14/11

I have been sick for the past few days and was in bed pretty much all day yesterday. I'm still forced to be at home but I'm no longer confined to my bed. It is nothing serious just a really nasty cold. So while I'm sitting in the dorm very lonely I will try to write about some more about Saint Petersberg. There are three places in particular that took my breath away and I will probably never forget. The winter palace/ Hermatage, th summer palace and Saint Peter and Pauls cathedral.

The Winter Palace was built by I belive Peter the Great and just as a piece of archetecture it is incredible. The first part of the hall is the grand stair case. I've never wanted to have a ball gown on more in my life. Huge chandiliers, painted vaulted cielings, red velvet carpet, gold plating everywhere marble handrails, every little girls fantasy. then the ball room white marble and gold, a single expansive room that glitters even with out the sun which rarely come out in Petersberg. Each room after that is a part of the hermatage art gallery. One of the greatest collections of great painters from Davinci to picasso in the world. The rooms themselves are painted tributes to the time, with painters imported and trained in Italy and france to paint wall after wall and cieling after cieling in beautiful murals. To see the whole of the hermatages gallery, just to look at them for a second each would take 7 days to see them all which after being there I completly understand. There where very famous painters from the renissance and before but I'm not very familiar. I did see 2 out of the 12 DaVinci in the world, I think a Michalagelo and I can't think of the others right now but all of the big names. My favorite galleries where the impressionism and Post impressionism, I believe these are the correct terms. I saw paintings by Cezanne, Monet (my personal favorite), Renoir, Delacroix, Signac, Van Gogh, Matisse, and Picasso. It truly was the most diverse and famous collection of art. To be honest I think that I need to visit again. There was so much to take in I don't think I absorbed evy 1/8th of what I saw. I tried to take it in but I could barely keep up with the tour guide each painting, sculpture, bowl, statue was so intracate and amazing that you could have stood in one room for the entire 2 hour tour and have stayed intrigued. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.
Unfortunatly the computer is wearing me out so back to bed for a nap before acting. It is at the dorm so I'm going to try to go for a little. I will probably have more time later to write since I will be stuck at home all evening.
The time is going so fast I will be seeing you all soon
Love
Kirsten