Scarlet were the clothes she wore

Every weekend is a reason for adventure. I had a short break and my friends from Saint-Petersburg came to see me so we had a lot of fun. In general, we went to the cinema, drank gin in teacups, made angels in the snow, smoked hookah, played Monopoly, went to hockey and laughed hard. I enjoyed my holiday but tomorrow I'll have to get back to work and studies again.. Anyway, life is good.

We drank lemonade and we sat in the shade

Today I was flicking through my summer pictures and thought how good last summer was. How nice it was to sit in a cafe sipping cold drinks, walk around the town every single day, look at relaxed and open faces, go to our summer house and eat fresh berries, take pictures of butterflies and flowers, travel on my own to different cities.. I remember I went to Arctic Monkeys concert, I thought about France, ate ice-cream and was caught in the rain. I was tanned and skinny and came home in the mornings and slept on the benches. There were so many great moments! I guess I was really happy back then.

We come from the land of the ice and snow

In winter I prefer to stay in but this weekend I decided to crawl out and I found it quite nice as it's much more interesting! And it feels better to enjoy this "I'm finally home" rather than being sick of it day after day. Smile more, all you pretty people ;)

Oh, what a night

I didn't tell you about my New Year's day. My friends and I happened to celebrate it in some tiny flat in the suburbs and I didn't learn to drive so grabbing the keys and leaving was hard. But I did it because at 2 am we were already bored as they were all quite stoned by that time just watching stupid videos on youtube and laughing harder than they should. I'm not really into parties like that so I grabbed my coat and ran away without saying goodbye.
The only problem was that public transport doesn't work in the middle of the night so I had to befriend some drunk girl for her to flag a ride. Under the overpass we were still waiting when one car with two guys in it stopped right beside us. I was actually quite scared but there was no other way so I hopped on. Thank God, in 20 minutes I was already in a better place, safe and sound.

I went to the Union which is my favourite bar out there. They often have good live bands and the stuff is very friendly. I was dancing to some French song when one guy came up and gave me a Bengal light. It was emitting flames and sparks when he told me his name was Hermann and he was a ballet dancer.

Hermann: "You're amazing! You drink your cocktail through one straw, then through another, then through both! It's so cute!"
Me: "Err, okay"

He started to bore me so I went dancing without him and met that chatty guy who asked if I want to have breakfast with him one of these days. I said yes but he never called. Oh oh, quel dommage!

So I was dancing and dancing and dancing again and then I noticed that it's already 6 am and probably it's time to go home. That's it.

(text and pictures don't cooperate, I know I know)

Let's go downtown and watch the modern kids

That was so wonderful to go to a bookstore and buy postcards for all my friends, then to my favourite cafe with cute waiters A. and N. who laugh and joke all the time. There I sat drinking hot chocolate, writing letters and secretly casting glances on shaggy boys who look like their shower's broken since January 1977. Well, at least they have good music taste.

Actually I noticed that there're practically no 'normal' people, I mean usual people who work from 9 to 5 and have cereal for breakfast. People here are generally open-minded and have a wide range of interests - from riding a bicycle and longboarding to reading Nietzsche and Verlaine. They are photographers, painters, designers, they are in the band and act like they're gonna be big one day. Well well, okay.

You walk around in other towns

This city is like a cold and sublimely aristocratic kind of guy who entraps the amateurs of art and beauty and those who highly appreciate aesthetics and harmony. It takes you by the arm and leads you through its mysterious streets and courtyards and believe me, it has a lot to show. It is always gloomy and sombre but you fall for him more and more each day and there's already no turning back.

St. Petersburg streets

So I'm back home and I can find no words to describe how much I'm in love with this city. It possessed me literally, my heart, my mind, everything. It caught me in its magical web and it cries and pulls me back and asks me to stay. It refuses to listen to my arguments about studies, friends and parents, it just doesn't care. It laughs at me and says 'forget it all'.

My January playlist:

Frank Sinatra - Let It Snow

Foreigner - Cold As Ice

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow

Jarvis Cocker - Magic Works

The Dodos - Winter