It's been a long 24 hours or so, but we are in St. Petersburg. We touched down at about 9 a.m. Central Standard Time. The flights were fairly uneventful, but the descent into St. P. was a little bumpy. Several in the plane broke out in applause when we landed!
After getting through passport checks and retrieving luggage, we boarded a bus for the hotel. We're staying at the Petro Palace Hotel, just blocks from the city centre. Franco and I just ventured out with fellow classmate Ross to find some dinner. After a good walk in the cold and snow (oh my is there snow here), we found a Bistro that had a menu in English ... only to discover the staff spoke barely any English. Franco and I ended up with "macaroni boiled with cheese" and mashed potatoes. So, we're hoping the meals improve from here!
We're now in the Sky Bar at the hotel, where there's free WiFi and expensive wine. What we're really looking forward to is a good night's sleep, though! Tomorrow is a city tour in the morning, then visiting the Hermitage in the afternoon.
A message for our parents: we haven't figured out a phone or calling card yet, but we figured if we called today everyone would be at work anyway. We'll try calling tomorrow (Saturday), and will shoot for the noon hour your time.
That's definitely the most challenging part so far: The Russian language script is so completely different that nothing is remotely decipherable. Unless there's a familiar logo with it, we're pretty much lost!
Here's to adventure!
Laura & Franco, nice to hear the first report. Re: the script, we took the subway in Moscow to get to Gorky Park (had to transfer x 2), and only got their by matching up letters. Don't sweat it, cause just when you think you got it ... you'll be leaving.
ReplyDeleteRe: the snow, I hope you packed your cuddle duds.
Enjoy a full day at the Herimitage and if you get a chance to attend a Russian Dance Show, do attend. Worth the $$$$ as you can always talk about it.
Hey Gianfranco, Mom and Dad will be at work around that time tomorrow, so please dont waste any money calling at that time.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you both made it to Russia okay. =) Mom and Dad were happy to hear that too.