Dear Colleagues,

My husband (Robert Marlowe, physics) and I (Marcia Noe, English), went with
Tatiana Allen to St. Petersburg, Russia, along with four other people, in
June of 2001. I have just returned from Brazil, am catching up on e-mail,
and noticed her raven announcement that she is planning another trip this
June.  I read with interest the testimonials from Larry Akers and Shelby
and John (the latter two people were in our group).  If you are considering
this trip, here is some information that you might like to have:

1.  St. Petersburg experiences a hot water shutdown each summer while they
work on their pipes.  This can last anywhere from a few days to several
weeks.  During the summer we went with Tatianna, it lasted abour four days,
during which time, if we wanted to bathe in hot water, we had to heat
enough  water on the stove to fill the bathtub.  I don't know if Tatiana
has disclosed this information to the people interested in the trip with
whom she met after spring break.  I do know that this information was not
disclosed to us until after we had paid her our deposit.

2.  While St. Petersburg is a very beautiful city, and the White Nights,
particularly during the 300th anniversary of the city, offer many wonderful
cultural attractions for tourists, St. Petersburg is also the most
dangerous city I have ever been in, including Rio de Janeiro, which I have
visited several times.  Although  drug violence and street crime in Rio are
certainly problems to be concerned about, what St. Petersburg has that Rio
does not have are gypsies.  Some of you may have traveled in Italy or
France and encountered gypsies there.  Magnify that gypsy problem by a
power of 10 and you will have an idea of the menace that gypsies offer the
St. Petersburg tourist.  I can speak from personal experience: on the first
day we were there, my husband was mugged by gypies on the subway.  They got
his wallet, with all of his money, credit cards, identification, etc. and
we spent the first week in St. Petersburg calling credit card companies to
cancel cards, going to the American embassy for help, making a report at
the police station, etc.

3.  I was amused to see that Shelby and John described the accomodations as
"comfortable."  I would describe them as primitive, and that is being kind.
Moreover, the accommodations, actually dorm rooms at the University where
Tatiana did her work, are located approximately 10 miles from anything in
St. Petersburg that you would want to see.  To get across the bridges and
into the historic section, you have to take a bus to the subway station and
a subway into  town.  The subway stations and trains, as well as city
streets, are crowded with the afore-mentioned gypsies, whom you will be
constantly fending off.  After Bob's unfortunate encounter with the
gypsies, we took a cab into town everyday, which ranged in price form
$10-20, depending on the cab driver.  Also be aware that the location of
your accommodations will make it very difficult to participate in one of
the premiere activities of the White Nights: the midnight boat cruise on
the river to see the opening of the bridges.  Since the accommodations are
on the other side of the river from where you get the boats, there is no
way to get back to the dorm after the boat cruise, since all of the bridges
are open (up).

4.Also staying in the dorm with us were a group of university students from
the state of  Georgia (Russian studies majors and history majors
primarily).  Each morning at breakfast I would notice that we were served
things like hardboiled eggs and mush, while the Georgia group was being
served blinis, breakfast meats, fruit, etc.  When comparing notes about
pricing for food and accommodations with their group leader, Alice Pym, I
noted that our group was paying more money for the same accommodations and
worse food that the Georgia group was getting.  Nobody, including Tatiana,
had an explanation for this discrepancy.

5.  Finally, be aware that the weather in St. Petersburg in June is often
rainy, chilly, and windy.  Our group spent a lot of time waiting for buses
outside in cold wind and rain, standing in line at museums in the wind and
rain, walking in parks in the wind and rain, etc.  St. Petersburg's
inclement and changeable summer weather is, of course, no one's fault;
nevertheless, it can put a damper, so to speak, on your enjoyment of the
city, particularly if you are not prepared for it.

6.  Despite the weather,the lousy food, the gypsies, the miserable
accommodations,etc. I did enjoy St. Petersburg and was glad I experienced
the White Nights.  However, I would have enjoyed it more had I been able to
stay at a hotel downtown with hot water, a decent restaurant and within
walking distance from the attractions (and moderately priced hotels with
these features do exist there--I checked).  I would advice people
interested in going to St. Petersburg this June for the White Nights and
the 300th anniversary celebration to check with travel agencies and compare
their prices for packages and, most importantly, what you will get for
their prices, with what Tatiana is offering before making your decision. I
wish we had done that instead of assuming that since a colleague was
organizing the trip, it would be a high-quality experience.  I have learned
this lesson twice now, and I offer this e-mail in the spirit of
collegiality in hopes that you will not have to learn it as well.

Marcia Noe
Professor of English and Coordinator of Women's Studies