suspectclass (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
suspectclass) wrote2004-08-08 01:57 pm
suspectclass) wrote2004-08-08 01:57 pm
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For some reason, Russian cafes never have change. If you should owe them 113 rubles, you'd better have those three rubles. And don't think that if you give them 2.6 rubles that that'll cut it, being as you have the money but they don't have the change. Oh no, you'll pay them an extra two rubles for the privilege of not getting change. This holds even if the guy ahead of you in line forked over several single ruble pieces. They still don't have change.
In other news, I'm at the Hermitage. It took me about two hours, but I finally found the elusive second floor and 20th century European art. I flew past the Russian history and culture. Never again do I want to hear about Catherine I (who was Peter the Great's wife. Catherine the Great was later) or the significance of icons or the difference between classical and baroque in Russian palaces. I bought two prints -- Kandinsky's Winter and Picasso's Table in a Cafe. I'm not such a fan of their Picasso collection, but this one caught my eye. The Kandinsky is because I have a deep love for his huge (mildly terrifying) works, but they just don't translate to a small print.
I went to mass this morning at St. Catherine's cathedral, the oldest Catholic church in St. Petersburg. It was lovely, though a big chunk of it was in Latin, including the Our Father. There were some Missionaries of Charity (Mother Theresa's order) in the front row, so I followed the old maxim of do what the nuns do when it turned out that there was a lot more kneeling and genuflecting involved than in most masses i've been to stateside. I'm always amused by the number of people at mass who watch each other out of the corners of their eyes because they can't remember what to do next.
One of the group members came with me to mass, but I've been on my own since about 11am. I'm getting my much-needed alone time and it feels great. I'm not quite ready to go back and face them, but I really should do my work. Fortunately, it'll take about an hour for me to get home anyway. I've enjoyed myself today, but I need to make a mental note not to go to museums on Sundays. I lost count of the number of tour groups taking up entire hallways or blocking exhibits or trying to trample me about 10 minutes in. For all of you who have been embarassed by Americans abroad, you'll be glad to know that people from all over act like huge asses when they're in a tour group. Maybe they're all embittered by not getting the correct change.
In other news, I'm at the Hermitage. It took me about two hours, but I finally found the elusive second floor and 20th century European art. I flew past the Russian history and culture. Never again do I want to hear about Catherine I (who was Peter the Great's wife. Catherine the Great was later) or the significance of icons or the difference between classical and baroque in Russian palaces. I bought two prints -- Kandinsky's Winter and Picasso's Table in a Cafe. I'm not such a fan of their Picasso collection, but this one caught my eye. The Kandinsky is because I have a deep love for his huge (mildly terrifying) works, but they just don't translate to a small print.
I went to mass this morning at St. Catherine's cathedral, the oldest Catholic church in St. Petersburg. It was lovely, though a big chunk of it was in Latin, including the Our Father. There were some Missionaries of Charity (Mother Theresa's order) in the front row, so I followed the old maxim of do what the nuns do when it turned out that there was a lot more kneeling and genuflecting involved than in most masses i've been to stateside. I'm always amused by the number of people at mass who watch each other out of the corners of their eyes because they can't remember what to do next.
One of the group members came with me to mass, but I've been on my own since about 11am. I'm getting my much-needed alone time and it feels great. I'm not quite ready to go back and face them, but I really should do my work. Fortunately, it'll take about an hour for me to get home anyway. I've enjoyed myself today, but I need to make a mental note not to go to museums on Sundays. I lost count of the number of tour groups taking up entire hallways or blocking exhibits or trying to trample me about 10 minutes in. For all of you who have been embarassed by Americans abroad, you'll be glad to know that people from all over act like huge asses when they're in a tour group. Maybe they're all embittered by not getting the correct change.