A couple more days in St Petersburg

Tuesday, we decided to investigate whether St Petersburg has Starbucks. There was one in Moscow right near our hotel, but I completely forgot to stop in and see what they had for souvenir mugs. I have a few cool mugs from Starbucks around the world, and a friend at home collects them. We have seen a sign on Nevsky Prospect for a Starbucks that is *Opening Soon!!*. Google maps says there's another one further down Nevsky Prospect, but the Street View car drove this block next to a bus, so it's impossible to see what's really there. The Starbucks website says there are 2 out in the suburbs. Trip Advisor says that Starbucks couldn't possibly compete here because there are other more established companies which have more comfortable seating. We stopped at the front desk, and were told that the one Google maps indicates is actually in a department store. So we decided to head out in that direction as an excuse to explore. We took the Metro to where the Starbucks might be. On the way to the Metro, we stopped into these other "better" coffee shops. Whoever said Starbucks wouldn't be able to compete has clearly never been in a Starbucks. First off, both locations we stopped into allow smoking. The smell in these places were awful. Second, the comfy seats were those pleather banquets from Burger Kings in the 70s. Also, coffee is REALLY expensive here. Starbucks could easily put a 50% markup on what they sell in Canada, and still be the cheapest place in town. Go figure, Starbucks for discount coffee? So on the Metro, we went too far again. My excuse here is that if there are 2 lines running through a station, each line/station has a different station name. So when I wanted the far end of the second stop station, I thought it was 3 stops away. Why not just name the station and indicate that several trains stop there? Anyway, the "department store" was actually a mall. They seem to have the terms confused here. It had a Starbucks, as well as several North American brand clothing stores, and a grocery store. I picked up a couple of mugs, 1 for the friend back home, one for me. They also had travel mugs vaguely shaped like Matryoshka dolls and painted like them. They came in various sizes, but you had to buy each size separately? Shouldn't they all be stacked inside each other? Starbucks also had some donuts like the ones I saw in Gorky Park (but didn't buy there because I thought the guy said they were $20 each, and I believed that was possible in Moscow.) I bought one at Starbucks to give it a try. It was kind of stale. So the question is, are Russian donuts kind of stale, or is Starbucks food terrible everywhere?

The Metro on the way back stopped at Gostiny Dvor, the ancient "mall" which is actually a department store. We went up to check out the second floor this time. Meh, nothing special. I then went back to where I saw the bracelet the other day, and it was sold! Boo. I did get a couple of pendants. A lady bug made out of green Amber for myself, and a miniature Faberge egg, which opens and holds a little dog inside, for UG's mother. I also picked up a bottle of Beluga vodka to take home. Oh, and I bought a few individual candies from a bulk seller, to figure out what I liked, so I can buy a bag of something good to take home. Apparently I'm the first to buy 1 candy, it amused the salesgirl to have a total so low.

We then went for dinner a couple of blocks away to a place that's rated #1 in St Petersburg by Trip Advisor, Cafe Zoom. It was okay, but nothing special. We messed them up by 1) UG ordered a soup which takes 20 minutes to prepare, and 2) I ordered a salad, but wanted it with my main (as side dishes are to be ordered separately here, and the Greek salad was more appealing than any of the side options). Somehow the 20 minute soup came in 10 minutes, at the same time as my food. Then his main came 40 minutes later. We actually asked twice if it was coming, or if it had been forgotten. None of the food so far has been spectacular. So we're starting to think that rave reviews are more based on service. But even the service wasn't great here. Oh, well.

We decided to go for dessert at a fancy coffee shop on the way back to the hotel. But they didn't have any tables, and their desert selection was well picked over. So we skipped desert. We then stopped into a grocery store for some water and more vodka to take home. Unfortunately, they were out of the stuff we were looking for.

A group dressed in "North American Native" costumes, playing music. They didn't speak English, so I couldn't ask where they were from.


Wednesday:
It was cold and rainy this morning. So we headed for another mall further out of downtown to go to the St Petersburg Oceanarium. I can watch fish for hours. They have a variety of small sharks, some rays, eels, seahorses and lots of other fish. The main tank has a tunnel through it so you can see the fish all around you. They also have a seal tank. So that was fun for an hour and a half. UG has been wearing his dress shoes as his toe is hurting and he's finding his sneakers too tight. But due to the rain this morning, he's discovered a crack in the sole of his dress shoes. (I'm not going to mention how unfair it is that he can own dress shoes that are comfortable enough to wear around all day. Oops, I guess I just did.) So we looked around the mall for a shoe store for him, but this mall didn't have a shoe store. They did, however, have *2* places to buy hand guns. They also had a dinosaur park and a haunted house in addition to the aquarium. So, while taking your kids for a fun day of activities, pick up a new gun! There was also a grocery store, and UG finally managed to find some deodorant! We also picked up more vodka at the best price so far for Russian Standard Platinum, 560 rub for 500ml, and some take-home candy.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped in at Veliseev's Food Hall, where I picked up a vanilla eclair and a caramel macaroon. We then took a different route, along the Mosta River, back to the hotel. Suddenly a parade of military vehicles, including rocket launchers came rolling along the road, around the corner in front of us and past the Spilled Blood Church. And then a woman on a horse started chasing them. Apparently this is just Wednesday in St Petersburg?

After a break at the hotel for UG to ice his toe, we went for dinner at an Italian place nearby. We had a pizza with some kind of fatty meat and black olives. I skipped dessert and instead ate the treats I'd purchased earlier.


Cars parked on curb ahead.