Adventures, Adventures

I've been remiss at blogging, I know, and partially it's because I'm away from the Internet so much. Frankly, I rather enjoy being away from the computer and doing more things in the dorms or the city. The rest of my week in Moscow was wonderful. I stayed with a friend of the family, and she was absolutely fantastic. It's a truly different experience, living with a Russian. For one thing, I got to ask hundreds of questions and discover more about daily Russian life. Speaking Russian for a week straight was great, too -- I definitely learned some intricacies of the language that I hadn't taken notice of before.

The palace and park that Galya showed me. It's not even outside Moscow, which is pretty amazing in and of itself. 

Since I haven't written in a while, I'll try to sum up the past two weeks with a photo montage. I was quite ill shortly after returning to St. Petersburg, but my weeks have been quite eventful nonetheless:

The group went to Puskin's apartment and we've come to the conclusion that he was Batman. There's no other reason for that bat doodle.

Here's Glenn and Renee at the Smolny Institute. We were lucky enough to be able to go inside, and we even got to go up to the podium seen here! Our teacher remarked, "Let's not dream of revolution, please."

I finally went up to the top of St. Isaac's, and this is just one of the many beautiful panoramic views. Church on Spilled Blood is in the distance.

This is the performance hall where the entire group got to experience a Tchaikovsky Gala concert. The orchestra was wonderful -- all the pieces were fantastic. The 1812 Overture was played, and just when I was expecting a "typical" version of the piece, men (probably from the Navy) came up on stage with horns and they actually tolled the victory bell as the original composition requires. It really was a magical night.

The other activities that I've been involved in have been:

• the Kunstkamera - the first museum, founded by Peter the Great, with special exhibits from Frederik Ruysch. Ruysch was a Dutch anatomist and botanist who developed unique methods of preserving anatomical specimens. 
• Hermitage - I've made it my personal goal to go to every exhibit in the Hermitage while I'm here. It actually is possible! 

Additionally, my future library. My favorite room in the Hermitage thus far.

• Russian Museum - the folk art exhibits were particularly interesting in this one. There was traditional lace, icons, toys, dishware, etc. 
• I've been taking more and more long walks throughout the city. My favorite type of days are the ones where I start off with a "planned" event, such as a museum, and then go wandering from that point until I get exhausted.