Tartu ma tartine - last day

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last day so what do I do - spend half of it in the shops! I went down to the Bussijaam to organise my tik to Riga tomorrow at 6.45am - - its now 10.30pm I should not be writing this! - and get somewhat sidetracked by the big shopping malls down there - designer label shops like Gant (no sale) Pepe Jeans (sale - bu- they want how much for wrecked jeans?? etc) - and bought a very nice shirt in the Esprit shop - did they start in Oz? - well we all know they are made in China now and the prices have not dropped! - on sale cost me about $34AUD. I trien in a very nice knitted linen top that was a steal - and a kinda funky Tshirt for about $9 reduced from $25 or so - and a book by a Japanese author called Haruki Murakami (dont worry it is in English not Japanese or Estonian - it was in the section called fiction - I think that means English for fiction, as distinct for Estonian for ???) As I have actually read 2/3 thru my one of my HK books and started the other HK book for buses etc decided I had better get something else (and I dont even read!).

After the shops - still looking for that sink plug! - tried a pharmacy and they suggested the local 20Kr/$2 shop equivalent - back to the hotel and finally started that pit-stop walk thru the old Uni. etc - some snaps attached.

Then dinner at the most expensive main course restaurant in Tartu (it is a student town after all) called Volga - the entrees and desserts were OK in terms of price - from $7 or so for soup - my delicate roasted scallop entree with cream of leek (partic. nice leeks), mini asparagus with caramelised plum and balsamic thyme sauce was about $15 - I just love fresh thyme and you seem to get it here all the time at the mo as a garnish - its a lovely fresh flavour. The main was roasted duck fillet with pea risotto, mustarded apricots and pomegranate-port wine sauce (all this quoted from the menu, I did not make it up). That was 245Kr - about $27 - in Sydney it would be cheap but here 180kr would be getting dear for that sort of thing (heaps of places here are around 100kr for main). The duck was slightly pink - and was not melt in the mouth - but duck is not fillet steak either so I think probably needs to be chewed a little to get the full flavour. A glass of Spanish house white and red were cheap at $4 a glass. Dessert was baked plum-marzipan delight (just over $7)- I thought this would be crunchy (marzipan) but more like marzipan cream between some baked pastry sheets with slices of baked plum around. I thought the entree and dessert were fine value for the content - but the main was a little expensive - what about "wine stewed conger eel with roasted fennel, vegetable spaghetti, sparkling wine foam and parsley emulsion" - now I think the chef has been reading too much Harry Potter or nouvelle vague cook books! A new owner apparently and the wine list was changing so no stickies to try. All up about $60. A A Milne at your service - no wonder the Finns come here for the cheap food (relatively) as the equivalent food in Helsinki cost me c $110.

now those photos so I can go to bed!

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