Score!

I usually leave the bin bags to my beau, they have to go to the basement into a big binstore and I don't particularly like being in the basement, plus he's a lot more vigilant about the recycling and sorting than I am. But one day recently I decided to join him, and boy was I glad that I did! This is what I found...

Day of Love

I don't know why, but yesterday for the first time on Valentine's Day I really took note of the hordes of men carrying bunches of flowers home to their significant others. It made me smile. I am a self-confessed sucker for romance.
When I arrived home after my Zumba class, red as a beetroot, my sweetheart was in the kitchen cooking up a storm. When I sat down to dinner, which included the exotic ingredient asparagus (yum), the candles were lighting and the music was low…perfect! I also got spoiled with a massive bunch of beautiful flowers and a cute card.

 
I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day, whether treating yourself or someone else…

Can we go back to writing letters?

I always loved writing letters when I was younger...well, maybe not so much writing as receiving letters...especially when the sender had embellished the envelope with stickers or drawings and written on fancy paper! Ah, fancy paper....the joy of collecting it and swapping with your friends and sista! I still have mine in a little box, along with notebooks, stickers and all sorts of goodies that could make correspondence even more fun! So, when I grow up I want to have a space in my home for a desk for letter writing and drawers for my fancy stationery...

Angl bar St Petersburg

I almost forgot to mention this bar we stumbled upon when leaving Zoom Cafe. It is on the opposite side of the road on the corner with some interesting street art on the outside of the bar and as far as I remember no sign for the bar. It was one of those nights where everyone is tired and you only mean to pop in for one drink but end up doing shots with the owners and singing with the band! SO much fun!

Happy New Year!!

I want to wish you all a really wonderful 2012 and I hope you are all as optimistic about this year as I am...this year I'm going blonde, doing as much dancing as my poor bandy knee will let me, learning more tunes on my tin whistle, and myself and the boy are learning more recipes...yum! and travelling as much as the budget will allow...and of course spending as much time as possible with the ones I love and the outdoors. Cannot wait!
Love to all xxx

Romanov Palaces

Russia has such an interesting and at times brutal history, which is one of the reasons I suppose I find it so fascinating. Before heading back to visit this time I read a lot about the last Tsar and his family. While reading I learnt about some of the palaces in which they lived...they seemed to be endless! There were a few in particular that I wanted to visit.

The Winter Palace in St Petersburg is so accessible and worth a half day or full days visit as it houses the Hermitage museum. It is enormous and my favourite parts were the rooms of the palaces which were as they were during the times of the Tsars.

We did a daytrip to Peterhof, which is very easy to get to from the city by hydrofoil. It is very formal and what I imagine Versailles to be like. It gives you an idea of the riches of the Royal family. The grounds are huge and you can get a little train around them if you are feeling a bit lazy like we were. Otherwise you could spend a whole day wandering around here and bring a nice picnic to eat on the river or in a pasture.

The palace I most wanted to visit was he Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selowhere the last Tsarina was captured and taken from. Unfortunately we didn't make it there because some of our travel party were sick of palaces ;p Hopefully I'll get the chance to go back and finish my tour of palaces...St. Petersburg is a wonderful European/Russian city and now it is possible to visit from Finland without a visa it will make it easier to get back there.

Lá breithe sona dom...

I have always loved birthdays...what's not to love...it's the one day in the year that is officially yours (and your parents), you generally get pressies and people are nice to you...and it gives you an excuse to gather your friends and party!
I got lots of lovely gifts and lots of cáca milis (cake) this year...lucky girl...

First Swap!

I was so excited when Anna put up a post about doing a swap. I've never been part of one before so I jumped at the chance. Her blog is lovely and she updates a lot more regularly than I do and she loves her tea (me too!!)so I was in!
I wasn't disappointed when on a rainy Friday after work I trekked to the Post Office sorting centre and picked up my package...

How lucky did I get? Love all this beautiful stuff I got, especially the artwork! I don't have the blog address for the lovely person who sent this to me but as soon as I do I will add it to this post (if you're out there, please send it on!)

EDIT
This is the link to Laura's lovely blog...go on over and check it out!

Some Eye Candy from a Market in St.Petersburg

There is a wonderful tourist market near the Church on Spilled Blood, but be warned...haggle like there is no tomorrow or you will end up paying double or triple the price for some items. I was going to buy a watch at one stall but changed my mind and later bought it in Moscow for almost half the price!
The stallholders must be applauded for their displays....

Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood

I first saw this church a few years ago at the end of my Trans-Siberian trip. I hadn't read anything about it before the trip. I had seen St. Basil's in Moscow which is a well known and easily recognisable landmark, but this was something I was not expecting. I was blown away...we turned a corner looking for the market to buy some souvenirs and up pops this onion domed beauty! It is quite different from St. Basil's with it's enamel domes and elaborately ornate mosaics and tiling...and in the competition for my favourite onion-dome Russian church, this one is the winner so far!
This Church was built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated and was dedicated in his memory. There is a small gazebo over the place where his blood was spilt. On March 13, 1881 (Julian date: March 1), as Tsar Alexander's carriage passed along the embankment, a grenade thrown by an anarchist conspirator exploded. The tsar, shaken but unhurt, got out of the carriage and started to remonstrate with the presumed culprit. Another conspirator took the chance to explode another bomb, killing himself and mortally wounding the tsar. The tsar, bleeding heavily, was taken back to the Winter Palace where he died a few hours later.

Borscht...what girl doesn't love a soup that turns pink!

We got lucky in St. Petersburg with a great recommendation for a restaurant close to our hostel. Zoom cafe was AMAZING! Delicious food, menu in english, selection of russian cuisine with a twist and a dessert named 'call your parents cake'! So we basically stalked them, going for 2 meals a day a couple of the days we were in the city. Oh, I almost forgot to metion that they have teddy bears there too! So you can sit with your fluffy friend and have your cold borscht with sour cream, or a million other dishes all served with a sprinkling of dill (they just love that stuff in Russia!)

Marry me on Nevsky Prospect...

Our first day in St. Petersburg we were introduced to weddings Russian stylee...this is the main street in the city and it is BUSY! But don't let the traffic whizzing by put you off getting your perfect wedding pic :)

On the road to Ruski...

I always prefer a train journey to a bus journey, but you haven't got this option when travelling from Tartu to St. Petersburg...so to brighten up my journey Flip Flop bought me chocolate with a pink wrapper AND Hello Kitty...yum! The little pink purse you see peeking out is one of my best buys in Estonia and is big enough to hold my camera...much prettier and less clunky than the generic camera bags!

Visit Tartu

Tartu is a lovely place to visit if you are in Estonia...beautiful river with man made beaches along it for swimming and sunbathing, gorgeous architecture, sculptures and city fabric, friendly people, wonderful bike paths reaching all the country villages which couldn't be cuter! A limestone exhibition and castle tower in a neighbouring area which are interesting to visit, but what would be the main draw to me would be the limestone lakes in the area that look so tempting to swim in.

Looming Hostel, Tartu

In Tartu I stayed with the Beau in Looming Hostel. I have to say it was one of the nicest hostels I have ever stayed in. I loved the design, ethos, staff and vibe. Most of the furniture is free-cycled from people who were throwing it out or donating it. I had my concerns about that, worried that it might be a bit grotty, but in fact I would be happy to move in there and make it my home! The rooms are so comfy and clean, they have hammocks and couches in the sitting room and a lovely new sun terrace where you can have your food during the day or sunbathe. The only thing I didn't like was that the showers were in the basement which didn't make me feel very safe when I was showering alone. But all in all, I would definitely recommend it and would love to go back, ASAP!

Street Art Tartu

Some more nice Estonian Street Art, this time from Tartu.

Tartu

After Talinn we headed for Tartu whihc was hosting this years Europeade festival in which I was dancing. Tartu is the second biggest city in Estonia and is a University town. It is a really fun and beautiful place to visit. The wooden architecture reminded me of the houses in Siberia, and the countryside during the bus journey was scattered with little wooden houses and storks nests on the electricity poles, lovely.

Estonian Graffiti

Wandering the streets of Tallin I found some nice street art...not just the 'Edenmore AOK' or 'Damo was ere' type though ;p

How cute is that?

Winter woolies in the middle of summer?

I know...it's weird, but you gotta love this wooly goodness. The Baltic States are renowned for their knitted goods and I can see why...

Also, a big lá breithe sona to flip flop...little sis all grown up :) xxx

BMX'ing in Moscow

On an excursion in Moscow we ended up in a park which we mistook for Gorky Park, turns out we were in completely the opposite side of the city! Oh well :) We got some free entertainment in the form of rollerbladers, bmx'ers and a few stray skateboarders. This guy in particular was unreal, like a ballet dancer on his bike!