...and on a semi-airconditioned sleeper train (what a pleasant surprise to
have cool air in the cabins!). We had a long day-- in fact, it's the SAME
day, actually-- in getting here. The train left on time from Moscow at
12:50 am. Most of the students got a good night's sleep; I, on the other
hand, didn't sleep at all (like last time). We got into St. Petersburg at
8:45 am, but couldn't check into the hotel yet, so we had breakfast there at
9:45 and then went on am incredibly fast tour of The Hermitage museum, where
it was warm and there were crowds amd we were all starting to spoil a
little, given the last showers we all had were before 9 am yesterday. After
that, we had some free time to wander around the center of the city-- the
weather here is gorgeous! It's like fall in Texas-- cool (low 70s), low
humidity, clear skies, and a breeze. Our hotel is right on the river Neva,
though about 8 or 9 miles east of the city's center. It's kind of sitting
all by itself; there are no Metro stations, Internet cafes, or coffee shops
(all necessities) within walking distance! I am writing this at 9:45 pm
from inside am Imternet cafe in downtown St. Pete-- some of the students,
the tour director, and I walked about 2 miles or so to a Metro station just
to get to this place.
The hotel is, otherwise, nice enough. The best thing that happened to me
today was a hot shower at 5:30 pm (it took that long before we could get
checked in). But the weather is cool enough that sleeping with an open
window should be comfortable enough. And the view of the Neva River from my
window is awesome!
While we were waiting around at the other hotel last night, Stepahine,
Katie, and I bowled (Abigail watched and Justin was hanging out with some of
the other kids) in the alley (in the hotel). It was fun and we learned that
the only place you can find a couch in the hotel is in the bowling alley.
That's where you sit to put on your bowling shoes...
So, for me, it's been another 30+ hours with no sleep. And since we're
smack-dab in the middle of the White Nights, I doubt I'll be in bed before
midnight.
Tomorrow we'll either be on a bus tour that we didn't pay for ahead of time
or, if we can't pay now, our group will be setting out on our own walking
tour of the city. Monday, we have a bus tour of the city, followed by a
canal/river ride, and I think some of the kids expressed an interest in
seeing the ballet Swan Lake tomorrow night. Not me-- we're leaving the
hotel for the airport at 4 am on Tuesday, so I'm going to try to get as much
sleep as possible. Tuesday promises to be another extremely LONG day.
Everyone is fine here and having a good time. And for you parents that knew
about the nice card and enclosed gift card for me from my "Russia Kids" (as
they referred to themselves), that was an EXTREMELY UNWARRANTED, but very
touching gesture-- your kids are THE BEST and I have gotten compliments from
the other adults about them.
Talk to you again once or twice, hopefully, before we depart for home...
E.B.
