Pyatigorsk was the starting point of my trip to Mount Elbrus. My spirits, strangely, were not high before the journey. I had worked very hard for three days running after return from Paris and did not have a single spare second to buy the things needed for the mountain trekking, except that I bought a warm jacket in Paris and brought some other items from my hometown beforehand. I would quite literally go to the summit empty-handed but I hoped I’d manage to get things on the spot. I thought about going to Elbrus earlier and had to cancel the plans. The first time I planned to go there in August 2011 with a friend of mine, but decided to cancel it due to some reasons and the friend was very angry with me. But this ... read more

The most beautiful place I saw this year so far was definitely Giverny, to wit, Claude Monet’s house and gardens. The idea of visiting the house came unexpectedly – at first I planned a trip to Chantilly for me and Luda, but then I learned that they were closed on Tuesday – and it was our last day in the French capital. So, Chantilly was left aside for the time being. I browsed here and there and finally decided on Giverny. To get to Chantilly, one takes the train from Gare St. Lazare (we Russians are most often excited about European trains because they are quite different from our own ones) to Vernon and then the bus to Giverny. Bus departure time is synchronized with the arrival of trains and the road takes about 15 minutes, ... read more

When I turn to Louvre, Giverny and Fontainebleau, I wish I were a good writer because these places require mastery of style and a rich vocabulary. What’s the use of writing about Louvre if one is not an art specialist or does not have an artistic mind? The description of any piece of art (sculpture, painting, fresco etc) is superfluous because one must see them for himself, because art is visual. Needless to say that photos of masterpieces are also quite irrelevant unless made in high quality and large format, but even that does not make them closer to the reality. Our guided tour of Louvre was scheduled at 10.15 in the morning and the guide spoke much (audio devices with headphones were provided to facilitate hearing, because crowds are roaming the museum) about Louvre history. ... read more

In spring we decided to go to Madrid Open tennis tournament. The idea was vague and was quite suddenly replaced by the idea of going to Roland Garros. There was also an idea to visit Belgrade for Serbian Open. Luda wanted to see Novak Djokovitch. I would keep her company with great pleasure, though I do not know a single thing about tennis, but I’d be happy to see the places. Finally, it was firmly decided to get ready for Roland Garros. There were about two months for that, if not more. I bought a ticket, and then another, for the tournament (there were almost none of them for the main court). We applied to the France Visa Centre for visas and then happened a magical thing for me – I applied for a two-week single ... read more

Sometimes I get so bored with life I simply cannot stand it, but still I have to get up, cook food, translate various texts, look through the window, think, breathe, put the rubber ring on my tooth, read books, think about home, would-be home, past, present, future, etc, drink tea, write to my friends and what not. It’s too damned boring when the person you think most of the time often does not pay attention to your calls and has so much work we can’t even meet for 11 days, living in the same city (I wish she was not ill, to crown it all). As soon as I had my day of rest, I understood that not to get completely bored I had to go somewhere and do something. Money matters do not allow now ... read more