The Most Well Christian Romance Reader in all of Indiana

In this past year or so I've become one of the most well-read christian romance readers in all of Indiana. Bragging rights? Anyhoo, I grabbed this After All by Deborah Raney because based on the description (and it's genre) I figured it would be a quick read and I need to start zipping through my insanely large "to read" book-pile from Goodreads.

It was as I guessed an insanely fast read, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The story follows Susan, the widow of a fallen fire fighter who struggles to deal with her loss, with her family (she has two adult sons), and her homeless shelter. Her husband and five other fire fighters died in a tragic fire the year before when her fledgling homeless shelter caught fire. Many people in the town thought good riddance of the homeless shelter and were aghast when she re-opened it in another location so soon after her husband's death. She faces opposition everywhere she goes, especially from Fire Chief Peter who harbors some blame at the homeless for starting the fire that killed five of his men, including Susan's husband, the year prior. Against his better judgement he starts to help out Susan and they begin to develop feelings for each other. Besides struggling to keep the shelter open, Susan must deal with the fact that her son informed her that her fallen husband had been cheating on her prior to his untimely death, and then she has to deal with the temptress herself as she tries to steal Peter away from her.

Overall, this was a small quick plot that was easy to plow through. Not the most romantic or impactful, but a light breezy beach read that fills the time. Not great, not bad. But alright for a Christian romance.

Disclaimer, this book is the third in a trilogy, although you would never know it by the way the story is set up. It stands easily on it's own, I was never once confused.

I received this book free from Goodreads giveaways in return for my unbiased, honest opinion.

It's Just another Self -Help Book, Isn't It?

Personally I am not a huge fan of self-help books (although I will admit to reading He's Just Not That Into You and It's Called a Break-up Because It's Broken when in a low point). They start off so promising, but who has the time or the will power to follow all the rules and advice that they present. Life is a little more complex then self-help books realize. 

That being said I just completed reading a self-help/dating book that isn't really a self-help book. Jessica Massa's The Gaggle: How the Guys You Know Will Help You Find the Love You Want, offered a surprising new take on post-dating relationships in this crazy new age. Instead of prescribing a set amount of rules to help you get over an ex or find the man of your dreams, Massa helps readers realize that by analyzing the men in your life (your gaggle) you can understand what you want in a man and how to get it. There are 10 men in every woman's gaggle whether she realizes it or not, there is: the ego booster, the ex boyfriend who's still around, the hot sex prospect, the career booster, the guy who just blew you off, the super horny guy who happens to be around a lot, and the boyfriend prospect. While you're most likely not going to find your true love in your gaggle of guy friends understanding what they offer and what they mean to you can help you realize what you need to have a satisfying and meaningful relationship. 

Massa also goes into what compromises a guy's gaggle and it was particularly enlightening. Guy's girl friends comprised of: the girlfriend prospect, the work wife, the short term investment, the last resort, the girl who's out of his league, the friend he's just not that into, the challenge, the crazy girl, the (maybe) one, and the possibility. 

It was really interesting figuring out what guy's gaggles I fit into and what categories different men in my life fit into. I also appreciated that this book wasn't meant to solve the hidden secrets of romance or offer ridiculous advice in order to snag a man. Massa interviewed hundred's of men and women (aged 22-35) and used their enlightening answers to come up with this quirky and eye-opening read. Definitely worth a read (even for you guys out there!).

I received this book for free from Goodread's giveaways in return for my honest, unbiased opinion. 

Blind Hope

I naively assumed that this book would be about a poor rescue pet that overcomes all odds to survive, basically I thought I was getting myself into a tear-jerker  where the dog dies at the end. That wasn't the case, in fact it was quite the opposite. There is a rescue dog, but instead of the woman saving the dog, the woman is saved by the dog (emotionally, not physically).

A mangy, bad breath, diabetes ridden dog (soon blind) slowly takes over Laurie's heart and helps Laurie realize that she's been living a lie and that she needs to be as honest and open as her lovable rescue is. The dog, Mia, helps bring Laurie closer to God and closer to finding herself.

The story is inspirational, although I believed the monologues were to dramatic even for me. It seems a little over the top? although it is based on a true story and there are photographs distributed throughout the novel. If you're sappy, and you love Christian inspirationals, and animals then this is definitely the book for you. Happy reading!

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review."

Never Judge A Book By It's Cover

After reading a heavy duty romance I was due for a light-hearted sappy read and this fit the bill. It's a story about hope and redemption and looking beyond the surface, it's a great feel good read.

