Today was a routine day (no petty crime to report!). We started out this morning with a trip to Peterhof (Peter the Great's summer home on the Gulf of Findland) and then we had a quick tour of the State art gallery here in Petersburg. I had never been to the former, and really like the latter. It was a lot of walking, but the excursions were good.
There are so many interesting paintings in the State art gallery, that I could have stayed in there longer than our hour tour (and this was my third visit). But we hasd a nuts-and-bolts tour guide, who is a professor Dr. Pope knows-- he was quick and informative.
Tomorrow we check out of the hotel here, have an excursion or two, then get the night train to Moscow... You know how I feel about those sleeper trains. I'm not really looking forward to it, but I am looking forward to Moscow (and visiting with my friend, Aleksei). Truth be known, I'm starting to become a weary traveller... I'll be ready to get on that plane next Monday. (I've already gotten a slew of school-related emails, so the next year is bearing down on me already.)
Talk to you again from Moscow (probably)...
Oh yeah. "Indian Tonic Water." I just drank a can of it... It's the Schweppes Russia exact equivalent of "Bitter Lemmon." I have NO idea why it's called that or what it has to do with Indians (my theory is that it's something the British concocted in Inda, adding the quinine to prevent some disease like malaria, but I'm not sure)...
