Today sunshine! But windy and the temperature is still cool to chilly.
Went on a very good 3-and-half-hour guided walk with three Swiss and two Canadians plus a Russian guide who spoke perfect English. The walk took us away from the main shopping area to places we would never have found otherwise including an alternative arts centre that originated as an artists’ squat and was in the most unprepossessing alleyway behind a very uninviting entrance. Also the indoor farmers’ market and the houses where Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Pushkin lived.
In the afternoon we took a boat trip along some of the canals. The architecture is even more impressive from the canals and it reinforces just what a beautiful city this is. There is an enormous amount of renovation work going on here at the moment to preserve the buildings.
Cigarettes are incredibly cheap here, we have seen some as cheap as 50p for 20! and there is no tax on alcohol either. There doesn’t appear to be any parking restrictions – no yellow lines, no parking meters or traffic wardens and many of the traffic lights and pedestrian crossings have displays which countdown the time until the lights next change which is a really good idea. Public transport is only 30p for a ride on the metro, which is ridiculously cheap compared to the £4 it costs to take a single journey on the London tube these days.