The story follows Sasha, a 37 year old world famous ballerina who has just suffered a life altering fall and will never be the same again. Sasha decides to retreat from the world, her fans, her friends, and her husband by going back to her hometown to re-cooperate and learn to walk again. The thought of never dancing again throws Sasha into a deep and miserable depression, enter Evelyn. Evelyn is a bright young girl who is happily engaged and does odd jobs around town to save up for her wedding. Everyone in town (especially her parents) is disappointed that she chose to turn down college for her fiance (who has questionable morals and is seemingly marrying Evelyn to get in her pants, something she staunchly refuses to do before marriage). Evelyn takes a job as in home care for Sasha and the two constantly butt heads. In time though they begin to depend and rely on each other. And the roles momentarily flip when Sasha starts to heal and Evelyn's life is turned upside down. The unwilling pair make an unlikely duo as they struggle through life's challenges together.

It was a cute read and it took no time at all to plow through it. Definitely a beach read :)

Outlander Read-A-Long: Chapters 8-14

1. Claire has been given the task of healer at the castle. She must adapt her nursing skills for the time and learn what herbs and et will cure each particular ailment that is presented to her. Do you have any home remedies that were passed down to you (cure for a cold, bee sting or what have you)?
My grandmother believed that vic's vapor rub could heel practically anything, but beyond that we stuck mostly to medicine. I guess we are a pretty boring family, lol.

2. What do you think would be the biggest challenge of living in the past? Clothing, hygiene, food, etiquette or etc.)
FOOD! I'm vegetarian and I'm pretty sure I would starve back then. Also, I don't think it would be much fun prancing about in petticoats and long gowns... especially in the summer, I imagine that would get a tad hot and uncomfortable.

3. Do you have a favorite character, scene or quote so far? If so share it with us.
I like Jamie, obviously, and I know I have a favorite quote or two. Unfortunately I don't have my book on me so I'll have to find it later.

4. What did you think of the addition of the blood bond in the wedding ceremony? Is this something you wish to do with the one you love?
Reminds me of being a kid and having "blood sisters," lol. I like that pagen elements still weave their way into the most Christian of ceremonies. Personally, when I get married, I think I'll do with out the blood bond.

5. Are you reading along closely with the scheduled chapters or are you ahead or behind?
I'm waaaay ahead. Hoping to finish it tonight!

I Need a Vacation From My Vacation!!

I need to get my butt in gear and get back into the swing of blogging! I feel as if I haven't been on here in ages! Between coming back from Russia, staying with my family up north, then going back home and visiting with my dad and brothers from Las Vegas, I'm exhausted! I've spent the past week unpacking, thrifting (my family loves goodwill... and so do I!), attending family get togethers, drinking, and catching up with friends. I've hardly had any me time and as a result I'm sorely behind on my reading and blogging! In the past three weeks I've only completed ONE book (Wuthering Heights on the airplane, so blah it's not even worth reviewing)! Ahhhh! I must catch up!

About a week ago I signed up for an Outlander readalong.  Each week there are different questions about the novel that many bloggers have faithfully decided to answer. Here goes!

These questions were put forth from Jess of Gone With the Words:

1. Outlander is a well-known book. Before you cracked it open, what were your expectations or assumptions about this story? Or did you jump into it with a blank slate?

Well, I've been hearing about this book for quite a long time. My aunt has been OBSESSED with Outlander for as long as I can remember. She would re-read the series each time a new one was released. All I knew was that it was a time-traveling romance that took place in Scotland. Sounds intriguing enough I suppose.

2. Claire’s husband, Frank, is fascinated with learning more and more facts about his family tree, which extends back pretty far. Do you or anyone in your family keep a family tree? How many years/generations back does it go? If not, have you ever considered or attempted to create one?

My grandma tracked my grandpa's family all the way into 17th century Italy. I'd love to go back farther or learn more about the other sides of my family but I'm a horrible researcher and I want everyone else to do all the hard work for me, lol.

3. How did you find Claire’s initial conclusion as to her surroundings after waking up from going through the stones? Did you think that was a reasonable conclusion?

I thought it was kind of ridiculous. Who thinks they've stumbled unto a movie set? Maybe that would have seemed like a logical guess for like 10 seconds but beyond that is crazy. If I see kilted men racing toward me on horseback, speaking gaelic, and heading into battle with swords and muskets, either someone spent thousands of dollars on a practical joke or I magically traveled back into time. 

