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Even though Moscow is one of the greenest cities on the planet, I have spent the past few weeks in the countryside hiding from the dreich weather that has been on offer most of this summer. Though, this weekend mother nature finally provided a scorcher and I was able to visit one of my favourite parks in the city.

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_{Tsaritsyno Park}

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Not only is the park beautiful, it is also has a great back story. Catherine the Great purchased the estate in 1775 and renamed it 'Tsaritsyno' which means 'Queens'. Architect Vasily Bazhenov built a palace here for Catherine between 1776-85, but she was unhappy with it after inspection. As a result, the Empress ordered the palace to be torn down.

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_{Catherine the Great Palace}

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In 1786, the construction of a new palace was assigned to a student of Bazhenov. He supervised the construction until the project was halted by Catherine's death. It is the only palace to be developed in the 'pseudo-gothic' style of the 18th century and is the biggest building of this style in Europe.

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Tsaritsyno remained abandoned for more than 200 years until the lands were reworked in 2005. It now looks better than at any other time in its history with museums, opera houses and art galleries dotted around the estate.

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_{View from the front windows of the palace}

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The Figured Bridge was completed in 1776 and is considered one of the best monuments in neo-Gothic style. It was designed by Bazhenov to resemble a romantic castle over a lake surrounded by perennials.

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It reminds me of a ginger bead house, but as you pass underneath you are instantly stunned by the panorama of the palace.

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And because the estate is so large, you can quite literally spend many happy hours strolling through the glades when the weather is like this.

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Because Victoria and I have a toddler, we have an excuse to visit more often. It's an ideal place to enjoy a picnic!

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@seanreilly