Привет всем,

I'm writing this post from JFK, waiting for my flight home. This entire experience has been surreal. In some ways it feels that no time has passed at all, and that our class might not have even left for Russia yet. The airports have blurred together. On the other hand, it feels like a lifetime has been compressed into the 10 days we were away.
On our last day in Saint Petersburg we took a tour of the Hermitage with our guide Sergei, who I suspect of having memorized the name and story behind every piece in the museum. The lovely Nesli/Masha met up with us for the tour, and then joined us for a folk show that exhibited traditional songs and dances from the Cossack culture. She recommended a hip place called Pir O.G.I. where some of us went to grab a bite to eat as our last real meal in Russia. Пироги were the food of choice in Petersburg, whereas in Moscow we were frequent customers at Теремок, a fast food Russian style pancake place. In Moscow we ate блины every day out of frugality. I don't think that any of us will be able to look a блин in the face for a while.

More to come later when I get a chance to upload more pictures.
Пока.

Last full day in St. Petersburg

3/19/11

Cейчас мы ходили в чермитаж дла тур. Потом мы пошли в магазине за сувенирами. The souvenirs at the mall were очень дорогые. But it was the only place left to buy anything, so I ended up spending a ton of money. :( Вечера мы ходили в Grand Duke Nicholas Palace for a Folk show called “Feel yourself Russian”. The show was exciting and fun. :)

Today we went on a tour in the Hermitage. Then we went to a souvenir store. The souvenirs were very expensive. But it was the only place left to buy anything, so I ended up spending a ton of money. :( Some people were smart not to buy much from that store. In the evening we went to see a Folk show. The show was exciting and fun. :) It was a great final night in St. Petersburg.

привет!

я люблю россию!! Visiting Moscow has been unreal. On the first day we had a tour with Josh, where we walked around our apartment on the Novi Arbat.

B воскресенье, Мы ходили на Красную площадь. это очень красивая! From the Red Square, we walked to a local market where we bought great presents for great prices! I even learned how to bargain!

в понедельник, мы ходили на кремль. It was really fun to have a tour of the Kremlin! My favorite part of the tour was our funny tour guide. Она была очень симпатичная. After the tour we went to My-My and relaxed before the ballet.

сегодня, мы ходили на музей холодной войны. We went down into a bunker where it was very dark and kinda scary! We got to try on real clothes from that time and we saw our old tour guide on this tour with other Americans! It was very interesting and fun!

I am sad that we are leaving Moscow tonight, but I am excited to see what St. Petersburg has to offer!

Last Day in Moscow

After eating breakfast in our apartment, we took the metro to the Cold War Museum. To get inside, we had to walk down eighteen stories. It was interesting to learn about the Cold War from a Russian perspective. Afterward we wandered around Golomenskoi Park. It was nice to get outside and walk around after being in the city for a while. There were many beautiful old buildings, and a nice view of the city. Tonight we are taking the train into St. Petersburg; we are all excited to go, but will miss Moscow.

HELLO!

Yesterday, after running a little late, we were guided through the Kremlin. Along with learning the entire history of the Russian government, our enthusiastic guide led us through the armory museum. We saw antique clothing, carriages and household items of past rulers of Russia. THEN the BEST part of the day was when we got to view the DIAMOND collection in the Kremlin. We were led into a dark room with lit up cases with HUNDREDS of diamonds. There were beautiful necklaces, earrings, and bracelets along with tiaras! I was astounded...diamonds truly are a girls best friend. The low point of the day was when they told me I couldn't take even one diamond home with me :(.
I'm over it. After the Kremlin, our (always) hungry group got some lunch at My-My where we rested until the ballet interpretation of Sleeping Beauty! However, theren was more than just ONE sleeping beauty at the ballet....

Today, our group experienced an incredible tour at the Cold War museum in Moscow. We were taken down to a real bunker that was built to withstand a nuclear explosion. It was a very hands on museum and we took pictures with guns! We also got a strenuous work out climbing up 18 flights of stairs. Afterwards, we went to a park in Moscow that was a very low key place. There were no tourists and we got to walk around and explore old churches and buildings. We walked through pathways through the woods and saw a white horse that resembled a unicorn.

Now, we are back at our apartment and for Dagna's birthday we are cooking a Russian feast before boarding our 12:00 train to St. Petersburg!

xoxo
Nadia

Β ареопорту и в самолёте:

Третий День в Москве

Сегоня был очень интересный день. Сегодня утром у нас была проблема, мы опоздали в Кремь тур. Но все было хорошо и наша гида была очень интересчая и она бс знала.

После тур, мы ходели в ресторан <Му Му>. Мы не его любим потому есть невукусная и дорогая еда! В отличие, мы очень любим ресторан <Теремок>, который есть вкусные блины.

После этого, мы поехали на Красную площадь. Там мы балет посмотрели. Балет был хорошо и мне понравилась музыку Чайковского, которую мы слушали.

Я очень рад в Санкт-Петербург, завтра вечером мы сядем на поезд в там.

-Аркадий