...the only thing that didn't make it, apparently, is the USB cable I need to upload pictures. I must have left it at the American Home.
Anyway, I had the usual little-to-no-sleep night train experience. BUT... We got off the train around 10:30am and were whisked away to our hotel, the Hotel Moskva right near the center of the city. I just had a shower that I could better describe to you if this wasn't a family-friendly blog. Man, talk about movin' to Beverly (Hills, that is, swimmin' pools, movie stars...)! St. Petersburg is the very antithesis of Murom. You could just see it in the others' eyes as we were on the bus through town to the hotel... Coffee shops! Stores! Cafes! (I think I may have seen a tear or two...) We all agreed that we had once-in-a-lifetime experiences in Vladimir and Murom, but many were without hot water, and I was on the Nescafe 12 Step Program (which ends RIGHT now, brothers and sisters).
I haven't really slept more than 4 or 5 hours solidly in the last two days, so I'm a little punchdrunk right now as I write. But I'm clean. Doesn't get much better than a hot shower after a 12-hour train ride (by the way, there were rumors that we were delayed because of a train wreck between Moscow and St. Petersburg; I don't know, but if you get wind of it in the States, we weren't a part of it).
If I can connect to the right cell service, I can send up a few pics that way... Maybe I can buy another USB cable. We'll see. Anyway, the adventure continues. Lunch somewhere at 1pm and then... I'm not really sure what's next. I'm just happy to be back in St. Pete. I really love this city!
More later as the plot unfolds!
