Thurs., Aug. 22 b

The Estonian handcraft guild had organized two lectures for us. I was assigned to the afternoon groups. This was good for me because after I walked around all morning, it felt really good to just sit and listen.

The first was on the history of the Estonian folk costumes.





These striped skirts actually were influenced by the court fabrics from Louis XIV.


Each area had a different look. These breast plates were a way of showing wealth.


The second talk was by a modern designer who,was reinterpreting the old looks into modern things. She had just published a book showing the ancient works and her new takes.



She embroidered on top of knitted items. Her things were beautiful.



Snakes made out marzipan.


I wandered around a bit to buy some things that I had seen earlier

When I got back Ana was really feeling terrible. She had spent the day in bed and was just going to have some soup for dinner.

I, on the other hand, joined the rest of the knitters for our normal feast. Because we want to taste lots, we order several courses (luckily small).

Clams


Mushroom soup


Lamb on lentils. Loved the lamb, but the lentils were made with black olives which I don't really like.


Creme brûlée.


We called the infirmary to see what they could do for Ana. They were closed. It turns out that the Doctor Is only in 1 hour in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. I have been fighting a little sore throat for a couple of days and am hoping that I don't get what Ana has.

Sebastian made his anImal in front of us again.


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Thurs. aug. 22 a Tallinn, Estonia

Bad news. Ana is sick. She was all ready to leave the ship when she decided that she really didn't feel well and turned around. It is really a shame, because this is the town where we will be doing the most yarny stuff.



Estonia has a rich knitting heritage. One of the knitting teacher's parents emigrated from here and she has been teaching Estonian stitches on the ship. She is also guiding us to the best shops to buy yarn. (Yes, it still looks like a feeding frenzy.)

Estonia escaped being bombed in WW II, so their old town has lots of intact walls and buildings.


This was a bathroom in a 13th century building. It had a really low door.


It also had a well (now covered by glass) inside the room. Aside from that it was a perfectly normal bathroom.


Lines of stalls selling knitted items were built into the old walls.





More than one store has these knitted people out in front.





I ate in what was touted as the best in Tallinn. It was in a series of caves and was really cool.


I had the salami and cheese plater. Really nice.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wed. Aug. 21, e

We had a little adventure going back to the ship. We were supposed to be back at 5:30. Our guide thought it was 5:45. Not too serious, but traffic was heavy and we had a ways to go. We came roaring up to the gate of the port and the gate didn't open. Igor backed up and went to gate 2. That didn't open either. It was now 5:25 and we were supposed to go through Russian customs! The driver and the guide just sat there and waited. No little toot of the horn, no getting out and tapping on the window, no nothing. Finally, Igor gave a tiny little apologetic beep and the gate finally opened. Only one customs window was still open. We all made it through and onto the boat. I think that they closed the doors behind us.

Ana and I were too tired to go to dinner, so we ordered room service and sat with our feet up. Sebastian, our cabin steward came in and we asked him to just make the animal while we watched. He said that he knows about 50 animals. Each day all the stewards are told that day's fold and that at the beginning of our cruise they were the easy ones. He likes it better now because they are more complicated. He was very cute showing us the elephant.


We watched the pilot leaving the ship.


And then we went to bed.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wed. Aug 21, d

These are small (and sometimes mansions) country houses called dachas.


Our lunch was at a restaurant named "The Summer Palace.


The menu and pictures of the food











After our tasty lunch we went to Peterhof to see the fountains. They are modeled after Versailles.


The fountains are gravity fed.





A problem the world over!


This was Peter's idea of a joke. When you ran across, you triggered sprays of water. If you know which stones to step on, you stay dry. The boys got wet.


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wed. Aug, 21 c

It was still raining when we arrived at Catherine the Great's Summer Palace.

We were all issued yellow ponchos. That way we wouldn't have to waste time checking our coats. Elena had some big bags that she collected umbrellas in and did a mass check. We looked silly, but it worked pretty well.


We first visited the gardens. They used rocks instead of flowers. I don't know if this is a modern cost cutting thing or was done in Catherine the Great's time because flowers didn't grow well enough. I didn't want to ask, because sometimes Elena felt it was criticism.


The gardens were lovely.


The outside of the building is just painted - not gilded. This is a modern money saving thing.


We had to wear brown booties for the tour.


I like the pale blue which supposedly was done to match Catherine's eyes.


Stairs coming from two directions.


I really liked the homey touch.


The 4 princesses who were killed in 1917.


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wed. Aug 21 b

St. Petersburg has had many names. During WW II it was Leningrad and suffered a siege of 900 days. The only food that came into the city was in winter when the Gulf of Finland froze and truck caravans crossed it. The people ate rats and wallpaper. Thousands and thousands of people starved to death. Their sacrifice helped win the war. We visited the memorial.



Notice in the last picture that it is a rainy day. We were scheduled to go to the gardens at Catherine's palace next. I mentioned to Elena that we like to see supermarkets. She looked at me like I was crazy, but the next thing was we pulled up to one nearby. We all felt that this was probably a very high end one. As one of the women commented "Whole Foods".

Nice looking meat


Tastes from home.


Lovely cakes.


I was snapping pictures all over the place. This was one of the only supermarkets world wide that didn't stop me.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wednesday Aug. 21 a

This is our second day in St. Petersburg. We had to be off the ship at 7am again. Our tour group is very good! No one is late. We drove around seeing new sights for awhile and then hit the metro. Because STP is built on a marsh, the stations are really far underground. We went down a very long one and then got on another. Luckily the up escalators were all working. At the bottom of each flight is a booth with a person in it making sure that all goes well. (One of the knitters had a terrible experience. A man fell on another person in her group. His arm was cut to the bone. The woman's shoulder was dislocated. She said the tour company was wonderful. The guide called the office and one person came to take the man to the hospital, another to take the woman back to the ship for an x-ray. My friend then discovered that a pickpocket had stolen her wallet with her passport, credit cards and money. She decided to go back to the boat also. Later, her passport turned up. I think the credit cards also, but she had already canceled them. The tour company gave everyone a bottle of vodka.)

Our visit was uneventful. We got on, rode two stops and got off. No one got lost.



The decorations in the metros are very elaborate. Mosaics and statues everywhere. One thing that was very noticeable was that no one smiles.


They are everywhere.


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad