Tuesday Report
Written by: Maddie Buckley
So, it's the end of day three, and I'm pretty sure that we are all feeling at least a little bit exhausted, but we are having a great time.
Upon arriving yesterday afternoon, we checked into our hotel and then went out to enjoy a traditional 4 course Russian dinner. Some of the food was a bit strange to us, but I don't think as single person went hungry.
Today was our first full day enjoying the country after all of our traveling, and it was pretty exciting. We stared off with a visit to "The Peterhof," the restored palace where the royal Russian families used to reside. Everyone had to wear small plastic booties over their shoes while in the museum section, so we looked a little bit funny. Regardless, the decor was amazing, and the gardens were spectacular and full of fountains. The group especially enjoyed the "trick fountains," which were sections of the path that could spray you with water while you walked over them. We had many VIPs (including Miller, carried by his dad) brave the walk, and we had a lot of wet kids when we got back on the bus.
Our next adventure was yet another traditional Russian meal, and then we were off to our workshop with Sergi Yekimov, a Russian choir director. It was slightly challenging, because everything that he told us had to be translated, but he really helped the group improve our two Russian pieces.
Next, we went and got dinner at a Russian Subway (as in the fast food chain we have back home). It was generally the same, except that we had to order a "30 cm" sub instead of a footlong.
To end our long day, we had our first concert of the tour, at the Lutheran Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul. The acoustics were amazing, and even though we had some rambunctious kids in the audience, the performance went pretty well. After we sang, we got to listen to the Women's Choir of St. Petersburg Music College perform some of their music. Although the style was very different than ours, they sounded fantastic.
Overall, we haven't has any major problems at all. W have learned some very interesting things about Russian culture though. For example, did you know that you don't flush toilet paper here? Or that public restrooms don't have any toilet paper, because they think people will steal it? (you have to carry your own)
We've also discovered how strange it is to experience the "White Nights." It's almost never dark! In fact, right now it's past 10:30, but it isn't even dusk yet. It's very disorienting!
Well, it's time for a good nights sleep. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow, including a visit to the Hermitage and two concerts -- the first one is at a Children's Home. The second one is another formal concert, this time with a men's group called "Viva."
We will continue updating the blog to stay in touch and will try to upload some photos.
Hope everything is going well back there in Maryland! Love and miss you all!
Written by: Maddie Buckley
So, it's the end of day three, and I'm pretty sure that we are all feeling at least a little bit exhausted, but we are having a great time.
Upon arriving yesterday afternoon, we checked into our hotel and then went out to enjoy a traditional 4 course Russian dinner. Some of the food was a bit strange to us, but I don't think as single person went hungry.
Today was our first full day enjoying the country after all of our traveling, and it was pretty exciting. We stared off with a visit to "The Peterhof," the restored palace where the royal Russian families used to reside. Everyone had to wear small plastic booties over their shoes while in the museum section, so we looked a little bit funny. Regardless, the decor was amazing, and the gardens were spectacular and full of fountains. The group especially enjoyed the "trick fountains," which were sections of the path that could spray you with water while you walked over them. We had many VIPs (including Miller, carried by his dad) brave the walk, and we had a lot of wet kids when we got back on the bus.
Our next adventure was yet another traditional Russian meal, and then we were off to our workshop with Sergi Yekimov, a Russian choir director. It was slightly challenging, because everything that he told us had to be translated, but he really helped the group improve our two Russian pieces.
Next, we went and got dinner at a Russian Subway (as in the fast food chain we have back home). It was generally the same, except that we had to order a "30 cm" sub instead of a footlong.
To end our long day, we had our first concert of the tour, at the Lutheran Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul. The acoustics were amazing, and even though we had some rambunctious kids in the audience, the performance went pretty well. After we sang, we got to listen to the Women's Choir of St. Petersburg Music College perform some of their music. Although the style was very different than ours, they sounded fantastic.
Overall, we haven't has any major problems at all. W have learned some very interesting things about Russian culture though. For example, did you know that you don't flush toilet paper here? Or that public restrooms don't have any toilet paper, because they think people will steal it? (you have to carry your own)
We've also discovered how strange it is to experience the "White Nights." It's almost never dark! In fact, right now it's past 10:30, but it isn't even dusk yet. It's very disorienting!
Well, it's time for a good nights sleep. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow, including a visit to the Hermitage and two concerts -- the first one is at a Children's Home. The second one is another formal concert, this time with a men's group called "Viva."
We will continue updating the blog to stay in touch and will try to upload some photos.
Hope everything is going well back there in Maryland! Love and miss you all!