St Petersburg is the most diverse European city I've ever visited. The plazas are grand, the facades grander and the people fiercely dour. That is until you try and say something haltingly in Russian, which for me is pretty easy as I only picked up four words, then their faces break into a smile that puts the heart at ease.
We rode today around some of the main sights taking in the grandeur and the colour. The city mimics Paris, London, Vienna, Munich, Prague and so on with decorative attention to architectural detail. The prospekts, or boulevards, are wide and tree-lined. There are grassy squares everywhere and blocks and blocks of apartments all cunningly designed around central courtyards. There seems to be a striking similarity between Tsars, Communists and oligarchs if building huge edifices is anything to go by.
Hot. The weather we have had has broken a 40 year record. I have almost expected to see bananas growing especially after seeing the performing monkeys. But the love affair with animals does not stop there: there are dogs of all shapes and sizes, but the best I have seen so far is the cat who came to the restaurant in its own carry basket a la Paris Hilton's dog, its cool young owners cooing over it endlessly.
Lots of Russian babes; lots of Baboushkas; lots of cigarettes and skinny malnourished people; heaps of money; why settle for a Merc when you can have a roll-top Rolls?
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| The River Nevsky, St Isaacs in the background |
1 comment:
Hope the first stage has gone well. Give our regards to all the '08 OE folk. Look forward to your next update.
Liz
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