Swan Lake

Tonight was mine and Eli’s turn to go to the ballet. We were going to see Swan Lake at the Mihailovsky theatre. Heidi had a relatively long nap again this afternoon so we didn’t get up to much in between. We snacked on salami, cheese, bread with caviar paste (didnt taste good apparently) and crackers before heading out.

The ballet was at 7pm and we were walking so we left about 6.20ish. We weren’t exactly sure where the theatre was although Eli has planned the route on his phone. We found the area but weren’t sure which building so we had to stop and ask directions.They’re always so friendly and happy to help. A lady checked on her phone and pointed us in the right direction. We had about 5 minutes to spare by the time we sat down! I didn’t want to bother taking my coat to the cloak room but we were told it was theatre rules so we had to do that first.

It’s always so hot indoors! I spent the evening sweltering. It doesn’t matter where you go, they always seem to have the heating really high...it’s a bit frustrating as you dress warm for outside but then have to take all the layers off whenever you go inside...or just put up with the heat if you wont be long. Even in our apartment we ended up leaving windows open to equalise the temperature!

The ballet was pretty special though. I’ve never seen the whole Swan Lake Ballet before. I was wishing I had refreshed my memory on the story line though! I knew the gist of it but not the details. The theatre itself was also very nice. You could imagine the aristocracy coming here back in the day with their evening gowns and gossip to share. The Tsar’s box was a bit to the left of us and was of course central to the stage. Apparently if you sat there you had to wear a cocktail dress or a black suit and tie for guys. It was also the theatre where Swan Lake originally premiered which was quite cool.

Eli and I nearly left early as, in our ignorance, we didn’t realise the ballet wasn’t over after the second act. We went to get my coat and the lady said something in russian and looked at us strangely. We realised there was still more to go!

At each intermission (there were 2) you could go and buy drinks or desserts. Some people had reserved tables with their drinks and desserts already served. Pretty fancy.

It was a relief to get out into the fresh air afterwards and walk home. I didn’t even put on Kyria’s coat I had borrowed - clearly this baby is keeping me extra warm as Eli was wanting to hurry home as he was cold!

As none of us had really had much in the way of dinner- the boys went out and bought us all shawarmas! They wer very yummy, even at 11pm at night 😂Read more