What a saintly city...

We took an 8 hour train to St. Petersburg. We saw what I think will be the beginning of many great patches of trees, little shanty farms and tiny villages along the way.



So we left Moscow.







We got some great reading done (well I did. Ben read some smut) :)

Ben in the train:



And arrived in St. Petersburg. Amanda and I went out and explored the town and we certainly liked what we saw:







I love St. Petersburg. I mean, really I can't say enough good stuff about this city. It's is artsy, it is fartsy, it is beautiful and organic. AND it's been pretty cloudy and overcast since we arrived - so that's saying a lot. It's the White Nights festival here in town which means the lights don't go out in the city until wee hours of the morning. Although the bars are open until 6 am, that's not what I'm referring to. The sun doesn't set here... well, it gets a little dark around 2 am, but the sun rises about 3 am. So my clock is totally off.

BUT I LOVE IT HERE. I think I spend some serious time here and after Moscow, I was about to cross Russia off my list of places to return to someday. There are so many highlights from this city,

This church: The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood:





This coffeeshop:






And this nutty, INSANE artist whom Amanda and I talked to for HOURS yesterday in the rain. He loves Led Zepplein, thinking about perspective, and cheap vodka. He was a beautiful soul and a trip highlight. So Valentine, our crazy artist friend:



>


Crazy.

We decided to cancel our flight to Perm and stick around St. Petersburg an extra day or two and then jump on the Tran Siberian in a couple days.

My time at this internet cafe is through.