Today’s photo comes from my approach to the Smolny Convent in Saint Petersburg, Russia a few months ago. The place didn’t actually look this good in person as it was swarming with (mostly Chinese) tourists, tour buses, and construction vehicles and personnel. However, the hedge of flowers allowed me to obscure the madness down below for something a little more peaceful and serene.
#guanajuato #mexico #47FIC @cervantino @UdeGuanajuato
Today/tonight will end the nearly 20-day run that is the 47th edition of the International Cervantino Festival in Guanajuato, Mexico. I just happened to be here for nearly half of those days. The last few days have featured this art installation on the steps of the University of Guanajuato. Besides the rainbow of colors shown here, there were various moving light works that gave the appearance of a snake, or other objects, pulsating or moving up and down the stairs. The visuals were incredible. I took this on Wednesday night but went back on Friday night to sit in the second-story bar across the street for a better view. I was mesmerized by the display for an hour or so.
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of things going on at once in the city during the festival. The crowds can be incredible in size–especially on the two Saturday nights I was here.
The name of the church in today’s photo is Церковь Спаса на Крови (Church of the Savior on Blood). Well known as one of the visual highlights of Saint Petersburg, Russia, the church began a many years renovation project just days before I arrived so the overall view was not what I was hoping for. If you want to avoid the scaffolding you’ll want to wait to visit until at least 2025.
@MuseumPushkin
Today’s photo comes from a boat tour I did a couple months ago in St. Petersburg, Russia. I hadn’t heard any English in many days when I decided to book the tour, and I thought it would be nice to hear something other than Estonian or Russian for the first time in a while. Although the Russian guide spoke decent-enough English, there was not a single other person on the boat (which could probably hold over 100 people). The guide was out of sight so it wasn’t a very social event.
Anyway, one of the things that struck me about Russia (and maybe this was in part due to poor, dreary weather most of the time I was there) was nearly all of the buildings could use some fresh paint. The vast majority of buildings seemed to have not been cared for in decades. This is probably why I took a photo of this building from the boat; it was a rare, somewhat-recently-painted specimen.
The odds of me returning to Copenhagen in 2020 are looking good. Today’s photo is of the place I lived in 2018. Hopefully I can find an equally cool residence next year.