4. How about her composed, rational way of dealing with the fact she’s traveled back in time. Did you find it believable? Do you think you would have acted the same way?

I guess it seemed pretty rational. Everyone reacts differently to situations and the fact that she adjusts fairly quickly isn't necessarily a bad thing. I would freak out for a while, but Claire is smart and realizes that there isn't a whole lot that she can do at the moment so she takes everything in stride  and tries to adjust as best she can.

5. At this point in the story, what are your feelings or expectations on Claire and Jamie? Is Frank still a factor for you?

Umm, if you travel back in time I don't think adultery is your biggest concern. Personally, I've already chosen to forget about Frank. I honestly didn't like him much to begin with anyway.

Bonus Question: Frank encounters a man outside of the inn where he and Claire are staying. He is afraid it might have been a ghost. What do you believe it was? Do you have any predictions or suspicions on what that was about?

I already forgot about that guy! I guess I assume that it's Jamie?! I'm not really sure. He was wearing a kilt and looking for Claire so that's probably the most logical guess one can make. 

Well that's it for the readalong this week. More to come! Also, I'll fill you in on how my new job is! Soo excited that I finally got a job in a library! I'm a big girl now! Woot Woot!

Trip Highlights

Things I Can't Believe I Got To Do!
1. See works of art by Picasso, Da Vinci, Renoir, Monet, Degas, Caravaggio, Raphael, Matisse, and more! And I got to take pictures of them!
2. Get a behind a scenes tour of the Hermitage and it's amazing library!
3. Meet the director of the BAN (it would be like meeting the director of the Library of Congress!) and getting to see rare materials that aren't put on display (medieval manuscripts, papyrus, 2,000 year old maps, etc!). Talk about red carpet treatment!
4. See the final resting place of Anastasia and the rest of the last Tzar's family!
5. See Peter the  Great and Catherine the Great's tombs!
6. See books signed and authored by Benjamin Franklin!
7. See musical compositions handwritten by Bach, Mozart, and Schubert and get so close to them that you could touch them!
8. See a page from the Guttenberg Bible!
9. See the "8th Wonder of the World" the Amber Room!
10. See Voltaire's personal library shipped over from France!
11. Walk in palace's that the Nazi's once destroyed but have been painstakingly restored!

Things I Don't Want to Forget!
1. Beer with low alcohol content is popular among children
2. No car seats required for babies
3. Tepemok has the best fast food (crepes and borscht!)
4. Drivers are insane, if there are traffic laws, none are followed
5. The metro is mildly terrifying. It's more than 6 stories down and you have to take an insanely fast moving escalator to get to the bottom (it still takes over 4 minutes to get to the bottom though!)
6. Armenian and Georgian food is amazing!
7. Boxed moscato!
8. Brides are EVERYWHERE! They like to pose next to monuments and as such I saw at least a dozen in the city
9. The freaky dead babies in jars at the Museum of Curiosities
10. A typical breakfast consists of hot dogs and macaroni noodles
11. The trololo guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oavMtUWDBTM
12. "The Diamond Arm" a hilarious soviet comedy http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062759/
13. Women wear high heels everywhere, to not wear heels is a sin, I'm not even kidding
14. Mr short shorts guy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlN5LC3I4SE
15. My awesome new friends!!!

My Russia Trip in a Nutshell

So I've been horribly negligent in informing you of the last part of my trip to St. Petersburg, so I'll try to include all the awesomeness in this blog post.


June 3rd:
Today was a nice break from museums and libraries. We spent the day like American tourists instead of students. We went to the Bay of Findland and strolled on the beach. Lynn was a rebel and entertained us all by stripping off her clothes and running into the frigid cold water. After that we took a nice long scenic tour back into the city and had an authentic Russian meal for lunch.


Bellies filled, the majority of the group headed towards the Summer Garden and we spent a delightful afternoon snapping pictures. Our next stop was the Church of the Spilled Blood and the giant souveneir market right outside it. We took some more pictures and bought waay to many nesting dolls. Our legs aching from walking nearly a billion miles, we plopped down in a nearby resteraunt and shoveled some food in. We then walked the 30min hike back. I'm am physically exhausted and in need of some rest so I don't come down with the cold that everyone seems to be getting, so I best be off. Goodnight!


