MIR Corporation's Travel Log: From St. Petersburg, Russia to Beijing, China
Michele Rice, a former journalist, has been to Russia six times. She's proud to admit that she has been followed by the KGB. Currently she is the costume shop manager at the Denver School of the Arts.
Michele's husband, Tom Rice, retired Chairman of the History Department at a private Denver middle school, has traveled with MIR more than 20 times. Ten of those trips involved leading groups of students on tours of Russia, Mongolia and China. His much-anticipated tour, "Around the World with Mr. Rice," introduces them to the world beyond the classroom.
This year, Michele is posting updates from the road.
It's been a whirlwind two days, and tonight is the first chance I've had to relax in my "czarina" bathtub (as my friend Wendy and I call them). The tubs in St. Petersburg are very deep and must have been perfect for relaxing after a busy day in the 18th century, when Peter the Great built the city. I remembered to bring along bubble bath just for this occasion. As the tub is filling (and it will take a l-o-n-g time), I have some quiet time to reflect on our busy days.
This is my sixth trip to Russia (well, actually three to the Soviet Union and three to Russia) and Tom's 28th trip. But going to Russia with 14-year-olds who have never been to Russia even once is both exciting and challenging for all of us. So, we'd thought we'd jump right in to the rivers and canals that made this city a window to the West.
We marshaled the kids into log boats that were replicas of an essential part of the Russian navy created by its founder, Peter the Great. We rowed... and rowed, giving the kids the chance to see and "feel" how this water-born city became Peter's window and Russia's treasure. Physically challenging? You bet, but the effort paid off in a better understanding of the difficulties of building a great city upon a once isolated and desolate watery expanse.
Of course, kids being kids, they challenged each other to a race to see whose boat could most swiftly navigate this no-longer-desolate expanse: The losers claimed they were handicapped by the starboard lead rower who kept an irregular pace - that would have been Tom.
That Peter met the challenge of the swampy terrain can readily be seen in the palaces, cathedrals, and fortresses we were to visit. And we left no time to waste in exploring those sites. Kids' cameras clicked at a furious pace as we entered the grand staircase of the Winter Palace, and didn't stop until we reached the final Picasso on the third floor.
I am obsessed with the parquet floors in Russia. I can't believe the museums let us walk on these beautiful pieces of art. Since I've been to the Hermitage before, while everyone else was looking straight ahead to the magnificent artworks, I was looking at the floors. I tell our friend (Little Sasha) that someone (like us) needs to publish a book showcasing these wooden masterpieces. He knows some parquet artisans - I know how to publish hardcover books. It's a deal. We'll both work on it and see what we come up with. Stay tuned.
A video from this leg of the tour:
Photos from this leg of the tour:
Students meeting the legendary Sashas. Through "Sasha stories" they learned about the history of the Soviet Union and Russia.
Sasha, Michele, Tanya, Tom and "Little Sasha", friends since the cold war days of 1976.
