The title of this post is suck because, really, I've seen almost none of St. Petersburg so far. This is largely my fault.
We got into town about 6am, but were unable to check into our hostel until 1pm. So, we went to chill at a Coffee House. We were only there a few minutes, when I realized my phone was out of minutes, so three of us returned to the station so I could put money in it, and, low and behold... SHARMA. When we got back to the Coffee House, nobody believed we found it, until I was able to pull the leftovers out of my pocket. Then, everyone else left for Sharma.
I felt bad for the possibility of sleeping there for 5 hours without ordering anything, so I ordered a very overpriced chocolate shake. Worst. Idea. Ever. For those of you who don't know, I don't drink milk in the States. Not a medical reason or anything... just an irrational fear. I like cooking with it, but milk itslef... kind of weirds me out. This shake (approx. $6, btw) was a. vanilla, and b. 80% milk. It was so milk it wasn't even cold. Besides the fact that much of the milk in Russia is what I would deem as a little sketchy... there are about 1500 varieties (slight overexxagueration) and it is likely the milk they were giving me was the sort that has been powdered, then watered and placed in a box so that it might survive nuclear apocolypse. My tummy has been back-flipping all moring.
Soon after I feel asleep to several of the Americans discussing Operating Systems and networks and several other things that don't matter much to me and are unpleasant to dream about (I'll let you guess which ones) they decided to take us to the hostel. Luckily, it was really close by. Having never stayed in a hostel, I was a little concerned.
He had to turn a corner, and go a litte down an ally, then get let into a staircase area. Up 5 flights of stairs. Oh, the legendary walk-ups. Finally, inside... the place is beautiful. Hardwood floors, a nice kitchen area eith a water cooler and free tea and coffee. They let us lock up our bags and brush our teeth and freshen up so we could explore before we could check in. Most pleasant. And scary amonts of cheap. $300-$900p/night, depending on occupancy and season. So, essentially, you could get a single room here, in the high season, for $30 a night. Crazy.
From here, we went to the State Museum of Russia. Beautiful. I was really impressed when I recognized of one the paintings... which naturally I now cannot find nor remember. A few of the other paintings really touched me, primarily a giant one "The Last Day of Pompeii" and "Sadka." I found a postcard of Sdaka, and another postcard of a painting I didn't actually see, but was "wtf" enough for me to want it on my wall.
When we departed... it was snowingly like crazy. We devided into two camps: those who wanted to explore some more, and those who needed naps. Much to my shame, I fell in the latter. I trudged to a fast-food place with the boys, indulged in my beloved fountain Coca Cola (SALDOM!) and checked into the hostel.
BEAUTIFUL. I had joked that I would be very disappointed if our room here was nicer than the dorms. It is. Yes, I share it with two girls, but it is like 4 times bigger, bright and clean, with Chinese lanterns and a decent view. I took a shower (figuring this might be the last time my hair could dry) and... modern showers! I am immensely happy.
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