The JaYmes Escape

OK, so it’s taken me a while to do a post in St Petersburg but it’s been a mad week of sightseeing and tours. If Riga is cool then St Petersburg is a freezer, literally, the low is currently -11 celsius with a nasty wind chill. But this city is very spectacular, and it oozes creativity from every corner.

Off to Helsinki tomorrow - more details to come.

‘Happy First Snow’ said Rigans tonight as the first snow of the winter fell on the city. It seems to have melted for now but if there’s snow on the ground in the morning the sights will look all the more spectacular.

No doubt about it, Riga is one of the coolest cities on the planet right now. Why? Because the tourism iceberg is only just on the horizon, much of the classical architecture is still being restored from years of soviet neglect, the city’s streets are meticulously clean and the newly designed bars and restaurants are great value.

Check out the gallery for a load of classical architecture and me in front of the Latvian statue of freedom in the centre of the city of Riga.

I thought I’d liven up the gallery by adding some pics of last year’s Stockholm trip. Feel free to take a look, just follow the gallery links to the left or the right of the screen.

This time tomorrow we’ll be in Riga. I feel like I should rush around and stress about something, but I’m not sure quite what. Next update will be from east of the Baltic sea.

I just walked out of Willesden Lane for the final time with just a big rucksack and a fat cheque from the landlord. A crazy week of packing,moving, more packing and cleaning is finally over but carrying this rucksack is going to take some getting used to, I’m certainly not going to need a gym membership when I get back.

Tonight it’s off to meet Servanne and experience the delights of Old Street. More later in the week.

By the way, thanks Phil for your real ‘classy’ comment on my last post. I’ll do my best for you.