"она сказала!"

Happy International Women's Day! It's not officially Women's Day in the US yet (besides... we don't even celebrate it, sadly). Here, it's a huge affair -- flower distributors heaven. It's not only a celebration of the women in your life, but also an unofficial Valentine's Day. I've seen dozens of men and women with heart-shaped balloons, elaborate bouquets, fancy chocolates, and other small tokens of regard.

On Saturday I had a chance to explore the city quite a bit with Sharon, Austin, Glenn, Renee, and Taylor. First, we headed towards Kazan Cathedral.

Glenn, me, and Renee in front of Kazan Cathedral.

Out of respect, many of the women covered their heads and the men took off their hats. Additionally, no photos are technically allowed -- it's a very holy place. As we walked in, we saw dozens of portraits of patron saints; the locals praying. There are marble columns that stretch up for what must be hundreds of feet, and painted/inlaid flower design ceilings.

The Church of the Savior on Blood was next on our list. I felt acutely that this place was more of a tourist destination than a sacred place for prayer and forgiveness (although it still is). It also isn't as subtly decorated as Kazan Cathedral, as you can see for yourselves:



If you think the outside is impressive... the inside will blow you away.

Voilà! Mosaics cover every surface: walls, ceilings, domes, arches and columns.

Then, on Sunday we had an excursion to the park and palace in Pavlovsk (fifteen minutes away from Pushkin which is where Catherine's Palace is). So far, the Pavlovsk palace is my favorite. It doesn't make much sense, but I'll say it anyways: I found it extremely livable. Sure, all of the rooms were extravagant, but it wasn't over-the-top like the Hermitage or Catherine's Palace.

The palace... that I will own one day.

Scene from Don Quixote

The desk that I will sit at... one day. Plus, take a look at the floor -- it's made ofhundreds of hand carved wood pieces.



Amazing ballroom/dining hall that I got to waltz around in!

After the tour, we had several hours to explore the grounds. It was still масленица, so there were blini stands, shish kebabs, chocolate croissants, cakes, and hot drinks. There were also miniature horse sleigh rides for the kids. That's one of the best parts of the fair/celebration -- the Russian families having a weekend of fun. As Taylor says, "This is the only time of year they are allowed to have fun... all other times, only frowns, no smiles." No...the Russians I've met have been quite friendly, but smiling all the time is definitely not at the top of their agenda. Next time I'll write more of a comparison between our two cultures.

We actually missed the burning of the effigy for масленица, but managed to have a lot of fun nonetheless:

The tower of death -- I climbed up twice.

Austin and I enjoying our triumph -- if wee babes and women in stilettos can do it, so can we!

Victory at the bottom, with Glenn!