DC Lately

Since my return to the US of A I have made several visits to the beautiful city of Washington DC with various people that came to visit. 

Dorothy's ruby slippers:

They already have an iPod on display at the American History Museum?

Kermit!!

Harry Potter's robes:

Emily in Julia Child's kitchen:

The Washington Monument is completely covered with scaffolding. NO!

Good old Abe:

WWII Memorial:

Jefferson Monument. My absolute favorite.

The White House:

Arlington National Cemetery:

A few weeks ago the Brenchleys came to DC and I took them around to see the different monuments. It was so fun to see them!

Now one of the best things about DC is Tangy Sweet. Best frozen yogurt ever.

The other best thing is visiting the Jefferson Monument at night. Best thing ever.

Of Monsters and Men

For my birthday I got tickets to see Of Monsters and Men. Emily came with me and we had a blast. 

The concert was incredible! The lighting was awesome and the music was beautiful. It was one of the best concerts I have ever been to. Here are some pics from the concert:

Foamhenge

You may have heard of Stonehenge, but have you heard of Foamhenge? Cause it's a thing. Out in the middle of nowhere in southern Virginia an artist built a replica of stonehenge out of foam. Hence the name. It was pretty awesome.

The Greenbrier

We took a little road trip down to West Virginia to help my cousin move. We made a stop at The Greenbrier and it was incredible. Here are me, Emily, and my mom outside the front:

The interior design of the building was incredible!

But the best thing by far was the banana split! Look at how much ice cream there was! And for only $8. The best deal in town.

Merry and my mom with their banana split:

The End

Monday was my last day in beautiful St. Petersburg. Tragic. I have absolutely loved my time here. We wanted to visit a few of our favorite sites one last time before we left, so obviously we started at the incredible Spilled Blood Cathedral.

I love this place. We went inside for a second time and were completely awestruck yet again by the incredible mosaics covering every inch of the building.

I will be so sad to not live within 20 minutes of this place. 

We walked from Spilled Blood through the Field of Mars one last time on our way to Peter and Paul Fortress:

We walked across that same bridge that we had seen straight up in the air the night before:

Peter and Paul Cathedral! The scaffolding surrounding it is finally gone!!! I was thrilled.

One last visit to Anastasia and her family:

The cathedral was even more beautiful than the first time because with the scaffolding gone the natural light came in through the windows.

There was a random cat sitting on the windowsill and the name on its collar translated from Russian to English as "I bite." Hmmmm.

I love this cathedral.

We walked around the fortress to find the beach on the edge of the Neva river:

The view back across the river including St. Isaac's Cathedral:

After the fortress, we visited Mini Petersburg, a miniature model of the city that is accurately laid out with grass representing parks, shiny marble showing each of the canals, and models of all the major buildings.

It was the perfect ending to my time in the city because I got to hug my favorite buildings goodbye. Peter and Paul Cathedral:

Rostral columns:

The Hermitage:

The Admiralty, which was under construction the whole time I've been in St. Petersburg:

The top of the Admiralty's spire and the symbol of St. Petersburg:

Beautiful St. Isaac's:

The double arch in Palace Square:

Kazan Cathedral:

My dear friend, Spilled Blood:

Oh how I will miss you.

The perfect end to a wonderful Semester.

I love you St. Petersburg!