{"id":2008,"date":"2011-06-04T22:53:49","date_gmt":"2011-06-05T05:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rayivey.com\/wordpress\/?p=2008"},"modified":"2011-06-04T22:53:49","modified_gmt":"2011-06-05T05:53:49","slug":"spring-forward-day-78","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rayivey.com\/wordpress\/spring-forward-day-78\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"rss\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>

St. Petersburg
\nMay 29, 2011\u00a0<\/h2>\n

\"blue_church\"<\/a>Happily, my train ticket was valid and I was able to find my train, my carriage, and my seat, and I had a pleasant ride.\u00a0 However, all that worrying had taken its toll on my general outlook.\u00a0 That and I think that being away from home for so long, and being a linguistic alien for so many weeks, has really started to fray my nerves.\u00a0 Homesickness, anxiousness about where the next work is going to come from, not being able to eat properly . . . let\u2019s face it, I\u2019m tired and I want to go home.<\/p>\n

\"Oxana,<\/a>
Oxana, my St. Petersburg tour guide, is the least attractive woman in Russia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However.\u00a0 My grumpiest mood could not stand a chance<\/em> in the face of this staggeringly, ravishingly beautiful city.\u00a0 If St. Petersburg isn\u2019t the most beautiful city in the world, it is certainly in the running.<\/p>\n

Gracefully hugging the banks of the River Neva and the Gulf of Finland, the city is a northern Venice, but with even more bridges and a lot less dirt.\u00a0 It\u2019s the most northern city in the world that has over a million people.<\/p>\n

\"St.<\/a>
St. Isaac's, the fourth largest cathedral in the world.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking of north, I find it interesting that on yesterday\u2019s train ride I transitioned from the farthest east I\u2019ve ever traveled (Moscow) to the farthest north I\u2019ve ever traveled (here in St. Petersburg). [1]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 Before this weekend the two winners of those distinctions were Budapest, Hungary and Inverness, Scotland, respectively.<\/p>\n

\"Lovers<\/a>
Lovers 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a nice dinner at my favorite Russian chain restaurant (Carl\u2019s Jr.), I took a three hour walk around the city, crossing lots of bridges and seeing breathtaking vista after breathtaking vista.\u00a0 I finally gave up, exhausted, at 11:00 p.m. . . .\u00a0 while it was still light outside.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Lovers<\/a>
Lovers 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The hotel was fantastic.\u00a0 Thank goodness for Marriott points, which are paying for it.\u00a0 I have a beautiful suite on the top floor with a gigantic bathroom and the nicest sheets I\u2019ve ever had on a hotel bed. \u00a0Or, I think, any bed.\u00a0 I STUPIDLY forgot to inquire about what exactly they were so I could see if I could afford the same for my bed at home.<\/p>\n

\"No<\/a>
No PDAs for Russkie gays<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sunday I had a lovely private tour of St. Petersburg with the lovely Oxana.\u00a0 The highlight was the cathedral in the Peter and Paul fortress, where I saw the tombs of Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and Nicholas, Alexandra and their children (and servants, actually).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"At<\/a>
At the Atlantis door of the Hermitage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The city is peppered with dozens of beautiful domed churches painted an amazing array of colors.<\/p>\n

\"Naval<\/a>
Naval Academy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After I was dropped off by Oxana, I high-tailed it to the Big Fat St. Petersburg Cemetery Where All The Famous People From the Arts Are Buried.\u00a0\u00a0 Okay, it\u2019s really called the Tikhvin Cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery.\u00a0 Naturally it became my favorite place in the city as I quickly found the graves of Doestoevsky, Borodin, Moussorgksy, Rimsky-Korsakov, and of course, that sad closeted genius Tchaikovsky.<\/p>\n

\"Me<\/a>
Me and Dostoevsky<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mussougsky\"<\/a>
Mussourgsky<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A nice long walk back to the hotel followed, with a break about halfway for dinner at Tres Amigos.<\/p>\n

Things I\u2019m Really Starting to Miss About Home<\/h4>\n