From Turkey to Russia.

Petropavlosk, our first stop abroad is at the one end of Russia and St. Petersburg at the other.

This is one of the most magnificent cities I have ever seen. The roads are broad, the sidewalks are generous, the squares (of which there are many) are spacious. The parks are populated with tall trees.

Each city block is concevied as a 'wall'. It means that there are no gaps between buildings. Each building is 4 or 5 stories high and large. Each building is conceived by a different architect who may use a different design and a different facade, as long as it is consistent with the other buildings. The effect is a stunnigly majestic city.

This evening I went to the world famous Kirov ballet at the Hermitage theatre. The theatre surprised me. It was small (about 7 rows) and intimate, with seat for about 200 people. Seating was open. Swan Lake was on the program and was immensely enjoyable. It was like watching a private performance.