Well, I just want to thank all those newspapers that expressed worry about Alexei being traded to Russia. They were worried about my health, my getting cold in Siberia, etc.
Well, guys, you can stop worrying! I am happily ensconced in St Pete’s-not Siberia! I have Fashion shows. Boat rides. Great restaurants-where I can juice and eat raw more easily than in North America. And of course I have a giant SPA with 6 different types of saunas (yes, there are more than one type of sauna-there is Finnish, Turkish, Russian, American just to name a few)
So, in my blog this week, I would like to take you for a boat ride down the canals of St Pete’s. Where there are nuclear subs, and Ports, beautiful buildings and trees……
St Pete’s is a joy to the eyes.
Parked on the canal since 1917 is The Aurora the ship that started the revolution. The shot heard around the world! She still sits in the waters just down from Le Hermitage. It was a shot from the guns of the Aurora that signaled the start of the Russian revolution. The Hermitage (or summer palace of the czar) was then besieged and the czar and his family taken hostage. They were then shipped to Yakaterininberg, across Russia, and shot to death in the cellar of a farmhouse.
This farmhouse no longer exists as Yeltsin was from Yakaterininburg and he had it torn down. (Bummer)
Anyway, that is The Aurora…..
I also tweeted that I want to a basketball game: St Petersburg against ,mmmmm, you know, I don’t know! LOL! It was an International game so the other team was from another country.
But anyway, I have included photos of that too.
Very, very similar to being at an American basketball game! Right down to the boys yelling, “Hey, pass the ball here!” I was waitingfor “Divai. divai!” (Russian for come on,come on! When someone wants the ball.)
But forget Russian, the team was made up of mostly ex-NBA players-player who for one reason or another left the NBA. Even Schmush Parker was playing! (I hope I spelt his nickname right, I know it is William, but he goes by Schumsh)
My girl friend Lisa Carrol used to be a basketball player for the women’s league. She was playing in Rome, Italy when she met my friend Darius Kasperitius (who played for the Rangers Hockey Team)
So, of course it was nice to go see a game with someone else who played basketball. I was center on the high school team under Mr.O’Brien, I was not anywhere near the caliber of payer as Lisa, but, I loved basketball. It was the one sport I did not give up when I became Editor-in-Chief of the yearbook!!
Everything else had to go—not enough time in the day for it all!
Then Lisa took me to a St Pete’s Fashion show. NYC had Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. St Pete’s has Citroen Fashion Week. I must say that compared to St Pete’s fashion, NYC is tame. Here they ran at least an hour behind time.
The place was too small, dangerous to walk to with heels on as the ground was uneven and broken up and the actual salon was so hot, I thought I would swoon.
People who had “special” reason to go in before the rest of the pack were just pushing thru the crowd without regard.
So, I was somewhat bemused.
The show started with an 8-10 minute spoken commercial about the designer. A woman stood up and basically spoke about the designer, the sponsors of the event, the advertisers, and which shops you could buy the designers pieces in—with the telephone numbers of said shops and stores, AND websites!
Holy COW! Thought I would faint from the heat.
Then the designer showed. He was somewhat GAP-ish (although I hesitate to mention the GAP with the recent hula-baloo about their logo!) Anyway, he ran men’s first and then women’s right after. I enjoyed it a lot. And the designer Leonid Alexeev was so nice when he came out. He knew my girlfriend and stopped and spoke about the line. He said that this was his lower end line (prêt-a-porte) and the AURORA Fashion Week (I guess for Haute Couture?) would start in Nov. I was sad I would be home in Canada then and not there to see how his Haute Couture is …..)
Lisa got a bug about shooting her boots. Then she shot Teresa’s shoes, my boots and anyone within camera range.
Afterwards, we went to a wonderful restaurant, the name of which translated means “The River”. Anyway, it seems that every restaurant I go to in St Pete’s is owned by Ginza Project and they have also restaurants opening in NYC-so they will haunt me….even when I am not in St. Pete’s!
I am headed home in a bit. I so enjoy my time in Russia. I like it for is differences. It is those differences that make it such a unique city!
Cheers ‘til next time!!
CA