June 4th:
Today we visited the National Library of Russia and it is by far my new favorite library! Imagine giant old 3 story libraries with card catalogs, ladders, statues, the old book smell (think Beauty and the Beast's library!) and there you have it. I wish I could have taken photographs to prove how awesome it was but they wouldn't allow it in most parts of the building. Bummer. Here's some cool facts about it:


1. It started off as the Russian Imperial Library in 1795 and was the first public library in all of Russia
2. It contains stone books that are over 2,000 years old! They are mounted on the wall and you can even touch them!
3. They used to have a copy of the Guttenberg Bible but the Soviets sold it in the beginning of the 20th century
4. Catherine the Great purchased Voltaire's entire library in the18th century (mainly to get back her correspondence with him that she didn't want to be made public) and they are all on display in a separate room. Over 2,000 of his books have notes scribbled in the margins from in his own handwriting! How cool!
5. It's one of the largest libraries in Russia that is open to the public.


After our visit we all grabbed lunch at a local deli (I had grilled veggies, cabbage bread, and a delightful raspberry pastry thing) then we all went our separate ways. My room-mate Lisa wasn't feeling well so we headed back to our hotel and on the way Matt and I checked out some local book stores. Unfortunately we didn't buy any books so we ran into the 24 hour market and I grabbed pink gin and mojitos (in cans!) and he grabbed some lays crab flavored potato chips (yuck!). Now I'm back here catching up on my blog and uploading pictures. For dinner I think Lisa, Matt, Darrell, and I are going to try the Soviet Cafe. Hope it's good! (disclaimer, the Soviet Cafe was awesome! My favorite restaurant in Russia, the mushroom soup was off the hook!)


June 5th:
Today was jam packed but that didn't stop it from flying by. We visited our last two libraries for this trip and then went our seperate ways.


We went to the Yeltsin Presidential Library first and dear lord was their security to contend with! It took us nearly 45 minutes to get our passports verified and bags checked. Once in we were escorted not only by a guide but a greeter and security guide as well! They gave us a tour of their amazing facilities and this was by far the nicest and most up to date "library" we've seen so far. Money was practically dripping from the building. It seemed to me as if the library was used more as a show piece and conference facility then it was for research and "normal" library usage. In fact there weren't even any books. There were a few dozen computers that could be used to access their online resources and a handful of librarians that could answer reference questions but that was about it. After the tour when we were asking about their funding they tried avoiding the question but they eventually stated that they were funded by the government and that they recieved so much money because it was new and used as more than just a library. The final library we visited was the children's library and it was adorable. I thought that their collection of international, rare, and mini books was quite impressive. They seemed quite eager to show off their technology (3 robots and an interactive globe) and were very hospitable.


After that some of us headed to St. Isaac's Cathedral and braved the nearly 300 stair ascent to the dome. Even though I thought my heart would explode it was well worth the view. The interior was also stunning. After that Lisa and I went to King Pong, an asain themed resteraunt and had a delightful dinner. We then grabbed some souveneirs and headed back. I can't believe that this trip is almost at an end, we've been having so much fun!


June 6th:
Today we took the hydrofoil (a big boat with jet skis on the bottom!) all the way out to Peterhof (Peter's Pleasure Palace!). It was dripping with opulence just like Catherine's Palace and the Winter Palace. A disgusting amount of gold was everywhere. The palace was great but my favorite part was the outside with all the awesome gardens and fountains. There are over 150 fountains outside that have been operating for nearly 150 years (except for that brief stint where the Nazis destroyed the palace). After we went back to the hotel, most of us went to the Cat Cafe, a cute kitschy Georgian restaurant owned by a man who looked like he could be twin brothers with Antonio Banderas!  The food was delightful and so was the jug of house wine that Lisa, Bridgette, and I shared. We spent nearly two hours in the restaurant laughing and chatting. It was great!


June 7th:
Today was our last day in St. Petersburg :( Thankfully it was a free day so we could all do whatever we wanted. About eight of us went to Peter the Great's Museum of Curiosities and woof! there were some disturbing exhibits there!! Most of it was like a natural history museum, with outfits, tools, and art from different major cultures from all over the world. But there was a "freak show" room that had tons of baby fetus' and kids floating in formaldehyde! They were mostly all deformed too, babies with multiple heads, no limbs, flippers, etc. And the really creepy thing is that most o these babies had been in these jars since Peter the Great's time! Clearly, I did not stay in this room very long, I didn't want to throw up my lunch on anyone. After the museum the group parted ways and Matt, Darrel, Lisa, and I went last minute vodka and souvenir shopping before dinner. Matt was on a quest to find more crab and caviar lay's chips before he left. We rejoined the group for our last Russian meal and then we all went on a marvelous boat tour of all the canals in St. Petersburg. We all shared a bottle of wine and macaroons as we floated along the canals. It was perfect. Then we all went home and began packing :(


June 8th:
We all go our separate ways. It was truly an exceptional experience and I have made soo many new friends.

