Yesterday we visited a magnificent park and palace in the south of Moscow - Tsaritsino.

It was commisioned as a summer residence for Catherine the Great in 1776 (some dacha!) but they never got round to putting the roof on - until very recently.

We were lucky with the weather, as can be seen in the pictures.
Here are some views:
(click to see enlarged view)

This is the view across the park to the palace on the hill.
I don't kinow what the plastic dome is in the middle but I wish I had taken a large pin with me to deflate it. (Probably been bought by 02)

This is just one part of the palace. There are eight of the towers with their lovely new green roofs.

This is the view across the park to the tower blocks of the south Moscow suburbs. I wonder what Catherine the Great would have made of this view?
The only ducks on the lakes in winter are the ubiquitous mallard. The lakes extend round the bend to the right and are very big.

This bridge leads up to the palace and crosses one of the three small rivers that feed the lakes.
The palace is sited in a huge area of hills, lakes, forest and parkland.

There are a number of great parks within the borders of the city and all were the estates of the aristocracy, which were gradually overtaken by the city as it grew.