The only time the author Lewis Carroll travelled outside the British Isles was when he took a trip to Russia and threw himself into an adventure as impetuously as Alice did when venturing down the rabbit hole.
The role of the White Rabbit was played by Carroll’s friend and colleague Henry Liddon. On July 4, 1867, Liddon suggested to Carroll that they visit Russia, and, just one week later, they set off.
Some researchers have suggested that this is where Carroll got the idea for Through the Looking-Glass. Even if he did not, one thing is clear: the country made a big impression on the writer, who recounted his experiences in his Russian Journal.
First it was St Petersburg, the “city of giants” with its wide streets (“even the secondary streets are wider than any in London”); then Moscow, where he spent two weeks; and Nizhny Novgorod, where he and Liddon dashed to the fair, naively hoping to get there and back in a day.
Carroll spent his time in Russia with the palpable enthusiasm of someone making a new discovery, excitedly transcribing long words, such as zashchishchaiushchikhsya, into his notebook, haggling enthusiastically with cab drivers and writing vivid descriptions of Orthodox churches.
Those in Moscow he thought “outwardly resembled cactuses with sprouts in various colours”, seeing their domes as “curved mirrors” in which “pictures of the city’s life are reflected”. 
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Originally Posted by Hanna
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