Who flies yachts?!
Have you heard about the cats of the Hermitage?*
Emergency rave!
Oh, I thought you said you wanted a cup full of ducklings.
Thats why all the squirrels are here. Free nutlets!
*If you have, in fact, not heard about the cats of the Hermitage, I suggest you read this article.
Cats of the Hermitage
Lessons of the Week:
I'm lucky to be surrounded by history and political science majors, or my political science class would be far more difficult than it should be.
It is possible to blow one's nose in a leaf, although I don't recommend it.
Tape and post it notes can save your life (in a manner of speaking).
I am becoming a tea junkie.
Picture Chronicles:
So after when my adventures left off last post, I decided to explore the academic wing of IMOP. I was happy to discover the elusive location of the 5th floor library. However, my friend and I stood dumbly in front of the door for a solid 5 minutes trying to read the signs to make sure we were at the right place, and partially out of fear of the Russian librarian behind the door. We eventually worked up the nerve to go in and find a pleasantly small, but very quiet room full of books and study tables. To celebrate our success, a group of us banded together for a lovely dinner of BLT's. A small taste of home!
So begins the the pictoral account of this week's cultural excursion...
The above photo is the palace at Pavlovsk, which is located just outside of the St. Petersburg city limits. Catherine the Great had this palace built for her son, Paul, because she didn't like him very much and didn't really want to live with him. Or as our guide put it, "nobody loved him." The truth is rather unfortunate sometimes. It was a pretty palace however. I was not a huge fan of the gaudy and excessive amount of decor and attempts to impress on the main floor, but when we visited the residential floor of the palace, it was gorgeous. Sometimes its just better to not try and be impressive...
As I was saying about not trying to be impressive, I didn't think there was going to be anywhere that would impress me more than the grounds of Peterhof, but Pavlovsk did because their grounds were designed in a way to look completely natural. But you would never know because it looks about as natural as could be. Plus, to top everything off, fall has officially arrived and the trees are turning. There are few things that make me happier than the trees in fall!
The park is also known for its squirrel population, so there were squirrels bouncing out at random times during our trip. I did definitely get a kick out of the fact that at the same places where you could buy food, you could buy the above noted "nutlets" for the squirrel folk.
California is pondering fall. Silly southerners!
A pretty view of the river, trees and small stone bridge. And do you see all the pretty leaves? One of my company discovered that it is, in fact, possible to blow one's nose in a leaf... although it is not the most effective method. But it does create a very humorous situation for the rest of us!
How much more Russian can you get than a row of birch trees? Not much.
As for the tragedy mentioned in the title of this post, during our adventures through the park I managed to bust my glasses into disrepair. So it pays to not get run into by friends who equate to brick walls... but after a full afternoon and evening of fretting and sulking, I managed to MacGyver my glasses with tape and post it notes. I will now be able to see during my semester break!
Thus concludes this installment of my adventures. I shall be spending the rest of my afternoon grocery shopping, doing homework and probably laundry. Until next time dear readers... Всего хорошего!
No comments:
Post a Comment