Talk of the Town

Started the morning off with a trip down to the Aleksander (Alexander) Gardens thinking that the light rain would keep the tourists at bay. Considering the large presence of Brits, Americans, Italians, and French, just to name a few of the groups, I was obviously wrong in my speculation. It was like the United Nations except friendly! The gardens run along the wall of the Kremlin and are a favorite with tourists. But there were also quite a few army guards strolling along with their sweethearts in the rain. The pictures that you see here with the red brick are from the gardens.

After the stroll through "aleksandrovskyi sad" I wandered back down to Old Arbat to sit in a Starbucks and work on my Modern Europe class. Sitting in such a historic spot (the street and the region mind you, not the Starbucks) I thought would provide more than enough inspiration to sit down a write a lecture on the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. It was also a nice spot to listen to what I would consider good music without having to have earbuds in. It turns out that Beck and the Pretenders are very good to write lectures to. I also managed to complete what I think will be the opening pages of my dissertation.

Once again the musicians were out in full force along the Arbat today. I saw something truly unexpected - a bagpipe player. Probably the worst bagpipe music that I have ever heard in my life, and I love bagpipes, but I tossed a couple of coins in his hat for the pure originality of it. There was also a gentleman playing an interesting guitar, see below, and it would be great if anyone could tell me what it is.

I'm going to have a quiet evening writing and working on courses. Until next time.....

the view from the other side of the apartment

view of Kremlin wall 

Monument to Bulat Okhuzhava on Arbat

anyone know what kind of guitar this is?