Monday Part 2

After our tour of St. Isaac's, we did some more souvenir shopping and ate lunch at McDonald's. Because of our large size, moving us around quickly has been quite a hassle, Sandi decided we should split into groups after lunch to do more shopping and sightseeing. We met with Dr. Evgheny (sp?) later in the afternoon and had a wonderful time with him. It was humbling to see his burden and dedication to his work at the hospital. We had dinner with him and then left for the ballet. We were able to see Swan Lake at the Hermitage Theatre. We all, the girls especially, had fun getting "dolled up" with some of our new purchases to see the ballet. The Hermitage Theatre was constructed as a private theatre, so there was really no "bad" seat in the house. We arrived early and were able to obtain great seats. The ballet was wonderful and Sandi commented that the lead ballerina was the best that she had seen dance the part of Odette.

After our evening of ballet, several of the girls felt that it was there duty to continue this particular aspect of their cultural enrichment. As a result, spontaneous dancing (and I do use that term loosely) broke out several times yesterday night.

We are looking forward to touring the Hermitage on Tuesday and attending a performance of traditional Russian folk dancing. Home on Wednesday!!

Your twirling and bowing bloggers,

Chaela and Sharon