Russia, Day 22

 

Day Twenty-Two 

We slept really well last night.  I call it “the night of restoration.”  We followed our blissful rest with warm, relaxing showers.  After getting dressed, we went out for our first full day in St. Petersburg.  We got on the pedestrian street near our apartment and walked a different way to the metro.  We found the metro, got off at the wrong station and then went back down into the metro.  Eventually we made it to the station where we wanted to do a tour of the southernmost part of Nevsky Prospect.  By that time, it was around noon; the sun was really beaming.   

We got pretty tired and decided that McDonald’s (a different one) would satisfy us.  We got a ¼ pounder meal and paid extra – yes, indeed - for ketchup.  By the time we had finished eating we had decided that we’d rather not see the big monastery that was right across the street.  We figured it would be much like Novodivichy in Moscow.  And, frankly, by this point, we had had our fill of churches and convents.  Instead, we walked outside and just down to the river where we could see the city’s longest bridge.  After a quick glimpse of the bridge, we decided to find a coffee shop: one that I had researched on the net.  We jumped on a trolley and, with the aid of a nice ticket lady, got off at 32 Nevsky.  Our destination was Elit, a Turkish coffee and pastry shop.  We found it!   

Elit was a remarkable spot.  We ordered Baklavas (two varieties), a Turkish coffee (grounds remain in the mug) and a latte.  Our waitress was very cute.  She seemed very eager to speak English with me.  At a table just near us was a Russian woman who has lived in Oregon for many years.  We ended up talking for a while.  She actually helped translate some things I wanted to tell the waitress.  By the way, the homemade baklavas, especially the pistachio one, were very scrumptious. 

After coffee, we jumped on a bus.   A young Chinese lady, a student, helped us figure what to pay and where to get off.  We really appreciated her help.  

We walked along Nevsky Prospect, dropping in and out of shopping malls.  The biggest was Gostiny Dvor.  We also walked through some nice parks and saw some amazing buildings – theaters and museums.  One of the most significant buildings we saw that day was Kazan Cathedral.  We also walked through an outdoor art studio, where we could bargain with artists for their works.  Our evening meal was near the Anchikov Bridge.  It turned out to be a very, very good meal with excellent service.  After dinner, we walked along the canal to the pier where we were to catch the evening river cruise.  While we were waiting for the boat to arrive, we saw some jet skiers racing down the canal, splashing people with water.  Soon the boat arrived and we got on board, racing to get the best seats on the top deck.  We got the ones we wanted! 

The tour got started late; it was frustrating.  Finally, the last few people got on board and the boat’s engine started.  The boat swung around and the tour was underway.  We enjoyed the tour guide’s explanations, but the brilliance of the tour was the buildings themselves.  They were very colorful and ornate.  And, yes, these buildings had tremendous history behind them.  The cruise went past buildings that Peter the Great inspired!  At some point, the boat went out onto the Neva, the widest expanse of the river.   From there we could see the true magnificence of the Venice of the East: St. Petersburg.  Impressive, it was.  

One interesting part of the tour was the fact that a family from Dubai sat in front of us.  I struck up a conversation with one of the daughters.  She had been taking pictures along the way and I asked her if she could e-mail me the photos she took.  I shared our “lost camera” story.  As it turns out, this girl, Laila, studied in the US.  She was very nice.  

Kade and I walked home after the tour was over.  The sun sets very late here this time of year.  There’s always plenty of light. 

Nevsky Prospekt