Hello from St.Petersburg.
I know I said I would try again to post the night before last night, but we back to the ship rather late and I was too tired. Same last night. We have been rather busy since getting here with two excursion per day.
The ballet was alright for a bunch of Kirov rejects. I overheard one woman say that she would have liked to go see the Kirov, but the tickets were $600. For that price I think I should get my way with my choice of ballerina.
Clear Ayes,
What was the name of that all male Ballet troupe from Monte Carlo? Was it Trocadero? They are from Monte Carlo, right?
We went to the Hermitage yesterday morning it was just the kind of museum visit I hate. Although it was three hours, the place is so big, that if we had set any quicker pace we would have been jogging. I was astounded when we stopped in a room that held Caravaggio's 'The Lute Player' and the guide was not going to bother even mentioning it. It caught my attention and after I took a look at it, a woman in our group asked the guide about it. The guide was very blasé. She said something to the effect of , "Oh yeah, there is a painting by Caravaggio over there." Then she quickly led everyone out of the room leaving no time for people to take a good look at it; which was pretty much the way it went the whole tour. Sigh. Ah well, I did take the time get get a good look at a few nice paintings, a Michelangelo sculpture and a couple by Rodan.
Last night we went to the Place of Catherine the Great for an imperial Evening of the Tsars. It was fun! We had the whole place to ourselves.
2 comments:
Hello PMT,
I've been mostly absent since haying season started. Except for rainy days it's go-go all day long, eat sleep repeat. I am enjoying your travelogue, although one of my visions of Hell is being shepherded by some damn Border Collie tour guide when I want to linger, so I can sympathize.
For some time warped reason, when I looked at the picture above, a story I once heard my Dad tell came to mind. He like his father before him was a farm equipment dealer for International Harvester. About 1960, he went to a dealer convention in Chicago. They were bused downtown from the airport (probably Midway) and when they got off the bus at the base of some skyscraper, the guy in front of him stopped dead, looked up and said, "Gooooddaaaaamn, I wonder how much corn that sumbitch would hold.". I've never forgotten it.
Hope you and SA Rich are having a great time.
Its like really, really late and we just got home from babysitting but I just wanted to take the time to comment...
So sorry about the Hermitage jog...it would seem that they would have allowed you time to wander a bit. So much beauty...so little time...what a shame. I'm not sure if you were saying you didn't think the ballet was quite up to snuff or if it was just the complainer sitting near you...some people are just never happy.
I am hoping that what you are seeing, based on your photos, is bringing you joy in the seeing. Perhaps you will want to plan a later trip where you could actually spend real time in the Hermitage.
I would really love to hear about your Night of the Tsars...that just really caught my attention.
Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks from taking a cruise is the limited time you have to explore. When I took the French Saone/Rhone wine cruise I felt that we didn't really have time to see things and that we were often shown only what was chosen for us...plus I had the additional restrictions imposed by keeping my mother company on the boat when she chose not to take some of the side trips because she had been there before( I, of course, hadn't)...one of my greatest regrets was not seeing Les Baux...but at least you both can take as many of the side trips as you wish...so do enjoy everything you see...and don't pay attention to the whiners.
Have loads of fun...and whenever you post it is wonderful.
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