{"id":1292,"date":"2016-04-18T06:23:22","date_gmt":"2016-04-18T06:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/?p=1292"},"modified":"2016-08-21T01:33:10","modified_gmt":"2016-08-21T01:33:10","slug":"hermitage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/?p=1292","title":{"rendered":"Tuesday, April 12, The Hermitage"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have\u00a0a strategy for huge museums.<\/p>\n

1. Get there early.<\/p>\n

2. Start at the back of the top floor and work my forward and down.<\/p>\n

3. Take the museum’s handout map and a colored marker so I can layer my own map of where I’ve been, what I saw, and notes on what to see again.<\/p>\n

4 Tuck a half bottle of water and some kind of small but sustaining snack in my bag.<\/p>\n

5. Bring my best manners.<\/p>\n

Over breakfast I Googled up coffee shops \u00a0near the Hermitage I could Uber to within in walking distance to the museum, and places to eat lunch.\u00a0Breakfast was proofing the blog post, wolfing my porridge*, and making myself a croissant bacon and jam sandwich (don’t judge – my other options from the hotel buffet were smoked salmon and sliced tongue) which I thanked God for around 2pm when I realized I hadn’t eaten and could not bring myself to leave.<\/p>\n

In honor of the occasion, I picked\u00a0Uber Black, and for six bucks my ride was a silky smooth Mercedes. Hell to the yeah.\u00a0High class.<\/a><\/p>\n

I wore my Prague pink silk scarf. I saw this in a window as we smoothly navigate the streets<\/p>\n

\"Gratitude<\/a>
Gratitude – works for me.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was buzzing with adrenaline. We\u00a0pulled up to palace\u00a0square and I hopped out to the sounds of a marching band. \u00a0A welcome for me? How thoughtful!\u00a0A\u00a0man in a\u00a0Peter the Great costume was swashbuckling around.<\/p>\n

\"great<\/a>
Great casting – he was easily 6’4″, without the hat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I couldn’t believe I was in the frame of the picture I\u2019d stared at so longingly for the past year. I asked a kind tourist to take my photo.\u00a0It’s\u00a0worth noting that If you want to connect\u00a0with anyone you see of any nationality, age, or gender, approach them and ask, “can\u00a0you take my\u00a0photo, please?” The frowns, protestations they don’t speak English, defensive go away gestures instantly change\u00a0when you proffer your iPhone with the photo screen open and the universal white button. Faces\u00a0transform in mid-scowl, smiles and nods ensue. Not one exception so far. It is turning out to be the universal key that unlocks every door. And it beats selfies hands down.<\/p>\n

\"{"focusMode":0,"deviceTilt":0.004832549891199633,"whiteBalanceProgram":0,"macroEnabled":false,"qualityMode":3}\"<\/a>
I’m here. I’m really here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Heart thumping, I scampered to the designated entrance. There was a small wooden door just\u00a0inside, before the turnstile with a Friends of the Hermitage<\/em> sign. I knocked and met Oksana, the same women who responded to my inquiry email all those months ago. It was a tiny office, crammed with papers and files and computers. Fifteen minutes later I had my official card and my own entrance (same door\u00a0as security and employees). Slap the card on the turnstile, green lights and I\u2019m in. That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n

Osaka leads me to the staircase most people see first. It’s so iconic even the \u00a0swarms of posing tourists can’t obliterate the grandeur.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A fragment of the splendor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I remember to look up.<\/p>\n

\"Wowser\"<\/a>
Wowser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On my way to the third floor, I walked through a special exhibition; Two Enlightened Monarchs<\/em>. \u00a0I am captivated\u00a0because here are the famous portraits of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great and their coterie that\u00a0I’ve seen online and in the pages of books. The nuances that are flattened out in photographs are visible here. The faces that look out at me from the gilded frames are the same ones that engineered the existence\u00a0of the very ground I stand on at the cost of so many lives.\u00a0There is something about the fragile humanity, the aging of\u00a0their faces, versus the scale of their accomplishments. They are ghosts made visible. They will stay phantoms, because special exhibits prohibit photos. This is a universal museum rule that\u00a0I (almost always) respect.<\/p>\n

