I Am A Strong, Independent Woman

Didn't have classes on Tuesday, so I decided to do a bit of wandering and shopping. Made plans with Francesca to go grocery shopping, but she bailed because she forgot about classes. Then made plans to go sightseeing with some friends, but they bailed because they were not feeling well. I decided to just go ahead by myself. Made it back to Kropontkinskaya (by the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts) and found one of Pushkin's old houses, a Tolstoy Museum, and the main Museum of Photography.

Pushkin's House is OK. It's free, which was cool. Few displays are in English, which made it difficult at times. Many of the items in the museum are copies from the main Pushkin Museum in St. Petersburg. In total, the museum consists of 10 rooms, each dedicated to one poem Pushkin wrote. It very exhaustively documents Pushkin's life and works which is great if you are a big fan (I mean, really really big). Overall, not the best museum I've been to. I was the only visitor, which meant all the desjornias followed me around. However, there are lots of his papers from school and whatnot which are very cool. It seems that he got bored easily because they are all filled with doodles. If your in the area, drop by for a couple of minutes, but do not make a trip for it.

Went to the Tolstoy Museum but decided not to go in. It did not look that impressive (especially for the price) and my guidebook confirmed that opinion. His house near Park Kyturie is much more interesting. Also, went to go to the Museum of Photography, which I had heard great things about, but couldn't find the entrance. I think it is under repairs at the moment, since the entire building was sheathed in plastic. May try again later. Finished my day with a short shopping trip and bought the Russian version of ramen. Should be interesting...