Greetings from SUNNY Saint Pete's! Oh, how wonderful it has been to see the sun the past two days. I swear everyone on the street is happier not to have it raining. I, for my part, have been celebrating by taking some boat rides around and out of this grand city!

On Wednesday I woke to pouring rain, and my tour to Pushkin was cancelled. But it was just as well, for later in the day the rain stopped and the brillant sun came out. So I wandered around the Summer Gardens and found Nox (pronounced "Noch", this is Russian for "Night") the statue from Ahkmatova's poem by the same night.

Ahkmatova wrote about the statue because in 1942 she and other residents of Leningrad buried it (along with the others) to protect it from being bombed during the attacks on the city. It was so amazing to me to find the statue, whole and exactly as Ahkmatova describes, with poppies in her hair, draped in a cloak with stars, a wide-eyed owl at her feet.

Then I got to tour Peter the Great's Summer Palace, which was a refreshing surprise. Instead of the stuffy, ornate palace I was expecting it was tasteful, elegant, cozy and FUN! One of the things I loved most was this big wood carving that contained two dials that Peter had built...one to tell the strength of the wind, the other to tell the wind's direction. The words for both were in German, so I could actually understand them. It was too cool...so unique...never seen anything like that. For example, the wind strength one had four main quadrants: Stille, Luft, Wind, and Sturm.

The other really cool thing about the Summer Palace were the mirrors. Peter had them built into the wall in his study so that when you are in the room (which is decorated with green tapestries on the walls) the trees outside in the Summer Garden reflect in the mirrors. It is the neatest effect, and one that I hadn't read about, so wasn't expecting. Very intriquing and interesting.

View Pictures of Summer Garden Online

Later that day I took a boat ride on two of the canals in the city...Fontanka and Gribodeva. This was really nifty, being able to see all the buildings without having to dodge crowds and watch out for traffic. The sun came out again brillantly in the middle of the ride. I got to ride UNDER Nevsky Prospekt, the busy, busy street here. Got great views of the city.

Then today I took the hydrofoil (this is a big boat that kind of partly lifts out of the water and speeds along quite fast) out to Peterhof, home of the famous Grand Cascade of fountains. This is another palace of Peter the Great. Wow, wow, wow! In addition to the fountains, which are EVERYWHERE throughout the extensive gardens and very unique and fun (some of them are trick fountains like big roses which squirt you, and benches which turn into fountains when you walk in front of them - the kids loved them), the thing I think I loved most about Peterhof was the trees and the view of the sea. It reminded me so much of Portland...pine trees, and between them, a view of the sea, all blue-gray and big and going on forever. *big awww moment*

However, Peterhof was totally overrun with tourists, so I spent most of my time wandering around the gardens. The only building I went into was the Grand Palace. It was pretty impressive...mostly because, even with all the gold and ornate furnishings, it was very tastefully done. Everything was so beautiful, and the Oriental lacquer rooms were especially beautiful. A docent hit me for trying to look out a window, though. Oh, well. I've discovered this is the old-Russian-generation way...the lady who runs the Nazi Soup Kitchen at the hostel is the same way. If you don't eat fast enough, she bangs on the table next to you and yells at you. (But the hostel used to be a factory dormitory, so who can blame her? She suddenly has tourists thrust upon her and is expected to smile? Come on! Actually, I think I have made friends with her. I always eat quickly and take my plate up to the wash basin and say spasiba and when she passes me in the hall now she smiles at me now. So hah!)

Okay, well I am wind-chapped from riding in the hydrofoil....on the way back I stood on the deck outside for an amazing view of the city coming back up the Neva. So now I feel kind of wind-burnt...gonna grab some grub and hit the hay...love you all...and everyone give Brandy a huge hug because she is going to have another little one....congratulations Bran!!! :)