достопримечательности

I'm really excited for classes to start so I can have a set schedule. These first two weeks will just be orientation stuff, i.e. crash course review of Russian, learning our way around, and visiting lots of sights, aka достопримечательности (pronounced "dosta-pree-mah-chahst-el-nost-ee", one of the coolest Russian words, I must say). As promised, here are pictures of some достопримечательности. I also plan on using the word достопримечательности as many times as I can in this post. достопримечательности достопримечательности достопримечательности!

Anyways, here are some pictures of some достопримечательности:

But of course I wouldn't disappoint you by not having a picture of St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square:















This is the girls of the group and our program director at a monastery. It's not such a touristy place and women have to wear skirts (or are provided wraps at the gate) and must cover their heads.














On Wednesday the weather was nice and sunny, so we went on a boat ride down the river, which also provided awesome views of the city. We bought blini -- like crepes, filled with anything from caviar to mushrooms and cheese -- and ate on the boat. (I'm on a boat I'm on a boat!)















And this is me trying to be artsy:
The prettyness in the background is St. Peter's Basilica. I took this picture on a bridge where newly married couples come to attach a lock and throw the key away in the river. Aww.















Tomorrow will be filled with more Russian and достопримечательности!