I've just got in from watching Swan Lake at the Alexandrinsky theatre built in 1725. The theatre was so beautiful, small and cosy and with plush scarlet red velvet seats. I was on the 1st circle in a little booth with 3 other people, It was like the booth which Richard Gere took Julia Roberts to the opera in Pretty Woman. I smiled at the other people in my booth, but they just gave me blank looks, their loss, I didn't offer them any of my M&M's, Anyway the ballet was great, I loved it. The music was gorgeous and the ballet superb. It was all very lovely and elegant. when I got back to the hostel there was a little letter left for me from Oskana one of the hosts, saying she hoped I had ... read more

Today was to be a sight seeing day to Pushkin, which is a village named after the famous writer, its about 25km outside St P. The famous 3 were all up and ready to leave by 9.30, catch the metro and then get a local bus for a 30 min drive. We found the bus and armed with Hazels trusty guide book we were off to The Catherine palace, there was the customary queue of about 150 people that we duly joined. After 15 mins of waiting without so much as a baby step being taken, I was instructed by Pete to ascertain the order of play, ie "for goodness sake !!!(or similar terminology) go and find out how long we have to wait. I quickly established from a lady selling ice creams that one waits ... read more

Today we (Hazel, Pete and me) were off to a place called Peterhof. We travelled on a minibus for about 45 mins with Pete sat up front with the driver and me and Hazel sharing one seat, the Russians don't appear to stand up for ladies !! So Peterhof was the summer residence of the emperors in days gone by. Very grand indeed with a palace and several smaller "outhouses" that were for the lesser dudes, all decorated in the usual gold, gems and such stuff. There are fountains everywhere which really are amazing, hopefully my photos will show them in good light. We had our picnic sitting in the gardens, accompanied by thousands of mozzies !!! bitten to bits we was !!! Pete really really hates them, and was great entertainment doing the 'mozzie get ... read more

Hello everyone, OK so the flight was great, very tired plane but as expected. I was sitting next to a girl who had just been on a student holiday in Swansea, she was a chatty little thing who was happy to tell me all about herself, she had fallen madly in love with her English teacher...... ah bless her !!! well I've arrived safe and sound in my hostel, its called The Apple Hostel and its the smallest hostel I've ever stayed in. Lovely friendly welcome from Anna the receptionist, who showed me around in about 20 seconds. The room I'm in is a 6 bedded room which consists of 3 bunk beds 3 chairs a tall stack of lockers and this computer, a clothes rail, all in a 15 foot by 12 foot room !!! ... read more

So my flight home took off from Singapore, on time, 13 hours later and I'd be back in the warm boosom of Blighty ............. or so you would think ..............However, a volcano in Iceland decided to erupt and spew ash into the atmosphere ......... no this is not a late april fool, but reality. Let me tell you my tale. All was well for 11 hours, I'd watched two films, ate two meals, drank numerous drinks, read several chapters of my book "the life of Pi" when there seemed to be a bit of a comotion a few rows infront of me, I thought someone had been taken ill as lots of people seemed to be crouded around one woman. A flight attendant was called over and I lip read her saying "the captain will make ... read more