Life has been a little, um, full lately. So don't be insulted if I forgot to tell you that I went to Russia.
I would have sent you a postcard with the classic, "From Russia with Love" but I didn't bring your address. I probably had it in my iPod touch but that fell out of my pocket when I dozed off on the 733 bus in LA. Basically, that is how well I manage my life at this point.
But with all of my most recent UCLA administrative drama (don't ask), moving (again), and just being a general idiot, I still managed to get on a plane and fly to St.Petersburg, Russia. I have always had a minor fascination with Russia that lead to auditing Russian History (I couldn't take any more homework). This began to work in my favor after linking up with Prof. Boyfriend and so I did what any normal person would do and learned a few words of Russian. I'll spare you my delusional understanding of the Russian Cyrillic alphabet and give you the English translation of my one complete Russian sentence: I only speak seven words of Russian.
Jumping into the middle of a trip for sponsors of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology (you know, that place at UCLA where I spend most of my time), I joined a small but dedicated group of enthusiasts mid-Russia as they traveled from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Honestly, I didn't do any previous research and didn't really do any reading while I was there. It was a brief four days and two of those were spent in focused excursions at the Hermitage and Peterhof. I could have easily spent a week at each but my point is really that I didn't get much of a sense of the city.
I would have to check but I think that StP is still one of the top 20 most expensive cities in the world. I know it was in the top 15 in 2006. More expensive than Paris, London, or NY. Think of it this way; at a generic mid-level restaurant, a bowl of soup is $15. I'm trying to remember how I used to blog and what historic-slash-relevant information I used to provide. At this point, that just seems like so much work and I'm feeling pretty lazy. How about this; I'll try to post thoughtfully, but less often. Also, my camera battery died on the first day and since I wasn't planning on coming on this trip, my battery charger is in storage. The photos I have, I will have snatched from other people. At the moment, a museum post sounds good, but it also sounds like a lot of work...and I am really super busy keeping my feet elevated and eating homemade Armenian fruit "roll-ups." But I'm guessing that I'll get inspired in a bit and start working on something. For now, here are a few photos to get this trip enthusiasm going:
The Hermitage: Exterior
The Hermitage: Interior
For some reason, I am almost always amused...note foot placement.
[Images via Prof. Boyfriend and Flickr]
