PALACES AND BEACHES

One thing I knew coming to this city was that I was going to see a lot of palaces here but one thing I did not expect was the beach.

TSARSKOE SELO AND THE AMBER ROOM

Having started to read the story of Nicholas & Alexandra, I was very interested to visit the above mentioned town and it`s palaces.

We do not have a car so the only way to get to Tsarskoe Selo which is about 35 km out of town was by public transport. First metro then bus. There are several different types of buses here. Some have specific places they stop and others have a route they follow and you flag them down wherever you want and then shout when you want to get off. Good if a) you know where you want to get off and b) if you know what to shout. We knew neither of these things but jumped on one anyway.

People were helpful but it seemed they did not know where we should get off, resulting in our disembarking according to several passengers advice and then, at the driver`s insistence, getting back on! We eventually got to the palaces and park. This was greatly rewarded with a tour of the Catherine Palace and gardens and obviously the most famously, recently newly reconstructed, Amber Room. Now that is another book to read. It was all too much to see in one visit and there is still the Alexander palace to see as that is the one where Nicky and Alexi actually lived!

THE BEACH!

Mike and his ordinance survey map found us on a good old walk on Sunday from our present abode to the beach! A real sand beach, one of a few on the City`s islands. Krestovski Island is clearly a favourite of Mr. Putin`s as he has a home there. We didn`t find it this time but we will! We took a beer sitting in a bar on the beach and watched people play volley ball and racing up and down on jet skis, barbecuing and sunbathing. If I closed my eyes, I could have been in Marbella. There were even showers and loos. Across the water we could see the yacht club and several very nice boats alongside it. Clearly the place for the not so badly off. This will be visited again on a nice sunny day with a picnic and some sunblock! I`m not sure I would swim there although people seem happy to do so.

PRETTY GIRLS

There are only about three months of the year during which time the girls of the City can be seen without their coats on so I like to think that this is why their choice of clothing is so wacky, wild and rather more than a little revealing. If you are going to `bag a man` this is the time of year to do it!

I admire the skill they need to walk around all day in extremely high heels. I have been told that they also wear these heels in the winter. Apparently, the heels work well as sort of crampons that can be dug into the icy sidewalks.

GATCHINA

Yesterday saw me at a quilting exhibition hosted by the town of Gatchina, about an hour away from the City. Not being into quilting, I saw this as an opportunity to take a look at another town. It was a surprise to be blown over by the artistry of the work on display. What was wonderful was that some of the works were clearly made by scraps of material collected from old clothes etc. and not bought pieces from specialist shops.

This exhibition was in three locations. The first location we visited was in a tiny hamlet inside a village hall. They made us very welcome and when I needed to visit a loo I was escorted to another building, down several corridors to an extremely grim toilet with magazines for loo paper, where the escort, equally grim, waited patiently for me to pee before escorting me back! Loo visits are quite often exciting here!

The second location was in a small town, in an enormous neo classic style building, very run down but with incredible chandeliers and a really wonky parquet floor.

The third was the best. This was in a concrete, communist building which housed a lot of leatherette sofas, slashed and torn and a huge, magnificent mosaic of Lenin along with some wonderful symbols of the era. I hope I come across a lot of stuff like this because I think it is becoming more rare.

BLOG FODDER 2

SHOCKING

There are a lot of bare and dangerous electric wires around this city, even in heavily populated tourist parts.

BARKING

There are a lot of stray dogs in the parks. They are all of the large variety. However, they seem to spend most of the time sleeping and don`t seem to bother people at all, not even for food. Perhaps they are being well fed. They are not in bad condition. I will try to learn more about
them.

PULPING

A lot of expats here are involved in the paper pulping industry. One of my new friends who`s husband is so employed gave me a great tip. I don`t think it`s related to her husband`s industry but still.. When she has papers she wants to dispose of that have sensitive information on them, e.g. bank statements etc., she soaks them until they become mush! I never thought of that, it`s brilliant! One could make a sort of paper mache sculpture of it all.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

According to the St.Petersburg Times, our weekly English translated newspaper, a lot of new swimming pools are being constructed in St.Petersburg`s `bedroom communities`. Do they mean `dormitory towns`?!

In a German style restaurant visited at the weekend I was amused to note the reserved tables had a little sign on saying `this land is conquered`. A little strong I thought!