The Big Blue Marble Newsletter: Sample Article

How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterwards.
Spanish proverb

One of the Best Days of My Life

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While I was studying Russian in Saint Petersburg, a fellow student named Rachel invited me? to visit a friend of hers in Gatchina, a small suburb about 30 minutes outside of the city known for its somewhat modest Czarist-era summer palace.? Since I did not have anything else to do, I decided to accompany Rachel. (Note: Rachel was one of the most interesting people I?ve ever met.? She was a trained nurse from Australia who worked with the Aborigines.? She could speak all six major Aboriginal dialects fluently.? Her ability to learn Russian fast was awesome.)

All I knew was that she was invited to spend the day with a young couple who sold small, intricate inlaid wooden boxes outside of the school.? I hadn?t met the couple before and thought it might be nice to meet some locals. When we arrived in Gatchina, the couple told us that they wanted us to meet a friend who would take us on a tour of the palace.? We were then rushed into a room in the basement of the palace which had a table festooned with copious bowls of Russian hors d?oeuvres and vodka.

After we enjoyed the lunch, the tour guide?showed us the museum and castle.? About an hour into the tour?the palace closed but we stayed and spent several hours in the palace alone.? We danced a ballroom with intricate marble ballroom?with walnut paneled walls to waltz music played on an old cassette player.? Then we visited hidden alcoves in the basement filled with small gold artifacts from the palace that weren?t usually shown to the public.??As we began to leave, the couple invited us back to their home where we ate more wonderful food and --of course-drank more vodka before we caught the late train back to Saint Petersburg.

I realize that many tourists would have spent hundreds of dollars for the chance to see a palace after hours.? Yet, it only cost me fifty cent for?the train tickets and a couple of dollars for a few bottles of wine.? The experience was?even more?valuable because what started out as a simple visit to a new friend ended up being one of the most magical days of my life.