In Russia

We've done too much for a play-by-play, and a week is just enough time for a handshake with Russia. There have been many surprises. The Russians are very proud of their history. I wonder if that has always been the case or there is a concerted effort to reclaim the past from the ideological straitjacket of what people here call "the Soviet time." Like their counterparts in China, the current generation knows only a relative growth of freedom and increasing prosperity, although both are unevenly spread.

The Russian Church has certainly made a huge comeback. Old churches are rebuilt and refurbished and services seem to be well-attended.

Even the forewarning weather reports did not completely prepare us for some of the blast furnace heat we experienced in Moscow on Wednesday. We drove out to the countryside on Tuesday through the fire zone. A pall of smoke hangs over the whole region.

Here in St. Petersburg the weather is cooler and the air cleaner. This city is very Western as billed. Stalin's pernicious influence on architecture and design spared this historic gem, and so it is reminiscent of Paris and Prague—truly a beautiful city.

The Russians are helpful but a bit aloof, the food is good but pricey, and the vodka is cheap. We have a few more days and back to the USA.

To Russia!

All packed and ready to go. Tomorrow we drive to Detroit. Our group of eight takes off a little after 9:00 PM, arriving in Paris the next morning (local time). We've got a 5-hour layover, not quite enough time to run into town. My brother meets us there and it's on to Moscow, arriving about 10:00 PM. Okay, there's an 8-hour time diff, so we're really landing at 2 PM home time. All of which means our clocks will be all messed up, but we should get to bed and ready for sightseeing on Sunday. Maybe a slug of vodka will help.

Check back here to see if I'm successful posting from Russia.

Rushin' to Russia Travelers

Here are the folks who are Rushin' to Russia July 30 - August 9, 2010, updated 'til it's final.

David Dornfeld

Janice Kreitz

Mary Kreitz

David Milkovich

Barbara Weinstein

Florence Weinstein

Paul Weinstein

Steve Weinstein

Jim Wittenmyer

Barbara Winkler

As of April 29

ITALY

What a great trip. Who wouldn't enjoy the water city of Venice, Renaissance-drenched Florence, and the complex flavors of Rome? We also stopped in a number of small towns. Fair Verona is famous as the city of Romeo and Juliet but I liked best the intact Roman arena. The Ducal Palace in Mantua was fabulous and the cathedral housed an important relic, supposedly the blood-soaked dirt gathered from the foot of the cross by (St.) Longino, the Roman soldier who speared Jesus. The Assisi of St. Francis is a charming hillside medieval town and Orvieto sits atop a cliff so steep we took a cable car to visit. We visited a winery isolated in the Umbrian hills where thousands of bottles age gently in grottos burrowed into the hills by monks 800 years ago. A highlight was the night in a charming inn at the village of Torgiano where we ate in a co-op owned by area residents and serving wine and food produced locally. What a culinary experience!

Italy remains one of the world's best destinations, handling hordes of tourists efficiently and still delivering the experience of a venerable, life-embracing, joyous culture with glorious layerings of history, gift-wrapped in beautiful natural surroundings. We all loved it!

Rushin' to RUSSIA

Russia... furthest outpost of Western culture... crossroads of Europe and Asia...
Russia... with a long, tortured, unique history...
Moscow--the traditional capital... St. Petersburg--the "Window to the West," the Paris of the East...
We visit two cities with a wealth of history, art, and culture... and experience a fabulous overnight train ride between the two! Take a look at the leaflet, study the itinerary, get excited, and join me as we visit RUSSIA this summer. Budem zdorovy!

ITALY FUN STUFF

There are many history books on Italy. Take your pick. I'm listing lighter fare that will let you travel with a bag of popcorn and a deep sigh of anticipation. Your suggestions welcome! I'll add to this list as we go along.

MOVIES

A Little Romance (1979) Two kids on the run wind up in Venice. Charming.

Three Coins in a Fountain (1954) Enjoy an advance visit to the Trevi fountain.

Summertime (1955) Touring Venice is Katherine Hepburn as a secretary from... oh, you have to see the film!

Only You (1994) Enjoyable fluff as Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. frolic in Venice, Rome, and more.

HISTORICAL FILMS

The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) Must see as prelude to Sistine Chapel.

Dangerous Beauty (1998) Courtesan in Renaissance Venice.

Room with a View (1986) Brits, romance, Italy, Merchant-Ivory = delicious.

Rome (HBO series 2005-06) Watch out! Highly addictive series set in Caesar's Rome.

Spartacus (1960) Stanley Kubrick and Kirk Douglas. "I am Spartacus!" Classic.

Francesco (1989) and Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1973) Get ready for Assisi and St. Francis.

Romeo and Juliet (1968) Verona, here we come!

Artemisia (1997) Female artist, a rarity in Renaissance Italy, faces huge challenges.

Tea with Mussolini (1999) World War II disrupts the lives of haughty Brit ex-pats.

BOOKS

Sarah Dunant has just published Sacred Hearts, the third of her novels on Renaissance Italy. I haven't read it yet but it's a must after Birth of Venus about Florence in the time of Savonarola and In the Company of the Courtesan which brings Venice to life. I can't recommend these two enough!

ART & ARCHITECTURE

Ross King makes the creation of the sites we are going to see as exciting as a novel!

Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture

Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling

Bucket List

PackLite Bucket List

Where I would like to lead trips

YOUR FEEDBACK WELCOME. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

History & Culture tours

Israel — West Bank — Jordan (Jerusalem, Petra, Bethlehem, Caesarea, old stuff)
This trip is under serious consideration for March, 2011, or summer, 2010—but I think summer is too hot there.

Eastern & SE Europe: Some combination(s) that would include Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Slovakia, Slovenia (this is a HOT destination)… Romania, Bulgaria?

Russia

Istanbul, Ephesus... and I'd really like to see the Gallipoli battlefields

Buenos Aires… Rio?

India

Southern France

Spain including Barcelona, Portugal

Scandinavia (too expensive?)

China of course

Adventure Travel

Nepal (whitewater, trekking, nature—tigers)

Amazon (Peru? Kayak and/or whitewater, wildlife)

Australia (snorkel, hiking, biking, whitewater, sightseeing) or New Zealand

Another African safari in the south — Botswana or South Africa

Ethiopia