The Beginning of My Last Week in Russia :(

Today we visited the National Library of Russia and it is by far my new favorite library! Imagine giant old 3 story libraries with card catalogs, ladders, statues, the old book smell (think Beauty and the Beast's library!) and there you have it. I wish I could have taken photographs to prove how awesome it was but they wouldn't allow it in most parts of the building. Bummer. Here's some cool facts about it:

    1. It started off as the Russian Imperial Library in 1795 and was the first public library in all of Russia
    2. It contains stone books that are over 2,000 years old! They are mounted on the wall and you can even touch them!
    3. They used to have a copy of the Guttenberg Bible but the Soviets sold it in the beginning of the 20th century
    4. Catherine the Great purchased Voltaire's entire library in the18th century (mainly to get back her correspondence with him that she didn't want to be made public) and they are all on display in a separate room. Over 2,000 of his books have notes scribbled in the margins from in his own handwriting! How cool!
    5. It's one of the largest libraries in Russia that is open to the public.

After our visit we all grabbed lunch at a local deli (I had grilled veggies, cabbage bread, and a delightful raspberry pastry thing) then we all went our separate ways. My room-mate Lisa wasn't feeling well so we headed back to our hotel and on the way Matt and I checked out some local book stores. Unfortunately we didn't buy any books so we ran into the 24 hour market and I grabbed pink gin and mojitos (in cans!) and he grabbed some lays crab flavored potato chips (yuck!). Now I'm back here catching up on my blog and uploading pictures. For dinner I think Lisa, Matt, Darrell, and I are going to try the Soviet Cafe. Hope it's good!

Playing Catch Up in Russia

Sorry I've been away for so long!! It's so hard to find time to blog here! We've been doing soo much! I'm going to post everything from last week on this post to catch you up with what I've been doing, I'm having a blast!!!

