St. Petersburg Take 2 July 17th

Natural rising day!
Able to get in some workouts and reading before lunch and a second
go at the Hermitage. Broke free of the group with our own agenda:
Picasso, da Vinci, Santi, Caravaggio (one of the few in the world),
Matisse, and some Japanese and Chinese ancient artifacts.
One stop we didn't get to make yesterday, the cafe, and another,
the bookshop, we also got to visit. Sue bought a DVD of the Hermitage.
She would let you borrow it...... but since your not reading this that's
not happening.
Also, good luck getting your gifts.
NO BLOG READING=NO GIFTS.
Got home, went to the Four Seasons for some dinner and then went
to see Celine Dion/Tracy Shields. She's good, look her up on YouTube.
The ship also held a Russian Bazaar. KEYWORD: BAZARRE.
SALES+CRAZY CRUISE-GOERS=POTENTIAL RUSSIAN EXPLOSION
Didn't buy anything... have seen enough nesting dolls and lacquer anythings
for a lifetime.
FUN FACT!: "white nights" used to describe the lack of darkness during the
last two weeks in June and first of July. Still experiencing them now.
-It's weird it never gets dark. We love our black-out shades.. And Tylenol PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCIjFOyIOJo&feature=fvw
This is a brief discussion of the "white nights" in St. Petersburg... really makes you wonder about what the dark days must be like in the winter!

Just got underway for Helsinki. A day in the countryside tomorrow!
BEST OF ALL: gaining an hour back of the three they stole from us!