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Written by Mario
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Sunday, 28 May 2006 |
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Off to Russia today. We had our last "safe" meal for awhile, as the water in Russia can have some interesting friends inside. Being able to eat anything we wanted was good while it lasted :). We had our last buffet breakfast, and we're off to the airport, once again using the 200 km/hr Arlanda express. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 04 June 2006 )
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Written by Jaimie
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Monday, 29 May 2006 |
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We needed a few extra hours of rest this morning after our long days of touring in Sweden, so we slept in until the latest possible time that we could still get breakfast. We went downstairs and explored the Russian style breakfast which included what they call pancakes (more like crepes - delicious), white eggs (not sure how they got white), some fresh veggies (too dangerous), and small sausages. It also included the before mentioned free champagne, but we declined to get any as it was the Spumanti kind and neither of us felt like starting off the day with a headache :) |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 04 June 2006 )
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Written by Mario
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Tuesday, 30 May 2006 |
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Another fine late start for us. We were up late last night attempting to clean the camera without my cleaning supplies (oops - left them in Philly somewhere :). Hopefully the pics will still look "clean" :). As the Hermitage didn't open until 10am anyways, and it was raining in the morning, sleeping in didn't really matter. The rain stopped, and we went out for a bite to eat. It's very difficult to locate restaurants here as everything (of course) is in Russian, and none of the signs look like a restaurant! We found a pizza shop, and decided we'd enjoy some more pizza (which we decided has to be the world's favorite food). After lunch, we finally made it to the Hermitage, within the Winter Palace. There was a 15 minute line, nothing compared to when I was at the Louvre (in fact, the line was so long at the Louvre, that Brendan and I skipped it). At least while we were in line at the Hermitage, we were entertained by a street cat, who went into a window within the Hermitage!! In fact, a different cat came out a few minutes later. Guess they have found a home there. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 04 June 2006 )
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Written by Jaimie
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Wednesday, 31 May 2006 |
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Today was a long day, as we spent a full 7 hours traveling to Moscow. First, we spent our last few hours touring around St Petersburg. We had originally wanted to make the trip out to Petrodvorts Grand Palace, on the Gulf of Finland. We actually flew right over this palace when we were landing in St Petersburg and it looked great. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 04 June 2006 )
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Written by Mario
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Thursday, 01 June 2006 |
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We headed out via subway to just 2 stops south of where we were, for a small walking tour leading to the Kremlin. We passed a bunch of random Russian Orthodox churches, strolled through a park, and along shopping routes passing hundreds of locals going on about their day. We went into a church complex on a side street. Just walking in felt like a jump back 500 years, with 3 different orthodox designed church structures. We saw a Russian Orthodox Catholic priest dressed in black robes and a long beard. The strange thing was that he was using a cell phone, which looked very out of place for the setting - it was quite funny. We walked along, and stumbled upon a quaint cafe - and caught lunch. It seems they like Italian food here - as while it wasn't an Italian restaurant, it had lots of pasta and pizza choices, resulting in our spaghetti and pizza lunch :). They do take their Italian food seriously though - it has tasted very authentic the few times we've had it so far. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 04 June 2006 )
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