Pavlovsk

Hey!

Today we had an excursion to Pavlovsk, the residence of Paul I and his wife, Maria Feodorovna. Paul I was the son of Catherine the Great and although they had a tension-filled relationship, Catherine gave her son almost 1500 acres of land near the Slavyanskaya River for his personal palace. The Palace is surrounded by one of the largest landscaped gardens in the world and luckily for us, it was a beautiful day! We were given the entire day to explore Pavlovsk Park and tour the Palace. The Palace was somewhat destroyed during World War II but extensive restoration has been done to recreate the original design. I would have loved to take pictures inside the palace but was not able to. I think the best part of St. Petersburg is that these palaces from the 18th and 19th centuries are still a part of St. Petersburg culture. The metropolis is growing around but the palaces and museum are a constant reminder of the past. St. Petersburg has over 100 museum and countless palaces...making it impossible to visit them all in only 4 months!

I have been in Russia for almost two weeks now and already, I'm getting used to the routine of daily life. School has been great! My Russian is even getting a little better (Not much better, but I improve every day). It's been a little colder this week, almost teasing us for what is to come this winter. My host family is still great and they continue to help me with my Russian.

This was my first weekend to really enjoy and explore the nightlife of St. Petersburg. My friend Nicole turned 21 on Friday and therefore, it was only necessary to celebrate in the most American way possible. We all ate fries and cheeseburgers at Carl's Jr and all talked about how much we love America. The Russians sitting around us probably thought we were a bunch of crazy patriots! We met two other boys who are studying in St. Petersburg, one from Oregon and the other from Australia :). Those of us who live on "the island" (Vasilevsky Island) met my housemates at a restaurant and we spent the rest of the night enjoying each other's company, which is always fun. Saturday was completely different. I met Matt (Australia boy) at McDonalds and we met a group of people downtown because we wanted to go this club in the north of the city. This, however, did not happen. Instead, we all get lost! We eventually found the club 2 hours later but decided that 200 rubles ($6) cover charge was not worth it. Plus, the metro closes at midnight and after my first gypsy cab experience, I was not going to take one again. So, my Saturday was spent walking aimlessly around St. Petersburg at night. But, the company was still amazing.

Today is my first day of relaxation! I still have no plans and it feels wonderful. Next weekend is our trip to Novgorod, so I'm looking forward to that. Hope all is well in the states :)

Until next time,

HD