Azimut Hotel St. Petersburg

... for some reason I could return them within 30 days and get my money back! Also, they came with extensive directions on how to care for my new shoes (how to break them in, how to take care of the leather, etc.). All I had to do here was find the shoe I wanted and ask if they had it in my size. Unfortunately my feet are big by European standards but the sales woman ...

... me! I had no warning or no idea what to say. I was embarrassed and everyone knew it. I just raised my hand in an awkward wave and said, "Hi. I'm Mark." That's it. I thought I had gotten over my shyness. That was my grand introduction to the crew. After that the Captain dismissed everyone and they wandered off, so it was just myself and my dad.

I went to put my shoes on before we left to explore St. Petersburg and someone had already cleaned my ...

... placing it in the trays that lined the glass refrigerators. The market was more like a farmers market in that it appeared to be made up of multiple venders sharing the same inside market area. The vendors were very friendly and enjoyed sharing the Russian and English names for the various vegetables that we saw. Instead of a tourist destination, this was more of a slice of a typical Russian daily life that we were able to see. We left the market and walked to our bus ...

... New Year's Eve. I went out for a fancy dinner with my partner, wandered the free events downtown, and watched the midnight fireworks over the water. It's easy to speculate what the new year will bring, impossible to know for sure. But for this one evening, reality is suspended, and we can all believe, however briefly, that this new year will be the best year ever, and in this shining moment, everything will turn out in the best possible way.

... until just before 9. And there were the gardens to see too! I love gardens, and they were lovely. Long rows of hedges separating the various spaces, large Romanesque statues, out buildings, the English garden and so on. Again, over whelming. But the sun was warm, the sky blue, and the day wonderful! (we'd lucked out with two stunning days in St. Petersburg weather wise!) Then it was off to lunch, which was lovely. And a nice beer ...

... to be buying milk, fruit, etc., by the caseloads, and all you could hear was the sound of masking tape taping up box after box of supplies. After we had all spent most of our Yuan on food, we went upstairs to the bar to sit and wait until we could get back on the train. Noel, one of the guys on the tour kept talking about a bottle of Jack Daniels that he had seen in the duty free shop and how cheap it was. He had some Yuan left, so we encouraged him to go and treat himself if ...

... and take his bunk for shut-eye. We all followed suit. Much to Nita's horror of horros he slipped right out of his clothes straight down to his skivvies right there amidst us all. Nita had already had been scarred by a similar experience years ago on a train bound to somewhere in Europe, and here it was once again this episode: Commie Underpants. Knowing the story, my laugh-o-meter blew and it ...

... to heal through prayer, and he was actually able to help. Because of his ability to help Alexei, Rasputin became close to the Tsaritsa and several nobels wanted his influence to end. One night he was invited to the Yusupovs' Moika Palace where he was posioned, shot four times, beaten, and finally thrown in the Neva River. Three days later when his body was recovered, it was found that his cause of death was drowing... despite everything else the ...

... still shining, the temperature has plunged and the wind cuts like a knife. However, according to the hotel manager, it is usually snowing by now so I suppose I've been lucky. After a posh dinner last night, Mum leaves today for home (via Helsinki) and I won't see her again until next spring in Ghana. This afternoon, I'll meet the tour group who I'll be travelling with for the next 3 weeks as far as Beijing.