under 15,000 Suzdal is a living museum with more churches, monasteries and museums than anybody could reasonably want.

It also has a good free parking area behind the main square (the one with the Lenin statue) (56.424572°N 40.449843°E). There are also working water taps at the corner of many of the smaller streets.

Suzdal also has a fine restaurant the Restoran Trapeznaya in the Refectory Church of Intercession Convent (there is also a good log-cabin "motel" within the convent grounds).

Kostroma didn't have the same charm as Suzdal but it did have churches, monasteries (St. Ipaty) and even a restaurant that played Leonard Cohen songs.

We managed to park right down by the river (the Volga again) near Pier Number One. A little muddy but nobody bothered us. (57.764570°N 40.920765°E). Kostroma is remarkably the first place on this trip where we have had rain most of the day.

Jaroslavl (where we are now) has provided both rain and hail, as well as the usual churches, monasteries and museums (some of us are suffering from SACF (Severe Acute Church Fatigue))

We have parked in a secure fenced area between the Church of the Saviour-in-the-Town and the Kotorosl River (57.621787°N 39.897912°E), not because we feel the need for additional security but because we could find nowhere else as convenient. The car park charges about $3.00USA per van per day.

Today, for the first time in Russia, we have been asked to produce a Russian licence for our CB radios. Our UK CB radio licences were eventually reluctantly accepted, more because the policeman could not be bothered to pursue the matter than anything else.