Tag: convent

Nuns and monks

SDSpivey

Novodevichy Cemetery is the final resting place of some of Russia’s most famous, much like Père Lachaise in Paris.

The problem is, they might be Russia famous, but they’re not US famous. Plus all the names are in Russian.

Tomb of Boris Yeltsin

I found Boris Yeltsin’s (it really stands out), I saw Khrushchev’s but did not transliterate the name, at the time.

Author Anton Chekhov and Mikhail Gorbachev are also are buried there.

Next door is a convent. I was uncertain whether I could enter, but after seeing a couple of men exiting, I decided to go ahead.

It was very lovely, the buildings were painted nicely. The lawn was not mown, but it looked “kept up.” There were workers laying down a new stone walkway.

I felt wrong taking photos, but I saw others doing it too, so I suppose it was okay.

I’m uncertain if it was a working convent or not, so many churches were closed during the revolution. Being Sunday morning, I suppose any nuns would have been in service while I was there.

Next I headed to the art district.

There is a small plaza with a bunch of galleries, all were closed, being Sunday. The buildings are designed and made up to look unique. Not only do they allow graffiti, but they probably encourage it, if it is artistic.

I had nothing else planned in this area, so I see a small park on the map. It shows a toilet, not that I need it, but always good to be near.

I cross a small river, yellow from pollen, and climb a steep hill. I followed the googled directions, but it led me to a construction tunnel. They have these 2×4 and corrugated steel protective walkways around all sorts of construction sites, meant to be a safe passage. Problem is, this one doesn’t go anywhere but to a locked gate.

Being daring, I push open the construction wall a bit and pass through. It should be okay, there is a gap between the fence and storage containers.

Oh crap, I stepped in it. I will presume it was an animal’s.

Then the only way out was to climb a very thin, hand made ladder, over a concrete barrier, onto the road. I don’t mean onto a space next to the road, but into one of the lanes.

It had rained last night, so there were some puddles that I could walk through, hoping to remove some of the mess off my shoe.

Climbing another hill, I reached the small park. Then I see the sign for the building next to it. It was a monastery.

I went in and browsed around.The convent was way better looking, but this had a fat, lazy cat.

They had a display of “pieces” of tombstones. I guess they were damaged in the revolution or perhaps some war.

People were going into one of the chapels, but I was not going in with dirty shoes. I was hoping that the crushed granite walkways were working it clean.

OK, I didn’t actually see any nuns or monks, but I did see a priest walking outside the convent.

I walked to the next station to head back for lunch.

I went to the supermarket and had a fairly hefty bag of food. But I can’t cross the road because there is a freakin bike race going down the street between me and my room.

I’ve been crossing roads with really fast cars for decades, I think a few bikes is no danger at all.

Normally I would just walk through, but there are police all along the road. I don’t think there is a tunnel cross walk anywhere close, so I just go for it. As I reach the other side, I’m facing 3 officers, they don’t say anything, so I just go around.

I cook and eat then head to my room to charge the pad. Alright, my roommates have both left, I’m solo. Maybe I can get sleep tonight without the snoring.

Day Five, Florence

SDSpivey

We caught the bus to the airport, where I had a rental waiting at Hertz, but I never thought to check for locations in town, but we got there easily enough. There were 3 people at the Hertz desk, but they were all real slow. I literally spent less time buying my car than waiting in line for the rental.

I got a Fiat Panda, it is a cool little (and I do mean little) four-seater. I quickly learned to forget everything I know about safety and just drive like a Roman. Apparently, turn signals are totally optional, as well as riding in only one lane at a time.

Unfortunately, I didn’t account for the travel to the airport and wait time for the car, along with the three hour drive. We didn’t get to Florence (Firenze) until mid-afternoon. We checked into our room at a former convent (the Sette Santi, aka 7 Saints) and then headed down-town.

There really wasn’t much to Florence, other than a bunch of churches that were under reconstruction. The buildings were attractive, but too close together to get any photos.

The center of most towns in Europe are vehicle restricted, so we had to get the bus into town. We were able to get on the right bus to return, but it was heading the opposite direction, so we had to wait a few minutes at the end of the route while the driver took his smoke break. Then we rode right back to where we boarded. I don’t recommend it, but it is a good way to see the city.

Our room had a sink and shower stall in it, but no toilet.

Many of the communal toilets also have bidets, although these are not the bidets that look like toilets without seats, these are short bowls on the floor with a spout that comes out of the wall and sprays water downward, the opposite of the direction you would need to wash your nether regions. Mom and I have come to the conclusion that you would face the wall and splash water with your hand and wipe. So you end up with a wet butt and “dirty” hands.