Then it started to rain. Suddenly and vigorously. Though we had some umbrellas to share, everyone became thoroughly soaked. There was no hope of coverage because the areas under awnings and large trees had been quickly filled by omniscient locals. So we scuttled along the canal towards the Нева Neva, to where everyone seemed to be headed, trying to avoid both large puddles and large intoxicated men.
The rain really didn't put a damper (ha! ha!) on the experience. We've come to expect the weather to be supremely erratic. Even more so than, yes, New England. And after twenty minutes or so of intense precipitation, it began to let up, and within thirty minutes, the skies had cleared entirely.
Not until we reached the Нева Neva and its bridges could we appreciate the magnitude of the occasion. Fireworks and other antics were scheduled for the wee hours of the morning and beyond, so this was the area most densely packed with humans. The glow of the midnight sun eked over the horizon and the buildings on the banks of the river were lit elegantly for the occasion.
Those of us living on василевский остров Vasilievsky Island began to make our way back home by around 2. We needed to meet outside of эрмитаж The Hermitage at 9:30 the next morning...and I don't think anyone was too interested in staying awake for much longer. Happily, by this point our clothes had dried completely! So we moved home, slowly, en masse, meeting each other along the way.This morning, particularly in hindsight, was amusing. Most of us were hung over and few had slept for more than four or five hours. Somehow we all made it to our rendezvous by around 9:30. Оля Olya, the cultural director, shoved us all onto the ferry and we passed out as we zipped across the Нева Neva to Петепгоф Peterhof. I think I'll write about today in a separate post. Album 6 has pictures of both today and yesterday.
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