“Looks cold out today,” mentions Sal at breakfast.
“Nyet. Not cold. Zero.” says Rita, all matter-of-factly.
Right. Of course. A balmy zero degrees.
Breakfast on our last day in in Listvyanka was prepared by Rita, the kind-hearted Russian woman who welcomed us into her home a few days ago. So far, I don’t quite agree with her opinion of “cold”, or her opinion of cooking. It was something she called “cottage cheese”, but, to be honest… are you kidding me? If it was dairy product at all, it was concentrated in small balls, pan fried, flattened like a pancake and served as heavy pellets with sour cream and jam.
You know what, though? It actually wasn’t that bad. Okay, fine. It was extraordinary. Cпасибa! ;)
We ate our hearty breakfast and stepped outside to explore the village in the bitter cold. Totally beautiful. Completely freezing. Entirely awesome.
Mixture of old and new, but the majority of the homes were in this traditional Siberian style. Except for this… err… castle?
Quite the architectural juxtaposition!
- Rita’s house – our home in Listvyanka.
Like going back in time, this Russian woman is washing her laundry in the stream (in the midst of winter, mind you!)
![So I was at the gym the other day, running on the treadmill and flipping channels to find that one English program to zone out to while getting my cardio, when I came across the most amazing thing I have ever seen in the history of things. It was a soccer game. A very, very intense soccer game, with a referee and a large crowd. […]](https://www.thevagablond.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/img_0961-36x36.jpg "Head Soccer. Or, soccer with heads. Another reason why Korea is awesome."){kind=small}
![I write this post out of absolute necessity. I’ve already elaborated a bit on my fear of Korean food here, but these two recent discoveries require some further attention. Number One: Pizza. When we went to Pizza School the other night, we had two options: Barbecue Pork Ribs Pizza or Pasta Pizza. Craving carbs, and not feeling particularly like picking bones out of our pizza’s […]](https://www.thevagablond.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/img_7962-36x36.jpg "Spaghetti on my Pizza & Intestines in my Soup: Korean Food Fails"){kind=small}
![It’s a liberating thought. Tantalizing even. You’ve got a house and a mortgage and a car and maybe a kid or a dog and a job. You have a whole life somewhere. But the thought of selling everything, packing a suitcase and moving far away.. maybe it crosses your mind sometimes. To leave all you know behind. To start anew. To experience life on the […]](https://www.thevagablond.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/71167493547__FB0EE4D2-E8D3-4ED5-8E7B-5135BD58E752-36x36.jpg "On Selling Everything and Moving Away"){kind=small}
![So I’m in the Northern part of Argentina, with a bag holding my sunscreen, some Argentine pesos, my binoculars and a pear. And I’m on a bus to Brazil, apparently, though I don’t know if they will let me in. Theoretically, this bus will take me to the Brazilian side of the Iguazu falls. Theoretically. And I say theoretically because at this rate I am […]](https://www.thevagablond.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/IMG_3526.jpeg-scaled.jpg "From Argentina to Brazil, hopefully."){kind=small}
![Buenos Aires. Eye-rays, is what I tell my English speaking brain. Not Air-Ees, Eye-Rays. There is something about this place that I can’t put my finger on. We’ve been here a month, and still the city seems to shift, to change. It changes by the time of the day, by the day of the week, almost as the staircases in Hogwarts upend and revise direction, […]](https://www.thevagablond.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_0322-scaled.jpg "On the ground in Buenos Aires"){kind=small}
That’s crazy, some of those photos look like they could be from Lytton, or Ashcroft or Cache Creek or something. Very beautiful!
They do, don’t they! It was a beautiful area for sure. Actually, Siberia reminded me of the westcoast – I don’t know whether it was the huge body of water, the wealth of snow-covered mountains or the expanse of trees – but it made me feel at home!! Thanks for the comment! :)