Three days in and I cant help feeling a twinge of failure. Dinner on Day 1: Spanish paella and Belgian beer. Lunch on Day 2: Ham and cheese sandwich. Dinner on Day 2: Local beer and man-size shots of vodka (that's more like it) followed by chips, chilli nachos and a drunken trip to KFC on the way home (some things never change!). Lunch on Day 3: Ham and cheese sandwich. Snack: McDonalds cheeseburger, snickers, Cheetos. Dinner on Day 3: pasta pesto...
Hold on, there's a pattern emerging here and I don't think I like it! Whatever happened to trying everything local cuisine has to offer!? I need to find some REAL Russian food soon or I'll start to think the Soviet restaurant that tempted me into paying for a plate of cold fat and raw garlic several yrs ago in Tallinn really did see me coming...
Food aside, I've probably seen enough palaces, statues and museums in the last few days to tick St Petersburg off the list. It's a very European city -something like Amsterdam meets Barcelona - so it may still be a bit of a culture shock when we move on to Moscow. People tend to speak some English here which certainly makes things easier as i cant for the life of me begin to decipher Cyrillic's gobblydegook! That said, we're trying to make an effort to learn a few of the basics because no doubt Moscow will be far less forgiving!
Word of The Day: Spazzybar (thank you)
I think it's actually pronounced "spas-ibar" but even in my best Russian accent it feels like I'm asking for the special needs pub every time I attempt to thank anyone...