I hie myself to the top floor.\u00a0A pack of small school boys in blue uniform jackets with silver buttons clatter past me on the stairs. It\u00a0feels like Hogwarts\u00a0is on a field trip. \u00a0NOTE: This will happen again and again and I have come to love it. \u00a0First, these children\u00a0are the future. They are our only hope, Obi wan. No joke. Second, every uniform is different – I particularly liked one that featured magenta plaid. Third, they are short enough to easily see over.<\/p>\n

In no time I am absorbed in the realms of old\u00a0and middle eastern art, like this jolly pair of Iranian girls, sisters perhaps, who apparently forgot their shirts.<\/p>\n

\"<\/a>
If you’ve got it, flaunt it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"{"focusMode":1,"deviceTilt":-0.003931359448705152,"whiteBalanceProgram":0,"macroEnabled":false,"qualityMode":3}\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By 2pm\u00a0I was running on fumes, so I sat on a hard bench\u00a0in the bafflingly dismal caf\u00e9 area. (surprisingly cheap d\u00e9cor, Kwik Trip calibre food (sandwiches in plastic boxes, M&Ms, stale pastry) and wolfed down my smuggled snack.\u00a0I regained sufficient strength and clarity of mind to go look for some real fuel. A few short blocks away I found Double B\u00a0coffee &\u00a0tea, aka Dablbi (Millionnaya St., 18)<\/strong> ) and fantastic things happened.<\/p>\n

Octane quality, maybe even better. A temple to caffeine for the true believer.<\/p>\n

\"{"focusMode":0,"deviceTilt":0.05308287590742111,"whiteBalanceProgram":0,"macroEnabled":false,"qualityMode":3}\"<\/a>
Rocket fuel for the weary traveler<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Returned to the Hermitage and got back on the horse. \u00a0The coat check ladies waved and smiled at me. I guess they know a lifer when they see one. This time I visited\u00a0the Egyptian exhibit,\u00a0a single largish room, doing all the stops on the audio tour from the Hermitage app I downloaded to my iPhone. Fascinating!<\/p>\n

\"Behold<\/a>
Behold the scribe. Mostly he tallied grain and livestock, but I still feel that connection over the centuries.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I spent\u00a0a good hour plus, so there goes my carefully crafted schedule. On my quest for a bathroom to get rid of the coffee, I walked through the Greek and Roman statuary rooms. Coming attractions!<\/p>\n

\"Reminds<\/a>
Reminds me of Robert. Just switch out that staff for a C-stand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I can’t wait to come back tomorrow and do a bit of\u00a0sketching. Lots of drawing going on, with really young kids who were focused and serious.<\/span><\/p>\n

The map has been a bit confusing, but the numbers are over most of the door so I am carefully marking my path. It makes all the difference to getting me oriented.<\/p>\n

I left at 5:30,\u00a0unsure of what to do next. Thanks to my pre-made Googlemap\u00a0I had a restaurant to aim for,\u00a0Fruktovaya Lavka (Bolshaya Konyushennaya, ul 15.) No regrets – this little gourmet market\u00a0and\u00a0caf\u00e9 had a\u00a0small but choice menu.\u00a0I ordered\u00a0the buckwheat pasta, mostly because it came with seafood, and honestly, I didn\u2019t know buckwheat could be this delicious.\u00a0I can come back and eat here another dozen times.<\/p>\n

Back to my hotel\u00a0via Uber Black. Traffic was a bitch, but it was still six bucks.<\/p>\n

Tomorrow, repeat.<\/p>\n

* Porridge. My hotel offers it, but it was a bland paste, without any seasoning. On the first day, I asked them to add cinnamon. On the second day, I asked them to add chopped apple. On the third I was bold enough to ask for raisins. I have this every morning and they are getting pretty good at it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have\u00a0a strategy for huge museums. 1. Get there early. 2. Start at the back of the top floor and work my forward and down. 3. Take the museum’s handout map and a colored marker so I can layer my own map of where I’ve been, what I saw, and notes on what to see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[21],"tags":[36,32,94,194,95],"class_list":{"0":"post-1292","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-fruktovaya-lavka","9":"tag-hermitage","10":"tag-museum-strategy","11":"tag-restaurant","12":"tag-uber","13":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/va-close-H.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7OBxc-kQ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1292"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1803,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1292\/revisions\/1803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}