Okay, okay, no worries. I'm safe, just a bit sick. Been having a splendid time, however. Met some terrific Germans in my hostel (all because I don't know how to use a European clothes dryer rack) and finally got in to the Ahkmatova museum after being turned away last week.

So, let's see...to recap... after being turned away from the Ahkmatova musuem on Saturday, went to the Russian Museum and saw lots of great art. That night went out with the Germans (Kirsten and Petra) for dinner at this Indian place where the menu was all in Russian. I ordered number 6..which turned out to be a chicken thing that was pretty tasty. Then we went out for some truly awful Russian vodka (it TOTALLY burned the back of my throat - I am sure Ivan will get a kick out of that - I had vodka in Poland but it wasn't THAT strong!). Anyway, we had fun watching the locals dance.

(Have I mentioned yet the elf-shoe fetish that Polish and Russian girls have? The hip thing is to have these high heels with really long toes, pointed and kind of curled like elf shoes. I am totally serious. All they need is a bell on the end to look like Santa's Helpers. You can tell that the ladies think they are really cool by the way they walk when they are wearing them. I first noticed them in Gdansk, and it made me feel like less of an idiot for wearing tennies. There's no way I can compete with high elf fashion! Okay, I'm not being tolerant, but please, it looks really funny to me!).

Woke up Sunday with a sore throat...which I was kind of expecting (no, not because of the vodka, I didn't drink that much) because of my cycle and the fact that I usually get sick around this time of the month. Decided to take it easy and just go to an Anglican church service (in English) that I had seen advertised in the Saint Petersburg Times. Despite being sick, it was really nice to hear my own language and have communion. (The book of Common Prayer was the *official* one from London (according to the cover) and the guy leading the service had a British accent. It was a little multi-cultural, just that bit).

After that, I started to head back to the hostel but saw a big festival going on at the Summer Garden. (Yes, THE Summer Gardens. They are really famous in Saint Petersburg...its where the Summer Palace is located, right next to the Fontanka Canal.) Anyway, they were having a big festival, with a band in full dress uniform and balloons, streamers, and lilacs EVERYWHERE. It was a beautiful day, the trees were lovely, and there were swans in the pond and little ice cream booths. In the center of the park, they had a stage with groups of kids and adults dancing in costumes to classical and jazz music (different numbers, including some skits and a guy singing opera). They also had a second stage with a quartet (cello, three violins). On most of the trees in the main part of the gardens they had baskets overflowing with lilac blossoms, and people were taking pictures of each other beneath them. So I stopped a Russian couple and in my bad Russian, asked them to take a picture of me with my camera, which they did. It was one of those rare, amazing afternoons.

So I spent Sunday out longer than I expected, and woke up Monday feeling sicker. It was raining anyway and most of the museums were closed, so I spent the day in bed reading Anna Karenina (hey, it was the biggest book in English that I could find at Dom Knigi, the big bookstore here. Not the best theme, perhaps, but it was that or early English reader editions of The Prince & The Pauper.) On Sunday the Germans left :( and on Monday the Swedish girl and her guy left :( so I got a noisy but very nice French lady in my room (did I tell you about the French lady in Poland? If not, let me know. She was funny too...) and an Aussie girl.

Today I finally got to go to the Ahkmatova museum and it was WONDERFUL! Not only did they have a guide book in English that I bought, but the docents were actually very friendly and nice (I was the only one in there) and they also had a video room, where I got to watch an hour-long movie about Anna in English (I think it was done by the BBC. It was very good). So it was a splendid day, very inspirational and thoughtful. Had a splurging-big lunch with healthful hot cabbage soup (Grandma would be proud). Spent the afternoon after the museum in the Mikhailovsky Gardens behind the Russian Museum writing.

Oh, so the story about the clothes dryer rack... Well, they have a laundry service here, but it is only for washing (you get your clothes back wet), so I have just been washing my own clothes. The lady at reception told me to ask the housekeeping lady (who is very nice and says dobryeh vecher to me every night since I started saying it badly) for a clothes dryer rack thing. I did this (with help of my phrase book) and she gave me this contraption that looks a little like a trundle bed rack. So I carted that upstairs and tried to set it up.

Petra watched me struggle for a bit, then interrupted and helped me set it up. Set up, it look even more like a trundle bed rack, so I just put my pj pants on top of it. Petra started laughing at me. Turns out you open the thing up further and hang you clothes over the little slat things. Like I would know?! I have never seen anything like it before!! Anyway, it tickled her so much, and we kept teasing and joking about it, that that night she and Kirsten asked me out to dinner with them, and Petra and I had some great talks about relationships and finding yourself as a woman and moving on with your life, etc. etc. Kirsten invited me to crash on her couch the next time I am in Frankfurt and was very sincere. Really had a terrific time talking with them.

So, that is the news from this front. Love you all and hope that you are all doing well. Bought some binocs today because tomorrow is Swan Lake! (Checked the theatre seating plan on the internet and my seat is way up there...however I think with the binocs I'll be fine.) Ballet in the Mariinsky! Can't wait!