Finally, a Sunny Day

OK, so I took the first picture with a slightly raised angle because I wanted to get as much of the sky in as possible. Why? Because this qualifies as a sunny day in November in Russia. The weather report called for a sunny day - and my friend Anna told me last night that I was lucky because I was getting a sunny day on my last full day in St. Petersburg (sometimes that happens for me, oddly -I was in Budapest last year and it was dreadful for the entire time - and then suddenly the last day was brilliantly sunny). So I was expecting the same type treatment as a send-off from Russia - it's always designed to make me come back, and I always do. Well, a sunny day in Russia in November means that it is not actually raining and the clouds are less oppressively thick. Still, I took advantage of the sunshine - after putting on some sunscreen - and went for a long walk. I was going to go to the Russian Museum today, but I figured I'd do that on my next trip. I walked through the central square by the Hermitage again, and saw them putting the Christmas tree up. The huge arch in the background is what you walk through as you head towards the Hermitage - passing beyond where I was standing, across the square, and then on towards the Winter Palace - imagine my earlier picture of the central column and you'd have a sense of the progression. The last picture is of the Hermitage from the center of the bridge right next to it - the one I waited by for two hours the other night in anticipation of the mythical drawbridge opening (grin).