Final countdown

This is the (backside of the) Summer Palace! Apparently, most of it was as gilded as the towers in the background at one point, but one of the queens got annoyed at the constant glittering, and asked that it be toned down, so now it's just accents and a few cupolas that are quite so gaudy. From what we were told, there are more than 800 rooms in the main palace (the multi-story area in the back), and goodness knows how many in the servants' quarters (one-story area in the foreground). We were going to go inside, but a number of cruise ships had docked and unloaded just as we got there, and the line was upward of two hours to get in, so we passed over it and just wandered the gardens. Fine with me!

   This is an example of the "english gardens" in front of the palace itself. Perhaps it's just my long association with the book/ play The Secret Garden, but I associate english gardens with fountains of roses, not laid-out gravel. Meh. Regardless, it was pretty impressive, though apparently one of the many strays about the place thought the black circle at the bottom needed some spreading out. I can't imagine how much work it takes to keep all this looking this orderly, but I suppose after 300 years, you've probably gotten most of the weeds cleared out. :)

  I have no idea what these flowers are, they were all over the Italian gardens, in a huge bush-type plant (think lilac bush size), and they smelled heavenly. If anyone can identify them, I would happily grow about 6 billion of them, just to sit in the middle and back in the scent. The rest of the Italian gardens were also wonderful, well-laid-out, with statuary and vine-covered arches. We missed the lilacs, poppies and irises, but the begonias and petunias were just coming out, so it was still quite lovely.

  There was a section named "Little China" which was kind of amusing, as no one who had a hand in building it had ever been to China, so it was a Russian version of China, built on hearsay accounts. The roof styles were pretty close, but it was all painted instead of inlaid, and done up in the slightly duller paint colors of Russia, instead of Chinese lacquers. Regardless, it was still pretty, and this bridge is an example thereof, regardless of how green the water below it has become. By this time, we'd been walking for about 2 hours straight, and no few of us were getting quite hungry. The awesome plans that Artemi had for us? "Well, we don't really have time to hit a restaurant, and there is no fast food here, so just get an ice cream and we'll keep going". I have huge issues with this particular plan, as we're already having issues getting sufficient nutrition, and there was at least 2 more hours of walking in store. Not much to do about it though, so we all ate our ice cream, and kept going.

  As such, I can certainly sympathize with this little bird, who was bound and determined to defend a rather large cracker that he'd found on the ground. Despite all of us crowding around, he stood his ground, beak open and threatening pose, until we moved on and he could focus on getting the cracker out of the way. If I found good food the size of my head, I'm sure I'd do the same thing right now. By the way, as a random note, I'm making a huge taco dinner with fresh fruit salad when I get back to CO, anyone who wants in, just let me know. 

   We wandered through the Pushkin museum for a bit, after the russian grannies who ran the place wouldn't let us in, then let us in and wouldn't let us out when we learned there wasn't a bathroom, then kicked out everyone who didn't have to go until we all came back together. Good game, grannies. Honestly, I don't really care that much about it, and was truly starving, so no pictures. 

   We then tried to go to the Alexander palace, but were blocked from one entrance by cops who said there was filming going on. We walked about a mile to get around to the other entrance, and were stopped there by different cops who told us that some presidents (they couldn't tell us who) were in it, and we likely wouldn't be able to enter at all. In an attempt to lighten the mood, someone noticed that there was a paper boat in a nearby stream, and a family of ducks had no idea what to do about it. Cuteness alleviates hatred, so I took a picture, and tried to feel upbeat about the fact that the day was over. 

     Sadly, the day was not over. Artemi, again with fabulous forward planning, didn't know where the train station was to get back to St. Petersburg, so we started walking in a random direction, and asking locals where it was. After 30 minutes of walking, my temper was no small bit short, so when we finally found it, and he suggested doing another church on the way back, my response was slightly less than civil. Honestly, if he would tell us in advance "hey, there's no food there, bring something", so many excursions would have been better. But no, that would be far too easy, so most of my memories of Russia involve starving, desperately searching for a bathroom, or exhausted hatred. I'm sure after some time at home with sufficient food, this will be filtered out and I can recall Russia as it really is, but for now, not so much. 

   On an up note, though, only one day of classes, one night of studying, then finals and yet... another... blasted... church... and I'm done! I asked Sergei to call a cab for me to get to the airport, because if there is any more miscommunication, and/ or I'm late for my flight, I will cause an incident. He assured me that he used to work in a cab company, so he knows how to get people here on time, but I still asked for a cab 4 hours before my flight, with only a 30 minute ride to get there. I am not taking chances on this. Cheers!