it was a good weekend here. the weather was beautiful and for the first time we weren't rushed around the whole time. saturday was a free day so three of us left about noon for st. isaac's where we climbed to the top and took pictures of the city. my camera screen decided to stop working on the way to the church and has continued to not show anything but a few colors since. i can still take pictures but i just have no idea how theylook until i upload them to my computer. needless to say, the view from the top was breathtaking but it also made noticeable the lack of care some buildings received during the soviet regime. lots of rooftops are still damaged and many historical buildings are renovated on the outside but are lacking in the areas tourists don't see. after climbing back down we had to buy a different ticket to go inside the church but it was well worth it. every nook and cranny is decorated in gold or stone or has a beautiful mosaic or painting on it. the church is still active and there were many natives coming in and out to pray and light candles. we spent a good hour in there wondering how people envisioned buildings like this and then actually successfully built them. it was a good experience. after that we found some food and wandered over to the hermitage. we walked in there for a good three hours with no real purpose, we all have lectures that take place there so we took the opportunity to relax and slowly go through some rooms. all that walking got us hungry and we went back to a restaurant off nevsky that has become a favorite of ours. the food is a mix of georgian (the country) and russian and the staff is very nice and very accommodating. after a good dinner we went to a pub to watch the opening match of euro 2008 and then rode the metro back to catch the second half of the second game. it was a good day.
sunday we spent all day at pushkin, the town where catherine's palace is located. the palace is beautiful and the grounds on which it was built are equally beautiful. they have approximately 100 acres to just wander around on and we spent all afternoon doing so. it was also very relaxing but tiring at the same time. thankfully sunday night we went to banya. banya is a russian bath house in which one sits in either a russian dry sauna, a finnish steam sauna, or a traditional sauna for however long they want, and then leaves that to jump in to freezing cold water. also, it is tradition to have someone hit you with birch branches as it is supposed to be good for your circulation. it is a very rejuvenating experience and we all came back to the dorm ready to crash. it should be an eventful week, monday i am going to yusopov's palace with my art class and tuesday i am meeting some locals to watch the russia/spain match in a local bar. it should be a good time and come on russia!