May 29

So i had a nice insightful entry that didn't properly publish so i have to rewrite it. Clearly i'm not happy about this so pardon me if this posting isn't as long or awesome. I'm blogged out. The trip started with an awesome visit to the Mayovosky public library where we recieved a tour of two of the buildings and got to meet and chat with different members of the staff. After the tour we met with library science students and asked each other questions about the state of libraries in the United States and Russia. It was very enlightening and I think everyone enjoyed it as soon as they got over the shyness and timidness. After that we ate at a local fast food joint (Tepemok - crepes and borscht is their speciality!!) and went on an awesome tour of the city where we all took an obscene amount of photos. Later tonight we're going to see the raising of the bridges at twilight (an event called White Nights in Russia because there is over 20 hours of daylight!!) and I can't wait.  Again sorry this post isn't more awesome, I promise tomorrows wil be! May 30 Today was exhausting but eventful. We started off by going to one of the finest library science schools in Russia and meeting students with the same passion as ourselves. After our presentations (we each had a short presentation on different library topics, mine was on e-books) I was hoping for more enlightening discussions with Russian students but I didn't feel as if we learned a a whole lot more than we did yesterday. They were nice and asked us some good questions about our presentations but I felt as if they were more talkative and forthcoming yesterday when we met them at the public library. I did however really enjoy the tour they gave us of their school. What a majestic learning center! They get taught in a palace (literally, it was an old palace that has been renovated) and I get taught in the basement of an old ugly library! Lucky them! I was surprised, however, to see that while we offer very similar programs and classes, they seemed to be lacking in technology. I couldn't believe that they didn't even have wi-fi! The lack of technology didn't seem to be of concern to them though and they have produced many accomplished graduates (as we saw in their lovely video). I do wonder if that is something that they will want to work on improving in the future. After our several hour visit we rushed like mad men to grab a bite to eat before heading to the Marinsky Theater to see a production of "Sleeping Beauty." I didn't know that I could change into evening wear in less than 10 minutes, I really am learning a lot of things about myself on this trip! The ballet was beyond beautiful, albeit a bit too long at 4 hours. The dancers were superb and I can't wait to post pictures of the amazing theater and performers. Truly it was an amazing day! May 31 Today we got to experience the magnificence that is the Hermitage. Words can literally not even begin to describe the opulence and grandeur contained in the 5 buildings. It is estimated that it would take five years to go through and see the one million plus items on display. At first I thought that sounded unreasonable but after going through dozens of exhibit halls and not even scratching the service of what is on display I can see the truth in that statement. Our tour started out with a behind the scenes visit to the reading room and a presentation by THE Hermitage librarian, Olga Zimina. She graciously explained the history of the Hermitage library and even brought out examples from their collection. We got to see beautifully bound volumes from Catherine the Great and other notable tsars, it was surreal. The history and beauty in each book was magnificent to see first hand. After our brief introduction to the library we were allowed to use the employee cafe for lunch which was beyond nice of our hosts. We definitely got the red carpet treatment compared to the rest of the thousands of visitors! From 1 to 3 we gota guided tour of all the major art exhibits, throne rooms, and halls. I'm literally speechless as to how much there was to see! We saw tso of Leonardo Da Vinci's paintings, a Caravaggio, Monets, Picassos, Degas, Rapheals, and hundreds more. The quality of their collection ismagnificent. The Hermitage collects not only Russian works of art, but masterpieces from all over the globe. There were Dutch masters, French masters, and Italian masters just to name a few! The one thing that genuinely surprised me was that visitors were allowed to photograph everything (although no flash obviously). Very rarely do you see a museum that allows you to do that. I was also very surprised to see that they opened thewindows around such precious paintings. That would never ever happen in majzor American museums where everything is temperature controlled. Overall, I had a fantastic day. Lisa, Lynn, and I ended it by exploring Nevsky Prospekt and unwinding with hookah and absinthe (Lynn smartly declined that little adventure). Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings! June 1 The day started off rocky when I could barely pull myself out of bed. Coffee and breakfast kept me going for a bit but after I post this I'm eating dinner and passing out so I can enjoy tomorrow. We started off the day by going to the BAN which was fascinating. The director was so nice and seemed even more excited to see us then we see to see him! He gave us a nice overview of the history of the library and gave us some pretty sweet swag. He was such a sweet guy, I bet it's a lot of fun to work for him. After that we went on a tour of the library and saw the reading room, the manuscript room (which was my favorite part! The 11th century manuscripts were amazing and so was their collection of Peter the Great's personal collection!), an the archive room. After that we had a speedy (but yummy!) lunch and went to the graduate school of management's library. They had by far, the most high-tech and stunning library we've seen so far. It was all modern and up to date (they even had a self checkout machine) and they kept the history and heritage of the 18th century building alive by keeping some of the old architecture and bricks in with their slick new remodel. I was also impressed that their program was all in english, I might have to pick up another masters degree in business! Our final trip was to the Pushkin library where we got to see music compositions handwritten by Mozert and Bach. What a treat! I would have appreciated it more, but my lack of sleep started to catch up to me. Definitely heading to bed earlier tonight so I can appreciate tomorrow even more! June 2 Today we battled the wind and the rain to see Catherine's Palace in the Tzar's Village. It was well worth the nasty weather and the insanely ridiculous long lines though. Only a handful of the many rooms are open to the public because they are still in the process of restoring the rooms that the Nazis destroyed during WW2. It took more than 30 years alone to restore the amber room (the 8th wonder of the world)! That's intense dedication! I was also shocked when I heard that 50% of the palace's items had been looted by the Nazis and are lost forever. How depressing! Thankfully, they were able to remove half of the collection before the Nazis surrounded Leningrad. The before and after pictures of the palace are incredible. After our extremely crowded but informative tour we took a quick tour of the grounds and saw many beautiful gardens, statues, and buildings. I would have liked to explore more but the weather was awful! We all warmed up at a nice resteraunt before heading back into the city. Can't wait to see what tomorrow has to offer! June 2 Today was a nice break from museums and libraries. We spent the day like American tourists instead of students. We went to the Bay of Findland and strolled on the beach. Lynn was a rebel and entertained us all by stripping off her clothes and running into the frigid cold water. After that we took a nice long scenic tour back into the city and had an authentic Russian meal for lunch. Bellies filled, the majority of the group headed towards the Summer Garden and we spent a delightful afternoon snapping pictures. Our next stop was the Church of the Spilled Blood and the giant souveneir market right outside it. We took some more pictures and bought waay to many nesting dolls. Our legs aching from walking nearly a billion miles, we plopped down in a nearby resteraunt and shoveled some food in. We then walked the 30min hike back. I'm am physically exhausted and in need of some rest so I don't come down with the cold that everyone seems to be getting, so I best be off. Goodnight!