Mary Hurlbut PhotographyPsalm 148 ~ God Placing a smile upon the heart
maryhurlbut
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Name: Mary's Photo Blog


Interests: hiking and biking, cars and trucks, swiming, surfing and sailing, learning and teaching, photography and photo editing, reading, puzzles, games and crafts, family and friends, living by faith and trusting God
Occupation: Portrait & Event Photographer


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Member Since: 1/29/2004
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Saturday, November 07, 2009






Fall in Southern California



Sunny, dry coastal hills



with fog drifting in from the sea





























the cool fogs beckons,
heading for the beach....














Thursday, November 05, 2009




Closing Thoughts
about my Trip to Russia



Just a few of the great staff that served us
from Vodohod Russian River Cruises.
Their youthful energy was fun.



My awesome table mates and traveling companions
Lisa Jacobs, my mom Mary, step-dad Jim Lawler
Me,  then Mary and Jack Kuhn



And dear Irina our Vantage Tour Guide.
What an exhausting job she had caring for all our needs
but she did it with such charm.




My photos are my souvenirs from this trip...
Yet I did buy a few things (after Jim wrote out a conversion sheet for me!)
For example this blue, wool and silk scarf that I wore almost everyday
after buying it in Uglich was $300 rubles...$10 !
I kept looking for more along our route and on the last day at Peterhof
found the gold scarf for Brianna for $250 rubles.


      
I collect Nativity ornaments and my friend Lisa
spotted this one at the monastery in  Yaroslavl

       
I bought this little ornament for Bri and the beer glass for Spence in St Petersburg


My favorite purchase is this ornament I bought for Spence
directly from the artist in the village of Mandrogi.
It depicts a family of  three walking to church
in the snow and reminded me of our family.

******


Now for the last LONG day!
Thursday October 8th


Got up at 7 am, finished packing
then had my last breakfast aboard the ship.
Met Mom and Jim in the lobby at 9:30am
to load our luggage into the taxi cab
and head for the airport...where we made it through security
 and I bought Spence some Russian dark chocolate
while we waited till 12:35pm for our flight to Helsinki

Such a nice, new plane...bright blue seats, white interior, clean
and they even served lunch! The man next to me was from Sweden
and we struck up an easy conversation, talking about our work
and sharing how much we missed our families.
We landed in Finland at 12:30pm after an hour flight.

WOW
The Helsinki airport is gorgeous!
Modern, light-filled, clean...sorry no pictures
I was just too sick to get the camera out.
Thank goodness for medication and cough drops
We boarded our next flight at 2:10 pm for New York

This was another new Finnair Jet~ an Airbus A330-300
with personal entertainment players..
I watched two full length movies during our 8 and 1/2 hour flight.
We were served a meal, snacks and plenty to drink...
that's the good news.
There was NO leg room and the seats were so narrow.
At 5'8 I just fit, but the plane was packed with tall northern Europeans
and there was a lot of complaining plus people standing in the aisles.
Fortunately Jim, who is very tall, was in the 1st row of seats with more leg room.
Now I see why people pay the extra money for business class.

We arrived at JFK at 3:50pm
Went through customs...oops something in mom's carry-on
stopped the flow. They finally took it out of the x-ray machine
and started digging through it to pull out her neck pillow!
There was a battery inside to make it vibrate...
she didn't even know it did that.

Now to survive the 4 hour layover.
We had good dinner at a bar so Jim could watch baseball.
I called home...neither Spence or Bri picked up,
so I called my sister Jenny and she told me they were fine.
At 8:45 pm we finally boarded a Boeing 767
for a 6 hour flight to LA.
I  manage to fall asleep but only for 2 hours...
persevered.
And then we finally were landing,
but had to wait on the tarmac to get towed in...
off the plane, luggage arrive before we did,
grabbed it and there was Spence waiting at the curb!
It was 12:45 am Oct 9th.

After traveling 24 plus hours
I was home by 2 am
Thank God











Wednesday, November 04, 2009



The  Gardens at Peterhof

A Morning of Silver and Gold


View from the Grand Palace
down the Sea Channel to the Gulf of Finland


     
The weather was bitter cold and damp
but look how the gray skies made all that gold gleam
 


One of the few times I was in front of my tour group!



The Grand Cascade


           



The Samson Fountain









It was about this time that I lost track of my tour group,
because I was looking for the best angle to photograph the two pictures above.
It is a huge garden park and I had mistaken another group for mine



Finally I spotted some familiar coats and after running to catch up with them
snapped this photo.



The Adam Fountain



  

           
We walked for over an hour
and only saw a small portion of this incredible gardens 




A strong wind suddenly blew leaves and the spray from this fountain...brrrr



Time to go find a hot drink







The last tour in Russia
Day 11
Wednesday, October 7th






Monday, November 02, 2009







A Whirlwind Tour of
THE HERMITAGE MUSEUM



The Chariot of Glory

  
Coats and camera bags were checked in
before entering the museum on the Jordan Staircase



"Impressive...

   
Most Impressive"



I had a hard time appreciating the art work...



because the interior architecture details were so incredible


     
                                                            The Little Madonna by Leonardo da Vinci

        
                                                             Nativity by Titan


Actually all these Mother and Child images were by famous artists
but I just liked them...must be because I'm a mom,
my Catholic roots and they remind me of Christmas!


   
Glorious Arches soaring over a gallery of white marble statues



The Raphael Loggia
mimics an outdoor loggia in Italy


 
The famous"Prodigal Son" by Rembrandt...


I preferred this painting of his lover...
but that's why art is subjective!


    
And suddenly the tour was over, we had a few minutes to visit the gift shop,
then it was back to the bus



One of the many buildings that make up this vast museum


  
A common site while visiting Russia
they take historical restoration very seriously



Sunshine and reflection of the Neva River
as we return to the ship for an early dinner.


 
After dinner many people got on the bus again
to return to the Hermitage for a ballet performance.
Not me... drugs were no longer keeping the cold at bay
and I stayed in my cabin to rest for the evening.



While editing photos I noticed the moon rising,
took this picture for Matt, Eric and Jeff.
(gotta have then teach me how to take better moon photos)



Finally here's a glimpse of my cozy, little cabin.
There was sparking water and yogurt in the fridge under the table,
and the VERY important electrical converter on top
for charging my lap top and camera batteries!
My slippers for walking down the hall for a cup of hot tea,
and two pillows for leaning against.
The closet and bathroom were behind me,
should have taken a picture of the sink/shower area!







Well that's it, the End of Day 10
Tuesday, October 6th














 


Bus Ride
 
Driving from Pushkin into St Petersburg we pass the
Heroic Defenders of Leningrad Monument
on Moskovsky Prosekt



We have another tour planned for the day so eat a tasty boxed lunch on the bus.
I'm still sick but got a couple Contact Antihistamines from a friend
and they really helped. Plus the pace of our tour is slow and steady.



Soviet Russian architecture


                 
A quick glimpse of Lenin and a courtyard



Electric commuter train



Moscow Triumphal Gates



One of many churches in St Petersburg



So intriguing...



Gorgeous light every where I look too,
we are so far north the sun is at the perfect angle for photography



Reflection of souvenir shop on the bus.
We made a "comfort stop" where
I enjoyed a cup of free coffee and bought a gift for Brianna


     
Getting close to the Hermitage Museum!






We park near the Moyka Canal ...






Day 10 in Russia is not over yet!















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